This film, "Excursion to the Moon", by Segundo de Chomón, was included in the three DVD set "Saved From the Flames"--a collection of mostly ephemeral movies that have managed to avoid turning to powder, catching fire or melting--something that usually happened with the nitrate film stock used up through the 1950s.
While today this might shock you, back in the early days of cinema, film makers stole each other's work with abandon. So, if a studio came out with a film, a competitor would often re-film the entire movie once again and slap their name on it! It got so bad, that American Biograph (where D.W. Griffith worked) slapped an 'A-B' symbol right onto the sets to prove it was an original! And, in the case of the French genius Georges Méliès, MANY of his films were blatantly ripped off--so many that it makes it hard for film historians to know what is his and what is phony. In the case of "An Excursion to the Moon", Segundo de Chomón steals Méliès "A Trip to the Moon" and gives it a very similar title--hoping folks would mistake it for the original! What a jerk! Sometimes imitation is NOT the most sincere sort of flattery!
I've seen the original movie about a dozen times and was amazed at just how close a copy this was and no attempt was made to create a new product! There were a few MINOR changes--but that is all (such as the ship landing in the Moon's mouth and not its eye). As I said, these folks were real jerks and I consider this film an outright theft--as any rational person would! So, technically it's very nice--but why not just watch the original?!
By the way, this film was hand-colored using the Pathé-Frères colored stenciling technique. This made it a bit easier than hand-coloring the cells and produced a color that is pretty impressive for the era. However, it was so time-consuming and difficult that portions of films were colored--not the entire product.
While today this might shock you, back in the early days of cinema, film makers stole each other's work with abandon. So, if a studio came out with a film, a competitor would often re-film the entire movie once again and slap their name on it! It got so bad, that American Biograph (where D.W. Griffith worked) slapped an 'A-B' symbol right onto the sets to prove it was an original! And, in the case of the French genius Georges Méliès, MANY of his films were blatantly ripped off--so many that it makes it hard for film historians to know what is his and what is phony. In the case of "An Excursion to the Moon", Segundo de Chomón steals Méliès "A Trip to the Moon" and gives it a very similar title--hoping folks would mistake it for the original! What a jerk! Sometimes imitation is NOT the most sincere sort of flattery!
I've seen the original movie about a dozen times and was amazed at just how close a copy this was and no attempt was made to create a new product! There were a few MINOR changes--but that is all (such as the ship landing in the Moon's mouth and not its eye). As I said, these folks were real jerks and I consider this film an outright theft--as any rational person would! So, technically it's very nice--but why not just watch the original?!
By the way, this film was hand-colored using the Pathé-Frères colored stenciling technique. This made it a bit easier than hand-coloring the cells and produced a color that is pretty impressive for the era. However, it was so time-consuming and difficult that portions of films were colored--not the entire product.