Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow on Blu-Ray

A weird little film that seems to have enjoyed a working theatrical release of about a week, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a treasure on disc… ‘specially on high definition disc.

With its color palette manipulated to look like the cover of a 1950s science fiction pulp novel – and its sets and characters contrived to match – Sky Captain is an hour and a half in an alternate universe, or perhaps an evening of the kind of science fiction we all read as kids. While just hugely enjoyable to look at, it has a well-wrought, cogent story and credible actors to tell it.

Unencumbered by history, and only lightly rooted in reality, the story of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is perpetually unpredictable. The villains are rarely quite who they seem to be. The cameo by Sir Laurence Olivier – who’d been dead for about fifteen years when the film was made, although this is less of a career impediment than it used to be – is a nice touch.

The final scene is perfect.