Jack Nicholson's 'Joker' character in 1989's "Batman" directed by Tim Burton, was dark and psychotic as 'The Joker' was in the comic books, but it was very cartoonish.  However, it was stylish with all of the gags and "jokes" and antics that Nicholson's character would use.  However, there was a major flaw in Burton's version.  'The Joker' didn't kill Bruce Wayne's parents.  It was very animated in Tim Burton's style of filmaking.  One could almost always recognize a Tim Burton film without knowing that Tim Burton made it.  Heath Ledger's portrayal of 'The Joker' had a much darker approach in Christopher Nolan's depection of "The Dark Knight", the highly successful sequel to "Batman Begins" also directed by Nolan.  Ledger's 'Joker' was beyond crazy.  He was completly insane who just happened to be an anarchist at the same time.  Now that's dangerous combination.  Christopher Nolan in a lot of people's opinions as well as mine, got 'Batman' right as far as how the stories should be told. 

Nolan got all the key facts of the 'Batman' saga right.  'Joe Chill' killed Bruce Wayne's parents.  Audiences also learned how 'Batman' acquired all of his cool gadgets and the 'Batmobile'.  Not every villian was killed off.  We got to see Bruce Wayne's struggle between being the socialite who yearns for a normal life and his calling to be Gotham City's guardian and protector. Nolan's vision of Batman is exactly how I always read the Batman comic books.  It wasn't outlandish but at the same time, it wasn't dull and plain.  It was dark and brooding and more realistic as it should be in my humble opinion. There were however, many humorous moments in "The Dark Knight" which Ledger stole every scene he was in.  Some scenes were not meant to be funny but you couldn't help but laugh. 

Are we as society so messed up in our heads that we laugh at something beyond the norm in film but in reality, we gasp?  Or was it that Ledger had the perfect delivery for his role?  Hard to say really.  Probably both.   Batman was never intended to be a ridiculous cartoon character or the campy, hip Batman such as Adam West's portrayal of The Caped Crusader in the 1960's Batman television show.   The point that I am trying to make is that one cannot compare Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker to Jack Nicholson's.  They are two completly different styles.  Two different visions.  They weren't even remakes of the same movie.  The two plots were completly different.  I am however, more partial to Nolan's vision, because that was the version i always read in the comics. 

I'm sure that people would feel the same way about Burton's version because of the style it was written during that time period.  I'm not going to say that one was better than the other.  I have my opinion which I'm going to guarantee is a lot different than anyone elses.  I'm almost willing to bet that right now you as the audience is thinking, "Is this guy a complete nerd?"  That's okay because i know i am.  However, if being a nerd is what keeps me going, then so be it.  Today's lesson, don't compare the two different styles, compare the original to the remake.

Edward Scissorhands

 Is one of my favorite films by Tim Burton. It was made in 1990. Its style is very Tim Burton. To describe his style in this movie, I could use one word Gothic. He has a very Gothic style. He also has great attention to composition. For example in the beginning of this movie he chooses several shots that have no reason in the movie but to be beautiful shots. Burton also chooses a lot of POV shots in this movie. Among that he uses shadows to his advantage. It is not unlikely that one would miss the silver stars on the wind chime reflecting moonlight in the room where Edward is sleeping on his second night at Peg's house, or the animated shadow of the fish tank on the wall in another house. Burton puts many of those little things in his films if one wants to see them. Another thing that is very noticeable is the mixture of saturated and de-saturated colors as well as his use of odd shaped de-saturated things. It seems he uses odd shapes to show uneasiness, in other words instead of showing a normal looking dark castle with a Dutch angle to show possible danger, Burton will show you an odd shaped twisted dark castle at a normal angle.

