Edward Scissorhands 25th Anniversary Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Lynn Barker on Oct 16, 2015

Rating:

Kidzworld reviews the cool Tim Burton classic fantasy movie Edward Scissorhands starring a young Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder now out on restored Blu-ray for its 25th anniversary.

By: Lynn Barker

What if you had the most pure and innocent soul on earth but, as the creation of a kindly mad scientist, you had only sharp scissor-like appendages for hands? Do you think you could ever fit in with “normal” people? What if you fell in love with one of them?

Edward cuts paper dolls for show and tell at schoolCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Who is Edward Scissorhands?

An elderly woman (Wynona Ryder in make-up) tells her young granddaughter of a young man named Edward (Johnny Depp) who had scissors for hands. When an old inventor (Vincent Price), created this human-like boy/man, he had everything except for human hands. Sadly, the Inventor had a fatal heart attack and died before he could give real hands to his creation.

The inventor (Vincent Price) shows Edward (Johnny Depp) his new handsCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Bringing Edward Home

Local Avon saleslady Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest) finds Edward living alone in a run-down Gothic mansion on a hill above her suburb. He is weird all right but harmless and kind so she takes him to live with her, her husband Bill (Alan Arkin) and young son. When Peg’s teen daughter Kim (Wynona Ryder) comes back from a camping trip she is freaked to discover Edward who later falls in love with her and, gradually, she with him.

Edward and Kim are in loveCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Using Scissors for Success

Most of the neighbors are impressed by Edward's very cool talent for hedge-trimming and hair-cutting but Kim’s bossy jerk of a boyfriend Jim (Anthony Michael Hall) is hateful and secretly afraid of him. Jim decides to use Edward to help him break into his own house to steal from his rich, bullying and out-of-town father. When alarms are triggered, only Edward is trapped in the house when the police arrive. He is arrested and the neighbors start to turn against him.

Edward the hairdresserCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Sad Christmas

Ever a good guy, Edward takes full blame for the attempted robbery although both Jim and a reluctant Kim were involved. Everyone who liked Edward is now wary and afraid of him. At Christmas Edward carves a large angel ice sculpture based on Kim that is beautiful. The ice shavings from his flying Scissorhands look like falling snow and Kim dances under it. Jim arrives, startling Edward who accidentally cuts Kim’s hand. Freaked, he runs away.

Edward Scissorhands Clip "Snow Angel"

Misunderstanding

Kim breaks up with overbearing Jim who, drunk, returns later and young Kevin is almost run over by Jim’s van. Edward jumps to pull him aside and again, accidentally cuts him. The neighborhood thinks he is attacking the boy. Edward runs back to his old ruin of a mansion on the hill and the angry townspeople follow. Kim, who cares for him, also follows.

True Love?

Kim and Edward reunite but Jim arrives and beats Edward up. Jim strikes Kim when she tries to stop him and Edward stabs him. He falls out a window to his death. Kim confesses to Edward that she loves him. Does this odd couple have any chance at happiness?

Edward Scissorhands Trailer

Special Extra Features

There is a cool 25^th Anniversary set with this Blu-ray that includes paper dolls, a cookie cutter and a Christmas ornament. We got the Blu-ray alone.

A Featurette includes the fact that many modern people don’t know about this really great movie. There is on-set video with a young Johnny Depp and Wynona Ryder who fell in love during the film and had a relationship. This was an original behind-the-scenes extra. The actors talk about their characters. Director Tim Burton and classic actor Vincent Price comment as well. The writer Caroline Thompson says the movie is about trying to belong when it’s impossible. – Very nice to have but it would have been cool to see updated comments with the actors in present day talking about the film.
2 Audio Commentaries – watch these after you have seen the whole film at least once. Director Tim Burton’s comments are very good, some funny and all interesting. He talks about picking Johnny Depp for the role. “It was something in his eyes”. Also Johnny was then a teen idol in TV’s “21 Jump Street” and he felt that he didn’t fit into that Hollywood stereotype… just like Edward doesn’t fit into suburbia. We learn that Johnny wore the crazy Scissorhands around a lot to get used to them. This was the second time Tim worked with Wynona Ryder who played a totally different kind of Goth character in the popular film Beetlejuice. Well worth a listen for cool tidbits.
Famous composer Danny Elfman provides the second commentary in which his music plays during the film with no dialogue. He talks about the various themes in the movie to represent different characters or locales. This is one of his favorite film scores and one of his first. He has now down over 37 more! The music is just beautiful and a great listen.

Wrapping Up

Edward Scissorhands is a beloved 1990, Tim Burton classic film that combines social satire, romance and fantasy as only director Burton can. The movie will make you both laugh and cry. This re-mastered Blu-ray looks and sounds crisp and just beautiful. Although the included extras are all nice, it would have been entertaining to include a feature presenting the actors in 2015 looking back on their experiences making the movie.

Edward alone in his gardensCourtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

You can’t forget Johnny Depp’s charming and sad performance. It is the total opposite of his bombastic Captain Jack Sparrow character. The guy is a great actor. This is a film about trying to fit in when you are very different. What is it like caring about and even loving someone who is considered “handicapped” or just weird? We can all relate in some way. If you aren’t familiar with the movie, you need to check it out. Great for gifting or collecting. We go 4 stars.