The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 9 wins & 24 nominations total
- Tinka
- (as Susan J. Blommaert)
- Cissy
- (as Linda Perry)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe idea for the movie was inspired by a drawing Tim Burton had done when he was a teenager. The drawing depicted a thin, solemn man with long, sharp blades for fingers. "Since I liked to draw since I was younger, oftentimes images would come up, and they'd stay with you, and you'd keep drawing them. This was a character I sketched a while back," he says. He explains the character represented him as he was in his teenage years and how the film represents much of his time growing up. He likened growing up in Suburbia to a Frankenstein movie with the suburbanites acting as the angry villagers. Burton also stated that he was often alone and had trouble retaining friendships. "I get the feeling people just got this urge to want to leave me alone for some reason, I don't know exactly why."
- GoofsWhen Edward's bush sculptures are finished, most of them are much higher than the original hedges.
- Quotes
Kim: You're here... They didn't hurt you, did they?
[Edward shakes his head]
Kim: Were you scared? I tried to make Jim go back, but, you can't make Jim do anything. Thank you for not telling them that we...
Edward: You're welcome.
Kim: It must have been awful when they told you whose house it was.
Edward: I knew it was Jim's house.
Kim: You... you did?
Edward: Yes.
Kim: ...Well, then why'd you do it?
Edward: Because you asked me to.
- Crazy creditsThe 20th Century Fox logo is shaded dark winter blue and is accompanied by Edward's snowfall.
- Alternate versionsIn order to secure a PG certificate in the UK the cinema version was cut by 8 secs to edit some violence during the climactic fight. A shot of Edward being kicked in the stomach was removed and his beating with the crowbar was reduced from 8 blows to 2. The video/DVD versions feature the same print with the cuts now lengthened to 15 secs. The cuts were fully waived by the BBFC for the upgraded 12-rated 2007 DVD release.
- ConnectionsEdited into 5 Second Movies: Edward Scissorhands (2008)
- SoundtracksBlue Hawaii
Composed by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger
The themes are acceptance, isolation and fitting into social structures when you are quite different. These are explored in a story combining elements of Frankenstein with Beauty and the Beast.
As you can imagine the style is distinctly Tim Burton in all his gothic, quirky charm and it works well. The colours of everything in the suburbia is some variant of pastel, which is contrasted with Edward's black suit and ghostly white face. This fit perfectly with the above themes and to deride suburban life.
Burton may not have intended to satirise suburban types as much as he did, but ridiculed they feel with the gossipy, trouble making housewives and bored gardening, golf playing husbands. Cars all leave for work at the same time, great pride is taken in gardens and most (save a few) ultimately see Edward as either a 'freak' or a 'cripple'. We see the real freak show does not lie in the decaying old Gothic mansion on the hill, but in the normal residential neighbourhood below.
The protagonist family are all sympathetic, played likably by Dianne Wiest, Alan Arkin, Robert Oliveri and in particular Winona Ryder. Edward's interaction with them is both hilariously funny and beautifully moving in a number of scenes.
There are also some strong supporting characters. Joyce, the lustful neighbour who speaks perpetual innuendo. Her scene of orgasmic joy on receipt of a new haircut is wonderfully funny. Jim the spoilt jock boyfriend sneers and lashes out every line with utter contempt. Vincent Price in a heart breaking cameo as the inventor is an excellent touch.
As the title character, Johnny Depp's performance is modern take on Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. He says very little, but his eyes and facial expressions tell us everything we need to know. When he does speak it is the voice of a frightened and confused child. You feel so much sympathy it pains you to watch.
It has a haunting soundtrack that stays with you after the final credits. Every time I think of falling snow, particularly when melancholy I think of that music.
What prompted me to give this one a higher rating than I had originally planned was watching it with my three and a half year old daughter. It held her from start to finish, which is a rare thing for a non-animated feature length movie.
- snoozejonc
- Jul 28, 2020
Fantastical Physical Transformations
Fantastical Physical Transformations
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- El joven manos de tijera
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $56,362,352
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $159,622
- Dec 9, 1990
- Gross worldwide
- $86,024,005
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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