Director: Tim Burton
Writer: Tim Burton and Caroline Thompson
Release Date: 1990
Run Time: 105mins
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Fantasy/Romance (take your pick really)
Amazon Price: £4.97

***About Tim Burton***
Tim Burton, born in California in 1958 has earned his place in the film industry as a successful oddball film maker. With films such as Beetle Juice, the original Batman, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory under his belt it is plain to see Burton does not always take the easy route as far as blockbuster movies go.

When describing himself as a Child, Burton uses words such as "quirky, highly imaginative and even self-absorbed." These qualities are reflected in his films even today.

Burton won a Disney scholarship to attend the California Institute of the Arts after high school and studied animation for three years before being hired by Walt Disney Studios as an animator's apprentice. The relationship between Burton and Disney was not one meant to last as his creative energy seemed to conflict with the studios This was highlighted when his drawings for The Fox and the Hound weren't used because his designs were said to look "like road kill".

By the early 80's Burton was beginning to earn himself a reputation within the film industry and in 1985 he was hired by Paul Reubens to direct his film adaptation of his hit TV show, Pee-Wee's big adventure. Three years later, Burton went on to direct Beetle Juice, the film which launched him as a credible director while grossing $80million at the box office.

Following further success with Batman, Burton co-wrote Edward Scissorhands with Caroline Thompson. This was to be the beginning of his collaborations with Johnny Depp.

***Plot Summary***
A young man created and given long sheer-like scissors for hands by his inventor father struggles to come to terms with life after his father's death, living alone in the dark and dilapidated castle he shared with his father - his only companion.

When a kind Avon Lady, Peggy Bogs calls to the house and finds him cowering amidst the dangerous wreckage of a castle, his life changes. The Avon Lady takes him home to her house and uses her make up expertise to cover and treat the cuts he has given himself. She offers him a bed and introduces him to her family which includes her daughter Kim, the love interest of the story.

Edward discovers a talent for cutting the hair and hedges of all his new neighbours and through the nurturing of his new family he develops confidence and dreams of working in a salon.

What begins as a difficult relationship between Kim and Edward soon develops into a friendship with a hint of something more although the presence of her nasty boyfriend Jim makes it difficult for romance to blossom.

When Edward is tricked by Jim and his friends into being involved with a burglary that goes wrong, Edward is pointed at as the culprit and forced to flee the village he had grown to call home. The question is whether the ones he has grown to love and trust will turn against him or come to rescue him once again.

***Main Cast***
Each cast member plays an almost animated cartoon character. No one is completely believable but they aren't supposed to be. The characters and their individual eccentricities lend themselves to the fantasy of the film perfectly.

Edward Scissorhands - Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp's film career took off from this point. He played Edward's soft and innocent nature so well. Viewers instantly fall in love with Edward who begins as the underdog. Despite his physical ability to mame and injure anyone who comes within his reach, Edward is a kind and gentle soul who couldn't hurt a fly. His naiveté is best seen when he is mercilessly pursued and seduced by Joyce, one of his bored married housewife neighbours in the salon she is showing him around. It is further re-enforced when Jim manages to manipulate this honest and un-assuming man into committing a burglary.

Best bit: Bursting the waterbed with his scissors and making matters worse as he tries to stop the leak and cover up the accident or when XXX x comes on to him in the salon she is thinking of buying for him to work in.

Peg Bogs - Diane Wiest
Diane Wiest is often under-estimated in her ability as a great character actor and this role suits her perfectly. Peg is not only an Avon lady who takes her role very seriously, but also a wife and mother who takes pride in presenting her family and her home in an exemplary fashion. Her home is always immaculate (pre-Edward Scissorhands), her garden is always just so and she always has the right foods cooked to perfection for any social event. Peg is a kind woman who nurtures Edward as if he was her own son and feels his accomplishments and achievements as if they were her own. A soft spoken woman by nature, she is still able to stand up to her nosey neighbours when they turn on Edward.

Best Bit: Trying to apply make-up to Edward and failing miserably to begin with.

