Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

ThiefHott Too much of everything

Raetsonwe Redundant and unnecessary.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) Yes, already over a hundred years ago people very pretty elastic already it seems. The director here is Segundo de Chomón, one of the most influential silent filmmakers, maybe number 2 behind Méliès. Basically we watch a group of Japanese artists/athletes perform for 3 minutes. On the Youtube version I watched there is some Asian music played at the same time which makes this even more fun to watch. Of course, originally its is a silent film. The highlight here are certainly the colors, not only the ones of the people but also for example the flowers in the top corners. It all had an aura of lotus blossom to it. I guess it was not as common back in the early 20th century to go to the circus, so thumbs up for the filmmaker bringing the show to the masses with the help of this new medium film. Then again, it was not completely new in 1907, but still fairly new. For de Chomòn it's one of his more known films and he made this one basically in the middle of his career. He was really prolific between 1902 and 1913 and made over 200 films in that period. The key to enjoying this one here is to keep in mind when it was made. If it had been done today, I would probably only give it 4 stars max, but taking the year into consideration I will be a bit more generous.

tavm Before I watched this trick film by Segundo do Chomon on the "Saved from the Flames" DVD collection, I did read some of the comments presented here so I knew about the floor-disguised-as-wall illusion. Still, it's quite impressive to see these children and adults giving the impression they're doing unusual acrobatics in front of an audience supposedly watching this in a theater. The stencil-colors looked pretty good as well. I also learned from the other comments that these were Caucasians made up to look Japanese which I wouldn't have noticed by myself. So, no, I didn't find the characterizations to be offensive since it's just them doing "acrobatics". So on that note, I recommend Kiriki, Japanese Acrobats.

F Gwynplaine MacIntyre I viewed a print of this short movie courtesy of Lobster Films, Paris. Here we have a French 'trick' film by the Pathe Brothers, from the same period in which Georges Melies was making his very popular trick movies. However, in Melies's films the trickery was accomplished by jump cuts, and spectacle was provided by elaborate sets and audacious story lines. In 'The Kiriki, Japanese Acrobats', we have a fairly straightforward acrobatic performance, abetted by some trickery that is far simpler than Melies's box of tricks, yet no less satisfying.We see some men, women and children in gymnastic clothing, clearly Caucasian yet made up to look vaguely Oriental, with ridiculously built-up foreheads covered by ludicrous hairstyles. The women creep back and forth in that ridiculous shuffling gait (move the feet very quickly but in very tiny steps) that western performers affect to simulate Orientals. I realise that, in the first decade of the twentieth century, the most proficient acrobatic troupes were nearly all Japanese ... but frankly, this ying-tong Japanoiserie did absolutely nothing to add to the proceedings, and should have been dispensed with.In small groups, the troupe rapidly execute a series of acrobatic manoeuvres which are so dazzling that they seem nearly superhuman. There is, of course, a trick: a deceptively simple one, yet done so skilfully that some viewers may have difficulty figuring it out.TRICK EXPLAINED NOW. Except for some 'book-end' footage at the beginning and the end, which is shot conventionally, the entire movie is filmed with an overhead camera shooting STRAIGHT DOWN onto a black velvet dropcloth surrounded by four upright walls. The actors, lying on this surface, affect postures to indicate that they are standing upright, with one of the walls being treated as a horizontal floor. When the tumblers move 'upwards', supposedly defying gravity, they are in fact merely moving horizontally, away from the wall representing the 'floor' and towards the opposite wall representing the 'ceiling'. The lighting, from directly above, eliminates side shadows and makes the trickery less obvious.The trick is made more difficult to spot because the stunts are done quickly and proficiently, and the performers demonstrate some genuine agility. To call this a 'trick' film is slightly demeaning to their efforts, since there is some genuine acrobatic work going on here: just not in the direction that it seems to be.I was amused and impressed by this movie, but I would have enjoyed it far more without the utterly unnecessary racial stereotyping. My rating for this one: 6 out of 10.

Mike Dedmon I know in today's world, this would be seen as very politically incorrect, but at the time, I think they were trying to make a humorous short using special effects.It's really cool and looks so good, that many people don't believe that it's from 1907. They think it's a modern piece that has been edited to look old.It is a very clever way make the viewer think that they are seeing amazing tricks. Even in today's technological world, this technique is still used in some cases as an effect. Very impressive.It's a must see.