Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands is starred by Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. It was this movie that truly unleashed Tim Burton’s imagination.

Locations :

If you really pay attention to the movie, you will realize that there are only two distinct locations in the film; Edward’s home in the mansion on the hill and the town that it overlooks. Both these locations are extremely different, but they are also similar in its exaggerated fashion. The mansion has a very gothic style to it; it is decorated with monstrous stone carvings and cavernous interior. Most of Tim Burton’s movies, especially Edward Scissorhands brings back the aura of the sets from German Expressionism.

Then we have the town, positioned at the foot of the hill, you can instantly see and feel how pretty, peaceful and traditionally oriented it is.

Colour and music:

Throughout the movie, a variety of colours and music were used to highlight the distinct differences between the two so-called ‘worlds’ in the movie. The first scene where colour is introduced is when the grandmother is starting to tell the story of Edward Scissorhands to the girl who is sat comfortably in her bed.

The light-hearted music which is highly associated with the suburbs quickly changes to become eerie when Peg Boggs visited the mansion for the first time. Especially in this scene, black and white are the predominate colours except for the character of Peg. In another scene, where Edward gets seduced by older women, a very ironic background music starts playing in the background – ‘With These Hands’. If you listen to the lyrics of the song, With These Hands translates well to Edward’s inability to cope.

The end scene of the movie shows Edward in a colourful garden surrounded by nature. Which basically means that finally, Edward has been fully accepted by the society.


Camera Techniques:

When Peg Boggs visits the mansion for the first time to sell Avon products, the camera changes its perception to view Peg’s view of the castle in a long shot emphasizing the feeling of unreality and illusion. As she reaches the castle, long and wide angled shots are used to convey the size of the character and also to show Peg’s vulnerability in the new but strange environment.

When Edward is first introduced in the movie, he comes into the first scene in a long shot that switches to a medium close-up to his pale and scarred face, black outfit and messy hair. But all this is juxtaposed with Edward’s gentle voice and the close –up of his sad eyes.

Character:

Main Character

Just like every Tim Burton movie, the main character in his movies are always portrayed as an outcast and only later on in the movie that they really do find their place in the community. But this movie, Edward Scissorhands, is somewhat a little different. Edward starts off by being accepted by the community even though he is an eccentric character. Edward immediately becomes a minor celebrity by appearing on television chat shows. He is constantly treated with kindness especially by the females. But this lasted only for so long. Because he’s so naïve, Edward soon finds himself unable to keep up with the corrupt society that he has ended up in. All of a sudden, the very thing which rendered his to be an unique and eccentric individual are used as evidence against him to prove that he is in fact a dangerous criminal and should not be living in a normal society.

Stereotypical Characters

Female stereotypes: Middle-aged woman who lusts after young men (Edward), the motherly and accepting Peg Boggs, the beautiful and young Kim who sees beyond Edward’s physical appearance and loves him for the good person he truly is.

Male stereotypes: Jim, the spoilt rich kid who goes out of his way to annoy his father and plays the part of Kim’s jealous boyfriend.

Overall Movie Theme

The overall theme of Edward Scissorhands is of course gothic and is in line with the Auteur Theory. It’s very rare that there are more bright scenes compared to dark scenes in