Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton is one of the most unusual and unique directors of our time. He brings characters to life by putting them in a habitat they don’t belong. His movies “Alice in Wonderland”, “The Corpse Bride”, “Charlie and the chocolate factory”, and “Edward Scissorhands” all demonstrate how one of a kind his movies are. Using cinematic techniques, Tim Burton points out the misfit character and shows how different they are then everyone else. His use of camera angles, lighting, and sound give the viewers a different perspective on the movies, and help pick out the individual character.

The camera focuses on Edward’s face; it shows how pale and sad he is. The gothic horror feature used here is the physical appearance of the “monster”. Edward is a large, dark figure with objects (his scissor hands) that can cause harm. This is very stereotypical of the gothic monster as this has been used in Frankenstein (1931) and Nosferatu (1922), and is imprinted in viewers’ minds. But what makes us question how monstrous Edward truly is, is his facial expression and the way he talks. Unlike most gothic horror monsters, he does not have a scary personality. He is shy and is not the antagonist. As the story continues, all the bad deeds he does, are actually the result of someone else taking advantage of him. As viewers, we see this, and we are led to believe that it is not Edward who is the monster, but rather the community Peg has brought him into. By manipulating common features of gothic horror films, Edward Scissorhands is able to influence the audience into believing the “monster” of the film is Edward, but when the tradition is changed, it makes us think that not everything is black and white, and that to get the correct judgement, we must wait until all evidence is presented.

Tim Burton created Edward Scissor hands out of his own experiences in Collage. It is Modern Fantasy which uses narrative and Film conventions to create the mixture of Horror and Fantasy. Fantasy films have their own charatestics and those are how we can determine what genre the movie belongs to. A fantasy Film will normally be in an enclosed space, the setting oF Edward scisoor hand is way that Tim Burton makes the film aFantesy film. Like most movies there is a clsh between a villan and the main Charater changes during the film aswel. Many other things make a film what it is like the Charaters the plot and even the sound.

Edward’s clothes also highlight the fact that he doesn’t belong. He is first seen wearing a black costume but once he returns home to Peggy’s home she puts ‘normal’ colourful clothes on him. However, he does not remove his original outfit and this symbolises the fact that he is different but people are trying to make him assimilate and fit in. Peg Boggs “Let me get you some towels and I'll see what we can find for you to wear. You know what? I think I have some of Bill's old clothes in here. This is perfect! Here. These should just fit you.”

The film ‘Edward Scissorhands’ by Tim Burton can be seen as a modern day fairytale. However, there are many important themes that make the film richer and deeper in meaning. The film is not simply entertaining, because the director examines the importance of individuality, love and appearance and reality.

Edward Scissorhands, written by Tim Burton, tells the tale of a young man who is lovable, childlike and sensitive, bewildered by the humanity around him, yet is terrifying- someone who has scissors, the deadly weaponry, for hands. Many viewers may read this film as a “Tim Burton” type of fairytale which includes both an alternative aspect and romance. However, through the presentation of mise-en-scene in this film, Burton drives in a much more serious subject of social criticism by establishing two different understandings of life in the movie.

Another example from the movie is when Edward is introduced into this brand new style of living where he is the new ‘toy’ and uses his creative side to make people’s lives more enjoyable and fulfilling by cutting neighbours hair and turning a hedge into art. Tim Burton makes us think to look beneath the surface and not too just leave out someone who doesn’t look normal, he makes us think about our everyday life how we can be ignorant, rude and reject people who don’t look like us and have a disability. In Edward Scissorhands Edward isn’t always seen as the good guy from the town’s perspective. In the opening seen when we are given a bird’s eye view of the cars moving in and out of the town, this gives us the thought that the town is bright, bubbly and organized to the split second that the cars come out of the drive way but really as the movie goes on they seem to take the tag of being the ‘bad town’. In the movie the town thinks he is the bad guy because of what people have been gossiping about. Edward becomes the ‘bad guy’ as he is being betrayed/forced into the role of the town devil when he is the town hero as he has bought something to the town that will

