Edward ScissorhandsThe unfinished creation of an eccentric inventor (Vincent Price) who dies before he can fashion a pair of hands for him, the guileless Edward (Johnny Depp) is left to fend for himself in an abandoned gothic mansion, with improvised razor-sharp scissors for hands.
Taken in by Peg Boggs (Dianne Weist), the sweetest Avon lady in the world, Edward gains a measure of acceptance when the neighbours discover his talents for creative hedge-trimming and avant-garde haircuts.
Drawn to Peg's wary but sympathetic cheerleader daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder), Edward soon learns, though, that being 'different' can also be a mark of vulnerability.
Arguably Burton's most personal film, Edward Scissorhands in many ways establishes the director's aesthetic, bringing together an ensemble of returning and first-time key collaborators including production designer Bo Welch, composer Danny Elfman, cinematographer Stefan Czhapskey, screenwriter Caroline Thompson and actor/muse Johnny Depp.
"Burton's richly entertaining update of the Frankenstein story is the year's most comic, romantic and haunting film fantasy" Rolling Stone
The Thursday sessions screen with...
Vincent
Tim Burton, 6 mins, USA, 1982
A glum young boy stuck in the 'burbs - the tormented hero of our story - imagines a world worthy of Edgar Allan Poe in an early stop-motion animated short by Burton, with narration by Vincent Price.
