GreenDiesel Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 My son & I went to see the sci-fi movie, "John Carter" tonight (here in Toronto where we live). It was a very bizarre movie, but that's another topic ... It was set in the 19th century but the main character ends up going to Mars! At any rate, the the beginning of the movie was set in New York City in the 1880s. One of the characters visits a train station in New York City. It's a very short scene but you suddenly see a Malachite Green (tank?) steam loco, with "Southern" on its side, moving down the line as well as another very British-looking loco, I think with a cow-catcher attached to the front! The coaches looked like LNER teak stock and the station and surround area also looked very British, including the "Gentlemen" sign above a lavatory door! I bet they filmed that scene at the Bluebell Railway or a similar British heritage railway. I realize that you can't take details in movies too seriously and that most people wouldn't notice , etc. But to someone who is a steam train buff, and who is an anglophile living in Canada, these discrepancies were very amusing! My son said that he read that the New York scenes were filmed in the UK -- he read this during the movie credits. Has anyone else seen this? Maybe it hasn't opened in Britain yet. I'm always curious about railway scenes in movies. Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 You're making me doubt the scenes on Mars now... The film universe is often a warped place where the train can change form around you while you're travelling and where reality and realism are an unexpected bonus. Still, it will be interesting to spot where it was filmed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 7013 Posted March 12, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 12, 2012 Oh its a very touchy subject for some, ironically some films go into the minutest detail to get things correct but seem to accept that steam hauled trains do not matter. how often do we see war time trains made up with MK1 coaches and BR standard locos. I find the best thing to do is to suspend reality and enjoy the scenes with trains in them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul.Uni Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 IIRC it was filmed at Sheffield Park on the Bluebell. The loco with the cowcatcher is the Dukedog and the coaches are the Metropolitan Railway coaches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Thanks for this feedback! The Bluebell certainly sounds right as does Dukedog with the cow catcher. I think the Martian scenes were filmed in Utah! Cheers, Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Well, it is a "Fantasy" film.................. Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebottle Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 The film is now on release in the UK; I'm not really a cinema-goer these days (can't stand the smell of popcorn), but I must see this one. My father was a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and some of my earliest reading was of his copies of the "Tarzan" and "John Carter of Mars" novels. The film critic Mark Kermode says that US test audiences liked the film, but were put off by the Mars bit (rather like my brother, who says that he doesn't like Science Fiction, but that stories by Clifford D Simak can't be Science Fiction because he likes them). The "Carter" stories are well out on the Fantasy wing of SF, and their portrayal of Mars was pretty far removed from the probable reality, even according to what was known when the stories were written. But, as with Ray Bradbury's version of Mars in his stories, the fantasy world invites more human response than would a textbook description of the Red Planet. To get to the railway connection, I should imagine that those knowledgeable about US railroads might tut-tut at unauthentic rolling stock being used, but being unfamiliar with the reality, that would be less of a problem for this poor ignoramus. In any case, when I enter a Picture Palace, I check in my "spot the howler" shooting irons at the door. (Edit for punctuation) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Went to see it yesterday - the non-3D version - and having started my SCI-FI/Fantasy interest many, many years ago as a schoolboy, with ERB, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was a little dubious, prior to seeing it, as to whether the lady playing Dejah Thoris would fit the part (Pity her clothing wasn't authentic, but then we can't have everything!), but she was actually quite well cast as were most of the cast. Yes - I was slightly taken aback by the British locos having been transported to Noo Yawk, but that didn't spoil the film for me. I thought the scenery/cities/arena and the amount of CGI deserved an Oscar themselves, and that the whole feel/"realization"/image of the film stayed true to the original books - it probaly owes something to the original Star Wars movie, but leaves it well in the shade - Disney studios have done a very good job - even the "fliers" have a Victorian illustration/ steampunk look about them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Went to see it yesterday - the non-3D version - and having started my SCI-FI/Fantasy interest many, many years ago as a schoolboy, with ERB, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was a little dubious, prior to seeing it, as to whether the lady playing Dejah Thoris would fit the part (Pity her clothing wasn't authentic, but then we can't have everything!), but she was actually quite well cast as were most of the cast. Yes - I was slightly taken aback by the British locos having been transported to Noo Yawk, but that didn't spoil the film for me. I thought the scenery/cities/arena and the amount of CGI deserved an Oscar themselves, and that the whole feel/"realization"/image of the film stayed true to the original books - it probaly owes something to the original Star Wars movie, but leaves it well in the shade - Disney studios have done a very good job - even the "fliers" have a Victorian illustration/ steampunk look about them Yes, I enjoyed the steampunk atmosphere and even my son commented that the movie became very "Star Wars-like". That's a very good comparison. