Edward Scissorhands (1990)
91%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
9 wins & 24 nominations total
The first collaboration between Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands is a magical modern fairy tale with gothic overtones and a sweet center.
Edward Scissorhands is a movie that’s as unique as its titular character. Tim Burton’s surreal and whimsical style is on full display, and Johnny Depp’s performance as Edward is both haunting and charming. The story is a modern fairytale that explores themes of acceptance and belonging, and it’s told with infinite sympathy for its outsider protagonist. While some of the characters may be underdeveloped or overcooked, the film’s intangible wizardry and career-making performances make it a classic that stands the test of time. Plus, who wouldn’t want to have scissors for hands? It would make cutting vegetables so much easier!
Production Company(ies)
Buffalo Film Works Paramount Pictures, Platinum Dunes
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Southgate Shopping Center – 2515 Florida Ave S, Lakeland, Florida, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1990
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.33 : 1 (original/open matte)
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Runtime:1h 45m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 7, 1990 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 18, 2001
Genre(s)
Holiday/Fantasy
Keyword(s)
starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Alan Arkin, Kathy Baker, Vincent Price, directed by Tim Burton, written by Caroline Thompson, holiday, fantasy, romance, PG-13, box office gross $54.2M, reviewed by Henry Sheehan, Marc Lee, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Variety Staff, Nell Minow, Janet Maslin, Quentin Crisp, Richard Propes, Leigh Paatsch, Harriet Waugh, Alex Arabian, Film Inquiry, produced by Denise Di Novi, Tim Burton
Worldwide gross: $86,024,005
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $198,318,826
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 696
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 21,626,917
US/Canada gross: $56,362,352
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $129,937,167
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 589
US/Canada opening weekend: $159,622
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $367,991
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,479
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $46,107,787
Production budget ranking: 853
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $24,829,043
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $127,381,996
ROI to date (est.): 180%
ROI ranking: 684
Winona Ryder – Kim Boggs
Dianne Wiest – Peg Boggs
Anthony Michael Hall – Jim
Alan Arkin – Bill
Kathy Baker – Joyce
Director(s)
Tim Burton
Writer(s)
Caroline Thompson
Producer(s)
Denise Di Novi, Tim Burton
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
9 wins & 24 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (61) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (6)
Edward Scissorhands is a flashy and entertaining apologia from an artist who has not accumulated enough work to justify such self-concern.
May 24, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Henry Sheehan
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Burton’s modern fairytale has an almost palpably personal feel: it is told gently, subtly and with infinite sympathy for an outsider who charms the locals but then inadvertently arouses their baser instincts.
December 17, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
Marc Lee
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
An original movie, though not Tim Burton’s best.
June 17, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
A delightful and delicate comic fable.
May 8, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
June 26, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
Mr. Burton invests awe-inspiring ingenuity into the process of reinventing something very small.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 3.5/5
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
The highest praise must be reserved for Mr. Depp, who, as the hero, manages to evince a gentle charm in spite of being encrusted with several ounces of make-up.
April 6, 2022
Quentin Crisp
Christopher Street
Long a courageous actor, Depp inhabits a character that by all accounts should have been a freak or caricature.
September 7, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
One-of-a-kind fairytale for adults from director Tim Burton.
April 15, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Watching the film is like turning the pages of a small child’s book which has very pretty pictures and two lines of large print spelling out the story.
July 19, 2018
Harriet Waugh
The Spectator
With Burton’s surreal illustrative ingenuity, Depp and Ryder’s career-making performances, and a story filled with simplicity, complexity, and intangible wizardry that stands the test of time, Edward Scissorhands is one of the greatest films ever made.
December 28, 2017
Alex Arabian
Film Inquiry
Depp cuts a haunting figure, while Wiest is typically excellent. The rest of the actors are forced to play characters who are either underdeveloped or overcooked, and the broadness of Burton’s approach eventually leads to a wholly unsatisfying resolution.
October 24, 2015 | Rating: 2.5/4
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing…
Plot
In a castle high on top of a hill lives an inventor’s greatest creation – Edward, a near-complete person. The creator died before he could finish Edward’s hands; instead, he is left with metal scissors for hands. Since then, he has lived alone, until a kind lady called Peg discovers him and welcomes him into her home. At first, everyone welcomes him into the community, but soon things begin to take a change for the worse.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Edward Scissorhands on Fresh Kernels.
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