Real life has this horrible way of intruding on fantasy. Though I'd much rather be spending exorbitant amounts of time with Avon lady Dianne, Gepetto-esque Vincent, dancing Winona, and Johnny's first truly brilliant performance in my favorite Tim film (I feel so close to this movie I'm totally on a first name basis with it) I couldn't work it out tonight. My post will be up on... Friday evening. Yes, let's go with that. But until then there's plenty of Edward Scissorhands love from these fine blogs joining in the Hit Me With Your Best Shot spirit. Go and read them!
I really suggest you do. My favorite thing about this series is reading the other pieces and learning from them. Films are communal but we all see them through different eyes.
Sometimes you can still catch them dancing in it... Antagony & Ecstasy - on the ideal metaphor for Burton's aesthetic. Being Norma Jean - "I'm not finished" wonderful look at Edward's hands and how they precede him. Cinesnatch -loves Dianne Wiest and Burton's use of Vincent Price. Film Actually - "Isn't it wild?" The Film's The Thing -cynical adulthood / childlike wonder Missemamm - when that suburban costume isn't working for you anymore Paraphrased Kulchar - let it be known that Kathy Baker is a hot bitch
Alexa here. I, like the rest of the world, saw The Avengers instead of Dark Shadows last weekend. My hopes for Joss Whedon's big budget career weren't dashed, as I presume they would have been if I'd seen Dark Shadows and hoped for any of Tim Burton's glorious whimsy of yore. Speaking of, I recently became enchanted with these terrariums created by Rachel Bishop. Rachel sculpted models out of wax and used moss, roots and other natural materials to create these tiny sustainable ecosystems in tribute to Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas. They make me wonder what other film universes I'd want to see living under glass; perhaps the Wilcox family home from Howard's End? Or the shire from Lord of the Rings? You can see more of Rachel's terrariums here.
BURTONJUICE... on Thursday nights we're looking at Tim Burton films chronologically. Previously we covered his early shorts including the perfect goth calling card in Vincent (1982).
a boy and his dog. til death do they part
As you may have heard Tim Burton is currently rethinkingFrankenweenie as a feature film. The Frankenstein story is so familiar as a myth that its ripe for either riffing on and spoofing in. But the short film is so successful at 29 minutes that it's strange to imagine it padded with another hour of footage. I thought I'd type up "things I didn't remember about the original Frankenweenie" but realized that the list would be far far too long as I didn't remember a single thing beyond the premise, that it was in black and white, and that particular boy (Barret Oliver, a major child star in the 80s. What became of him?) and his dead doggie. More after the jump...
BURTONJUICE. Our Tim Burton retrospective begins now... Every Thursday night until we can't take it no more!
Last week I rented the Disney documentary "Waking Sleeping Beauty" which I was curious to see again after it's strangely quiet public reception. I really enjoyed the documentary and though it ended like one big long self-aggrandizing commercial for the Magic Kingdom and all they bring to the movies, it's first hour is surprisingly frank about the downward slide of Disney animation in the 70s and 80s and the political tug of wars among the big money executives.
But let's get to the subject. Don't you always forget that Tim Burton started at Disney? I know I do. He never gets a line in this documentary but we do see him briefly twice in the behind the scenes footage while the narrator talks about the generational divide at Disney during the animation studio's near-demise in the 1980s.
Ron Miller knew that Walt's guys were retiring fast. He had to raise a new crop of animators but he was cautious about it. It was this interesting cross generational thing where you still had a few of these legendary artists who were in their 60s and approaching retirement and then a bunch of young people in their 20s who were really really exited and sort of passionate about this medium.
It was thrilling to learn from the masters but there was a feeling that somehow we could be making better films."
Burton doesn't look too happy sitting slack jawed in that tiny cubicle, but that's just his face. Surely the budding filmmaker was excited to be chasing his dreams. Even if his now ultra familiar dreams are far more Gorey lite Gothic than Disney cheerful.
Before his star ascended in the early 80s when two shorts Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984) gained him a reputation within the industry as a truly distinctive and entertaining filmmaker, he made a handful of very rarely screened shorts. I wish I'd attended the Burton exhibit recently which featured them. Have any of you seen these five?
The Island of Doctor Agor (1971) was his first effort at the age of 13. He played Dr Agor. Stalk of the Celery (1979) is a one punchline animated short but you can see Burtonisms especially his love for the mad scientist... though it should be said that Burton's ouevre also includes subversions of this trope, the benevolent (if still mad) scientist. Doctor of Doom (1979) has Burton crashing a party and creating a monster that he sends out to "destroy all beauty." Luau (1982) is a lengthy short that is unfortunately kind of unwatchable on YouTube but it telegraphs a bit about Burton's oddball sense of humor though it also seems a little hornier than his subsequent work. He plays a disembodied head that's the "most powerful force in the universe" and though he tries to turn people into zombies, he doesn't have much luck. At least at first... I gave up 12 minutes in but not before I understood his affinity for Ed Wood. Burton also made a version of the oft- filmed fairy tale Hansel & Gretel (1982) -- which is hard to find -- with the great production designer Rick Heinrichs as his producer. They met at Disney and kept working together.
Oscar winner Rick Heinrichs and Tim Burton at work on Vincent (1982)
It only took their collaboration 17 years later to win an Oscar (Heinrichs for Sleepy Hollow) though Tim Burton has famously never been nominated as Best Director. His sole personal nomination was for the animated feature Corpse Bride.
Where were we? Oscar trivia is so distracting. Oh yes, Vincent (1982). We love it. Disney, rather famously, did not. Too dark!
My favorite favorite favorite part...
He likes to experiment on his dog Abercrombie in the hopes of creating a terrible zombie.
Vincent is just wonderful isn't it? A.
Vincent's Tim Burton's perfect woman? Before we move on to Frankenweenie (The Original) next Thursday tell me if I'm crazy but little Vincent's hallucinated dead wife...
He knew he'd been banished to the tower of doom where he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life. alone with the portrait of his beautiful wife."
She looks SO familiar. A pinch of Lisa Marie? Two cups of Corpse Bride... a scoop of Helena Bonham-Carter in Alice in Wonderland? What Burton woman does this most remind you of?
What's your favorite part of Vincent? And do you think it's too easy to retroactively project meaning on to the early work of famous filmmakers?
I meant to start the Burtonjuice series tonight, a full retrospective of Tim Burton each Thursday night, but that might have to wait one more Thursday. Because we're all Burton'ed out after watching the trailer to Dark Shadowstwice in a row to see if it was for real.
Are you for real, trailer?
The trailer runs its mouth but does not answer.
It blabbers, nudges and winks, spreads its finger claws dramatically then goes back to amusing itself. We're glad someone is amused.
It does appear that Eva Green is having some fun with her role. Particularly fun is the ass on the piano bit and her deranged in-your-face sexuality.
Green reminds me a bit of Lisa Marie here. I know that Tim Burton has long since moved on to Helena Bonham-Carter but don't you kind of miss Lisa Marie? I do.
Production Designer Rick Heinrichs is clearly enjoying this Production Designer's Dream Project.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 10:52PM 