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the original ERB books. Usually, with fantasy films made of fantasy books (be it Narnia, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc.) the movies are more enjoyable if you've read the books. Frankly, I found the movie a little too bizarre for my tastes but to each his own! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobD Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I read the book about 45 years ago, when I sneaked it from my dad's bookcase. I got a copy on my Kindle, and reread it a couple of weeks ago. I want to go and see the film, but not interested in gimicky 3D. Cash flow may get in the way and I may have to wait till it is released on DVD Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brake Compo Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I presume that not everyone has seen the Bluebell Railway blog entry for 8 March http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/whats_new.html? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 From the earlier theatre trailers I saw (sans the Bluebell) and non-stop TV advertising lately, my son and I still think the John Carter movie looks like "Conan the Barbarian on Tatooine". Unhappily, neither of us is familiar with Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars" books though. Nor has the incessant advertising hinted at the movie's pedigree. It will be interesting to see how it does. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 I have a plot question, if it's ok to ask without spoiling it for anyone! When on Mars, Carter has a few flashbacks showing (presumably) his pioneer wife ... Later the flashbacks show him burying his wife & family. What was all that about or was it simply showing what happened in his past? I was expecting it to tie into the story line more. I guess it was a copy or clone of him on Earth? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 As you say - showing what had happened in his past, and why he was dubious about falling for DT Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hughes Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Non-railway warning! My father had a complete set of the books as originally published and gave them to me to read when I was a young teen; I lapped them up then, and they probably started my interest in sci-fi and fantasy. But I think I'll give the film a miss - I already have better pictures in my head! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted March 13, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 13, 2012 Anyone who's seen it care to comment on the 12A certificate? - I'd like to take #1 son who has seen all the trailers etc on CBBC but I'm a bit dubious of the content. He's seen all the Star Wars films except Revenge of the Sith as that's a 12 cert, loves DR Who etc. I assume the violence makes it a 12A as opposed to PG? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Really depends on what you class as "violence" Yes, there are battle scenes but not gore everywhere, any more than in Star Wars - certainly not as in the Spartacus series on TV. No bad language or nudity Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Anyone who's seen it care to comment on the 12A certificate? - I'd like to take #1 son who has seen all the trailers etc on CBBC but I'm a bit dubious of the content. He's seen all the Star Wars films except Revenge of the Sith as that's a 12 cert, loves DR Who etc. I assume the violence makes it a 12A as opposed to PG? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Hi Ian, I think it's mainly the violence, but it's staged well so you don't see a lot of blood and guts. I think the movie had a lesser rating here (PG?). Also the Martian princess's outfit is very skimpy and I thought 1-2 scenes were intense or scary for very young children. My 11 yr old son was ok seeing it but I'm glad I didn't bring my 8 yr old. Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Bird Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 It's amazing how much railway history is distorted in films and on television. In the Heartbeat TV series for instance, they seemed to go to a great deal of trouble with road vehicles, even to the extent of having correct period tax dics, but still showed steam-hauled red and cream coaches suspposedly in 1968. In reality of course, there wouldn't have been a railway by then but they could at least have used diesels with later liveried coaches. The NYMR had suitable stock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caradoc Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I recall an episode of Heartbeat where a train crash occurred because, having cleared a signal, the points could not then be moved to the correct position; Totally ignoring basic signalling principles. But no doubt the road vehicles were in period. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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