Review of Steamboy: Director`s Cut (DVD Gift Set)

Introduction

"Steampunk is the next big genre!" Or at least that`s what I`ve been hearing or reading for the last decade or so, ever since I bought the Chaos Engine computer game and was introduced to the technocratic vision of a bygone age. Steampunk is the historical cousin of the cyberpunk movement, an alternative Victorian age that saw the Industrial Revolution run out of control, and a technological society based on steam power emerge. High performance steam engines would power everything from all forms of air, sea, land and even space transport, to steam powered computers and robots. Just as silicon technology runs riot in cyberpunk, Victorian society would have to deal with the ramifications of uncontrollable technological growth a hundred or more years before it actually happened. You would think that such an idea would be ripe for exploitation, and indeed literature abounds with alternative steampunk histories. Graphic novels also excel in bringing these ideas to life, but on the big screen, successful steampunk adaptations remain rarer than hen`s teeth. The League Of Extraordinary Gentleman is one recent, less than memorable example, and the less said about The Wild Wild West, the better.

In a way it`s fitting that it`s Katsuhiro Otomo, director of the cyberpunk classic Akira, who turns his attention to steampunk in his long awaited next feature, Steamboy. Over ten years in the making, like most animations from Japan, Steamboy combines traditional 2D animation and 3D CGI seamlessly to create a compelling action adventure with a meaningful message at its heart.

Steamboy chronicles the lives of three generations of the Steam family, set at the height of the Industrial revolution in 1866. Ray Steam is a young inventor who lives in Manchester with his mother. His father Eddie and grandfather Lloyd have long been absent, absorbed in their research working for the American O`Hara Foundation. That`s until the day that a parcel arrives from his grandfather, containing a mysterious black sphere. Hot on its heels are two agents from O`Hara, intent on recovering the sphere. But Ray has read the letter enclosed from his grandfather, and realises that he is not to let the sphere fall into dangerous hands. His escape from the house is the start of an adventure that will take him to the Great Exhibition in London. The sphere is a revolutionary new form of steam power that delivers infinitely more energy than traditional means, and there are those that will stop at nothing to possess it.

The theatrical release of Steamboy was less than stellar, and the DVD release in a way mirrors that. There were two versions of the film in the cinema; the English language dub was just 100 minutes long, while the subtitled Japanese version was the full length at over two hours. The DVD releases follow that pattern, with the barebones disc containing only the DD 5.1 English version of the film. Unlike in the US however, the only way to get the 2-disc Director`s Cut of the film in Region 2 is to purchase the hefty, and expensive gift set. But as well as extras, you get the full version of the film in both English and Japanese.

Video

Steamboy gets a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that leaves me scratching my head somewhat. If you look at the clips in the bonus materials, as well as the trailer, you`ll see a bright, colourful image that evinces it CG origins. However the film proper is completely different. While the image is clear and sharp, it certainly isn`t bright and colourful. Either something happened to the transfer, or the image was altered in post-production. If it was the former, then it is one of those fortuitous accidents.

From what I have seen of the film in the supplementary materials, detailed as it is, the CG stands out, and the characters and backgrounds don`t mesh well. The film on the feature disc has distinct grain, is dimmer and even a little dull. It`s very much a filmic look, complete with a couple of spots of minor print damage that gives it a greater realism. The palette is muted, reflecting the grime and dirt of a polluted Industrial Victorian cityscape, and there are scenes where the film almost becomes sepia toned. The characters, machinery and settings all blend in well, there is nothing that jars or stands out of the frame and the film looks very good indeed. Unfortunately, a price has to be paid, and in this case it is detail, especially in the darker scenes. The deep bowels of the Steam Castle are almost lost into shadow, and on occasion it can be hard to make out what is occurring. But given that the alternative was some very obvious looking CG elements, and unnaturally sharp edges, I think this is the preferable way to watch the film.

Just as you would expect from the most expensive anime film ever, it looks superb. The character designs are top notch, the detail in the world design is extravagant and the machinery of this Steam Age is lavishly designed and brought to life. The animation is fluid and dynamic, and the film is packed with jaw dropping action set pieces. It`s a wonder to behold.

