Although titled "a general view of the pyramids" it's actually a profile of the Sphinx with a couple of pyramids behind it.
Comparing this to Edison's view of the Statue of Liberty of the same period, we can see that the Lumieres knew what they were doing, while Edison's people didn't get it. While Edison's shot of the Statue just sits there, the very opposite of a motion picture, this scene is varied by having some riders moving in front of the Sphynx. Thus, this combines the two key points of a motion picture: there's a picture and there's motion, something which seems to have escaped the Americans. It's also a much better composition.
