Sightlines · reception
How Edward Scissorhands was received
1990 · Tim Burton · Edward Scissorhands on Sightlines
The arc
Not a flop-to-classic story — it was warmly received and a hit in 1990 — but it's since been promoted from 'charming fairy tale' to the consensus Burton masterpiece, the film every ranking of his career puts at or near the top.
What’s debated
Film fans endlessly use it as Exhibit A in the 'when did Tim Burton lose it?' debate — the personal, handmade Burton people mourn every time a new remake of his drops — with a side dispute over whether it counts as a Christmas movie.
Its footprint
Depp's pale, scarred face and blade-fingers are one of the most instantly recognizable silhouettes in modern movies — a Halloween costume perennial, endlessly parodied and referenced — and Danny Elfman's choral 'Ice Dance' theme gets borrowed whenever anything wants to sound like snowfall and wonder.
Where it stands
A gateway film for generations of young goths and Burton devotees, and a durable Letterboxd favorite that regularly tops 'Burton ranked' lists.
Did you know? It was horror legend Vincent Price's final major film role — Burton, who idolized Price as a kid (and had made the tribute short 'Vincent'), wrote the Inventor part specifically for him.
Named by the director
- Frankenstein (1931) — Burton has repeatedly framed Edward as his take on the sympathetic Frankenstein's-creature figure from the classic Universal monster movies he grew up loving.