Tim Burton’s unique approach to portraying individuality and “otherness” gets the dark comic fable treatment with Edward Scissorhands, another in a long series of films where the writer-director gets to skewer the façade of public normalcy and its sometimes shocking treatment of those who are different. This 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release of Burton’s 1990 hit doesn’t offer anything new from what has come before, but it’s nice to have the film once again remind us about the tendency to blame problems on those who are different instead of having everyone working together to find solutions to concerns that affect us all.
Studio: Fox
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English 4.0 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 2.0 DD, French 5.1 DTS, Other
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 1 Hr. 45 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, UltraViolet
keep caseDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 10/13/2015
MSRP: $19.99
The Production Rating: 4/5
When Avon Lady Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest) stumbles upon lonely, isolated creation Edward (Johnny Depp) with scissors for hands and brings him back to her home to acclimate him to normal society, she doesn’t realize what a sensation he’s about to cause. Though the neighborhood’s busybodies and gossips do initially harbor a pet-like acceptance to the strange Edward, he becomes a favorite once they realize his scissor/hands can not only carve their shrubbery into amazing topiaries, he can also submit their dogs to some unusual grooming and even create one-of-a-kind hairstyles for the ladies of the suburbs. But when Edward resists the romantic attentions of the married Joyce (Kathy Baker) and bungles a robbery planned by the bullying Jim (Anthony Michael Hall) which Edward only agreed to because he had fallen for Jim’s girl friend Kim (Winona Ryder), these two get the entire neighborhood to turn on the innocent Edward making him a much-hated pariah on the lam being searched for by the police.
The screenplay by Caroline Thompson (from a story by Thompson and director Tim Burton) stresses satirically the lowdown natures of the “normal” residents who merely use the strange neighborhood interloper for their own needs and cast him adrift when it becomes inconvenient or uncomfortable for them to keep him around (the script also paints an ugly picture of the fickle nature of man’s allegiance and the easily manipulated mob mentality that occurs when rotten apples come into positions of power). Director Tim Burton has lots of fun with his candy-colored suburban landscape, and once Edward’s charming, unusual topiaries begin to dominate the neighborhood (along with the dogs with odd fur cuts and their lady owners mirror them with their own unique coiffeurs), the surreal qualities of the film seem more at home amid these other-worldly surroundings. The script might have investigated Edward’s desire for human companionship a bit more (it’s clear he’s not human, but that doesn’t stop him from having feelings), and the climactic wrap-up to the story seems a bit too abrupt, but one has to admire Burton’s light hand with the brittle satire of the piece, and the film is so eccentrically mounted (watching inventor Vincent Price’s Rube Goldberg-like kitchen prepare breakfast is delightful) that its lapses can be easily forgiven.
Johnny Depp’s gallery of unconventional loners by now is well known, but who would have guessed that was in his future when he etched this lovely portrait of a pitiable innocent at the mercy of more worldly beings? Dianne Wiest as the jolly, ultra-positive Avon Lady is a gentle soul who’s very appealing, and Alan Arkin as her genial husband Bill matches her smile for smile. Winona Ryder is fine as Kim though one wishes she had been more forceful in standing up to her jerk of a boy friend played to perfection by Anthony Michael Hall. As ladies of the neighborhood who thrive on gossip and spitefulness, Kathy Baker, Conchata Ferrell, and Caroline Aaron are aces while pious, hellfire-spouting neighbor Esmeralda (O-Lan Jones) pouts and grimaces her way through the movie rather superficially. Vincent Price is a joy in his brief scenes as Edward’s inventor.
Video Rating: 4/5 3D Rating: NA
The film is presented in its theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p resolution using the AVC codec. Sharpness varies from crisp and appealing to sometimes soft and lacking detail, but at its best can be very impressive. Color is rich and true throughout with realistic and appealing skin tones. Contrast has been consistently maintained thus producing black levels which can be deep and striking. The movie has been divided into 24 chapters.
Audio Rating: 4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 sound mix uses Danny Elfman’s spirited, charming score as the basis for most of the mix’s surround activity. For the rest, the film remains quite front centric with dialogue well recorded and placed in the center channel and atmospheric effects mostly relegated to the front soundstage.
Special Features Rating: 2.5/5
Audio Commentaries: carried over from previous releases are the two audio commentary tracks. The first and better of the two is the soft spoken one by writer-director Tim Burton while composer Danny Elfman comments on his music in very sporadic fashion in his track.
Production Featurette (4:39, HD): a brief behind-the-scenes look at the movie filmed during the time of the picture’s production with sound bites from director Tim Burton, screenwriter Caroline Thompson, and stars Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Alan Arkin, Kathy Baker, and Vincent Price.
Theatrical Trailers (4:17, HD): two trailers may be watched individually or in montage.
Ultraviolet: code sheet enclosed in the case.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Edward Scissorhands is a sweet, affecting little parable about innocence lost and regained offered in a 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release without anything new added to the mix. Above average picture and sound are here for those who haven’t already bought one of the previous Blu-ray releases.
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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