Thank You Tim Burton

[JLBats]

It's not just fans. Have you ever heard the author of a book have a bloody abortion when they do an adaptation of his work and screw with the facts, details, characterizations, etc.?

But yes, especially with comicbooks, part of the coolness is that as long as you retain a few key iconic elements, there are endless interpretations.

Like with Godzilla...all of these are so dissimilar, but I love it.

I can kind of understand with the author thing. Generally authors invest in their own work and don't enjoy seeing it altered. After all, it was already PERFECT to that author. I guess the fans sort of feel that way as well, but they don't have the same emotional ownership as an author.

It's sort of like hearing a cover song of a band you like, a cover where they significantly alter the song. Why did they change it? It was already great, after all.

SO BACK OFF, FANBOYS.

 

[Darthphere]

I can kind of understand with the author thing. Generally authors invest in their own work and don't enjoy seeing it altered. After all, it was already PERFECT to that author. I guess the fans sort of feel that way as well, but they don't have the same emotional ownership as an author.

SO BACK OFF, FANBOYS.

Reminds me of Alan Moore and his hypocracy.

 

[The Chairman]

Frankenweenie - Never saw it
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure - A Classic
Beetle Juice - A Classic
Batman - an unwatchable pile of dung
Edward Scissorhands - Parts of it are okay, as a whole not very good
Batman Returns - Crap
Ed Wood - Great
Mars Attacks - A bad film but I love it, mainly because I'm in love with those aliens GAK....gNAK ACK!
Sleepy Hollow - Crap
Planet of the Apes - unbelievable crap. I enjoyed the make up and Tim Roth, that is all.
Big Fish - Never saw it because it sounded lame
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - unwatchable crap
Corpse Bride - Never watched it because it's crap


No, I won't be thanking him. He simply got lucky a few times. He doesn't understand what it takes to make a good movie. He just likes to slap quirky imagery up on the screen, which can be fun, but he pretty much sucks the ass.

Um, no. Sorry.

 

[JLBats]

Um, no. Sorry.

I have to agree with Wilhelm here().

Burton can put together some great bizarre images. But he's a ****ty storyteller and his narrative skills suck.

 

[The Chairman]

I have to agree with Wilhelm here().

Burton can put together some great bizarre images. But he's a ****ty storyteller and his narrative skills suck.

Um, no he isn't and no they dont. He uses the images to essentially tell the story. This adds a great deal of depth to his story. It proves just how creative he is.

 

[Speedball]

The only films up there that I like are
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Beetlejuice
Batman
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The first three because they are my childhood.
I know i said i didn't like Batman earlier, but I changed my mind. He didn't make it for money, he did because he wanted to.
And Charlie and the Chocolate factory simply because Johnny Depp is effing hilarious and perfect as Willy Wonka. Captain Jack will always be better though.
Oh yeah-
Forgot Mars Attacks! I love watching all those famous people die.

 

[The Apatow Crew]

You got Charlie and The Chocolate factory from him also.

 

[JLBats]

Um, no he isn't and no they dont. He uses the images to essentially tell the story. This adds a great deal of depth to his story. It proves just how creative he is.

Ha, no, it doesn't. He's possibly the most static director I've ever come across. This might do well to get across how "weird" an image on screen is, but movies should have some movement to them. Otherwise the ability to tell an effective story is shot.

Yes, his films are a treat for the eye. But he sucks at just TELLING the story.

 

[Untilteld]

I thought I'd give my thread a huge bump because of the newly released Sweeney Todd.

 

[DACrowe]

Thank you for:

Beetlejuice
Batman
Edward Scissorhands
Batman Returns
Nightmare Before Christmas
Ed Wood (his best)
Sleepy Hollow
Big Fish
and now....the amazing Sweeney Todd

I am sorry about how Mars Attacks and Planet of the Apes turned out. Can't win 'em all.

Also, sorry about arrogant fanboys who bandwagon on the newest thing and no longer appreciate the amount of creativity and depth went into your Batman films and seem to ignore Ed Wood, Big Fish, Sweeney Todd, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, etc. just because they didn't like POTO and couldn't comprehend the Batman films.

My 2 cents.

 

[DACrowe]

Ha, no, it doesn't. He's possibly the most static director I've ever come across. This might do well to get across how "weird" an image on screen is, but movies should have some movement to them. Otherwise the ability to tell an effective story is shot.

Yes, his films are a treat for the eye. But he sucks at just TELLING the story.

You falsely assume the story is the point of his movies. The story, while important, is merely the device he uses to explore his characters, worlds and themes going on in his head. There is more expressionism than narrative going on in most of his movies, but when he sets down to tell a story tradtionally, but using his values, you get the movies like Big Fish and the masterpiece Ed Wood. I'd say Sweeney Todd is another masterpiece of storytelling that combines his visual technique as a means to delve into the character's psychies with the environment and find the subtext of the images and narrative.

Static? I suppose he sticks with a certain style, but why not go ***** about how all Alfred Hitchcock movies are suspense and driven by dark forboding explorations of human nature? Or how about 3/4 of Martin Scorcesse's movies being about crime, almost exclusively the mafia (and almost always Italian?). Oh that's not in vouge...

 

[The Guard]

I've heard this "Tim Burton can't tell stories" argument so many times in the past. I think people mistake his storytelling style as a lack of story because his visuals and characters tend to overshadow the actual plot elements.

