Lock Yourself In Weekend: Tim Burton
The Lock Yourself In Weekend: where we give you one artist or genre to focus on for your entire weekend. Our first edition features the great director Tim Burton. We picked seven great Burton flicks to lock yourself in with this weekend, and host your own at-home film fest. Every one is well worth the time. Enjoy!
Tim Burton truly is one of the most unique filmmakers of all time. Many of his movies feature characters who are quirky, weird outsiders who are written off or scorned by the status quo. They very much reflect Burton’s own struggles, and he’s able to establish a very distinct style and brand out of it. More recently his movies seem to have drifted towards what he thinks his audience wants, rather than what he wants to make. While they still may be visually appealing and hugely popular, they lack that special connection that bridge the gap between audience and filmmaker. But don’t let that take away from the fact that he’s made some great movies in his career:
7. Batman
There’s no denying that Tim Burton’s Batman set the standard for the modern superhero movie. Before the 1989 film, the Batman reputation was widely known for being incredibly campy and kitschy. In the 70’s they even considered making “Batman in Outer Space”. Thankfully we moved past the fascination of putting characters we love in space. Burton was able to bring his Gothic sensibilities to to Batman and turn it into living comic book rather than just a Saturday morning battle of good vs evil. At the time some critics complained that the movie was ‘too dark’, which is now ironic since Christopher Nolan’s series has been highly praised for it’s dark and more realistic portrayal of the Dark Knight.
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6. Mars Attacks
Mars Attacks is essentially a modern B Movie. It’s not really that great, but it’s fun to watch and hard to turn off. It was also the first Tim Burton film that opened to really mixed reviews. Part of the problem may be that while it features a great all-star cast, there’s no real focus on one central character or story. What is fun about the movie though is that nothing is sacred and celebrity status and ego provide no guarantee of survival. Jack Nicholson even dies twice! While the movie is incredibly campy it’s probably more realistic in that if Martians did invade Earth, they would probably take advantage of our kindness and then completely fuck us up.
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5. Beetlejuice
What great about Beetlejuice is that it was Tim Burton’s second movie and the first to really give him the freedom to explore his weirdness. They didn’t have a huge budget for this movie, but they were able to create a rich world that both morbid and cartoonish. Michael Keaton is perfect as Beetlejuice, kind of like a perverted zombie Bugs Bunny. He was constantly groping women, something that probably wouldn’t go over as well today. It’s really a great movie because it’s really not like anything else out there, which is exactly why Burton chose to direct it.
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4. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
Tim Burton’s debut feature film that catapulted him and Paul Reubens into the limelight. While it may seem like an odd pairing, Burton’s oddly dark sense of humor meshes well with Pee Wee’s innocent lightheartedness. The movie takes you on a journey though a quirky and time-forgotten America, filled with great characters met along the way. It also left us referring to every female trucker as Large Marge. This movie sets the tone for what becomes Burton’s style, kind of German expressionism meets a jumbo box of Crayola crayons.
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3. Edward Scissorhands
If you have to pick one movie that defines Tim Burton it would be Edward Scissorhands. From the style and the tone to the story of an outsider trying to gain acceptance, it’s pretty much everything Burton is about. It also marks the breakout roll for Johnny Depp that turned him into a genuine teen idol. He does a great job portraying emotion though limited dialogue. Even though Edward is gentle, he’s never quite accepted by the normals of suburbia who can’t see past his freakish exterior. It’s this theme that really resonates with the kids who get picked on just because they’re a little strange. If you didn’t enjoy this movie it’s probably because you were one of the jocks picking on those weird kids.
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2. Big Fish
Some could argue that the art of storytelling has been greatly diminished in today’s digital world. Video cameras on phones make it easy to capture moments and replay them exactly as they happened. While it may be accurate, there’s some imagination lost in relaying these stories. Big Fish is a modern tall-tale that explores the divide between older and newer generations. Edward Bloom tells these fantastic stories, but his son William just wants the straight shoot. Tim Burton does a great job of taking these larger than life stories and portrays them in the way you would imagine. The visuals are so lush and rich, it marks a growth from his Gothic, German Expressionist inspired style. And so what if it’s a little sappy at times? Almost everyone can relate to the process of being with someone as they die. Just give in and enjoy it. It’s a great movie to just submerge yourself into.
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1. Ed Wood
Tim Burton sees much of himself in Ed Wood, despite the fact that Ed was a horrible filmmaker and Tim is not. Wood is regarded as one of the worst filmmakers ever, but he made these bad movies with such earnestness. You’d think for someone with so much drive and integrity he’d want to do more than one take? It’s this passion for artistic vision that Burton admires, as he probably felt the same early in his career as an animator at Disney. Martin Landau also does an incredible job of portraying Bela Lugosi as a Hollywood legend who’s been forgotten about. The relationship between Ed and Bela is not unlike the friendship that Tim Burton developed Vincent Price. Because Burton feels these connections, he’s able to craft a film that draws humor out of these situations without ridiculing the people in them. CUT! PERFECT! PRINT IT!
