From the Video Vault: "Master of the World" (1961)

Lowly studio American International Pictures produced this campy steampunk delight. Seven years after Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", this is Captain Nemo in the air. The film adapts two novels by Jules Verne, "Robur the Conqueror" and "Master of the World". Vincent Price is perfect as Robur, captain, world idealist and creator of the "Albatross", part zeppelin - part helicopter, zipping around the world at 150 mph with his message of peace, well sort of. Robur's airship is decorated a la Nemo (albeit on a smaller budget). I love the coffin-shaped cabin doors, though.

Hayao Mijazaki must have been influenced by Verne's vision (the airship in "Laputa Castle in the Sky").

"Master of the World" Courtesy YouTube

Courtesy Studio Ghibli

Charles Bronson is the unlikely hero of the piece. Vito Scotti, the unnecessary comic-relief as the chef on the "Albatross". Veteran actor, Henry Hull ("Werewolves of London", "Lifeboat"), plays Prudent, an annoying old fart. Screenplay is by horror/sci fi supremo, Richard Matheson.

You can see the film's limited budget by the use of stock footage. This was AIP's most expensive production to date, though. Considering it was around one-tenth of the budget of Disney's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea", Critic Leonard Maltin described the film as "very well done".

Vincent Price was to continue with AIP in Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe-inspired horror flicks in the 1960's. He'd already hit pay dirt with "The House of Usher".

Random observations:

• Early scene with doings in the volcano reminded me of vintage Bond "You Only Live Twice"(1967).
• Daniel Haller's art direction - vivid colours used with ship interiors - see later Roger Corman 60's horror.
• Sumptuous Les Baxter musical score, punching above his weight. Another AIP regular.
• What's the go with the bare-chested bosuns while everybody else is dressed like a gondolier or in a three-piece suit?
• The ending is surprisingly poignant.

Catch "Master of the World" on YouTube, although it is missing at least 5 mins of original theatrical running time.

5 good things about "Victor Frankenstein"

The much maligned of 2015 movie has several points of interest.
Lighten up critics, it wasn't that bad. If it was a double episode of "Penny Dreadful", it would have been applauded.
Don't get me wrong, John Logan's series is wonderful. But I digress... here's the highlights.

1. Imaginative art direction. I am a sucker for steampunk. I will admit to enjoying "Van Helsing" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (two other so called bombs).
2. Casting: James McAvoy has fun in the title role. Daniel Radcliffe is always exceptional. Charles Dance as Frankenstein Senior. Also Andrew Scott and Mark Gatiss from "Sherlock".
3. Some terrific throwaway lines: "It's pronounced Fronkenstein" (thanks Mel Brooks), "They will only remember the monster, not you" (says Frankenstein's beau).
4. Scottish composer Craig Armstrong's score (amazing credits: "Ray", "Love Actually", "The Quiet American", Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" and "Moulin Rouge!")
5. That extended monkey scene in the medical college. Truly disturbing.

 I saw this film on a long distance flight. Does this make a difference? Okay, it's at least a tremendous 'plane movie'.

Michael Moorcock's Steampunk Trilogy

Written in the early 70's, before steampunk was a thing, these books are ripping yarns. It's Biggles meets Jules Verne, part H.G. Wells, part Arthur Conan Doyle.
Our hero, Oswald Bastable, a captain in colonial India in 1901, travels in time to three alternate 20th centuries. Our very pucker captain encounters towering airships, monorails, "hovergyros" and gleaming Utopian cities. We encounter new versions of Joseph Stalin, Enoch Powell, Harold Wilson and Ronald Reagan (as an obnoxious boy scout leader).
The narrative is sometimes bogged down by political science debate. The fun stuff is finding out what happens when Brits stay too long in the steamy colonies - copious gin and tonics, visits to opium dens, characters spouting: "now steady on, old chap".
The last quarter of "The Steel Tsar" (final in the series, published in 1980) is a bit ponderous, with the narrator trying to make sense of the 'multiverse'. Mrs Persson, one of the reappearing characters (a member of the "League" of "chrononauts") is the trilogy's most intriguing individual.

"Dracula" NBC TV series Episode 1

Don't you love a bit of steampunk?
Sorely missing from US network television. Remember CBS's "The Wild Wild West" (1965)? Yes, we have had steampunk movies with horror fiction connections ("Van Helsing", "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - triumphs of art direction and production design but hated by critics). Yes, this new retelling of the Bram Stoker novel is all over the shop, but so what?
We have had myriad silly retellings of  "Dracula" (from Dracula's Dog to "Blacula"). Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I think the "LA Times" critic nailed it.
It looks great, as is a prerequisite for steampunk opuses. The Prague locales are sumptuous. The lush budget shows on screen. It comes up with some wild connections (a Jack the Ripper cover up, a cartel of energy industrialists battling Dracula and Jonathan Hawker as his PR man). The casting of Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors") is perfect.
A few times during the show I did find myself saying: "What the ....?" (e.g. the light bulb bit) or "Where is this going?"
But just sit back and enjoy it. It's network TV that is not a crap sitcom, police, reality/talent/cooking shows.