It is interesting watching filmmakers copying and taking influence from others, this early in film history. It reminds me of today when YouTube artists do the same thing. We all get inspiration from one another. But, some, just flat-out copy. Case in point; go back to the early 20th century. We all know that French filmmaker and illusionist, Georges Melies, was inspired by the work of Jules Verne, especially for his legendary film, A Trip to the Moon (1902). Two years after this, Gaston Velle (another French film director of the time), was making Melies inspired films, like Drama in the Air (1904). Three years later, Melies copied off of himself and made the first film adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1907). That film was a carbon-copy of his, A Trip to the Moon (1902), only this time, switch out the bullet-ship with a submarine.
In this film, Excursion to the Moon (1908), another French filmmaker, Segundo de Chomón, was inspirationally making, scene-by-scene, an almost copy of Melies, A Trip to the Moon (1902). Melies was a good sport and never sued over this, but looking back at it 115 years later, it might have been a good thing. Melies' film is much better than this film. He is much more famous than the other filmmakers 115 years later. He had been working on movies for, a good, eight years before these other guys got started, but you do notice a slight uptick in quality effects, after six years of a growing film industry, between 1902 and 1908. This is most evident in the bullet loading scene. The effects look a little bit more sharp than what Melies had in his film, but I'm sure Melies had grown too with his films, since his early days of 1902.
This film tries to capitalize on an accepted current-day, art form, that seemed to be a staple in France in the early 20th century. It was an art form made more famous by Georges Melies. I would still see this film, because it is an artifact of a time long-ago, plus its interesting seeing artists of the time in a competition to see who makes history the most. It is interesting to see Segundo de Chomón's version just to compare the two. What really kills the film is the short runtime, which totally abbreviates the ending, making you wonder if you missed something. Melies original film was 12 minutes long. Maybe Melies had more money than Segundo de Chomón? Who knows.
6.1 (D+ MyGrade) = 6 IMDB.