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Movie of the Week #7 - Edward Scissorhands
The next movie from the 1990s is Edward Scissorhands from 1990 directed by Tim Burton
Are you familiar with other works by Tim Burton and how does this compare? Does it have a certain "90s feel" to it? Feel free to add any thoughts, opinions, reflections, analysis or whatever comments related to this film.
The rest of the schedule is:
- 18th of December: The Talented Mr. Ripley
- 25th of December: Home Alone
I love this movie. It's one of my favorite Tim Burton films (Top 3 Burton for me: Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, and Sweeney Todd).
Until about two years ago I wasn't actually sure if I had properly watched it, like from beginning to end. My sister is a Burton fan, and a HUGE Johnny Depp fan, so she loved this movie and would watch it often. She was a Hot Topic teen back in the 00s.
It's a beautiful movie. It's so tender in it's presentation and it's fairy tale tone. And Depp gives a beautiful performance as an outsider who doesn't agree with the way that he is perceived by others. I mean that's what the film is about really. It's about there being a disconnect between how you feel inside and how you present yourself to the world. And that's something that I related to a lot. That people aren't able to see you for how you are. I spent very many years not looking how I felt inside. And being treated a certain way because of that.
It's a gorgeous score, I think it's Danny Elfman's best. It feels like a precursor to a lot of Doctor Who music from the Moffat period.
Anyways, yeah big fan.
The blu-ray rerelease might interest you because it has a commentary track from Elfman, and he has interesting things to say about the soundtrack. Aparantly shortly after the movie was released he would regularly hear one of the themes he wrote for it being copied into other people’s projects.
I don't think Edward tried to present himself any differently to the townsfolk (I don't think he knew how to). But the townsfolk saw him differently from how he really was.
I totally get what you mean by not looking how you feel though. When I was younger, I spent too much effort putting up a facade for other people (didn't really know how to be authentic, and there was a lot I didn't feel I could reveal to other people). I lost touch with how I truly felt and other people had no clue that anything was wrong.
I think the last time I watched it, Edward's loneliness and uniqueness was what stood out the most about the film. (Glad I watched it again. Watching films when I was younger, story details would just blur together and I'd forget most of them.) This time round, Edward's anger, and how most of the townsfolk only saw what they wanted to see about him was really triggering for me.
I love how Edward contrasts against the pastel-colored town, cartoonish topiaries and gossiping ladies. Hauntingly beautiful score.
Besides Mars Attacks which I consider a scifi comedy masterpiece, I am not that big on Tim Burton in general. As for this, I liked the the lovely little fairy tale world that works as sort of a fable with a proper moral message at its core. It is all fine and well made, but I have probably gotten a bit too old to really appreciate this. Edward being clumsy with his scissor hands is only funny to a point and while it isn't outright didactic - it isn't exactly subtle either. Maybe my kids will like it in a couple of years. Agree on the great Elfman soundtrack though.
The soundtrack is so good that it has me wonder if I really like the film or if I only like it because of the soundtrack.
I'm pretty sure I haven't watched Edward Scissorhands since it was first released. I vaguely remember enjoying it as a kid, but I didn't remember anything about the actual story besides the scissors-for-hands thing and his topiary skills. So after rewatching it today, I was surprised by how depressing it was, and how angry it made me at various points.
Other than the mom (Dianne Wiest) and the somewhat oblivious dad (Alan Arkin), Edward was totally being taken advantage of by everyone in the community... even by the "love interest" daughter (Winona Ryder). She only took advantage of him because of pressure from her asshole boyfriend (Anthony Michael Hall), but that really doesn't make the situation any better. Especially since, even after Edward got arrested, she never actually came clean with what happened, so her and her boyfriend got off scot-free, and everyone still blamed Edward, started thinking the worst of him, and treating him even worse than they did before.
At the very end, the daughter finally did the right thing by lying about Edward dying after killing the boyfriend... but that was too little, too late for any sort of redemption of her, in my eyes. Although that ending was probably for the best anyways, since that whole community was full of selfish assholes, and so Edward was better off without them. But I wouldn't exactly call it a satisfying ending.
So I don't really know how to feel about the movie. The visuals were cool, and I loved the overall feel of it... but everyone except Edward and the mom+dad (and that one cop) were assholes, and so I don't see it as the whimsical, tragic love story that I think it was meant to be, since the daughter was kind of an asshole too. TBH, the whole thing just made me sad.
Not sure it is really meant to be a whimsical love story as such. It is framed as a fairy tale with the old Kim telling the story as in the "one time long ago" setting, but it is really just a tragic story for everyone. It does seem like Kim regret her actions when she retells the story, so maybe the morale is to be found there.
I love watching this movie with the kids (ages 10/11) and it still holds up pretty well. Good pacing, tight scenes, a plot that feels like it rambles but moves towards a climax that seems natural.
The only scene I really wish wasn't included anymore is the beauty shop scene. We just fast forward through it.
Wonderful slice of life film that oozes Americana.