Johnny Depp as the notorious Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands is an amazing picture that portays Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands, who was built by a scientist, played by Vincent Price, without any hands. The scientist sadly dies and Edward doesn't have any human interaction intill one day his local Avon representitive, Peg Boggs played by Dianne Wiest, comes to his door seeking his purchase of the makeup she is selling. Seeing his condition she takes him home and he is fastly introduced to the neighborhood. As the story progresses this outsider is faced with many difficult problems and romantic feelings for Pegg's daughter, Kim Boggs, played by Winona Ryder. Although he is different everyone comes to love him except for one supersitious lady. He is employed now to cut bushes and hair with his scissorhands. All this though does not constitute his acceptance and in the end he faces the wrath that everyone, who finds himself seperated from society, comes to.

Edward shares his amazing talents in art, such as this ice suplture

Written by: Matthew Ignoffo(mermatt@webtv.net
Eatontown, NJ, USA

When the film first opened 10 years ago, people thought it was a horror movie because it was made by Tim Burton and had a "monster" as the title character. True, it is modeled on FRANKENSTEIN, but it is really a wonderful fairy tale about being different and creative in a world that values conformity over everything else.

Vincent Price is a delight as the "mad scientist" who doesn't want to rule the world but to make cookies -- and a man who is really a robot with a heart. Like the IRON GIANT, this film appears to be a child's tale on the surface, but it is really profound with insights into human nature.

Depp is totally convincing in his odd Christ-figure role. His eyes and facial expressions show his real talent and range. He manages to be funny, sad, spirited, dejected, and inspiring while hidden under a body suit and thick make-up.

Edward is Tim Burton's alter-ego. If you ever see a picture of Burton, notice the fly-away hair and long fingers. He is showing us the artist in his struggle with a crass, bland world of pastel cookie-cutter houses and drab lives.

Danny Elfman's music here is his best. He has time to develop beautiful themes and variations. I think this is one of the most touching soundtracks ever written.

Since the movie concludes at Christmas time and has a mystical, magical ending, it is an ideal film for Christmas since it manages that rare quality of being really moving without being mawkish.

In the new DVD format, the images are sharp and the music is magnificent.

Edward's vacent expression captures many levels of pain in this picture

Trivia about Edward Scissorhands:

The houses used in the film were a real community in Florida, completely unchanged except for their garish exterior paint. Cruise, Tom and Downey Jr., Robert were considered for the role of Edward Scissorhands.

This was Vincent Price's last screen appearance.

The idea for the movie was inspired by a drawing Tim Burton had done when he was a teenager.

The first draft of the film was written as a musical.

During the scene where Edward runs away, back to his home, Johnny Depp collapsed from heat exhaustion due to the extreme temperatures and the leather costume.

Johnny Depp had to lose a reported 25 pounds for the role of Edward Scissorhands.

Love comes between two unlikely people an outsider and a popular but maybe misunderstood girl

"I can remember when I finished Edward Scissorhands, looking in a mirror as the girl was doing my makeup for the last time, putting on the appliances and the prosthetics, and thinking, wow. This is it. I'm saying goodbye to this guy. I'm saying goodbye to Edward Scissorhands. It was funny, I was kind of sad. But in fact, I think they're all still in there."
Johnny Depp
CombustibleCelluloid.com

"The thing is even if you're playing sort of a heightened character and playing inside sort of a heightened reality, you can still apply your own truths to those characters. It's funny because what happens to me when I read a script, when something grabs hold of me, I start getting these flashes of people or places or things or images. Like with Scissorhands, I kept thinking about dogs I had when I was a child, and newborn babies."
Johnny Depp
CombustibleCelluloid.com

"I thought this one of the greatest things I've ever read, and, at the same time, I thought … this will never come to me. Never. Never."
Johnny Depp
ABCNews.com

"I always loved silent film. Everything had to come out of their emotions and their eyes and their body movements."
Johnny Depp
ABCNews.com

"It started out as about three, three and a half hours for makeup and hair. But we got it down to a very fast hour, hour and a half. We knew towards the end it would be exactly one can of AquaNet that would go on the hair and by the end I was helping the makeup artist apply the scars and stuff. We had it down."
Johnny Depp
SplicedOnline.com

"I think that for the very uncomfortable first second I met Tim in a coffee shop in, I think it was 1989, there was something instant. There was an instant connection. It was a kind of understanding, a non-understanding, an appreciation for life and human behavior, for what is considered normal and what is not considered normal. There was a connection even in a deeper sense of having felt pretty outside growing up, and freakish, and a little bit weird. Also, Tim at a very young age was sort of obsessed with horror movies, monster movies and found -- as I had -- great sanctuary in those dark places."
Johnny Depp
SplicedOnline.com

"When I met Tim it was for "Edward Scissorhands," and at the time I was doing a television series ("21 Jump Street") and I was just convinced he would never, ever see me in the role. Even though I knew that I knew that guy. I knew Edward Scissorhands. I knew that emotion so well. I had read the script and obviously thought it was very, very special and beautiful and funny, and I just thought there was no way he was going to see me as that, and I just thought, this is embarrassing, and I was very uncomfortable at first."
Johnny Depp
SplicedOnline.com

"Tim and I, during that meeting, probably drank three or four pots of coffee each. And I was literally gnawing on my coffee spoon. I left the meeting still with my coffee spoon (gritting his teeth tightly as he speaks). I was wired beyond belief. Then at the end of the meeting, it felt great, it felt great, it felt great. (And I had to tell myself), "get the thought out of your head, you are not going to be Edward Scissorhands." But I got the part."
Johnny Depp
SplicedOnline.com

"I dabble in gardening now and again. But topiaries, no, not really."
Johnny Depp
Reel.com

"Did I ever cut myself? Unfortunately, I cut other people. I lanced Anthony Michael Hall a couple of times. He was the recipient of the blades more than once. Once, there was a fight scene. The cops were chasing me down the neighborhood streets. I got him in the eye — it was horrible — with the pinky blade, which was really a sharp little bugger. He got that. It was not nice. Not nice."
Johnny Depp
Reel.com