Kim Bogs - Winona Ryder
Kim is the beautiful, straight A student daughter of Peg and her husband with the football playing boyfriend and fabulous social life. When Edward comes into her life, her main concern is how he will affect her social standing and she is cruel and un-accepting of him. This slowly changes as she begins to appreciate Edward's qualities that her own boyfriend Jim doesn't possess such as human kindness. She starts to realise there is more to life than popularity and that being different and unique is not always a bad thing. She also opens her eyes to see that her precious Jim is not the man she deserves. By the end of the film, Kim is softer and the hard, shallow shell she used to inhabit is gone. Instead we see a young girl has dreamt of the fairy tale life and thinks she may find this with her unlikely hero, Edward.

Best Bit: When she twirls in the ice shavings falling from the sculptures Edward is shaving.

Jim - Anthony Michael Hall
This is a rare appearance of Anthony Michael Hall as the popular school kid instead of the school nerd and he plays it well. Jim is the films necessary villain. He is totally un-likable as an obnoxious, arrogant waste of space intent on bringing misery to anyone he is jealous of. He can't bear the friendship growing between Kim and Edward and sets out to ruin it by implementing Edward in a robbery gone bad. Viewers recognise him for what he is from the beginning as he sucks up to Kim's parents and belittling her, and it is infuriating that Kim doesn't see this from the start.

Best bit: It has to be the end when he makes his well-timed exit. (See the film if you don't know how he makes his exit!)

***Supporting Cast***

The Inventor - Vincent Price
Although he was only in the film for a short time I can think of no one who could have played the part better than Vincent Price. His brief scenes allow us to see the compassionate and tender side of who could alternatively be seen as a monster for creating a man with scissors for hands.

Joyce - Kathy Baker
Joyce is only one of many of the housewife neighbours who take an interest in Edward after he cuts their hair and sculpts their hedges for them. Subtlety is not a word Joyce is familiar with and she comes on strong whenever she is in Edwards's presence. She struts around in ridiculously tight trousers, the highest high heels and with her boobs bursting out of brightly coloured skin-tight vests and it is too much for poor Edward to bear.

Bill Bogs - Alan Arkin
Pegs husband Bill is played by Alan Arkin beautifully. He is the "man of the house" with a heart and shows Edward great affection, however, he also has a no-nonsense approach to his families well-being and although he doesn't want to see any harm come to Edward, he is quite prepared to put his family first. The scene where he talks to Edward about the ways of the world and how to handle women is classic viewing.

***Cinematography***
The film is beautifully shot which gives it a magical make-believe feel to the film. The town where they all live is very suburban with softened brightly coloured homes and matching mail boxes to represent the "good" side of life while the castle where Edward hails from is cast in doom with dark colours and sharp edges. Everything is shot to look larger than life and from different angles than you would usually confirming it as a fantasy film.

***Soundtrack***
Like the cinematography, the soundtrack to the film is quite mystical and is in fact a great undercurrent for the film. The accompanying music was done by Danny Elfman of rock group Oingo Boingo who Tim Burton has worked with on several projects before and since Edward Scissorhands. He went for an orchestra based sound which was consistent with the overall theme of the film and matched the grandeur it so rightly deserved. It may not be a soundtrack you will be bopping your head to or singing along with at drunken karaoke sessions, but it was perfect for the film.

***Overall Opinion***
A great magical journey acted brilliantly, filmed beautifully and well thought out from beginning to end. This film is a true joy to watch - a breathtaking change from what Hollywood usually offer. This is an intelligent and gentle look at society and how we interact with each other and how we ostracise those dissimilar to us.

***Quotes***

Kim: Hold me
Edward: I can't

Jim: Forget about holding her hand man, think of the damage he could do to other places.

Bill: You can't buy necessities of life with cookies

Peg Boggs: How was it?
Edward: It was great. She showed me all the wallpaper and where everything is going to go.
Peg Boggs: Well that's nice.
Edward: And then she brought me in the back room where she took all her clothes off.

***Trivia***
1. The film was originally written as a musical
2. Robert Downey Jr and Tom Cruise (???) were originally considered for the part of Edward
5. Michael Jackson is rumoured to have wanted to play the part of Edward Scissorhands
4. Johnny Depp only said 169 words through the entire film
5. In the scene where the inventor dies, Vincent Price actually fainted. Tim Burton decided to keep the scene as it was.
6. Johnny Depp passed out from heat exhaustion on set thanks to the restrictive leather suit he wore ( would have helped him out of it…)