One thing Burton seems to express not just in this movie but in others as well is darkness is not always bad. As a matter of fact I think Burton did a perfect job in showing that beauty is only an exterior in this film. The town of Suburbia in this film is almost a Norman Rockwell painting. It is the perfect American town, well at least on the outside. But within the first ten minutes we see that every one of these perfect people are very dark, they are cut throat and only out for their own interests. This I think is shown perfectly when peg gets into her car and the side mirror is reflecting the pastel painting of a town and as she adjusts her mirror the town seems to visually change into this dark gloomy castle. I think that this was Tim burtons way of showing the reality of the town for its true nature. Once again that detail is there if you want to see it.

On the flip side Edward who looks very dark, scary even, is almost child like. He doesn't know harm, gossip, lies. He is the essence of innocence wrapped up in a very dark package. Burton also helps capture this child like appearance by a lot of the time shooting Edward at a slightly above normal angle not to diminish him completely but to make him appear more innocent. All in all this film could not have been as good as it was without the directing styles and creativity of Tim Burton.

Mars Attacks

It is very different than Edward Scissorhands. . It was cut similarly though. Unfortunately camera angle and cutting style is not were Burton differs from other camera/cutting styles. It is in the underlying content of the film as well as the design or look and feel of the film as well. And this film was not lacking Tim Burton's touch. As a matter of fact it is just as dark as his other films. Although aesthetically it was violent it was not dark looking. It was full of dark humor. No doubt you will find it in the comedy section, but it also like most Tim Burton's movies, makes a statement. And this movie is about showing the true nature of humans, once again the dark side of humanity. Yes the Martians were dark in this movie. But the humans are just as bad. Before the Martians landed the government was talking about whether kill them or talk to them. The president for example was being a politician to his dying minute. The president's wife was only interested in wealth and power.

There was the family from Arkansas who's greatest moment was sending their son off to the army so they could find joy through someone else's achievements. It did not however have the gothic style a lot of Burton's movies do This film also had the Burton “if you want to see it” moments in it, For example the two aliens looting a store in the chaos. Or, the three police officers running out of the doughnut shop before the Martians blew it up. Those are a few examples of things that the director obviously decided upon and they worked great. The movie ended up being entertaining, funny, thought provoking. And because Tim Burton directed it, it turned out dark as well. As far as genre I would say this was a dark comedy, whereas Edward Scissor Hands is a dark fantasy.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

First of all, there were mixed feelings about this movie. The reason for this was most likely due to the fact that it was a remake of a classic film. Some people tried to compare the two and decide which one is better. Some still were able to look at the two movies as separate films. Tim Burton dazzles us in this movie by combining aspects of the two previous movies mentioned above. This movie contains dark de-saturated imagery, some of it even slightly gothic. It also contains the bright saturated colors as well. In other words it had a similar look and feel of Edward Scissor Hands, but it had the same type of dark humor of Mars Attacks. When I say same type of humor I don't mean violent, but humor that you have to be in kind of a sadistic mindset to be funny (for example Wonka: Everything in this room is edible even I'm edible but that is called cannibalism and it frowned upon in most society”). Burton also puts his use of frame in frame for no reason other than it looks aesthetically pleasing. Like Edward Scissor Hands, the things appearing dark or gloomy are not necessarily bad, and the things that are bright and cheery are not that either. Consider, Charlie's house is very dark, depressing looking even but that family stays together and loves each other. Willy Wonka's factory is dark on the outside, but when inside it is bright and colorful. As a matter of fact Wonka looks very de-saturated throughout the film, but he truly is a good person as well. On the flip side all of the other children besides Charlie are all wearing bright or colorful clothes their eyes are a saturated blue, but on the inside they are rotten and dark. The message seen is not necessarily dark is good but rather Burton seems to go to great lengths to show things are not always what they look like on the out side. This is shown even in the last scene with the bucket's house. It is gloomy snowing and de-saturated outside. Inside there is colorful food on the table and happiness. Once again the camera cutting or special angles are not used in any particular style synonymous with Tim Burton. But as mentioned the composition of the shots are very artful. It is obvious in this movie a lot of attention was put on what should be seen and how it should be seen. All in all I thought this was one of his best films.