Audio

Unlike the sole DD 5.1 track of the cut down bare bones edition, the Director`s Cut of Steamboy gets the DD 5.1 English and Japanese treatment, as well as a DTS English track to boot. It`s a surround intensive film, as you would expect from an action extravaganza set in the world of steam, unfortunately the balance isn`t quite right. I found that I had to tweak the centre speaker upwards a tad to avoid the dialogue being drowned out. As long as you remember to do that every time you watch the film, you should be Ok. Incidentally, there are more subtitle tracks than you could possibly find use for on this disc (There`s one spelling mistake in the English subtitles).

Normally, I stick to the original language tracks wherever possible, but a film as visually captivating as Steamboy is worth watching with the subtitles off. So I wound up watching the whole film twice over. The Japanese language track is very good as usual, but there is actually something jarring about seeing the protagonists in a film set in England speaking Japanese, and in a rarity for me, I find that I actually prefer the English dub. More and more high profile Japanese animes get a-list English dubs nowadays, and the casting of Patrick Stewart as Lloyd, and Al Molina as Eddie is ideal. In fact, all of the characters get region specific accents that make this film more accessible to UK audiences. The fly in the ointment would be Anna Paquin as Ray. I`m sure that her Mancunian accent would be perfectly passable in the US, but it`s bound to draw criticism here. To her credit, she`s no Dick Van Dyke though.

I also noticed that this disc has a transparent layer change. It`s there, but it`s instantaneous, with no pause and no break in sound. They finally sort out an annoying problem with DVDs, now that they start selling Blu-Ray and HD discs.

Incidentally, the audiovisual issues with the transfer appear to be universal ones, and not solely confined to the UK release.

Features

I`ve never been tempted to weigh a DVD release before, but I couldn`t resist in this case. The hefty cardboard brick that enclosed all the goodies weighs 760 grams. Just think of your poor postman before placing that order. It`s a big, thick double-layered cardboard case, from which the blurb and the BBFC stickers can be peeled. It means that you get as much of the cover art to look at as possible, which can only be a good thing. Inside the inner case, you`ll find all the goodies, as well as a card sleeve containing a foldout digipack, in which are nestled two discs, with a chapter listing in a pocket.

Disc 1 contains the film of course and as you would expect, the animated menus follow the film`s theme. Also on this disc, you`ll find trailers for Astro Boy, Cyborg 009, Memories and Metropolis.

The extras are all on the second disc, including the obligatory theatrical trailer of course.

The featurettes begin with The Voyage Of Steamboy (incidentally not on the R1 release), which lasts 34 minutes. This is in Japanese, and is a making of the film, with interviews with the cast and crew. Re-Voicing Steamboy lasts 19 minutes, and takes us through the ADR process with Patrick Stewart, Anna Paquin and Al Molina. There is a 5-minute interview with director Katsuhiro Otomo, voiced-over in English, and a Multi-Screen Landscape Study lasts 19 minutes, as the Japanese artists talk about the concepts ideas and inspirations used in the film. Finally there is a textless credit sequence for the final three minutes of the film, where the adventures of Steamboy continue

On this disc, you`ll also find Production Drawings, which is a 6-minute slideshow of background art used in the film.

Animation Onion Skins peels back the layers that go into creating a finished animation from the initial sketches and storyboards. This lasts close to 5 minutes.

That isn`t all though, as there are further goodies secreted away in the cardboard box.

There are 10 postcards of stills and production art from the film.

There is a 28-page manga, which has more adventures of the characters. It`s in Japanese, but there is a page of English translations slipped inside to refer to.

Finally there is a 168-page book of character and machine designs, pencil sketches and blueprints used in the film. It`s printed on high quality paper and feels hefty.

It`s true that this is the sort of material that has adorned many an extras disc, you could spend days wandering through the sketch library on a LOTR extras disc, but there is something satisfying about holding it in your hands and being able to physically interact with the thing.

