zoetrope
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Helping Steampunk decide what to sound look like since 2017
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Steam Powered Zoetrope
whilst this website started off as a homage to all sounds steampunk I felt there were one or two visual delights worthy of a mention. So here in no particular order are some of our favourites
The Secret Garden
I picked this up from a local supermarket looking for something family friendly in their budget range and decided the character with goggles on the back sleeve would be an amusing aside. What I wasn't expecting was a full on remake in a steampunk style where even the garden is mechanical. Some of the props look rather DIY and the film is entirely shot it would appear inside a single American factory so I'm guessing the budget was reasonably constrained but quite entertaining and looks great.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7334352/
Le voyage dans la Lune
The worlds first sci-fi movie released in 1902. This is so ahead of its time I spent quite a while convinced it was a modern hoax and was probably only really convinced when I saw it being shown on a loop in the space centre in Leicester.
In my view the definitive version is the longer colourised cut which French duo Air scored and which was available as a bonus DVD on their CD of the same name. I'm sure it's been uploaded to the net somewhere.
Houdini and Doyle
Imagine a Victorian X-files with two famous Mulders to one Scully. I'm not convinced the script writer would no a plot twist if it dropped a large box of clock parts on their head but the characters are engaging and the whole thing looks great.
Stars Steven Mangan who is pretty good in most things as Arthur Conan Doyle, sadly only ran for one series.
Steam Boy
This was a Manga cartoon which I believe was the follow up to Akira and broke records for budgets etc. The plot is completely steampunk although the look is still overwhelmingly Manga. The plot I seem to recall was not that dissimilar to Mortal Engines although this hit the screens nearly 15 years earlier.
Big Bang Theory series 1 episode 14
The Big Bang boys buy the time machine prop from the film on an internet auction site expecting a highly detailed miniature only to find themselves with the full size thing. Much hilarity ensues.
The War of the Worlds The New Generation
This is Jeff Wayne's war of the worlds alive from the 02 and it's bloody brilliant. Jeff conducts enthusiastically and some of the band are in steampunk finery. Liam Neeson is a hologram whilst Marty Pellow sings his songs, Jason Donovan takes on the Phil Lynot part and there's a bloody big martian war machine in the middle of the stage.
The music sounds as fresh as ever although i suspect they have upgraded some of their synthesisers.
Mortal Engines
Based on a Philip Reeve novel, this looks on the whole pretty good and cogsworthy but the premise is so fucking ridiculous it somewhat undermines the cinematic experience. re-constructing towns and cities on caterpillar tracks would be so impractical and expensive that post-apocalypse it would have been a hell of a lot easier to build a rocket and colonise the moon I would suspect.
The House With a Clock in its Walls
Jack Black playing, well Jack Black really. Mrs Librarian spent most of the film saying the plot was really familiar until she remembered she had read the book.
Technically set in 1955 so probably Diesel Punk or something if you want to be pedantic I'm letting this in because its about a bloody big clock.
The Next Doctor (2008 Doctor Who Christmas Special)
After the Kylie one possibly the best Doctor Who Christmas special so far. As is often the case this is set in Victorian London, there is a giant cyberman and even a hot air balloon.
The War of the Worlds (BBC 2019 adaption)
Episode one looked ace and got us all excited sadly the attempt to rework the plot to flash back and forward left everyone I spoke to underwhelmed. Starred Rafe Spall and Eleanor Tomlinson in the lead role and a significant supporting position for Robert Carlyle.
His Dark Materials
Running concurrently with War of the Worlds for a couple of weeks I seem to recall this was far superior. Actually played down the steampunk aesthetic a little apparently to differentiate from the previous attempt to capture on celluloid starring Nicole Kidman but spectacular none the less. Unlike the film I think everyone is waiting for the next installment.
Hugo
A rather wonderful film, that features as a back story the films of Georges Méliès including Le voyages dans la lune. Also features a rather fantastic automaton.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
Frankly disappointing feature length animation.
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