Tim Burton

Started by tpfkabi, April 20, 2003, 02:42:22 PM

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tpfkabi

in the topic of Fellini, someone mentioned that he was one of Burton's favorite directors. after watching 8 1/2 for the second time, and with the knowledge, i could see it. i saw Beettlejuice on cable a few months ago and i was surprised. i had seen it several times as a kid, but seeing it now, i saw it in a new light. the same happened with Edward Scissorhands as well.

after this i wanted to see Beetlejuice. oddly enough, i went to 3 movie rental places in town and not a single one had the video or dvd versions. i saw that ES had a 10th anniv. disc put out, so i'll have to check that out.

but anywho, Burton really has a unique voice. i have to say that i was very dissapointed with Planet of the Apes though. i never got around to seeing Sleepy Hollow. and there's images from Pee Wee that will forever be stuck in my head (the tequila bar dance, large marge, etc).

i think it would be nice for Criterion to put out some discs on Beetlejuice and ES.

anywho, just wondered what everyone's fav TB movie was and any thoughts.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.

Dirk

Yeah, Planet of the Apes was very bad. I'd say that ES is my fave Burton film.
At wave level, everything exists as a contradiction. Everything is existing in more than one stage/place at any given moment. Everything must move/vibrate and constantly change to exist. Everything, including buildings, mountains, oceans and thoughts.

Gold Trumpet

I see the Fellini influence through his of imagery not really to just make a specific point or symbol in a movie, but to stay with the viewer for a long period of time in representing a feeling one got from the film that was likely impactful in a more subconcious way. That said, that is really the only place I see the influence of Fellini. I think as a storyteller, he seems held back in advancing his storytelling. It always seems to be more about the visuals and keeping the movie to a B level story that never grabs uniqueness when compared to other similiar movies. Ed Wood is my favorite of his and only one I really admire of his. I wished he was pushing his storytelling more, instead of just moving from genre to genre as it seems with his career and telling the typical story with his touch of imagery and feeling.

~rougerum

AlguienEstolamiPantalones

one very fucking cool thing about tim burton that no one ever talks about his love of odd pop culture. We always hear about his love of goth but seldom do people talk about his love of campy TV Shows and odd ball pop culture. I can see him building a shrine to mister T in his bed room.

Look at mars attacks its like a sci fi episode of the love boat. And the tom jones references and working with people like john Davidson.

And he set scissorhands  in the suburbs, where as a pretentious  prick would of looked for a darker setting. In this regard i feel very close to him, im obsessed with weird pop culture figures, i would rather work with don ho then wim wender. If mister belvedere was alive today i would cast him as a mafia hitman .

my one gripe with his films, for the most part his scripts are weak and thats not his fault . His directing is always on point . He is one of the best film makers we got .

Since Hollywood is always trying to re make old tv shows into movies, he is someone who i would love to see take a crack at at campy fun remake infact i would love to have seen his take on Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

BonBon85

Although he didn't direct it, I love Nightmare Before Christmas. The dvd is great because you can see all of the drawings he made to design the film. His recent films have been a bit disappointing, but I have high hopes for Big Fish.

Gold Trumpet

Well, you could say he should not be criticized for the writing in his films. But as a director, he should be taking some part in bringing up the quality if he doesn't think it is good enough. Burton isn't hired gun and has options in how he does his films. So I will give partial blame to him for the lack of good writing in his films that he didn't write. Didn't he write some of his early material though?

~rougerum

cowboykurtis

Quote from: The Gold TrumpetWell, you could say he should not be criticized for the writing in his films. But as a director, he should be taking some part in bringing up the quality if he doesn't think it is good enough. Burton isn't hired gun and has options in how he does his films. So I will give partial blame to him for the lack of good writing in his films that he didn't write. Didn't he write some of his early material though?

~rougerum

i read an interview with burton where he outright admited that he couldn't see a good script if it hit him square in the face. he seems to have no shame in saying that he has no clue how to distinguish a good script from a bad -- this always seemed a bit odd to me. obviously his career didn't blossom by making a bunch of chance decisions. no one can ever say what one's motives are behind a decion, his decisions probably differ from project to project -- the biggest problem is; once a director signs on to do a project, hes stuck, if the producers want to drastically change creative content -- they have the legal liberty to do so. i hear burton pretty much got fucked in the ass on planet of the apes -- i hear the ZANUCK squad put a muzzle on his creative input. burton made the film THEY wanted to make, instead of his original vision. its unfortunate -- unless the director also owns the creative property, the producers are the end all be all, when it comes down to decision making. all they have to say is -- im signing your check, you signed a contract, do as i say, or ill see you in court. Thats when you buckle down and take it in the ass or stick to your guns and go down in a blaze of glory.
...your excuses are your own...

