Film Review - Edward Scissorhands (1990)

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Tim Burtons Edward Scissorhands co-written by Caroline Thompson is a twisted fairy-tale much like his other work in animation including 'Frankenweenie' and A Nightmare before Christmas, this film is a full feature film from the perspective of an animator, and he has really worked on that in the set design with visual representation. "They live, in Avon-like propriety, within the portals of well-ordered houses that look like boxes of cosmetics. They are pastel pink and blue and green, and very, very neat. This is a world waiting for someone to astonish it with passionate unorthodoxy, and Edward is just the man to do it." (Malcolm, 2017)

There is a clear division between the world Edward inhabits and the rest of the world, Edwards world is dark, scary and situated on top of a grey hill dwarfing the the landscape in a castle, the rest of the world is a 1970-80's american suburb in quaint little houses in uniform lines, with a colour scheme of washed out pastels, the entire scene is designed to imply the idea of a fairy-tale, but its shot in a way using naturalistic acting to make it very believable and real to the viewer. "Combining Edward’s dark, gothic world with the sunny, idealized representation of suburbia was no easy task. Every house had to be painted, the vegetation completely stripped, and all the cars were given a uniform palette that revealed nothing about where or when the story took place." (Chernov, 2017) 

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The characters of this world aren't so different from Edward, they all have extravagances which make them all fit in with each other. The only thing that sets Edward apart is a Mysterious and monstrous appearance. His innocent, loving and caring nature do not tend to make it into the hearts of the town, he is seen as more of a convenient, useful spectacle during the film this makes the town very welcoming to Edward and his Uniqueness, but eventually, much like in Frankenstein, Edward is chased off by the masses as an outcast. "Everyone in this film is stylized and peculiar, so Edward becomes another exhibit in the menagerie, instead of a commentary on it." (Ebert, 2017)

Bibliography:

Chernov, M. (2017). ‘Edward Scissorhands’: From Box Office Misfire to Cinema Classic. [online] Variety. Available at: http://variety.com/2015/film/news/edward-scissorhands-25th-anniversary-johnny-depp-tim-burton-1201653236/ [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].

Ebert, R. (2017). Edward Scissorhands Movie Review (1990) | Roger Ebert. [online] Rogerebert.com. Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/edward-scissorhands-1990 [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].

Malcolm, D. (2017). Edward Scissorhands | Reviews | guardian.co.uk Film. [online] Theguardian.com. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,558617,00.html [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].

Illustrations:

Figure 1 - (Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton, Movie Still 1990)

Figure 2 - (Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton, Movie Still 1990)

Figure 3 - (Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton, Movie Still 1990)