The first time you look into the eyes of a whimsically lifelike automaton in “Hugo” or watch in horror as the exposed clockwork gears of a Victorian bomb tirelessly turn in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” you know that some wondrous aesthetic is at work. It is just enough to enchant audiences, and they may not even know what the visual technique they adore so much is called.

Steampunk  is a subtle presence in these films but a strong and pleasing “applied aesthetic,” according to “Steampunk Bible” author Jeff VanderMeer, that works seamlessly in each. It adds wonder while preserving the very human aspects of the narratives.

“It doesn’t have to be a movement of a definitional thing,” VanderMeer said. “But people seem to really respond to that aesthetic, and partly it’s because we have a lot of sleek modern design right now that is relatively seamless. Like an iPod is really beautiful in its own way, but it’s not cathedral beautiful.”

But directors like Guy Ritchie and Martin Scorsese are careful not to give all of the attention to the machines. The subtlety of the steampunk aesthetic is why it works.

“There would of course be the impulse to over-clockwork it, and then you lose sight of the characters and stories,” VanderMeer said. “The best steampunk fiction is still character-based, because the gadgets are part of the society and messages involved, but they don’t overwhelm the characters.”

While the retro-futuristic subculture has appeared in shows like "Warehouse 13" and "Doctor Who" as well as movies such as “Van Helsing,” “The Prestige,” “Wild Wild West,” “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” "Sleepy Hollow," "The Time Machine," "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and many others, both Scorsese and Ritchie are enhancing the aesthetic to heighten their movies overall rather than making steampunk a focal point. FULL POST