Edward Scissorhands

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When he was a kid, Tim Burton got this image in his head of a man with scissors for hands. He kept that image with him until he managed to become a successful enough director that a studio would actually let him make the movie. He got novelist Caroline Thompson to write the screenplay (she later wrote The Nightmare Before Christmas). Burton has said that the relationship between him and Caroline worked because she was in tune with his ideas. I can only imagine how hard it is for someone with a mind like Tim Burton to find a writer that just gets him right away, without much discussing or analyzing.

For me, the best thing about Edward Scissorhands is that it speaks to a huge audience in such a creative and unusual way. We’ve all felt like we had to conform to someone else’s idea of who we are supposed to be. We all want to be accepted in some way. And at the heart of it, that’s what Edward Scissorhands is about.

Johnny Depp is amazing as Edward (can you believe Tom Cruise was up for the part? Weird.), and of course Danny Elfman is back to provide the music. This movie has been a favourite of mine since I saw it for the first time when it came out in 1990. In my mind, it’s Tim Burton at his best.

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