Edward Scissorhands

I am a huge Tim Burton fan. Also, I enjoy Johnny Depp’s performances very much. I could do without NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and the PIRATES movies, but THE NINTH GATE, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (fav), WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, ED WOOD, BLOW, DONNIE BRASCO and even FROM HELL and SECRET WINDOW are films that I absolutely love watching and all have a high repeat-viewing factor to them. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS follows a young man that has been forgotten by the world who lives atop a mountain in a mansion. He was brought to life by his father the inventor, played by Vincent Price (excellent cameo), who gave him scissors instead of hands. Edward is brought to the small town below by a good-hearted Avon worker and she attempts to socialize him and make them part of her family. From here, the endless interesting situations abound.

ES Trailer

Burton meticulously puts together every element and stitch of his films. Unmistakably you know exactly what one of his films look like when you see it. He always mixes in some extremely dark elements into the normalcies of life. Here, he created a perfect little utopian town with very straight laced people who live in very colorful houses. It’s interesting to notice the heavy contrast in the colors of the homes and clothing to everything else in the film. All the people are on the same routine, the insides of their houses look identical, and they work, recreate, and live in very straight lines. Very differentiated from the outward appearances of their neighborhood.

Wynona Ryder is perfectly cast in this role as the innocent, wide-eyed girl next door that falls for the guy who is different externally as she is inside. The father plays the stereotypically “go-get’em-champ” dad role to the ‘T’. Dianne West (the mother) also dazzles on the screen.

Burton put together an excellent modern-day twist on FRANKENSTEIN meets THE ELEPHANT MAN and for that I applaud him. Such an excellent film. The acting, sets, score, and story combine perfectly to create a great cinematic experience. Possibly one of my favorite Burton films…

Rating: 9.5/10

RT: 91%