Événements Russo-Japonais (Russo-Japanese War Programme)
P: Pathé. Fr 1904

A compilation of films mostly relating to the Russo-Japanese War, using films by various companies: Urban, Warwick, Pathé, Gaumont and Alfred West. It was issued as a series under the title Événements Russo-Japonais by Pathé in 1904.
Bryony Dixon (BFI)

“This film has an unusual opening for documenting war: a group of soldiers release a balloon* with two men in its basket. With their telescope, the men watch the battles far below. This framing device, partly filmed on a studio set, serves to present gruesome battles as entertaining spectacle. In some battles, the camera seems to accompany the Japanese troops, but as the distant view from the balloon in the opening sequence suggests, the film maintains an onlooker’s perspective.”
Kosuke Fujiki (King’s College London)

*The balloon scenes showing two men in a basket with a telescope are directly taken from the 1904 Gaston Velle film Un drame dans les airs. (KK)

Historical background: Russo-Japanese War (Wikipedia)

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