Edward Scissorhands
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Edward Scissorhands is a movie directed by Tim Burton and written by Caroline Thompson, and was released in 1990. The movie is a fable set in an exaggeratedly stereotypical vision of American suburbia that intentionally combines clichés from both the 1950s and late 1980s. It also has a central theme of the isolated, misunderstood major character, a theme that recurs in much of Burton's work. It stars Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. Further, many of the motifs and themes of the 1931 film Frankenstein are referenced in Edward Scissorhands.
Plot
When the neighborhood Avon lady, Mrs. Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest) fails to make any profits in her neighborhood, she goes to the creepy castle on the hill and meets Edward (Johnny Depp). Edward is an artificial man whose inventor (Vincent Price) died before being able to put hands on his creation. Instead Edward has long metal scissor-blades for hands. Mrs. Boggs brings Edward home to her family and thus Edward must adjust to life in the suburbs. He falls in love with Kim Boggs (Winona Ryder), who is frightened of Edward at first, but grows to love him while everybody else in the neighborhood grows to distrust him because of his dangerous condition. In the end, Edward and Kim go their separate ways, but a love remains between them. The film is told by an elderly Kim Boggs telling her granddaughter the story of Edward.Literary Antecedents
Frankenstein
The plot of Edward Scissorhands bears resemblances to Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, in as much as Edward is an artificially created man; however, such similarities to the novel are limited.For example, both Edward and Frankenstein's monster are both "monstrous", yet Edward's Creator adored him and wished to give him all he desired. This stands in contrast to the case of Shelley's Frankenstein in which the creator's relationship with his creation is more ambivalent.
Instead, the film bears closer similarities to later adaptations of the original Frankenstein story. In particular, Edward's appearance, with black clothing, shambling, almost mechanical gait, and pale, scarred face, resembles that of the Frankenstein monster in the 1954 Hammer Films version. Additionally, the plot roughly follows that of the 1931 motion picture Frankenstein in that Edward, a creature without malice or knowledge of deception, is naïve to the selfish, malicious, deceitful, and fearful nature of his human hosts. As a result, Edward's innocent mistakes are interpreted as malicious acts by the people of the neighborhood leading to his ultimate downfall in which those who Edward had trusted and loved reveal their underlying fear and misunderstanding along with their selfish motivations for befriending him (such as availing themselves of his artistic abilities).
Beauty and the Beast
Similarities and common plot developments are also seen between Edward Scissorhands and the classic story Beauty and the Beast; in both, a misunderstood and visually frightening (but nonetheless emotionally sensitive) "beast" earns the affection of the lead female character (in these cases also an [ingénue]) while becoming the object of the townspeople's derision and hatred. From there, it is easy to find a parallel between "Edward Scissorhands" and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of The Phantom of the Opera. Though Erik the Phantom is a considerably less benign character than Edward, the climax of "Edward Scissorhands", in which Kim breaks a scissored implement from one of the inventor's machines as proof to the lynch mob of Edward's "death", bears a striking resemblance to the final moments of "The Phantom of the Opera", in which the character Meg Giry produces the Phantom's mask when announcing to the assembled mob (and the audience) that the unhappy man is gone forever.Struwwelpeter
Edward Scissorhands was apparently inspired in part by the 19th Century German children's nursery character 'Shock-headed Peter', from the the book Struwwelpeter authored by Heinrich Hoffman. Struwwelpeter was a moral fable about the benefits of good grooming. Peter is a slovenly child who refuses to wash or allow his nails to be cut or his hair to be combed. Peter's frightful appearance is mirrored in the plight of the feral Edward Scissorhands, unable to groom himself due to his predicament, and having similarly messy hair and sharp scissors where Peter had untamed fingernails. Another tale from Struwwelpeter, The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb, features the [Scissorman], a sort of Boogeyman in the form of a tailor, who uses his shears to cut off the thumbs of children who suck their thumbs.Other Motifs and Themes
The film's plot also follows the lines of an "origin fable" (a story told to "explain" or provide mythical reasons for a supposed miracle or phenomenon). At the beginning of the film, a little girl (presumably Kim's grand-daughter) asks Kim, now an old woman, where snow comes from. The rest of the movie is the story of Edward told from her perspective. In one scene, the father of the Boggs family is seen putting blankets of faux snow on the roof of the family's house as a Christmas decoration. Soon after, Edward is seen creating an ice sculpture using his scissorhands, and the ice shavings that fly from the sculpture resemble snow. Kim comes outside to see this and begins dancing in the "snow". At the end of the movie, the present day Kim remarks to the little girl that before Edward came and went from the valley, it never snowed there in winter, whereas after Edward left, snow began to fall abundantly. It is suggested that the snow is a byproduct of Edward's solitary carving of ice sculptures. Kim adds "I think, if he (Edward) was not alive, it wouldn't be snowing".Edward Scissorhands can also be read as a visual representation of teenage isolation. The "freakish" appearance in terms of clothes, wild hair and visual scarring on the face is a very effective metaphor for a troubled teen in adolescence. The scissorhands themselves could be a visual metaphor for feeling unable to communicate love - or the desire to know it - to those around you. Many have commented that this film represents how Burton and many others felt during their teenage years.
The film demonstrates an example of mob psychology.
Trivia
- Tim Burton describes the movie as a very personal creation. Edward even bears a physical similarity to the director, particularly with regard to his wild hairstyle. Danny Elfman, who composed the film's soundtrack, also refers to his score for Edward Scissorhands as his most personal work.
- This was Vincent Price's last screen appearance. Interestingly, the character he plays dies in his last scene.
- Tim Burton stated that he named the lead character "Edward" because of its similarity to the name "Ed Wood."
- The film spawned a pornographic parody, Edward Penishands, which was "hilarious," according to Johnny Depp, in a recent Rolling Stone article. "I recommend it," he adds.
- Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. were both seriously considered for the role of the title character. Michael Jackson seriously wanted the role.
- Johnny Depp would later become a regular in Tim Burton movies, starring as Edward Wood, Jr. in Ed Wood, Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow, Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Victor Van Dort in Corpse Bride.
- The scissorhands of Depp's character in the film bear a coincidental resemblance to the razor-blade fingered glove with which he was slain by Freddy Krueger in his first role in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street.
- Dianne Wiest and Conchata Ferrell share the same birthday: March 28.
- Nick Carter appeared as an extra in this movie.
Adaptations
In 2005, choreographer Matthew Bourne staged a contemporary dance interpretation of Edward Scissorhands at Sadler's Wells, London, before taking it on a world tour.
Reviews Of Matthew Bourne Production
See also
External links
- [Online Trailer]
- [All Movie Guide entry for Edward Scissorhands]
- [Official website for Matthew Bourne's adaptation]
| Tim Burton |
|---|
| Director |
| The Island of Doctor Agor | Stalk of the Celery | Vincent | Frankenweenie | Pee-wee's Big Adventure | Beetlejuice | Batman | Edward Scissorhands | Batman Returns | Ed Wood | Mars Attacks! | Sleepy Hollow | Planet of the Apes | Big Fish | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Corpse Bride | Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd | Believe It or Not |
| Producer |
| The Nightmare Before Christmas | James and the Giant Peach | Batman Forever |
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