Tim Burton can tell stories. He just takes most of his structural influences from a time when most movies were less complex, and many of his story influences from fairy tales and his films reflect that. Essentially, his movies are like a lot of 70's and 80's movies. Straightforward without a lot of twists and turns. But let's not act like his films have no element of "story". They do. He just doesn't tend to utilize anything but very linear storytelling. Also, most of his movies involve very personal storylines, and so they don't seem very "grand" in scale, but personal, and by extension, "simple".

I'm curious as to which movies people think don't have any "story" to them.

 

[DACrowe]

I'd say his movies closest resemble the Expressionism going on in the silent era in Germany during the 1920s crossed with a love for bringing back the gothic fairy tale. H tells story but through the characters and visuals and not the screenplay's narrativie, usually and narrow minded people mistake this for not telling a story. He can still do movies like Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish and Sweeney Todd though which have classical story structure.

 

[The Guard]

When did he get attached ALICE IN WONDERLAND?

 

[The Guard]

I'd say his movies closest resemble the Expressionism going on in the silent era in Germany during the 1920s crossed with a love for bringing back the gothic fairy tale. He tells story but through the characters and visuals and not the screenplay's narrativie, usually and narrow minded people mistake this for not telling a story. He can still do movies like Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish and Sweeney Todd though which have classical story structure.

Exactly. He's a "show, don't tell" director.

 

[Kanon]

I'd like to thank Tim Burton for making the best Batman Live action movie to date

What he said

 

[Mr. Socko]

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure - 4/5
Beetlejuice - 4/5
Batman - 4.5/5
Edward Scissorhands - 3/5
Batman Returns - 4/5
Ed Wood - 5/5
Mars Attacks - 2/5
Sleepy Hollow - 3.5/5
Planet of the Apes - 1/5
Big Fish - 5/5
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 4/5
Corpse Bride - 3/5
Sweeney Todd- 5/5

I really like all of Burton's films besides Mars Attack and Planet of the Apes. And while Edward Scissorhands is considered a modern classic, I do like it, but I wasn't into it as much as most people.

When did he get attached ALICE IN WONDERLAND?

The news came just last month I believe. It'll be done in mo-cap Beowulf style.

 

[Agentsands77]

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure - 3/5
Beetlejuice - 4/5
Batman - 3.5/5
Edward Scissorhands - 4/5
Batman Returns - 3.75/5
Ed Wood - 4.5/5
Mars Attacks - 2/5
Sleepy Hollow - 2.5/5
Planet of the Apes - 1/5
Big Fish - 3.5/5
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 3/5
Corpse Bride - 3/5
Sweeney Todd - 5/5

Burton's a great director and I've always been fascinated by his films. However, I think he only recently realized his full potential in SWEENEY TODD.

 

[matthooper]

Thank you for Ed Wood first and foremost, but also thanks for Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and for the light and funny Pee Wee's Big Adventure. However...

I want my money back for Big Fish, Mars Attacks, and Planet of the Apes.

 

[cky]

Thank you Tim Burton for Ed Wood, and Beetle Juice.

But thank you for taking credit away from Henry Selick for the Nightmare Before Christmas. (Sorry it bugs me when people think Burton directed it)

 

[Tempest19]

The Germanic expression statement above- definitely true, saw Cabinet of Dr. Calligari recently and, imo, that film looked like it was directed by Tim Burton... so that's definitely his style.

 

[TNC9852002]

I still need to see Sleepy Hollow and Ed Wood..

-TNC

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

I would like to thank Tim Burton for Batman Returns, Tim Burton and Danny Devito are the only two people in film that can take the LAMEST Batman villain of all time and make him sadistic and entertaining.

Henchman: Penguin... killing sleeping children. Isn't it that a little ah...
[Penguin grabs an umbrella and shoots Henchman dead]
The Penguin: No! It's a lot!
[Kicks Henchman into the water]

 

[SolidSnakeMGS]

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) - Haven't seen, and no interest to do so.
Corpse Bride (2005) - Same as above.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) - Pretty much crap and unnecessary.
Big Fish (2003) - A huge disappointment. Proof Burton is mostly style (and bad) and that he can't make a normal movie if he tried.
Planet of the Apes (2001) - Complete crap with no redeeming features, not to mention unnecessary.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Only a buffoon could screw this up. Burton should have nailed this but no, he botches it royally.
Mars Attacks! (1996) - Crap.
Ed Wood (1994) - Great.
Batman Returns (1992) - Barely remember, but what I do, its a pretty lifeless and unnecessarily bleak and ugly film.
Edward Scissorhands (1990) - Don't remember.
Batman (1989) - Liked when I was kid. Now I find it flat and lifeless.
Beetle Juice (1988) - Liked it when I was a kid. Probably still would like it.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) - Good.
Frankenweenie (1984) - Never saw.

My conclusion:

Burton makes a lot of useless, unnecessary films. He is capable of good stuff, but his bad stuff and the proportion of crap to good films reflects on his generally poor and overrated filmmaking skills. He hides his flaws and ineptitude in layers of ugly, lifeless goth crap, and tries to pass it off as art. He himself seems very in love with himself and incapable of realizing his many weaknesses, so he doesn't really grow as a filmmaker.

 

[Sawyer]

I really enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Beetlejuice, and Sleepy Hollow. and the Batman's of course.