This early silent era film was released in France circa 1908 by Segundo de Chomón. It is partially hand coloured and shows several Japanese characters and eventually a worm change into a butterfly which while flapping it's wings changes colours as it flies.
Watch the official Japanese Butterflies 1908 trailer in HD below.
Las mariposas japonesas Trailer
France 27 April 1908
United States 15 May 1908
More movie trailers, teasers, and clips from Japanese Butterflies:
Silent Film: Japanese Butterflies (1908/Segundo de Chomón) Les papillons japonais (original title) Two Japanese artists having drawn a silk worm on a screen ...
These some of the most viewed trailers for movies released in 1908:
08 February 1908
About an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians, the forced removal by the British of the Acadian people from the present day Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island - parts of an area also known as Acadia.
25 April 1908
A poor family, suffering from a lack of food, plan to sell their dog to gain some extra income. Before they act on their plan, the dog discovers some buried jewels.
03 November 1908
A short film based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name. It was the first film to dramatize the ill-fated romance between Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt.
08 March 1908
The first scene shows part of Flint's old pirate crew, with one-legged John Silver in the lead. They have discovered the hiding place of Billy Bones, the mate of Flint's ship, the "Walrus," and they send Black Dog, one of the crew, to tip Billy Bones to the "black spot" at the Admiral Ben Bow Inn; but Billy Bones drives Black Dog away, and will have nothing to do with him.
25 July 1908
A Seventeenth Century romance in which an eloping couple try to escape the wrath of the girl's father.
27 November 1908
Our picture relates to a crime committed by a Gorilla who escapes from his cage and through circumstantial evidence a young man, whom we will call in our story Jim, is accused and is just about to be convicted.
01 January 1908
A kabuki scene starring actors Ichikawa Udanji an Uchikawa Unosuke.
16 October 1908
The young hero, Frederick, is leaving his country home and going to the city to attend the bull fight, and while there he meets and woos a beautiful maiden, forgetting his own little sweetheart at home.
18 November 1908
A woman falls asleep on a park bench. The Devil appears and summons an imp who takes the woman to his fantastic lair.
03 December 1908
There's a chemistry lab, in which one or two people ingest the wrong drug -- apparently -- and have a seriously bad trip.
29 August 1908
King Herod is enchanted by Salome's dance and grants her wish for the head of John the Baptist.
Have you watched Japanese Butterflies yet? What did you think about it?
Artwork, screen shots, trailers and other imagery is © 1908 Pathé Frères.