ShanghaiOrange

Ed Wood is his best but Pee Wee's Big Adventure is my favorite. :(
Last five films (theater)
-The Da Vinci Code: *
-Thank You For Smoking: ***
-Silent Hill: ***1/2 (high)
-Happy Together: ***1/2
-Slither: **

Last five films (video)
-Solaris: ***1/2
-Cobra Verde: ***1/2
-My Best Fiend: **1/2
-Days of Heaven: ****
-The Thin Red Line: ***

Gold Trumpet

That is weird he would say something like that in his own ability to judge a screenplay. Maybe he sees it from a different angle than really a director, more like a graphic artist who is just working mainly in film and really only interested in certain elements of film that most relate to what he knows while other areas he doesn't know too much nor generally cares about that much. I believe you on Planet of the Apes, but that is one movie only, and a movie admitted by most fans to be his worst. I skipped it because I felt repeat of Sleepy Hollow and that even for not really liking Burton, dissapointed me because I expected more.

~rougerum

Sleuth

I think next up he should do a dark movie with a slightly twisted sense of humor
I like to hug dogs

cowboykurtis

burger king,

its not as easy as " knowing what you're getting into" -- its not possible. what happens often is: people are nice and promise things up front, but once a contract is signed all hell breaks loose. many times the original script that is agreed upon, is raped and pillaged by the time the film actually hits the screen. a producer in an editing room can be like a bull in a glass factory. there is a false stigma that the director is truly the one with control when making a studio film -- some have control, but the only reason they have it, is because the producer gave it to them. some producer realize a directors talent and let them work free of contraints, others ride their ass on every decision. usually the case is: the more money the film is costing, the more nervous and controlling a producer will be -- becuase at the end of the day, if a film doesn't make money, its the producer's ass on the line just as much as the director's.
...your excuses are your own...

Ernie

Most definitely one of the two filmmakers I loved and grew up with along with Spielberg...they are two of the biggest reasons that I love film so much today.

Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice are masterpieces...I still love to watch them all the time. Batman, Batman Returns, and Sleepy Hollow are all cool too...and Ed Wood which I haven't really seen in its entirety. I've always loved Burton...never seen anything by Fellini.

ShanghaiOrange

If you think about it, every Burton film has the same basic plot: pale-faced, good-hearted dimwit is thrust into a strange and foreign world that he ends up changing and that ends up changing him.

Let's make a chart, shall we:

Pale-faced Dimwit      | Strange World
---------------------------------------------
Pee Wee                   | The USA
Beetlejuice                | The mortal realm or whatever
Edward Scissorhands | Suburbia
Jack Skellington        | Christmastown
Ed Wood                   | Hollywood
The Astronaut           | The Planet of the Apes
Ichabod Crane          | Sleepy Hollow
Bruce Wayne            | Gotham City

The only one that doesn't really fit is Mars Attack! :(
Last five films (theater)
-The Da Vinci Code: *
-Thank You For Smoking: ***
-Silent Hill: ***1/2 (high)
-Happy Together: ***1/2
-Slither: **

Last five films (video)
-Solaris: ***1/2
-Cobra Verde: ***1/2
-My Best Fiend: **1/2
-Days of Heaven: ****
-The Thin Red Line: ***

MrBurgerKing

Quote from: ShanghaiOrangeIf you think about it, every Burton film has the same basic plot: pale-faced, good-hearted dimwit is thrust into a strange and foreign world that he ends up changing and that ends up changing him.

Let's make a chart, shall we:

Pale-faced Dimwit      | Strange World
---------------------------------------------
Pee Wee                   | The USA
Beetlejuice                | The mortal realm or whatever
Edward Scissorhands | Suburbia
Jack Skellington        | Christmastown
Ed Wood                   | Hollywood
The Astronaut           | The Planet of the Apes
Ichabod Crane          | Sleepy Hollow
Bruce Wayne            | Gotham City

The only one that doesn't really fit is Mars Attack! :(

Mars Attacks works too, but on a larger scale.

Martians --->  Planet Earth

tpfkabi

i think Beetlejuice needs a good DVD treatment. when looking for one, i saw that it was put out around the time dvd's first came out.

oh about scripts, etc. it looks like most of the films are from his original story ideas and then he has a person that writes the script, or at least that was how it was for the first ones i think.

==========
i found this at movies.com
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/specialreports/BigFish/
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.