Steampunk Movie: The Marionette Unit

As everyone who visits here regularly knows I'm a bit of a Steampunk fanatic, but we've never really gotten a good movie out of all the wonderful stories so far.  Well that may be changing with The Marionette Unit as it is the first Steampunk related movie that actually looks to be well done.  That may be because it is being done by a group of British filmmakers instead of a large Hollywood studio.  Here is a bit of the synopsis:

This film is set in an alternate Victorian England, a world where steam-punk technology has developed rapidly and in a world where all creativity, art and individual expression is state-controlled. The Marionette Unit is a theatre show where machine and human have been fused together. A musical machine that resembles a twisted tortured church organ, run with valves, steam and electricity, is connected by a mass of electrical cables to three ballet dancers, who have the wires fused into their bodies. The dancers are controlled by the machine much to the amazement of the Victorian audience.

From what little has been released the story is not derivative of any other Steampunk work I know of. Director Azhur Saleem has this to say:

This is an ambitious film with cinematic aspirations. For a while now I've wanted to make a film whose scale - in terms of ideas, design and execution - belies its budget. With this in mind, I set about writing a film that would move away from the typical gritty, urban landscape of British filmmaking and into a world that has always interested me: science-fiction and fantasy. Within this genre, I will be exploring steam-punk. The story will be set in an alternative Victorian England, where steam power is still widely used, but with prominent elements of science fiction.

At the centre is a powerful story of the human spirit breaking free from oppressive forces and in turn we see the expression of self and creativity with no barriers. This film allows me the space to tell an effective story with this theme and allow audiences to connect emotionally to the characters as they would in any drama. Co-written by myself and Paul B. Adams, we feel that the narrative captures these fundamental human desires but places them in an inventive and fantastic setting.

At this point they are still in the production phase, but a sample trailer has been made which looks astoundingly interesting.  There are also a few concept art images following the trailer, which are also available as wallpaper. It looks as through the group will be putting more info on their site as it becomes available. 

Click widescreen button for your viewing pleasure. 

[Via SFSignal]


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