Directed by:
Tim BurtonScreenplay:
Caroline ThompsonCinematography:
Stefan CzapskyComposer:
Danny ElfmanCast:
Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Robert Oliveri, Conchata Ferrell, Caroline Aaron, Vincent Price, Alan Arkin (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Once upon a time in a castle high on a hill lived an inventor whose greatest creation was named Edward. Although Edward had an irresistible charm, he wasn't quite perfect. The inventor's sudden death left him unfinished, with sharp shears of metal for hands. Edward lived alone in the darkness until one day a kind Avon lady took him home to live with her family. And so began Edward's fantastical adventures in a pastel paradise known as Suburbia. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (6)
This modern fairy tale story set in the backdrop of an American small town in the late 1950s and early 1960s is a perfect example of Tim Burton's work. As he originally started as an animator, the inspiration from animated films is more than evident. His Edward is a living puppet in the style of Pinocchio, to which he adapted Johnny Depp and his character's performance - his facial expressions are minimal, and his movements are jerky - at least until his time among the town's residents humanizes him. The method of animated film is also used to construct and bring to life a mysterious house of a genius scientist with plenty of absurd inventions. Even the brightly colored facades of the endlessly stretching family houses resemble the animated film's drawn backgrounds. Edward Scissorhands is also a touching story about unfulfilled love, which is strong enough to overcome the character's different appearance, behavior, and physical deformities, but powerless against societal prejudices, manipulations, and human hatred. Finally, Burton's film is a bitter satire on the small-town American society that is easily manipulated and excessively conformist. Edward Scissorhands has a refined visual style, a strong story, an excellent cast, and great direction. It is a film that doesn't age. Overall impression: 95%.
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I can think what I want about some of Tim Burton's contemporary films, but Edward Scissorhands showed me the unique charm of this filmmaker. And it's a fascination for the ages. This was a movie I saw perhaps shortly after its premiere, or rather when it first aired on TV, and I was so captivated by it that the nostalgia hits me just by seeing the title. The finale is sad and beautiful and Burton just shows who the real monster is.
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The beautiful visuals just barely avoid becoming kitschy, and the story just barely avoids sliding into sentimentality. Both of these ingredients are exactly as needed in the film, and above all, Tim Burton knows how to capture the precise moment when to use them and when to suppress them. Technically and on the overall formal side (production design, music, costumes), this film is virtually flawless.
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Edward Scissorhands is the essential meeting of Tim Burton with Danny Elfman, Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, and Vincent Price. The basic story comes from classic Burtonian settings, combining caricatured American suburbs and the gothic dark world from the monster studios of Universal and Hammer. It is kind, loving, gentle, mysterious, and fairy tale-like. Roughly exactly what the dreams of a little boy could be, who once transformed Frankenstein into Frankenweenie. The pop culture influence of Edward is illustrated, among others, by the existence of a comic book Judge Dredd/Edward Scissorhands parody (Garth Ennis, Dermot Power).
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A sad work of beauty with a fairy-tale touch, the breathtaking Johnny Depp, the beautiful Winona Ryder, and brilliant music from Danny Elfman. Definitely Tim Burton's best film until Big Fish. Touching, magical, and unforgettable.
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