Burton's Magnum Opus

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 2013)

Here we go, Edward Scissorhands. Tim Burton himself has gone on record saying that this is the work he is most proud of, for it captures the very nature of what his films are all about. Whatever his perspective is on the film, this masterpiece is certainly my favorite of his filmography and for various reasons. For one, it was the first collaboration between Burton and Johnny Depp, and this relationship still lasts to this very day. Depp has been the main player in many of Burton's flicks and it's hard to imagine some of the movies without him. Second, it marked the swan song for one of my all time favorite actors, the master of macabre Vincent Price, who Tim Burton had idolized since youth. He even made a short film about Vincent Price in 1982, fittingly entitled Vincent. Third, the film hearkens back to the 1931 Frankenstein film and makes the mad scientist's creation sympathetic and pitiful. Fourth, the main character of Edward is such a whacky yet contemporary character that I can't help but relate to him at times. Then again, I think we can all relate to Edward Scissorhands from time to time.
The film constantly shifts atmospheres, but it works greatly in this flick. One minute, it can be a dark, Gothic horror related atmosphere, the next, it's the bright, sunny and upbeat suburban neighborhood. The film also has one of the all time greatest film scores, performed brilliantly by Danny Elfman, who's Ice Dance score fills me with butterflies every time I set my ears to it. One time, when I was younger, a saw snow falling outside on a cold winter's night, but the darkness didn't stop me from seeing each individual snowflake. I immediately thought of the Ice Dance theme. It's the very epitome of a beautiful tune. In fact, all the film's compositions are great, especially the theme that plays in the opening credits of the movie where we see a montage of the old inventor's lab equipment. Perhaps my favorite scene out of the entire movie is the scene where Edward sees a can opener and has a flashback of the inventor's cookie making machine. The inventor, played by Vincent Price walks in, marvels at his contraption, takes a heart shaped cookie and holds it up to the chest of the lettuce slicing robot that would later be transformed into Edward himself. It's a very touching moment and shows just how great ideas can be born from great minds.
The acting in the film is also something worth writing a book or two about. Johnny Depp's debut in a Burton film is probably his best. Even if he has little dialogue, Depp makes up his performance through his body language and movements. Depp based the movements of Edward off of Charlie Chaplin and it really shows, for several scenes show Edward waddling about and making facial expressions the Tramp himself would make. My favorite line of his from the film is after the neighbor Joyce (played by Kathy Baker) tries to seduce him in the beauty salon and he meets up with the Boggs family in a nearby restaurant. When asked by the father (played by Alan Arkin) on how his day went at the beauty salon, Edward tells him that Joyce lead him into the back room where she "took all of her clothes off". The delivery and the way Depp says the line makes it not only the most humorous line out of the film, but also the most perfectly time line out of the film. The other players are also grandiose with Anthony Michael Hall taking a break from playing the nerdy wise guy in John Hughes films and instead playing the dirtbag jock who torments Edward throughout most of the film. Winona Ryder, straight from Burton's Beetlejuice is also the apple of Edward's eye and comes off as the pretty girl many boys her age would love to date.
But one of the main reasons why I love this film to pieces is that it was Vincent Price's last and arguably his best performance in a motion picture. He plays the role of the inventor as a kind hearted, noble fellow who was on the verge of creating a creation like no other. Unlike Dr. Frankenstein, he's not an insane fellow obsessed with his work, he's just a kind gentleman with a passion to build things and enjoy the very things he constructs. The scene where he passes is a heartbreaking scene, for he was about to give Edward normal hands, ridding him of the sharp scissorhands he was bound too for so long. Still, Price is a child at heart in this film and his performance sums up his entire career in the Gothic horror/macabre genre. The scene in which he teaches etiquette to Edward is a memorable scene that will have you laughing and tearing up all at once.
What more can I say about the movie, it's magnificent. Sure, some may question where Edward got the ice for the ice sculptures at the very end, but that's a glaring issue. Edward Scissorhands brings us the best humor, the best imaginative elements and the best performances out of any other Burton film. Some think of it as a retelling of Shelley's Frankenstein, others say it's ET, I consider it a collage of many things, both from the horror and fantasy genres as well as the works of 19th century authors and their tales of weird beings and creatures of the night. And like I said earlier, I relate a lot to Edward, for he was a outcast, like I am an outcast, like we are all outcasts in certain times of our lives.