Movie Review – “Edward Scissorhands”

It’s Hallowe’en. What better director to spend time with than Tim
Burton?

Premise

An incomplete Frankenstein-like individual is brought into society.

Cast, Crew, and Other Info

Johnny Depp plays Edward Scissorhands

Winona Ryder plays Kim

Dianne Wiest plays Peg

Anthony Michael Hall plays Jim

Alan Arkin plays Bill

Vincent Price plays the Inventor

Tim Burton directed and co-plotted the story. Plot and
screenplay
credits go to Caroline Thompson. Danny Elfman composed the
music.
Complete cast and crew information is available from the Internet Movie
Database
.

High Point

Plugging the leak.

Low Point

The second puncturing of the waterbed didn’t look at all natural.
Getting startled and poking it once is one thing, but sitting there
jabbing it is something else entirely.

The Scores

Yes, it’s a revamp of Frankenstein. Still, Tim Burton’s style brings
a very fresh and original feel to the story. I give it 4
out
of 6.

The effects were primarily makeup effects. The only
unconvincing moments were when Edward was cutting rapidly;
the
spraying hair, ice, and twigs always seemed to fountain from
someplace
other than where Edward’s hands were. I give it 4 out of 6.

The story, unoriginal as it is, was well written. It’s a
fairy tale, with all of the pieces in place to hold it together. I
can’t think of a single scene that didn’t contribute to the product
as
a whole. I give it 5 out of 6.

The acting from the major parties involved was
excellent, even if
Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp were the only two permitted to
show any
depth. Anthony Michael Hall was unconvincing in his murderous
rage.
I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced is stronger
than it was
the first time I saw it (almost a decade ago.) That’s due in part to
growing up and accepting movies with a slower pace. It’s also
due in
part to having been exposed to some of the classics of
cinema
that
Tim Burton is so plainly inspired by. There is a tragic love story
here, too, even if it is a very common one. I give it 4 out of 6.

The production is, well, that of a Tim Burton film. The
Danny Elfman score is fantastic, and the costume and set
designs are
amazing. Burton captured a fairy tale on film, built with a bizarre
hybrid of the 1950s and the 1990s. I give it 6 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a solid fantasy film, and a nice escape
for
Hallowe’en. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Edward Scissorhands receives 33 out of 42.

2 replies on “Movie Review – “Edward Scissorhands””

  1. hrm…

    The only unconvincing moments were when Edward was cutting rapidly; the spraying hair, ice, and twigs always seemed to fountain from someplace other than where Edward’s hands were.

    I found this to be more symbolic than anything else – having the scissors “work” in any reasonable manner was nearly impossible, and they wanted to give a good feel for his being a savant in some ways – showing the leaves, hair, and ice just showering off of whatever he was cutting made it that much more a feeling rather than thinking process. It served to give him some humanity. Then again, I’m told I analyze things to death. Thanks for the review.

  2. Not so much a flaw as didn’t happen to meet my tastes
    I found the framing of the story to be trite and overly sentimental, or, more importantly, not elevated from its triteness by any of Tim Burton’s usual sharpness of vision or satire.

    That said, while the satire of suburbia did get heavy-handed at times–I think he used too many vehicles, the block party alone would have done it–at its best it had the same kind of farcical poignancy that “Someplace that’s green” has in Little Shop of Horrors, a character looking longingly at a life that most of us would consider equivalent to a prison sentence.

    I thought Depp’s acting under Burton’s direction was excellent, particularly the way that he used inexpressiveness in such an expressive way!

    Still, a fascinating re-telling of the Frankenstein story, though as you said, it really takes awareness of that particular tradition to be effective.

    Oh, well, off to watch Nightmare before Christmas, one of my Hallowe’en traditions!

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