Review of Edward Scissorhands

Introduction

There can be few who haven`t seen (or heard) the story of "Beauty and the Beast". Immortalised in numerous films and books, this classic tale was revitalised and rehashed by the inimitable Tim Burton in this 1990 movie.

Responsible for some really wacky movie plots, Burton has thrilled (and confused) moviegoers worldwide with the likes of "Mars Attacks!", "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas". And although some of these movies have been more commercially successful than others, all of them contain his unique style and feel. This movie is no exception, as no sooner has the final title credit disappeared off-screen, than Burton emerges the viewer in some wonderful gothic horror sets and great atmosphere. And then this wonderful movie begins proper and Burton`s supreme storytelling magic takes hold.

Video

A very nice 1.85 anamorphic transfer does the movie justice, with every detail accurately transferred; from the dark foreboding mansion to the twee pastel coloured houses of the townsfolk. The bright colours show no sign of bleed or over saturation, with good skin tone and contrast. Fox have done another fabulous job with this transfer and must currently rate as the top studio for the quality of their DVD encoding.

Audio

There is a cracking DD4.0 THX soundtrack that is both involving and extremely lively. There are some good ambient effects in the mix, most notably in the howling wind noise that seems to envelope you. Although obviously lacking the dedicated LFE channel, the soundtrack is still pretty bassy and powerful, and a good display of how a soundtrack transfer should be done.

Danny Elfman`s musical score is very impressive, suiting the subject matter well and giving the movie just the right degree of tension and humour. The overall quality of the audio is more than a match to the gorgeous imagery on screen.

Features

Firstly, there is a commentary track by Burton himself that is very informative and offers plenty of insights into how the movie was made. Unfortunately there are plenty of silent pauses, but these are made up for by the quality of Burton`s comments.

Next is another commentary, this time by composer Danny Elfman. Here the music track is often allowed to speak for itself with only comments from Elfman when really necessary. He explains how he chose certain themes for certain parts of the movie and how he decided to match his score to the action on screen. This is a great example of how the sheer quality of the music score can add to the overall experience and it makes compulsive viewing (listening).

There`s also a short 10 minute feature that includes interviews with some of the cast and crew. Originally designed as a promotional tool, it offers behind-the-scenes information and also one of the last on-screen interviews with screen legend Vincent Price.

Lastly there are some short interviews with the cast and crew, some TV spots, the original trailer and a small gallery of concept art.

Conclusion

This beautiful film deserves a place in every DVD fan`s collection. It is a prime example of how visuals and audio can combine to create a world of wonderment, fantasy and make-believe. The quality of the acting and directing is superb with great performances by Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder and Vincent Price (in his last film appearance).

I recall seeing this movie on VHS some years ago and now, thanks to the clarity of DVD, I can appreciate it even more. It really is at its best on DVD where the video and audio imagery can truly shine and the viewer can get fully involved in the whole experience.

Burton`s movie output is often variable in quality and for every commercial success, there has been a failure. In this case, however, he struck gold and created a real gem, deserving the attention of every film fan.