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Theme: Steampunk


Steampunk is a form of science-fiction based on the imagined possibilities of Victorian technology. It is filled with images of deliberately antiquarian machines based around steam technology and early developments of electricity, all in the designs of 19th Century industrialism and peopled by typical characters of the era. Crucial to Steampunk is the common setting of Victorian England and Europe, although there have been several entries that place Steampunk technology in a Western setting.

Steampunk can be a full Alternate History depicting widespread changes in the existing timeline, or as a single or several Steampunk-styled inventions in a period adventure with no implied alteration to existing history.

Steampunk appeared on screen before it was ever labelled as a genre, beginning with the various Jules Verne and H.G. Wells film adaptations of the 1950s and 60s. It has sporadically appeared since then, while in the real world it has even spilled over into fashion and cosplay.

For more detail and an overview of the genre see the Theme Essay Steampunk Films.


20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

18 March 200320 November 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Victorian Submarine Inventor/Jules Verne Adaptation

Director: Richard Fleischer
Actors: James Mason, Kirk Douglas, Peter Lorre, Paul Lukas
Category: Science Fiction

Abigail (2019)

26 June 202028 November 2020

Rating: ★★

Alternate Reality/Steampunk and Magic

Director: Alexandr Boguslavskiy
Actors: Tinatin Dalakishvili, Eddie Marsan, Gleb Bochkov, Artem Tkachenko, …
Category: Fantasy

April and the Extraordinary World (2015)

3 November 201520 September 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Animation/Steampunk Alternate History Adventure

Director: Christian Desmares, Franck Ekinci
Category: Science Fiction

Around the World in 80 Days (2004)

21 August 201428 November 2020

Rating: ★

Jules Verne Comedy Adaptation

Director: Frank Coraci
Actors: Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Cecile De France, Jim Broadbent, …
Category: Science Fiction

At the Earth’s Core (1976)

7 November 20017 January 2020

Rating: ★★

Lost World at the Centre of the Earth/Edgar Rice Burroughs Adaptation

Director: Kevin Connor
Actors: Peter Cushing, Doug McClure, Caroline Munro
Category: Science Fiction

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

15 June 20015 February 2020

Rating: ★★★

Disney Animation/The Quest for Atlantis

Director: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Actors: Michael J. Fox, Cree Summer, James Garner, Phil Morris, …
Category: Science Fiction

Back to the Future Part III (1990)

6 August 19996 November 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Time Travel

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Actors: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson, …
Category: Science Fiction

Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969)

6 January 200321 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Underwater Adventures

Director: James Hill
Actors: Robert Ryan, Chuck Connors, Lucianna Paluzzi, Nanette Newman, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Empire of Corpses (2015)

25 November 201925 November 2019

Rating: ★★★

Anime/Alternate Victorian England Based on Frankenstein Technology

Director: Ryotaho Makihara
Category: Horror, Science Fiction

The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958)

20 September 201228 August 2020

Rating: ★★★★½

Jules Verne Adaptation/Steampunk

Director: Karel Zeman
Category: Science Fiction

The First Men in the Moon (1964)

5 September 200224 October 2019

Rating: ★★

Victorian Lunar Expedition/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: Nathan Juran
Actors: Lionel Jeffries, Edward Judd, Martha Hyer
Category: Science Fiction

The First Men in the Moon (2010)

28 January 201117 January 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Victorian Lunar Expedition/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: Damon Thomas
Actors: Mark Gatiss, Rory Kinnear, Philip Jackson
Category: Science Fiction

From the Earth to the Moon (1958)

17 January 200117 July 2019

Rating: ★★

Victorian Moon Expedition/Jules Verne Adaptation

Director: Byron Haskin
Actors: Joseph Cotten, George Sanders, Debra Paget, Don Dubbins, …
Category: Science Fiction

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (2013)

