Why So Blu?

Edward Scissorhands – 25th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Review)

Fall in love again with the timeless classic EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and celebrate its 25^th anniversary with an all-new beautifully remastered, all-new 4k transfer available everywhere on October 13. This special-edition Blu-ray™ giftset with commemorative package and Digital HD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, brings Tim Burton’s 1990 acclaimed work of art back to life just in time for Halloween.  This may be one of the many releases of this classic film, but know that you’re getting a brand new 4K transfer of the film here.  This is the one to double dip on, its not just a bunch of new fancy packaging with the same disc inside.  Whenever these rereleases come about, everyone is usually hesitant they could be buying the same exact thing with just one extra feature (Looking at you, Warner Bros), but fear not here as that is not the case.

Film 

Edward, an irresistibly charming creation with razor-sharp metal hands and a heart of gold. Edward’s lonely life in a Gothic castle changes forever when he meets a kindhearted Avon Lady, who takes him to a pastel paradise known as Suburbia. Thanks to his fantastic talents, Edward becomes a neighborhood sensation, but when he falls in love with Kim, he must go to extraordinary lengths to protect her.

Following the incredibly huge success of Batman in 1989, Burton’s next film wouldn’t be its sequel.  Instead, this was a nice little “for me” project and a return to the type of film he was making before the caped crusader.  Edward Scissorhands was something being worked on during Beetlejuice, but after Batman‘s success, it was fast tracked into production.  The film itself is a wonderful little bit of Universal Monster Movie meets crazy 1960s suburbia.  But if anything, its pretty much ultimate Burton.  I mean, if you’re looking for a film that could describe everything the auteur is in one film, Edward Scissorhands would SURELY be at the top of the list for candidates to take that mantle.

Edward Scissorhands is a bit of a landmark moment in the filmography of Tim Burton.  Its the first of what would be MANY collaborations with actor Johnny Depp.  And it almost might not have been.  Burton claims Depp was always his choice, but other actors like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and Robert Downey Jr among others (Yeah, I could see young RDJ doing this) were being pushed upon him by the studio.  At the time, we didn’t know a whole lot of Depp, but it was showing us that his handsome good looks were not above getting weird and sinking himself into a bizarre role like this that doesn’t paint him as incredibly glamorous.  Depp plays this role perfectly and definitely deserves plenty of credit for making this character such an iconic one.

The rest of the cast isn’t too shabby either.  Dianne Wiest is absolutely adorable and lovable in the film as the Avon lady that discovers Edward.  Wiest just seems like a good soul in the movie, moreso than thinking she’s some sort of ignorant person.  Winona Ryder jumps in the ring to go rounds with Burton again and of course she’s totally marvelous in the film.  The boyhood crushes on her did nothing but continue and grow strong with this film.  Anthony Michael Hall plays a terrific asshole character in the film.  His demise in the climax may be a bit much, but I was never completely offended by it and I feel like in kind of works in the area and environment from the film they are in.

You’re going to find pretty much zero complaint from me when it comes to the films of Tim Burton from 1985 to 1999.  The guy made an incredible run and was one of the top filmmakers of that era, not just a top new one.  Here, in Edward Scissorhands, the mans mind and creativity is on the most full display it had ever been at the time.  The sets, costumes, quirky characters and the like all just mesh so well into one cohesive world that just runs like a well oiled machine and never feels silly.  The film is a lighthearted and charming one that is beautifully designed and wonderfully executed.

Video 

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Clarity/Detail:  I can’t attest to the previous edition of the film on Blu-ray.  For some reason, this is a film I held off on forever, not biting on a double dip.  Its not like I was against it, I was gonna get there, but until now I just had the DVD.  As mentioned above, Edward Scissorhands has received a 4K remaster.  And good gravy this movie looks absolutely gorgeous.  Its got a gorgeous array of colors and the image just jumps right off the screen.  It looks so fresh and new.  Detail is quite terrific with background bushes even showing all their intricate cuts and textures.  Looking at this picture quality its hard to believe the film is 25 years old.  Its looking quite good for its age on this new Blu-ray transfer.

Depth:  There is an impressive amount of dimensional work here.  Backgrounds come through with impressive detail to them.  Spacing and freeness of objects and characters looks really good.  Edward’s home is especially groovy looking.  Movments are smooth and cinematic.

Black Levels:  Blacks are nice, rich and very accurate.  Patterns and textures of clothing and hair follicles come right through with the most minimal of detail maybe missing.  No curshing here either.

Color Reproduction:  Colors really impress here.  They look luscious and full.  Greens pop out gorgeously in many different shades and tints.  Reds and blues also find themselves pretty bold and lifting right off the screen.

Flesh Tones:  Skin tones look pretty natural and full  Edwards face looks well defined from any distance.  Facial details like wrinkles, lip texture, make-up, scars, stubble and freckle all come through with outstanding precision.

Noise/Artifacts:  This is outstandingly clean.

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English 4.0 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS 5.1, Spanish (Castillian) 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Italian 5.1 DTS, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Russian 5.1 DTS, Czech 2.0 Dolby Digital, Polish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Thai 2.0 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai

Dynamics:  This is a really nifty track here.  Effects from make-up being patted someone’s face to the constant slishing and slashing of Edward’s hands all sound full, defined, accurate and impressive.  There’s a nice healthy balance in this mix of the score audio, vocals and the sound effects.  Everything has its room to play around and never step on another’s toes.

Low Frequency Extension:  N/A

Surround Sound Presentation:  There is some good ambiance in the rear speakers, but they also get to play around in this 4 channel excursion.  There are cool unique sounds making them active and giving you a full sense of environment.  The front channels do a terrific job of chronicling movement across the screen as well as distance in volume placing.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Crisp, clean and set to the perfect volume.

Extras 

Edward Scissorhands – 25th Anniversary Edition comes with an UltraViolet Digital Copy of the film.

Audio Commentary

• By Tim Burton
• By Danny Elfman

Featurette (HD, 4:29) – A vintage epk making of/behind the scenes, featuring interviews with key cast members and Tim Burton.

Theatrical Trailers (HD, 4:17)

Summary 

25 years later and Edward Scissorhands continues to charm your pants off.  This is a movie that is just pure Tim Burton, no way around it.  This new Blu-ray with the 4K remaster should wow any fan of this movie.  The transfer is just terrific, giving the film a fresh look that just jumps right off the screen.  The coloring on the film is a work of art.  Yeah, we’d all like some more bonus, but you do get two commentaries and a vintage featurette that does have the late great Vincent Price providing some interview excerpts.  This is THE version of Edward Scissorhands to get as the strength of the film and the new transfer alone are enough to warrant a full price recommendation.  Currently, though, said full price is a pretty good steal.  Everybody should definitely snag this up if they are given the opportunity.