Edward Scissorhands Review

Fig 1. Film Poster

Introduction

Throughout this review of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1991) I analyse the film use of mise-en-
scene to develop and maintain its narrative and the themes quintessential to it. I also examine some
of the hyperrealistic aspects of the film, mainly its references to other older media such as The Cabinet
of Dr Caligari (1920) and Frankenstein (1931). In the process I sourced blog posts and more major
websites such as Medium to support my claims and analyses of the film.

The film appears to represent a duality between and struggle of individuality and collectivism in its
mise-en-scene of the various settings and sets. Most prominently the mansion where Edward
Scissorhands initially and eventually resides again, and the suburban town in which the rest of the cast
live. They very much contrast in each other in their colour, form and coding. The town is composed of
bright, pastel and flowery colours giving a more positive and friendlier connotations, however, upon
further expectation all the houses appear the same – the same layout, they all have a garage and a
drive-way, even the same colour palette of light, gaudy tones. The interior shows them to be quite
plain and we often see the human characters, especially some of the female characters, do similar
actions such as talking together on a phone.

According to the blog Registered Nurse, the town “symbolized the seemingly “ideal” and happy life
supposedly found in this type of community” (Registered Nurse, 2015). Evidence for this can be found
within the film’s socio-historical context – the idyllic nature of the town and its familiarity with the
audience, as well as a noticeable emphasis of family throughout the film, can be traced back to the
1950s. The houses seen within the film very much resemble those envisioned during the height of the
American dream during the decade. There was a fixation on the ideal family – the ‘nuclear family’,
there was a period of mass ‘suburbanization’ that offered homes for the growing population.
Furthermore, there was more strict views of gender, race and identity in general that were considered
appropriate for the time. Thus, the carbon-copy appearance of the houses as well as the behaviour of
their denizens represents the collective and more traditional views of a time less accepting of others.
Fig 2. Suburbs Fig 3. Ideal 1950s Neighbourhood

In contrast the home of Edward Scissorhands is dark, dimly lit and the wide, establishing angle is
provided a foreboding presence that appears as an affront to the picturesque visage of the town
below. Yet, as the website Digital Production notes “Edward’s dark castle does more to portray his
individuality, the almost all black ambience and the fact that its hovering over the suburbs on the hill
evokes a dark, threatening tone” (FlexPointe, 2012). In agreement with this the appearance of the
castle juxtaposing that of the suburbs demonstrates the personality and role of Edward. The castle is
adorned with gargoyles and has a twisted form curving and bending at points and contains a spiral
staircase; there are cobwebs all over the place suggesting it has been abandoned for a long time since
Edward’s creator’s death. And yet, in a scene with the character of Peg Boggs, where she witnesses
the castle up close, we are introduced to more extravagant sight of an aspect of it as opposed to the
generic layout of the suburbs – a rich garden of prismatic colours and lush bush cuttings. The overall
design of the castle is heavily derived from German Expression, a form of art that was prominent
among horror films such as The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920).

Fig 4. Still from The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari Fig 5. Interior of Edwards Castle

It appears possible that the film contains multiple references to other media in reference to its themes
of individuality, isolation and exclusion. According to the website Medium “As in Frankenstein, the
overgrown garden, the dark and dilapidated mansion, the Inventor’s mixture of man and machine in
his work suggest that this is a place where human hubris challenges the domain of God” (Brown, 2014).
Evidence for this statement can be found be found in the premises of the film itself. Ed is eventually
chased out of the suburbs by an angry mob similar to how Frankenstein’s Monster is chased out the
town, rejected by its people due to either a misunderstanding or an accident because of Edward/the
Monster, or their extranormal nature. Furthermore
Fig 7. The Mob approaches Edward’s House

Conclusion

Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1991) is a film that depicts the struggle of Edward Scissorhands as
an individual, something different to the mundane and redundant lives of the townsfolk below. The
visual representation of this struggle is shown through the films polarizing mise-en-scene and its
references to other media such as Frankenstein (1931).

Bibliography
Brown, E. (2014, January 9). A Suburban Fairy Tale: A Simple Visual Analysis of Edward Scissorhands.
Retrieved from Medium: https://medium.com/110-seconds-from-now/a-suburban-fairy-
tale-a-simple-visual-analysis-of-edward-scissorhands-3af31df4529e

FlexPointe. (2012, November 29). Mise-en-Scene: Edward Scissorhands. Retrieved from Film
Production: https://flexpointe.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/mise-en-scene-edward-
scissorhands/

Registered Nurse. (2015, December 07). Mise-en-Scene and Edward Scissorhands. Retrieved from
Registered Nurse: http://www.registerednursern.com/mise-en-scene-and-edward-
scissorhands/

Fig 1. Film Poster

From: Ebay

Year: 2018

Url: https://www.ebay.com/itm/EDWARD-SCISSORHANDS-Movie-POSTER-Tim-Burton-Johnny-Depp-
/222001098927

Fig 2. Suburbs

From: Film Production

Year: 2012

Url: https://flexpointe.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/mise-en-scene-edward-scissorhands/
Fig 3. Painting of ideal 1950s neighbourhood

From: Envisioning the American Dream

Year: 2013

Url: https://envisioningtheamericandream.com/2013/08/21/suburban-swan-song-2/

Fig 4. Still from The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari

From: Open Culture

Year: 2017

Url: http://www.openculture.com/2017/06/what-is-german-expressionism.html

Fig 5. Interior of Edward’s Castle

From: Edward Scissorhands

Year: 2017

Url: https://otherstuffexists.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/edward-scissorhands/

Fig 6. Still from Edward Scissorhands (1991) The Mob approaches Edwards domain

From: Prezi

Year: 2016

Url: https://prezi.com/fhuzstc3un07/edward-scissorhands/