21 December 201429 September 2019

Rating: ★★

Animation/Boy With a Cuckoo-Clock Heart on a Quest

Director: Stephane Berla, Mathias Malzieu
Category: Fantasy

Jules Verne’s Rocket to the Moon (1967)

24 June 200719 June 2020

Rating: ★

Victorian Rocket Launch Comedy

Director: Don Sharp
Actors: Burl Ives, Terry-Thomas, Gert Frobe, Troy Donahue, …
Category: Science Fiction

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

2 September 200323 November 2019

Rating: ★★★

Teamup of Characters from Victorian Fiction/Graphic Novel Adaptation

Director: Stephen Norrington
Actors: Sean Connery, Stuart Townsend, Peta Wilson, Shane West, …
Category: Fantasy

Master of the World (1961)

12 September 20095 October 2019

Rating: ★★★

Victorian Airship Adventure/Jules Verne Adaptation

Director: William Witney
Actors: Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, David Frankham, Henry Hull, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mysterious Island (1961)

4 January 200110 April 2019

Rating: ★★★

Desert Island Survival/Giant Animals

Director: Cy Endfield
Actors: Herbert Lom, Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Gary Merrill, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Prestige (2006)

30 November 20065 December 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Rival Victorian Stage Magicians

Director: Christopher Nolan
Actors: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, …
Category: Science Fiction

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

26 November 201224 November 2020

Rating: ★★½

Sherlock Holmes Steampunk Adventure

Director: Rachel Lee Goldenberg
Actors: Ben Syder, Dominic Keating, Gareth David-Lloyd
Category: Science Fiction

Steamboy (2004)

5 August 200528 November 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Steampunk Anime

Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Category: Science Fiction

Sucker Punch (2011)

27 March 201112 March 2019

Rating: ★★

Fantasy Action in Dreamed Alternate Realities

Director: Zack Snyder
Actors: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, …
Category: Fantasy

Taichi Hero (2012)

13 February 20144 June 2020

Rating: ★★

Wu Xia Film

Director: Stephen Fung
Actors: Jayden Yuan, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Angelababy, Eddie Peng Yu-Yen, …
Category: Fantasy

Taichi Zero (2012)

30 July 201319 May 2020

Rating: ★★

Wu Xia Film

Director: Stephen Fung
Actors: Jayden Yuan, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Eddie Peng Yu-Yen, Angelbaby
Category: Fantasy

The Three Investigators in the Secret of Terror Castle (2009)

21 April 201510 March 2019

Rating: ★★½

Juvenile Detectives Investigate a Spooky Mansion

Director: Florian Baxmeyer
Actors: Chancellor Miller, Cameron Monaghan, Nick Price, Annette Kemp, …
Category: Horror

Tin Man (2007)

19 January 20083 September 2019

Rating: ★★★½

Modernised Wizard of Oz

Director: Nick Willing
Actors: Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, Neal McDonough, Kathleen Robertson, …
Category: Fantasy, Science Fiction

War of the Worlds: Goliath (2012)

23 August 201511 December 2019

Rating: ★★★

H.G. Wells Sequel/Steampunk Alternate History

Director: Joe Pearson
Actors: Peter Wingfield, Elizabeth Gracen, Adrian Paul, Adam Baldwin, …
Category: Science Fiction

Warlords of Atlantis (1978)

31 August 200515 March 2019

Rating: ★★★½

Lost World Adventure

Director: Kevin Connor
Actors: Doug McClure, Peter Gilmore, Shane Rimmer, Lea Brodie, …
Category: Science Fiction

Wild Wild West (1999)

10 July 199915 September 2019

Rating: ★

Western Spy Film/TV Series Remake

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Actors: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, …
Category: Science Fiction

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

2 September 200328 November 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Teenage Sherlock Holmes/Adventure Film

Director: Barry Levinson
Actors: Nicholas Rowe, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Alan Cox, …
Category: Fantasy

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Theme Essays

  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Nazis
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Sexual Fetishism in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being Based on True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns

© Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2021

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