Edward Scissorhands (1990)

a visual feast for the eyes

This movie is visually amazing. It is genius how Tim Burton brings out light and dark so vividly on screen. The contrast in color depicts mood so perfectly. Johnny Depp shows us early on in his career why he is the Best actor alive today and continues up to today's standards. You look at his face and his eyes as he acts you believe hes a scared guy shut away from others all his life. You see the kindness in his heart by his gentle movements and facial expressions. And although Winona Ryder has blond or red hair shes still amazingly cute. She too give a great performance in her tone of voice. The best scene of contrast would be when you have her in a white dress with her light hair in the arms of Depp with his dark black hair and his black leather suit. Absolutely amazing. This movie speaks for itself visually with no special effects of today's movies. A true fairy tale classic.

This set includes a tin case to store the DVD in its cardboard slip cover and 6 movie stills in a cardboard envelope.

Only complaint is this new version was released in 2005 why does this sound track only provide 4 channels. what happened to 5.1 or DTS?
October 4, 2008

A masterpiece of so many levels...

I am a fan of Tim Burton, not a huge one, but a fan none-the-less. I have always admired his visual style and his visionary status; that is to say that I admire the way he is always true to himself. There is no director out there like Burton, and thus each and every Burton film is undoubtedly a Burton classic. There is no question when one watches a Tim Burton film that it is without doubt a Tim Burton film.

No use beating a dead horse; I'll move on.

With all that said, `Edward Scissorhands' is without doubt Tim Burton at his very finest. Everything about this film lives and breathes like a Burton fantasy, but at its heart it actually surpasses everything he's every done and delivers a shockingly relevant story of humanity. That's one thing that I've always teetered on with Burton. Like I said, I am a fan of his visual style, but as a whole I've never felt a serious connection to his work. He has infused most everything he's done with a sense of sentiment, but it always felt forced or at best masked by the artistic aspects of his films. With `Edward Scissorhands' though Burton has managed to make a film that looks like a Burton film yet feels much more emotionally grounded.

The film tells the story of Edward, a Frankensteinesque monster who was created yet never finished. Before he was given a set of human hands his creator died. Thus, Edward has been living alone in a castle not to far from a 1950's style American suburb. One day the local Avon representative, Peg, makes her way up the gothic style walkway to the front door of the creepy yet impressively beautiful castle and meets the pale faced, scissor handed Edward. Touched by the young mans loneliness she invites him to come back to her home and thus our fairy tale begins.

In the bustling little town Edward soon finds himself a local celebrity, but his celebrity status is easily tarnished as the locals begin to take advantage of him, and eventually turn on him when he doesn't react and or act in the ways in which they think he aught.

The beauty of `Edward Scissorhands' is that it never sacrifices substance for the glossy packaging that it so gallantly wears. It is a stunning film visually, but it is even more stunning emotionally. It mimics the classic monster movies of old, most notably that of `Mary Shelly's Frankenstein' but it brings its own set of heart to the core and delivers a uniquely captivating picture that stands apart as Burton's masterwork.

The acting is wonderful here as well; Depp proving that he can do so much with a character that says so little. Winona Ryder is wonderful as the apple of Edward's eye, and Kathy Baker is infectiously mischievous, but this entire film belongs to Dianne Wiest who is just flawless as the clueless Peg. Everything about her performance is dynamic, truly capturing the heart of her character. We are drawn to her, as she is to Edward, and her lack of Oscar nomination makes me eternally disappointed (although she has two Oscar wins to her name so I can't be too disappointed).

In the end `Edward Scissorhands' is, to me, a masterpiece. Yes, it is not only the best film of the year that was 1990 but it is truly one of the best films that has ever been made. Tim Burton has rarely been this good. Yes, he is a great director, but this is beyond him. September 8, 2008

Great movie

This is a great movie! Depp plays a tragic character who is trying to fit in to the "pleasantville like" town. Although this movie can be sad at times, there are plenty of funny scenes. September 6, 2008

One of those films you'll be thinking about for days afterwards

This film is odd. Think of Desperate Housewives. Think of Pinnochio. Think lame love triangle. Think tortured genious. Then mix in Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, and you've got yourself an incrediby moving film you just won't be able to get out of your head for days afterwards. I don't know enough about this film to give it full justice in a review, but I will say that I put off watching this film for many years, and probably would have for many years more had my friend not leant me the DVD, and that's a choice I highly regret. A must see film for everybody, yes it's odd, quirky + off-beat but it's humour and heart and also undeniable. Excellent. August 28, 2008

Despite my love for Depp and Burton

...I just don't care for this production as much. I do give in props from being a stunning visual spectacle, but that's just about it. I wanted a little more depth and I found Edward and Kim's love story too weak by half. The suburbanites were funny and how society tends to lift things up only to tear them down was a nice touch. Still, overall I thought it was just okay. August 20, 2008

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