English: Edward Scissorhands

1990 - film release

• Tim Burton's new film: Edward Scissorhands - Washington Post
• Burton talks about scissors - LA Times interview

1999 - looking back

Video: Tim Burton and Johnny Depp discuss Edward Scissorhands (duration 7:28)

2018 - a career in film

Video: Tim Burton - a life in pictures (duration 25:56)

Video: Edward Scissorhands trailer 1990 (duration 2:04)

In a castle high on top of a hill, lives an inventor's greatest creation - Edward, a near-complete person.

Dying before he could finish, the inventor leaves Edward with metal scissors for hands. Since then, Edward has lived alone, until a kind lady called Peg discovers him and welcomes him into her home. At first, everyone welcomes him into the community, but soon things begin to take a change for the worse. (Source - IMDB)

• Full synopsis - IMDB (contains spoilers)

Edward Scissorhands contrasts two settings. The film explores what happens when these two worlds meet.

American suburbia

• no fixed era
• pastel colours
• conformity e.g. similar cars, architecture, lawns

Gothic house

• Gothic architecture
• dark colours
• overlooks (and stands out from) the suburbs below - see picture

Article - Appearances are not everything -  Edward Scissorhands and 'visual irony'

For the full cast, view the credit list (IMDB.com)

Tim Burton wages a valiant battle to show us new and wonderful things... 

• However, Roger Ebert finds it disappointing and gives it two stars (1990)

Edward Scissorhands isn’t perfect. It’s something better: pure magic.

• Rolling Stone admires Burton's vision, calling it entertaining, romantic and haunting (1990)

Americans are not very good at irony...

• The Guardian enjoys the style, but the story 'never totally catches fire' (1991)

And he's so handy around the garden...

• The New York Times is fascinated but worries about substance (1990)

But if you had regular hands you'd be like everyone else (audience member)

Ever since Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, we have been fascinated with what makes someone truly human. Without hands, Edward seems sub-human. Yet he is sometimes more human than the characters he meets.

Gothic fiction tells us the truth about our divided nature - Guardian article

Question to ponder: Who is more creative in the film? Who is more destructive?

So Edward, did you have a productive day? (Bill)

'Burton's film champions creativity and imagination, and Edward's creativity has a profound effect on certain people in the town' ACMI

Question to ponder: How does Edward reflect and express the creativity and vision of his father?

Video: Award-winning music composer Guy Gross talks about how he works with the director, producer, editor and sound designer on a film project (duration 3:14)

• How important is a film soundtrack? Should you even notice it? The Guardian article The secret art of the film soundtrack explores excellent soundtracks, (including those without any music at all).

• Do voice-overs ruin films? This article from the Telegraph explores when and why films should use voice-overs.

Video: Understanding Mise en scène (duration 4:58)

Video: Discover the 11 most used shots (duration 2:26)

1. Extreme wide angle (extreme long shot)
2. Wide angle (long shot)
3. Full shot
4. Medium long (3/4 shot)
5. Cowboy shot
6. Medium shot
7. Medium close up
8. Close up
9. Choker
10. Extreme close up
11. Macro

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