Name: Monique Roux
Subject: Film and Television
Teacher: Ms. Ludlow
Tim Burton Critique
Most modern directors’ are heavily influenced by other film styles, films, or even other directors. German expressionism is a film style that contemporary directors have borrowed heavily from in order to create a new approach to the old film style. Therefore expressionism the style is something that modern directors often emulate in their films. Tim Burton is a director that has been clearly been influenced by German Expressionism and its use of stylized elements. This can be clearly seen through the movie Edward Scissorhands. German expressionism is a style of art which developed early into an influential movement of German painting, sculpture, literature,
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It embodied the mental and physical wounds inflicted after the war was lost (Reed, 2015). During that time it was known for most of the directors to use expressionism rather that literally depicting events. German expressionism consists of non-diegetic sounds, harsh contrast between dark and light, shapes distorted and exaggerated unrealistically for expressive purposes. The plot of the film which is German expressionism influenced often includes anti heroic characters at the center of the story, and also often involves madness, paranoia, obsession etc (Rivas, 2010). It is evident in Edward Scissorhands that the film includes several aspects stated above of the German expressionism film …show more content…
His films always carries the assumption of a unified experience. Most of Burton’s films goes into depth of ordinariness and makes the audience question as to what they believe is acceptable in society. Burton is clearly artistically influenced by German Expressionism films, this can be seen through the setting of Edward Scissorhands. The film includes several slanted lines and curves, seen in the attic of the castle, the staircase leading towards the attic which is evident that it is not straight and upholds an uneven staircase surface, and the pathways in the neighborhood is also curvy (see appendix 2). By looking into all the lines and curves it is clearly seen that Burton has been strongly artistically influenced by the characteristics of German Expressionism films, as it was also seen in The Cabinet of Dr
The film Edward Scissorhands directed by Tim Burton is about a boy who has been kept away from society his whole life in a mansion surrounded by unkempt bushes and rusted gates. Alex grey once said, “In a society that tries to standardize thinking, individuality is not highly prized.” And that shows when Edward is ostracized because he is different and does not conform to the so-called statuesque but the almost unwavering love from the Boggs family nearly helps him overcome his rejection after people are so cruel.
Indisputably, Tim Burton has one of the world’s most distinct styles when regarding film directing. His tone, mood, diction, imagery, organization, syntax, and point of view within his films sets him apart from other renowned directors. Burton’s style can be easily depicted in two of his most highly esteemed and critically acclaimed films, Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Burton ingeniously incorporates effective cinematic techniques to convey a poignant underlying message to the audience. Such cinematic techniques are in the lighting and editing technique categories. High key and low key relationships plus editing variations evinces the director’s elaborate style. He utilizes these cinematic techniques to
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 most appealing films are those that keep audiences guessing, surprise them at the most unexpected times and break conventional film boundaries. Edward Scissorhands (1990) directed by Tim Burton, is a feature film that does exactly that. It blends a fairy tale story with a gothic horror film, to engage the viewer right from beginning until the resolution. It tells the tale of Edward, who was the creation of an inventor who died before he could give Edward proper hands, and was left with scissors as hands. When he was taken from his gothic mansion, into a “normal” suburban community, he was at first welcomed, but then heartbreakingly rejected when things went wrong. The character of the “monster” is an
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.
The film Edward Scissorhands is a contemporary archetype of the gothic genre exploring themes such as unrequited love, social rejection and human creation as defined by Tim Burton. Feature films explore different ideals that can be categorized into different genres that create expectations among audiences about characters, settings, plots and themes. Edward Scisscorhands directed by Tim Burton in the year 1990 is described as both a dark romantic fantasy and a gothic horror film. The film tells a story about Edward Scissorhands, the creation of an elderly inventor who dies before he can give Edward his normal hands in place of his scissor hands. Edward is taken from the mansion he lives in by a suburban family in an attempt to live a
In usual fairytale movies, filmmakers intend to make films that give happy endings with simple miraculous entertainments. However, in the fable movie, Edward Scissorhand, the director, Tim Burton, positions the viewers to understand the significant meaning of particular issues. “E.S” is can be seen as a story of stereotypical suburbia with social criticism. In this essay, starting from analysing this film and providing dominant discourse, the use of characters will be discussed followed by debate of technical and symbolic codes which help to put up the discourse. In particular, this essay will consider the technical code of camera angle and symbolic codes of colour which emphasize the dominant discourse.
Tim Burton’s gothic drama film Edward Scissorhands explores what is immoral with our society. A present issue with humanity is people who are different are encouraged to conform. In addition, society plays by the rules and follow societal norms rather than listening to their hearts. Most importantly, humans are cruel and exploit those who are vulnerable for their own benefit. Through the use of film techniques, Burton proposes the faults in humanity and the brutal nature of humans.
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
The film ‘Edward Scissorhands’ by Tim Burton is a story about a lonely boy with a unique disability: scissor hands, it follows Edward as he experiences life outside of his isolated home and through his hardships of dealing with prejudice and people treating him differently. It also follows him when he makes judgments of others wrongly and shows the consequences to both parties from those decisions made on them.
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.
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.
‘Edward Scissorhands’ is a film directed by Tim Burton. It is a modern-day fairy tale focused on Edward, a person with scissors instead of hands, who is brought to live with a family after spending years in seclusion. Although the film is made for entertainment, it is not the sole purpose of it. There are many messages and themes rooted throughout the film, which are directed towards the audience. These give the film a deeper meaning. Some of the messages include that looks can be deceiving, the significance of individuality, as well as isolation.
The film Edward Scissorhands directed by Tim Burton is about a boy who has been kept away from society his whole life in a mansion surrounded by unkempt bushes and rusted gates. Alex grey once said, “In a society that tries to standardise thinking, individuality is not highly prized.” And that shows when Edward is ostracised because he is different and does not conform to the so-called statuesque but the almost unwavering love from the Boggs family nearly helps him overcome his rejection, after people are so cruel, because regardless of people differences everyone should be treated equally.