19 Sep 2004 @ 00:39, by Craig Lang
Gwyn and I just saw the new movie "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow". It was one of the most imaginative pieces of sci fi I think I've seen in quite some time. It was written as if it were SF from the perspective of an earlier era. It had the perspective on the world that might be characteristic of HG Wells, Jules Verne, etc (though the 1930s were somewhat after the time of Vern and Wells). It was truly a moment of sci-fi fun.
The 1930s were a time of trial and a time of fantasy - a time of radio shows and cinematic serials. Flash Gordon, Jack Armstrong, and other heroes battled evil on a weekly basis. The world of the future was somehow seen as a better place, and most of it was based upon the promise of technology.
In the world of 1930s SF, German rocket scientists were going to build machines that would take us to the Moon, Mars and the stars. American industry was going to build the world, and the sun still never set on the British empire.
The world of "Sky Captain" is in some ways, a simpler one. In it, America (the USA) is an economic engine, but Britain is still the imperial superpower. The creators of ultra advanced science/technology - both industrial and military - are often German. And it is the misguided pursuit of this that in "Sky Captain", forms the dire peril from which our hero has to save us.
As described above, the story was projected forward as if written in the 1930s. World War 2 was not yet envisioned, though the tensions that lead to it showed through very clearly. America is largely neutral in world conflicts, but is the source both of much of the worlds industrial might, and of mercenary soldiers and adventurers (both real and fictional).
The Japanese/Chinese war (a precursor to WW2) is very much in the historical background of the main characters. The airplane flown by "Sky Captain" has Flying Tiger markings. Indeed, the organization of "Sky Captains" looks very much like the Flying Tigers - essentially a private air force. The resemblance is certainly not coincidental.
The most imaginative prop, however, is the British aerial fleet - basically aircraft carriers which travel aloft. They are kept aloft via vertical propellers. They are quite reminiscent of some of the ideas for a dirigible navy that I think were envisioned during the 1920s and 1930s.
In many ways, watching "Sky Captain" was like watching "Flash Gordon", both science fictions based upon ideas of the future as seen from an earlier time. Both extrapolate into the (for them) future, the accepted ideas of the 20s and 30s.
The cinematic style resembled a slightly colorized black and white, with much of the western world (mostly New York) portrayed with a sort of dark, grayscale, art-deco flavor. It looked very much like a caricature of 1930s imagery.
It was a completely different and imaginative sci-fi world. And as such, both "Flash Gordon" and "Sky Captain" are fun to watch. "Sky Captain" was an enjoyable afternoon of visual fantasy.
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