To put all of this together is to look at how Tim Burton has evolved over the years. From Edward scissor hands in 1990 to Charlie and the chocolate factory in 2005. That is fifteen years of making movies and only a portion of his career. It can be noticed from watching these three films that Tim Burton does have a particular style. And because he writes and produces a lot of his films, His touch goes into every aspect. And in a live action film by Tim Burton it seems you will always see a theme about human nature and the real darkness within, not only will that theme be in there but Burton will be able to show it masterfully. In a Tim Burton movie you will always see at least one or two interesting frame in frame shots in there only because it works best for composition. You will always see close attention paid to set design and lighting.

And you will always see Tim Burton using all of the things he has learned on his own journey being used and helping each film he does. And that is why I chose these three films to talk about. It seams in Edward scissor hands Tim Burton uses mostly his dark mixed with colorful imagery. He does have a little of his humor in there but that wouldn't be fully utilized until later. In Edward scissor hands Burton was able to show a film that only goes very much over the line of being bizarre and almost stupid, but he is able to make it entertaining and captivating by having wonderful actors, a beautiful story and great imagery. On the other hand we have Mars Attacks; this film as mentioned does not have the dark almost gothic imagery as does so many of Burton's films. But what it does have is comedy. It also has greatly composed shots and great actors. This film too has the lessons in human nature. And it to is one of those films that directed by anyone else would have failed miserably. Once again Burton took a screenplay that should have been too stupid to consider and he turned it into a success by putting his wonderful composition with plenty of bizarre violence and dark comedy.

Which brings us to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a film that I believe Burton used his talent for showing dark images and making them look good with his dark comedy, which shows that he is great at evolving to improve his style. Just one look at these three films will show that Charlie and the Chocolate factory has imagery from Edward scissor hands with out of place dark humor of Mars Attacks thrown into the mix of things. Out of place humor meaning it is unexpected, such as a cow being wiped to make whipped cream. And once again He was able to take concepts that are in reality much to stupid or bazaar to be shown, and he fills it with witty lines beautiful shots and great acting. All in all if I was to describe Tim Burtons style to someone who is not in the film industry, I would say he is an artistic genius that is able to take the most bizarre child's fairytale, mix it with another's nightmares and come up with a story even an adult can't resist, all the while throwing in imagery you can't look away from.

The film follows a barber named Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), unfairly sentenced to hard labour in Australia after the corrupt and perverted Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) seizes his young wife. Now Barker has returned to London, now calling himself Sweeney Todd, and is bent on revenge. With the aid of Mrs Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) who owns a pie shop under Todd's flat (and claims to sell “the worst pies in London”), Todd sets himself up at his trade once more and prepares to exact his revenge.

Fusing dark humour, sinister performances and truly stunning art direction, “Sweeney Todd” is a cinematic tour de force, a gruesome delight from start to finish. Johnny Depp excels as the titular throat-slitting barber, playing a true “villain” for the first time and creating a sympathetic yet frightening character: driven, obsessive and brooding. His performance is all the more remarkable for his singing which might not be to the standard of the average West End show but is passionate and attractive enough to rise above the tempestuous score. The decision to cast good actors who could sing passably, rather than good singers who can act passably, is one of the film's strongest points, Helena Bonham Carter and Timothy Spall may not be the new faces of pop music but they are certainly familiar and respected faces on film! A pleasant surprise comes from Sacha Baron Cohen, better known to television fans as Ali G or Borat, as a charlatan barber and rival of Todd's, his singing voice is incredible along with his frankly hilarious accents, an added and unexpected treat. Aside from riveting performances from Depp, Bonham Carter and Rickman, the film also benefits from the incredible set designs, costumes and makeup that create the sinister world of Todd's London, painted across the silver screen in a sinister palette of grey, black and blood red. Using CGI to create some of the skyscapes and backgrounds, with coldly realistic foreground sets, the film is visually set for contrasts, a theme picked up in the costumes (Mrs Lovett's and Todd's wild hair, almost monochrome outfits and gothic pallor is contrasted with the more “natural” look of the young sailor Anthony Hope and Todd's estranged daughter Johanna) as well as the music and the plot of the film.

