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Edward Scissorhands Customer Reviews (34 - 36 of 82 Reviews)

The Nicer, Happier Frankenstein
I'll admit that this is another movie where I tend to relate to the main character in a lot of ways, so that may bias me a bit. Still, this is a great movie for the who family, a beautiful modern fairytale, touched with both humor and sadness as well as a bit of innocent romance. Along the way it also teaches several good moral lessons about things like accepting those who are different, the value of kindness, and the dangers of such things as prejudice, spreading rumors, and following the crowd. I'd recommend it for all ages.

Adult viewers who are familiar with Mary Shelley's heartwrenching classic (as opposed to the "Frankenstein" freaquently potreyed by Hollywood) should find the comparison obvious. The main character doesn't start out all that different from Shelley's tragic villian - but what a difference a little kindness can make! In many ways the diffence between the two is like the difference between different versions of the same character in "The Butterfly Effect," with the outcome of one encounter making all the difference in the world. Edward is the "monster" who is given a chance and who's inner beauty is allowed to shine.

"Before he came down here, it never snowed."
Tim Burton is an amazing director. Through interesting uses of color, cinematography, characters and stories, he captures the imaginations of the audience and keeps them fully engaged throughout the duration of the vast majority of his films. Such was the case with his 1990 film entitled "Edward Scissorhands". Inspired by the Mary Shelley's (1797-1851) short story "Frankenstein" (which was the inspiration for many other twentieth-century films) and Carlo Collodi's (1826-1890) novel "Pinocchio" (which has also inspired many a twentieth-century film), Tim Burton and co-writer Caroline Thompson (in her first involvement with a big-screen film) transformed these original stories into a touching modern interpretation about an inventor (Vincent Price, 1911-1993) who decides to transform one of his assembly-line robots into a man whom he names Edward (Johnny Depp). The transformation would involve several stages so that Edward would eventually be completely human, but unfortunately, that was not to be as the inventor dies before he can complete his work and Edward, who is partially human and partially machine, is left with long scissors as hands and fingers. Below the hilltop upon which the inventor's castle stands is a modern suburban residential area. Each morning, the husbands, leaving at the same time, drive into the city to work, and each evening, they return at the same time. Their wives stay at home taking care of their colorful homes and children, as well as share interesting gossip about their neighbors. One housewife, Peg (Dianne Wiest), also works as a door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman with varying degrees of success. One day, while unable to get a single sale, she decides to pay a visit to the castle high upon the hilltop. There, she finds an immaculately kept garden with hedges and shrubs cut into an assortment of amazing shapes. She walks into the castle and comes across Edward. Seeing how he constantly cuts himself with his scissor-like hands, she befriends him and takes him back to her home, which, of course, sends the neighboring wives into a flurry of phone calls to spread the gossip. Though Edward is quite unusual, Peg and her family accept him and try to help him have a normal life. In the meantime, Edward begins to transform their yard into the same immaculate garden with amazing shapes as at the castle. He then also transforms the yards throughout the neighborhood similarly, before starting to trim dogs' fur and eventually, the housewives' hair. Edward begins to fall in love with Peg's daughter Kim (Winona Ryder), but Kim's boyfriend, Jim (Anthony Michael Hall), becomes jealous. This jealousy eventually gets Edward into trouble and leads to a dramatic ending, not unlike the ending in Mary Shelley's 1818 story.

Other memorable characters in the film include Peg's husband Bill (Alan Arkin) and the many housewives that live nearby: Joyce (Kathy Baker), Helen (Conchata Ferrell), Marge (Caroline Aaron), Esmerelda (O-Lan Jones) and Tinka (Susan Blommaert). Also noteworthy is Police Officer Allen (Dick Anthony Williams). With an engaging story, wonderful characters, brilliant direction and wonderful acting, I rate "Edward Scissorhands" with 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it.

Tim Burton's Best Film
I remember watching Bettlejuice for the first time and being amazed by it. It was so visually unique and the quirkiness just entertained me. I remember watching Batman and thinking "If only all comic book movies were like this". IMO We never got an entertaining Comic-book movie like that until Spiderman. Then I saw Edward Scissorhands and was so touched. This seems to be Tim Burton's most personal production because things from his years growing up in Burbank inspired the idea and settings. Almost all his movies are visual feasts but Edward Scissorhands takes more of an emotional approach that I never saw in a Tim Burton movie before this. Even though the characters come across as cartoonish (which I could imagine the film almost being), but it works within the film because it is supposed to be a modern fairytale. Johnny Depp's performance as Edward was probably his best ever (even though his Jack Sparrow was a riot). Look at the scene when he looks at the neighborhood for the first time. In addition, the ending (which I will not spoil) is beautiful but (thankfully) is not given a typical Hollywood ending. Had the ending been different I don't think the movie would have carried such an emotional resonance it did for me. And how can I not mention the score. This is one of Danny Elfman's favorite scores and I would wholeheartedly agree with him. This movie just worked so well. It helps when the director gives something that really came from the heart. Check out also Ed Wood: another Tim Burton film with another great Johnny Depp performance.

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