Product Description

Set in Victorian London, a young inventor finds himself torn between two factions who are after the revolutionary \""Steam ball,\"" an item that holds a secret menacing power.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: STEAMBOY
Title: STEAMBOY
Street Release Date: 07/26/2005
Domestic
Genre: ANIMATION

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10641 in DVD
• Brand: STEAMBOY
• Released on: 2005-07-26
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Animated, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Dubbed in: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 126 minutes

Amazon.com
The 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

DVD features
The many extras on the DVD have been overproduced but underthought. "Animation Onion Skins" shows five scenes in various phases of production, but there are no captions or commentary to explain the significance of the stages or their relationship to each other. Several artists talk about the production in the "Multi-Screen Landscape Study" (a split-screen making-of for an exhibit in Japan), but nothing tells the viewer who they are or what they did. The interview with Otomo is less than a one-quarter as long as the very standard "Revoicing" featurette. --Charles Solomon

From The New Yorker
The director Katsuhiro Otomo's first anime feature since "Akira" (1988). In that picture, the city in danger was a futuristic Tokyo; this time it's a futuristic nineteenth-century London. Ray, the title character, is a third-generation mechanical genius thrust into the middle of an adventure set in motion by the Steam Ball, a powerful invention of his grandfather's. It's an allegory about corporate greed, man's warlike nature, and the proper use of science, none of it very subtle. Otomo displays great imagination mixing the real mechanical marvels of 1866 with his own fantastical creations, and "Steamboy" is often inspiringly good-looking, offering panoramic views of London and high-velocity action, but the characters are as flat as their facial expressions. With the voices of Anna Paquin, Alfred Molina, and Patrick Stewart in the English-language version. -Ken Marks
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

excellent anime
When I saw a preview of Steamboy and the obvious gorgeous animation I knew I needed to buy a copy. It's a nice story with an interesting 19th science premise and top notch Japanese animation on a par with the very best. There may be a few too many valve and lever adjustments here and there, but overall it is a gem. Beautiful music theme!

A worthy addition.
Any fan of Anime, or the work of Director Katsuhiro Otomo (you will most likely know him for his work on Akira), will appreciate this film. While not reaching the depth and intricate plot of Akira, this is still a worthy addition to your collection. There are a few missteps in the animation choices, but most viewers won't notice, and will find this a great voyage through alternate history. The vocal dubbing in English is superb, and the voices are provided by a stellar list of actors - including the renowned Patrick Stewart.

A good story...
...with a great character driven plot, with characters who all have their own needs, wants, dreams and ideas for the future. Science can be a tool of mankind or a weapon and in this full length animated film the many sides, dangers and rewards of science is explored. Add good artwork, perfect voices and lots of cool steam powered machinery, lots of extras and you should have five stars.
But, and I say this knowing it will sound a tad whiny, it seems a tad long. Not very long, more like ten minutes long. The kind of long that editing a few seconds out of a scene here and there would have helped. Get it new or used, but if you are an anime fan you should see it once.