Being a musical, the storyline and the score are practically inseparable; discordant music often heralds a character's distress, but strangely not the murders themselves, which are disturbingly juxtaposed with surprisingly elegant and beautiful music. As for the murders, well let's say this is not a film for the squeamish. Gory title credits fade away into a misleading lull lasting almost half of the film, disturbed only by the tragic back-story of the title character, before finally exposing us to steadily increasing levels of blood and gore, culminating in a fittingly revolting and deeply tragic ending.

Admittedly part of the appeal of the film comes from the “isn't that cool” factor of seeing great actors like Depp and Rickman singing a duet together, and from finally seeing Depp play a villainous character, but thankfully its power extends far beyond that. With it's gothic setting and design, gruesome effects, haunting music and captivating performances, this is a piece not to be missed Highly recommended to anyone who can stomach both musicals and visceral horror!

Tim Burton leads his crew once again, including the very talented Danny Elfman. With all the same lovable characters, though some of these characters may creep out small children. For those of you who do not know, and I hope that is very few, I will try to do the film justice.

The story begins with Jack Skellington, who is the Pumpkin king of a place called Halloween Town. Jack grows very bored with the same shrieks and trick or treats year after year, and ventures out with his bony dog Zero to discover new things. And boy does he ever. Jack loses himself in a dark forest, sleepwalking through most of the night. When he awakes, he comes upon a clearing with a circle of trees in the center. Each tree represents a holiday, though Jack has no idea what the other holidays are. Jack stumbles through a tree with the symbol of a Christmas tree on it, which leads him to a happy place by the name of Christmas Town. He is immediately enchanted and delighted! His eyes are wide as he takes in his surroundings. The snow, the ice, and all the happy faces; in his own words, “There are children throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads”! He snatches a few souvenirs in the hope of bringing Christmas to his Halloween Town.

The town is intrigued by the splendors that Christmas Town holds. Jack holds a town meeting and shows them a Christmas tree and presents and cookies! Only one person is wary of Jacks intentions and the mysterious Christmas Town. Sally the rag doll. She is a long time friend of Jacks and secretly hopes to be more. Although jacks intentions are good, things go from bad to worse.

His new goal of bringing Christmas to Halloween town unfolds, making HIM Santa Claus. He plans to give "Sandy Claws" a vacation, and take over all of his duties for Christmas Eve. I won't give away the end, just in case someone hasn't seen it. The story itself is an enchantment in itself. The remarkable visual effects and lovable characters make this film the most enchanting I've ever had the pleasure of watching.

With Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, and the voice talents of Chris Sarandon(Jack Skellington) , Catherine O'Hara (Sally), Glenn Shadix (the Mayor), Ken Page (Oogie Boogie), Ed Ivory ( Sandy Claws) and Danny Elfman performing the lyrical voice as Jack among other voices.

The film was originally released in 1993; the visual effects were remarkable then. After seeing the 3-D version myself, it makes it all the better. Snow falls on your face, creepy crawlies jump out in front of you, and the music is surrounding you. It is a very difficult feat to create such a spellbinding film, with such heartfelt characters, and all made out of clay! Tim Burton pulls it off effortlessly. This is a must-see musical experience!

It is one of those few stories where the film is better than the book. I read the book several times when I was young. This film has an all-star cast of characters. Director Tim Burton did an excellent job in the making of this film.

If you have seen and liked this film then it is clear to you why I do. I have to give Tim Burton props on this film, I do not usually like his films. His direction of Sleepy Hollow was Masterful admittedly, but I am not too big on his previous work.

Johnny Depp made a name for himself in Edward Scissorhands. Tim Burton made a name for himself with Nightmare Before Christmas. They made a great team making Sleepy Hollow. I hope to see them work together again in the future.

Go watch it if you haven't yet, it is a thrill a minute.