During much of his career, Segundo de Chomón essentially copied the films of other directors. This was NOT uncommon...and outright thievery of other folks' work was the norm. So, for example, when Georges Méliès brought out his hit film "Voyage to the Moon", soon other filmmakers made their own versions...and in some cases passed it off as the work of Méliès! It's a shame, as he was an excellent filmmaker and his films NOT copied from others' work were very good. And, in the case of "Les Cocottes en Papier", you can see that some of the film was inspired by the French director's work..but was unique and his own at the same time...a nice compromise.
Like at least 20% of Georges Méliès, he played a magician who does a stage act on camera. And, using stop-motion and stop action, he made it appear as if things were appearing, disappearing AND changing before your eyes. In this sense, Segundo de Chomón clearly was inspired by this in "Les Cocottes". But, fortunately, WHAT happens on stage is unusual...and fun to watch.
The film begins with a woman with a whip coming onto the set. She's dressed like a lion tamer but soon ends up doing magic and some unusual taming. After opening up a box on the table, a tiny version of her comes out and makes origami creatures dance about using stop-motion. Then, after disappearing, another full-size tamer appears and all sorts of human-sized origami creatures bounce about and dance. And, speaking of dancing, soon dancing girls also appear.
The overall effect is charming, if not awfully familiar. Unique enough that I appreciated what Chomón was doing...and worth seeing.
Like at least 20% of Georges Méliès, he played a magician who does a stage act on camera. And, using stop-motion and stop action, he made it appear as if things were appearing, disappearing AND changing before your eyes. In this sense, Segundo de Chomón clearly was inspired by this in "Les Cocottes". But, fortunately, WHAT happens on stage is unusual...and fun to watch.
The film begins with a woman with a whip coming onto the set. She's dressed like a lion tamer but soon ends up doing magic and some unusual taming. After opening up a box on the table, a tiny version of her comes out and makes origami creatures dance about using stop-motion. Then, after disappearing, another full-size tamer appears and all sorts of human-sized origami creatures bounce about and dance. And, speaking of dancing, soon dancing girls also appear.
The overall effect is charming, if not awfully familiar. Unique enough that I appreciated what Chomón was doing...and worth seeing.
