Steamboy [UMD for PSP]
by Katsuhiro Ohtomo
![Steamboy [UMD for PSP]](/images/Steamboy-UMD-for-PSP-B0009P42TG-L.jpg)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alfred Molina, Anna Paquin, Anne Suzuki, Masane Tsukayama, Patrick StewartDirector: Katsuhiro Ohtomo
Brand: Sony
Writer: Katsuhiro Ohtomo
Editor: Takeshi Seyama
Producer: Hideyuki Tomioka
Producer: Shigeru Watanabe
Producer: Shinji Komori
Writer: Sadayuki Murai
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); German (Original Language); Italian (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); English (Dubbed); French (Dubbed)
Format: Animated, Color, Director's Cut, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 126 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-07-26
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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Movie Reviews of Steamboy [UMD for PSP]
Movie Review: Otomo Returns!
Summary: 5 Stars
Like many anime fans the first anime I ever saw was Akira, and it blew me away. Ever since then we have all been waiting to see what Otomo would do next. At last the long wait is over, and the film that seemed destined never to escape it's incredibly long development cycle has been released.
The story of Steamboy isn't as complex as Akira. It tells of a split between two inventors, grandfather and father, and the little son who doesn't know who side with. How much should be sacrificed to further the progresss of science? The story lacks the originality Akira had, and the characters aren't quite as memorable, but it remains hugely enteraining throughout.
Akira was an animation landmark back in 1988, and even to this day it's a struggle to find anime with better animation. It is fitting then that when a movie finally raises the animation bar it will be Otomo back at the helm. The animation in Steamboy is utterly jaw dropping, and a perfect marriage of 2D and 3D. Forget the poorly integrated 3D of other anime movies, here a scene can look like a beautiful painting, until it starts moving and reveals itself as a 3D model. The 2D work is of course also tremendous and sets a new standard for the format.
In many ways Steamboy is similar to Akira. The character design, especially that of Ray Steam (who looks like a younger Tetsuo), and Eddie Steam (a near clone of the Colonel) is very reminiscent of Akira, and the film's finale a greatly extended version of the raising of Akira from beneath Tokyo Stadium. And it all fits, a perfect sister movie to Akira. Otomo has now perfected both Cyberpunk, and Steampunk. Where next? I just hope we don't have to wait another 16 years to find out!
It is worth noting that the US dub of Steamboy has been hugely cut. I have not seen that version and have no desire to. Sadly it seems anime is still not safe from the meddling editing of western studios who should know better by now. We can only hope that the eventual DVD release is uncut and as Otomo intended.
Summary of Steamboy [UMD for PSP]
STEAMBOY MOVIE - 3? Mini DVD for PHThe first feature Katsuhiro Otomo has written and directed since his watershed Akira (1988), Steamboy offers a fantastic, sepia-toned vision of the past-as-future. In place of the dystopic Neo-Tokyo of Akira, Steamboy is set in England in 1866. Young Ray Steam receives a Steam Ball, a mysterious, powerful device, from his inventor grandfather. Governments and businesses covet the Steam Ball, and Ray finds himself in a murderous conflict over its possession. He's also caught between his father, a 19th century Darth Vader who builds terrible weapons for an American arms merchant, and his grandfather, who believes science should improve people's lives. Otomo uses computer graphics to create dazzling visuals that few recent films--animated or live action--can match: monumental systems of gears and pistons; machines that dwarf the Tower of London; antique weapons of mass destruction. But the dazzling imagery can't disguise the lack of a coherent plot and the flimsiness of the characters.
Steamboy is being released in a dubbed version that's been shortened by 20 minutes, and a more satisfying subtitled version that preserves Otomo's original pacing. Both versions suggest that Steamboy is the work of an important filmmaker who can't quite shape his awesome visions into a effective narrative. (Rated PG-13 for action violence.) --Charles Solomon
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