The film is directed by the somewhat eccentric Director Tim Burton (Batman, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas... all of which I love). If you have been lucky enough to see any of his other marvellous films you may agree that Edward Scissorhands has the same Tim Burton stamp on it as most of the other films he has directed. They have an unmistakable trademark, some of which the signs are...an atmosphere of slight uncertainty, an undercurrent of dark moodiness, unusual storylines, surreal & artistic imagery, an element of gothic romance, a dose of offbeat humour, an element of low-impact horror and a wonderfully unique use of colour/shapes/characters and set location. The music that accompanies his films is spot-on and adds drama, suspence and emotion. Edward scissorhands is no exception to this trademark.

The film opens and you are greeted with eerie, slightly magical music and strange images of the workings of an inventor (played by Vincent Price). The story begins in a lonely, gothic castle high upon a hill. Inside the castle lived an inventor whose greatest creation was named Edward (played by Johnny Depp). Now although there was no doubting that Edward had an irresistible charm and prescence, he wasn't quite perfect. The shocking, sudden death of the inventor left poor Edward unfinished, with long, sharp shears of metal for hands. His new, human-like hands had just been finished by his creator and were about to be fitted when the tragedy strikes.

What always gets me here is the lack of shock on anyones face as Edward is introduced. People look curious and intrigued, some even a little suprised but no one is shocked! If my mum had brought home a man clad in leather with scissors for hands to come and live with us I would have been terrified!

As time goes on, the gossiping suburban neighbours become more accepting of Edward and begin to find uses for him as a talented hedge-trimmer with a difference and a hair stylist with a twist. He even gets some lady attention, which gives men all over the world hope that if Edward's got what it takes...well, y'know! He really seems to have found his place in normal society, even appearing on the TV, yet Edward allows his weakness (the Avon ladies' beautiful daughter, played by Winona Ryder) to lead him into trouble. Some nasty incidences follow, all of which lead to an unjust fall from grace for Edward and the cruel downfall of his glorious rise to popularity...but will the world he touched ever be the same again? Will he simply be forgotten? Surely not...

The set for this film is perfect in its contrasts and make it visually classic Tim Burton. Edwards dark, hilltop castle looks down onto the pastel-coloured, neatly modern neighbourhood below; Edwards surreal, gothic appearance on bland old U.S TV; the beauty and the beast romantic undercurrent...If nothing else this film is artistic and marvellous to watch for its visual charms.

The real winners are the Avon lady and Edward, who are outstanding characters throughout.
Dianne Wiest makes the perfect, open-hearted Avon lady and her gentle,calming voice match her personality. She is naiive in her motives, but you really get to like her.
Edward is wonderful. I have to admit to having a crush on Johnny Depp when he was Edward Scissorhands! No, it wasn't the ghostly, scarred pallour of his skin nor his leather bondage-style outfit; it was his innocent, gentle and naturally funny nature that warmed me to him (and I know I'm not the only one!). His nervousness and awkwardness were portrayed perfectly, and the look of melancholic sadness on Edwards face was enough to melt anyones heart. I believe that Depp was nominated for an Oscar for this performance, though he didn't win one. Critics are divided on tis film; somethink it does hold cult-status, others think it's just another ridiculous fairytale gone wrong. I would strongly disagree with the latter opinion. His costume is really eye-catching as is his overall appearance. His jet-black hair is wild and crazy, his grey pallour is somewhat worrying, dotted with scars from scissor accidents and is skin-tight leather all in one suit is almost as shocking as the scissor hands. It looks perfect and brilliantly contrasts the sickly-sweet images of the neighbourhood.

I bought the Special Edition Box, which has a slightly different picture to the one shown above. It depicts a purplesky with snow falling down on the little Suburbian neighbourhood below. The houses are covered in snow and there are curious pictures of trees cut into many unusual shapes in the gardens. In the left-hand corner is a picture of Edward and one of his scissor hands looking down onto the neighbourhood with a melancholic expression on his face. His picture is not in proportion to the other image, but rather dominates the cover. On the right-hand side is a picture of the snow covered gothic, rather spooky looking castle. It has the two most famous film star names on the top (Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder if you couldn't guess) and the title of the film, above which sits the directors name, in silver letters. It also displays the classification certificate, which is PG (parental guidance). I think this is a good rating as little children might be a little unnerved by some of the strange imagery.

This disc has a few special features which are pretty average, to be honest, and these are on the same disc as the film (some come separate). They include: Tim Burton Commentary (the best feature o here by far and well worth a listen); Danny Elfman Commentary (he directed the wonderful music than accompanies the film); Featurette; Interview Clips (see Johnny Depp as a dashing young man!); 2 Trailers (watch these before the film to raise your excitement); Spanish TV Spots; Concept Artwork (also interesting). I only paid about £2 more for the special feature presentation than the standard, so the fact that they were less than stunning didn't bother me at all. The total cost of the film was £11.99, though you can get it a lot cheaper than that now. It is available in most DVD/music shop outlets and supermarkets.