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Best Steampunk Movies


James Steven Beverly

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I am fascinated with Steam Punk culture. I don;t really know why except maybe because it's so theatrical...plus the chance to see hot chicks in corsets and silk chokers may have something to do with it. ANYWAY, I was reading some online stuff on their websites that discussed what was the greatest Steam Punk movie. Well their choice was lame. SO lame in fact that I forget which movie it was, BUT I looked up their list and YES it is INDEED LAME for the list:

 

1. The Prestige

2. The Golden Compass

3. Van Helsing

4. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

5. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

6. Hellboy

7. The League Of Extraodinary Gentlemen

8. The Time Machine

9. Sleepy Hollow

10. The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen

 

It is obvious THESE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW MOVIES!! The greatest Steampunk Movie is hands down is Blake Edwards best movie ever (Yeah, I said it!). I refer to "The Great Race"(1965) Tony Curtis (at his PRIME as a leading man), Natalie Wood (In a corset covered in pie filling), Jack Lemmon ( the BEST Snidely Whiplash character EVER)and the immortal Peter Falk (MMMMAAAAXXX!!!!) followed by "Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines" (1965) and/OR "Those Daring Young Men and Their Jaunty Jalopies"(1969), I love these kinda movies and SOME of those on that list would be included especially Van Helsing (2004) and The Time Machine (1960 version, screw the 2002 version), "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" (1954 version again screw the 1997 version)but HOW they coulda missed "The Great Race" is beyond me. Damn kids!! B)

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Doesn't steampunk really need to be set in a postulated alternate reality or extrapolation into the then future, rather than just a historical period? I think this rules out Great Race and Magnificent Men, much as I love the latter. 'MM' is very firmly rooted in its period technologically and I thought 'TGR' was as well. I don't recall any anachronisms.

I'd exclude fantasy myself, which would prune that list a bit. '20,000' has to be at the top though, if you can see past Kirk Douglas' gurning. One did manage it in 'Spartacus' but that was for Kubrick's sake.

I'd want to add 'Master of the World' (1964).

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For me the Steampunk aesthetic really got defined by the early Caro and Jeunet films, particularly City of Lost Children. But if we're looking at progenitors, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has to get a mention.

 

More recently a great example was The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello, a short film by Anthony Lucas.

 

There was another short film I saw years ago about a photo booth that was actually operated from within by a man, who had all his photographic equipment squished in there with him - cameras, developing trays etc all on brass pulleys and pinions - and he'd push the finished print out through the slot and watch the reaction of his subject through a peep hole. Things get complicated when someone gets murdered inside his booth.. Damned if I can remember the title, but that was a classic Steampunk tale.

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Most of those don't seem like they are really what can be called steam punk at all. Golden Compass is a good call, as they do have zepplins and steam technology type stuff.

 

There aren't many films that you could call steam punk anyway tho!

There is a New Zealand film called perfect creature that features the catholic church as vampires in a sort of steam punkish world:

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403407/combined

 

Other than that I'd say maybe Kin Dza Dza, although it's set on another planet so I don't think it really qualifies.

 

Having said all that I'm really surprised to see steam boy not listed as it's the obvious one as well as Metropolis both animated and the original film.

 

Dunno, I was talking of making a film, that's at the back of my mind that someone asked me "like steampunk" and I was like well not really as the technology is not steam based at all, but it's probably as much steampunk as most of these films being thrown about.

 

I know theres other supposed steampunk films out there too tho as I've come across them, but can't remember the names right now.

 

love

 

Freya

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Doesn't steampunk really need to be set in a postulated alternate reality or extrapolation into the then future, rather than just a historical period? I think this rules out Great Race and Magnificent Men, much as I love the latter. 'MM' is very firmly rooted in its period technologically and I thought 'TGR' was as well. I don't recall any anachronisms.

I'd exclude fantasy myself, which would prune that list a bit. '20,000' has to be at the top though, if you can see past Kirk Douglas' gurning. One did manage it in 'Spartacus' but that was for Kubrick's sake.

I'd want to add 'Master of the World' (1964).

AH YES, but I would submit that Professor Fate's various modifications to his auto-mobile, the retractable cannon, the heat spike, the scissor lift suspension, his rocket sled as well as Leslie's white hotrod all show an alternative reality plus there's 26 year old Natalie wood in a corset covered in pie filling. BTW if you want to see the coolest Steam punk prop ever, here it is:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ43iph2wE8

 

Although this was pretty cool as well:

 

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/wozniaks-conundrum-steampunk-pc-modded-apples-1991-mac-video/

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