SKY CAPTAIN: A 15-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE!
It's now September 17, 2019, and we are celebrating the 15-year anniversary of the release of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow! Can it really be 15 years since this magical, beautiful, wonderful movie first graced our local movie theaters? Hard to believe. Ever more difficult to believe is that in spite of the general apathy shown it by the all-powerful consensus-builders, this movie simply will not go away and vanish into the ether.
No, there has been no even remotely serious talk about a sequel/prequel. Not only that, but writer/director Kerry Conran has done very little since Sky Captain, and today even refuses all interview requests. (Not exactly the best way to promote a budding "cult classic".) Regardless, this movie has enough of a devoted fan base to keep it very remotely on the radar of public awareness.
Over the last 5 years, numerous articles about the movie have appeared on various websites, many with links posted on this board. The gist of these articles tends to fall into one of three categories: 1) "How did I miss this movie when it first came out?", 2) "I hated this when I first saw it, but I've seen it again and maybe I was wrong", and 3) "This movie was light years ahead of its time and has influenced just about every major sci-fi/fantasy movie released since."
While Sky Captain was not a financial success by anyone's definition (although arguments over what the actual budget was continue to this day), products related to the movie continue to appear. Now that the original soundtrack album is long out-of-print and hard to find, a new 2-CD set was recently released including absolutely every single note from the 1:45:00 run-time. How many unsuccessful movies receive special treatment like this? The soundtrack has been strip-mined for use in trailers, and unless this new release was a charity move/return of a favor, the manufacturer must have thought enough people would be interested to cover their financial investment.
The biggest news, of course, has been art director Kevin Conran's upcoming book, "The Art of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow". While the release date has been pushed back many times, we're hoping the latest one (11-12-2019) is for real! Some of the behind-the-scenes and "the making of/inspired by" stories were on the DVD's special features, but a more complete picture in convenient hardbound form will be immensely appreciated.
Make no mistake: I'm aware the naysayers are still out there. It's become almost a badge of honor for some people to dismiss this movie with the ultimate pejorative: uncool. Yes, there was no sequel or tie-in to a pre-existing TV show/novel/comic book. There are many potential culprits to blame for Sky Captain's bad reputation (studio/marketing/release date, etc.), but there are still enough people who were engagingly captivated by this once-in-a-lifetime vision that emerged (to quote one famous review) "from the imagination directly onto the screen without having to pass through reality along the way."
2019 is also the 80th anniversary of the 1939 New York World's Fair that was a major inspiration for this movie. And while we might always wonder what the creative team would have done had they had a chance to do another, the movie we did receive still stands magnificently on its own. We'll celebrate this milestone watching our DVD yet once again, and look back with thanks that this movie was even made. Future developments? Who knows? Happy 15-year anniversary to Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: you're still the greatest!