One of my favorite ten movies ever

Rating: 10/10 (2 September 2006)

I saw this wonderful movie in 1990 when it first came out. I was already a Tim Burton fan of sorts, but this made me a Burton fanatic. I saw it first with my wife, and I remember thinking at the very beginning, when Danny Elfman's haunting, beautiful score was only a few notes old, that I was going to love this film. And I did. It just hit me right in the heart, in the most vulnerable, deepest part of my soul. I know that sounds pretentious, but it's the best I can do with my limited writing ability. Now understand, I was 39 years old at the time, a pipefitter/welder by trade, certainly not someone people would think of as "sensitive" or "artistic" by nature. I've been in more than my share of fistfights, ride a Harley, and love guns, power tools, and anything that explodes. But by the end of Edward Scissorhands, especially at the Ice Dance scene, I was sobbing like a little girl. My wife had to help me out of the theatre, because my eyes were so tear-swollen I could barely see. I admit I have a weakness for characters that are outsiders, or (to borrow from Heinlein) "strangers in a strange land", but what Tim Burton and Johnny Depp did with this scissor-handed man was nothing short of magical. I took my 16 year old daughter to see it the next day, and I started tearing up at the beginning this time, knowing what was coming. As we left the theatre, Liz was stone-faced, and I was desperately clenched against the flood of emotion I was holding back. I didn't want to look like a fool in front of her. When we got into the sunlight, we looked at each other, and I saw that she was trying as hard as me not to break down. Which is exactly what we both proceeded to do, right there in front of the theatre. We held each other and sobbed. And I felt closer to her than I had in a long time. Thank you, Tim Burton, for that moment.