Elements of Steampunk Films (distinct from the list)

[Captain Brandsson]

Well, I am going to watch The Last Airbender tonight.
I have heard it has sp elements to it.
I shall report back later.

I may also have pizza.

Not really, no.
The show had some, but those elements the first season did have have been minimized to a few machines.

Attend with hopes low and you may enjoy the film for what it is.

Then watch the show and bask in it's thoughtful, family-friendly glory.

[Just call me Rob]

The film is not steampunk at all.
There's a few mechanical boats with big firepits on them, but they are more like spruced up ironclads then steampunk.

The film itself was quite definitely a kids film.
Lots of obvious plot pointers and some very clear explanations of what was going on.

[Captain Brandsson]

The film is not steampunk at all.
There's a few mechanical boats with big firepits on them, but they are more like spruced up ironclads then steampunk.

The film itself was quite definitely a kids film.
Lots of obvious plot pointers and some very clear explanations of what was going on.

You could tell Shamalan was a fan of the show.. and yet he excised 90% of what made the show great.
Very confusing.

[Just call me Rob]

Hard to explain.
It's explained somewhere it 'The dead poets society'.
It was like the film had 90 minutes to clinically get through certain key plot points and didn't have time to sit back and spend some time weaving the story and setting the ambiance.

Still, there were fights, things got blown up and it was enjoyable.
It could have used some more car chases and boobs but it wasn't a bad film for the lack of them.

[Captain Brandsson]

There seemed to be a slight rise in "not really steampunk but" content in the steampunk movie list (not a bad thing, mind you) so I thought I'd recycle this thread back into use (if there are no objections).

The basic question is a good one: What are the cinematic elements that make a movie a steampunk movie?

[Shocktop407]

Its really hard to say. Consider the diversity of stories that have ended up in the Steampunk anthology books edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, as well as Extraordinary Engines edited by Nick Gevers. All of them are steampunk, but the stories themselves vary quite widely. As has already been mentioned, there are steampunk elements here and there throughout modern cinema, but no real definite, full-on steampunk film as of yet.

I would say that any story set in the industrialized 19th Century could become a steampunk film. What separates a period piece from a steampunk film is the element of the fantastic - those elements that could have been, that were within the realm of possibility, but just weren't quite there in reality. The classic example would, of course, be airships. Certainly, they did exist in reality, but steampunk tends to take them in a whole new direction. I doubt that Henri Giffard ever imagined anything along the lines of Abney Park's H.M.S. Ophelia.

Based on this, a film like The Last Samurai could almost be steampunk. It has the right setting, it has the elements of emerging technology and a clash of cultures resulting from that . . . . but it lacks that "fantastic" element that separates steampunk from period films. For a serious film, though, it comes closest in my mind.

[Captain Brandsson]

Devils Advocate:
Here's an interesting tangent question... Can an actual historical film (as distinct from an openly fictional period set film with historical figures) be steampunk?
This also raises the question... Is there "real steampunk" in history?

Personal Opinion:
I would say, "yes". 
It could be argued that the real-world works of Edison and Tesla are just as impactful upon modern steampunk as the fictional works of Wells and Verne.

[ayre]

Around the World in 80 Days?
• Fogg's steam-powered inventions
• AWESOME flying machine
• Plenty of Victorian costumes, and no lack of tea and pocket watches