Conclusion

If you come to Steamboy expecting Akira redux, you`re in for a disappointment. Steamboy has little in common with its illustrious predecessor, aside from a couple of core themes. Steamboy is a rip snorting action adventure, very much in the mould of Indiana Jones or The Mummy, and there is little room in the run time for extended explorations of philosophy or the implications of technology. Instead, there are plenty of action set pieces and death defying (animated) stunts, designed to keep the viewer on the edge of the seat, rooting for the hero and relatively oblivious of the shortcomings of whatever plot there may be.

That isn`t to say that the film is totally devoid of thought. We are talking about Katsuhiro Otomo here, and the message, simple though it is, quickly becomes apparent. Also this being anime and not Disney, there is no simple good guy bad guy dynamic to untangle. The three main protagonists, the family Steam drive the moralistic heart of the film, and it`s exploration of how humanity and science should interact. Grandfather Lloyd believes that science is there to make people happy, that it should be controlled and monitored, and kept out of the wrong hands. Eddie on the other hand, sees science as the key to freeing humanity, that it should be embraced by people, unleashed in its entirety to mankind`s betterment and for all to use. Ray is torn between the two, and it`s his decisions that will determine which side of the argument prevails. The bad guys are basically every one else, the profiteering arms merchants that are the O`Hara Foundation, and the power hungry governments of the world who want to exploit the family`s talents to fuel their war machines. It`s a simple message that is difficult to miss. There is even a philosophical exchange between father and son, but as it takes place during an action sequence, it`s easy to turn one`s attention to the pretty explosions instead.

In fact for an anime, Steamboy plays very much like a Hollywood blockbuster, down to the emphasis on action, the regularity of the set pieces, the pacing of the film and the very western music soundtrack. Of the anime that I have seen, this will probably be the one that will appeal strongest of all to Western audiences, it`s made very much with that sensibility in mind, and aside from the character designs, there is very little that you would associate with your average anime in this film.

The story is thin, with Lloyd and Eddy creating the secret of ultimate steam power, the proverbial weapon of mass destruction so to speak, and Ray having to stop it falling into the wrong hands. This is just the excuse the film needs for some stunning action pieces, some ingenious mechanical designs, and a dénouement worthy of a James Bond movie. It`s the sort of action adventure worthy of many a Saturday morning serial, and it is very easy to enjoy this film.

The characters are well written too, with the dynamic of the family Steam (not the most original name) driving the heart of the story. I also loved the spoilt brat Scarlett O`Hara (Yes, well…) who actually remains resolutely obnoxious throughout, where you would normally expect a major epiphany to turn her into a sweetie.

I`ve probably already mentioned this, but the animation is sublime. It`s probably the best such 2D animation around, and with Disney in the 3D CGI business, it`s unlikely to be bettered any time soon. This vision of Victorian England is radiantly brought to life, and the grimy and polluted feel to the cities seems very authentic. The detail is astounding, although I must admit that it`s fun pointing out the historical inaccuracies and anachronisms. Characters, events and architecture have been reshaped to fit the story, rather than vice versa, but it all adds to the film`s charm.

Steamboy is no Akira. It`s also hardly an instant classic. However, it is unreservedly fun. It`s the sort of action adventure that thrills and entertains. It has excitement, action, and a rousing soundtrack, and reminds you of why you started watching movies in the first place. I watched it twice in row and it grew better with repeat viewing. It`s delicious eye-candy of the best sort, as there is a little nutritional value to it as well. If you like the odd Hollywood blockbuster, then this is the anime for you.

Incidentally, not having seen the theatrical cut I can`t really compare. But I can`t think of any scene that can actually be cut out of this Director`s Cut without irreparably harming the film. I can only imagine that losing 20 minutes of footage would render it unwatchable. If you are looking to buy Steamboy, and don`t want nigh on a kilo on your DVD shelf, it may be better to import rather than take your chances with the theatrical version. There are one or two niggles with the transfer, but nothing that can`t be dealt with. Steamboy looks and sounds divine, is great family entertainment and well worth a place in your collection.