Tim Burton utilizes editing to connect and amplify his story plot and present a significant and important moment with the characters. Burton accomplishes this with flashbacks. Burton uses a flashback smoothly in Edward Scissorhands. When Edward hesitates to hug Kim, but finally has the courage to do so, a flashback intrudes the scene to signal the audience the reason as to why Edward is so shy. The flashback sets a sorrowful and heartbroken mood after Edward’s father, The Inventor, dies suddenly. The audience experiences the grief Edward has, through a dark flashback and conveys Edward’s connection and affection to Kim. During the flashback, Burton also uses eye-line match when Edward looks at the broken hands on the floor after The Inventor dies. The broken hands demonstrate the damage that Edward has received. Edward’s reaction to his ruined present reveals his innocence to the tragedy. Because Edward could not comprehend what has taken place, the audience feels sympathy for Edward’s

In the same vein of logic Burton also visually compares his characters through the settings in which they are portrayed. In an almost laughably shocking contrast, the gothic mansion in Edward Scissorhands is quite literally looming over the uniform pastel ranch style homes of the characters. This clear juxtaposition can

Tim Burton, the director of Edward Scissorhands, draws inspiration for his work from fairytales and children’s stories. He has always had an affinity for the darker elements of these stories, which is made evident in the film Edward Scissorhands. The film’s main character is a man named Edward who has scissors for hands. Later, it is shown that he was a metal figure brought to life by his inventor, an elderly man who dies before he is able to give Edward human hands. Edward lives in a mansion on a hill on the edge of town, all alone, until a woman named Peg finds him and bring him to live with her family. Edward immediately develops an attraction to Peg’s daughter, Kim, though she has a boyfriend. Towards the end of the film, Kim tells Edward that she loves him, and Edward seems to be completed. However, Edward struggles to conform to society, and eventually is forced by the members of the community to return to his mansion, isolated from any human interaction. The film combines a make-believe character, as often found in children’s books, with elements of a horror film, like suspicion and violence. The film features several flashbacks throughout that elaborate on Edward’s past and show how he came to be. Burton uses these flashbacks to grow the audience’s understanding of Edward, explain events, and emphasize themes.

Burton often uses low-key lighting to show isolation, and the idea that characters are isolated because of the fear that others have. Edward Scissorhands is an isolated character who has spent his whole life hiding because he is different. Burton uses

The film ‘Edward Scissorhands’ by Tim Burton, is a modern day fairy tale which follows the story of Edward, a young man that is taken out of isolation and introduced into a new way of life. Although the film is for entertainment, that is not its sole purpose. The film has deep and rich themes, which convey many important messages to the audience. Some themes of the film include; conformity, appearances versus reality and individuality.

Tim Burton uses low angles, eye-level angles and high angles in order to contrast human and mans in a distinctive way as well as address the relationship between them. Additionally, he also uses closeup shots and medium shots to create mood and impression and at the same time, show that Edward and people of the neighborhood live in very different conditions. Both of these cinematic techniques leave the audience with meanings which justifies the theme of the movie. These methods of filming shape meaning as well as cause the movie to turn out as an interesting one. Some people might be somehow different than others by an extreme amount, but do understand that we still have sameness within each other, and they have no reason to be disliked

Burton once said, “I think the atmosphere that I grew up in, yes, there was a subtext of normalcy. I don’t even know what the word means, but it’s stuck in my brain. It’s weird. I don’t know if it’s specifically American, or American in the time I grew up, but there’s a very strong sense of categorization and conformity.” This experience of having to conform is reflected in Burton’s work. For example, in Edward Scissorhands Edward, who dressed in dark colors, conformed to the neighborhood by putting on brighter colored clothes and changing his style. Using lighting, angles, and sound Burton’s unique style conveys that one should not have to hide one’s differences to be accepted.

Tim Burton’s use of scenes of events such as barbecues and Christmas parties encourages the viewer with comfort and peace of conformity. It shows Edward blending into the society and having another chance. This idea of being reborn is brought about because he isn’t up in the mansion alone but rather he is in the neighbourhood being given a ‘second chance’. When Peg Boggs brings Edward down to live with her and starts to immediately change him by putting new clothes on him. Then she tries to cover up his scars on his face, using key lines such as “blending is the