Film Review - Edward Scissorhands

Fig 1. Edward Scissorhands Poster (1990)

Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990) is a personal story that everyone can relate to at some point in their life. Based on Burton’s own struggles as he tried to fit in with his suburban up bringing this story, as described by Derek Malcolm, is a “Dark, oblique fairy tale.” (Malcolm, 1991) It is almost like Burton is holding up a mirror to society and making us see how we treat those who are different from us.

Fig 2. The two designs next to each other (1990)

The two main settings for the film, the castle and the suburb, have very distinct styles that make them juxtaposition one another. The two styles used, German expressionism and 1960s home decor, give the idea that these two worlds should never have met, even at the beginning of the film when we first see Edward’s castle we find our self’s asking - “How long have these two locations lived side by side and not interacted with each other before?”

One thing that stands out with the design of the suburb is that everything is all neat and tidy along with each one of the houses being painted one of four colours. This design set comes from the way products were advertised in the 1960s, a product would be sold in a number of colours for example and people were made to believe that they were being individual by having a different colour to everyone else but in reality they still had the same product. To the viewer we see it as being outdated and a little strange but as production designer Bo Welch puts it “It clearly represents a suburban neighbourhood of a distinct era, but mainly to Edward it’s exotic and beautiful and beyond words.” (Welch, 2015)

But thinking back and viewing this film as a fairy tale we might start to feel that we are not seeing what is truly there. If we take a step back and view the suburb from Edward’s childish mind set then we might just see it as the way that it is portrayed in the film, the same can be said for the way in which the people of the suburb see the castle.

Edward himself can also be seen as a metaphor for the way Burton felt in his surroundings and the castle being the way that he shut himself away in his own creative bubble and thought of the weird worlds that we have come to love today. “He uses his extraordinary gifts to create magical artworks that, he imagines, no one will ever see.” (Maslin, 1990)

Illustrations

• Figure 1. Edward Scissorhands Poster (1990) [Poster] At: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099487/mediaviewer/rm3210729728 (Accessed on 10.11.2016)
• Figure 2. The two designs next to each other (1990) [Film Still] At: http://uk.businessinsider.com/edward-scissorhands-25th-anniversary-bo-welch-remembers-2015-10?r=US&IR=T (Accessed on 27.11.2016)

Bibliography

• Welch, Bo. (2015) “Edward Scissorhands” is turning 25 – this story from the film’s production designer proves Tim Burton is a creative genius At: http://uk.businessinsider.com/edward-scissorhands-25th-anniversary-bo-welch-remembers-2015-10?r=US&IR=T (Accessed on 27.11.2016)
• Malcolm, Derek. (1991) Edward Scissorhands At: https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,558617,00.html (Accessed on 29.11.2016)
• Maslin, Janet. (1990) Review/ Film; And So Handy Around The Garden At: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE2D81338F934A35751C1A966958260 (Accessed on 01.12.2016)