Movie Review: Dark Shadows (2012)

by Tony Dayoub

It's ironic that Tim Burton—whose expressionism-by-way-of-acid-tinged Batman was the forerunner of the modern superhero film—has a new film getting trounced in the box office by The Avengers, the ultimate example of the very kind of genre he helped to usher in at the start of his career. And that this film is Dark Shadows, not only a property with a fervent cult audience but probably the most satisfying effort from Burton in quite a long time. Based on the Gothic soap which ran on ABC from 1966-1971, Dark Shadows is the apotheosis of Burton's artistic concerns, perfectly fusing his love of all things dark and creepy with his off-kilter family dynamics in a way only glimpsed at in previous efforts like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and most precisely (but all too briefly) in his 1984 short, Frankenweenie. In films like Sweeney Todd, Burton gets the sense of dark foreboding right, but misses that infectious feeling of benign wonder which his other movies are bursting with. And most of the rest of his oeuvre, though exuberant in its ability to astonish with imaginative production design and fanciful style, doesn't quite get that Hammer horror feel of movies like Sleepy Hollow. Perhaps Dark Shadows succeeds because, by Burton's own admission, it was a formative influence.

Blu-ray Roundup: The Touchstones of Character

by Tony Dayoub

A couple of last week's Blu-ray releases explore their central characters in relation to the dream world they reside in. The more obvious one of course is Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010). But another one—a trilogy of westerns by Sergio Leone—surveys its respective protagonists against a subtler dreamscape. More on that one in a moment.

DVD Review: The Nightmare Before Christmas - Collector's Edition Worthy of the Animated Masterpiece

by Tony Dayoub



Fans of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) should be excited with a number of different versions of the newly restored and remastered film, now available on DVD and Blu-ray. The stop-motion animated film is fast becoming a must-see classic in both the Halloween and Christmas season. And now, after previous failed attempts, the definitive version finally makes it to retailer's shelves.


The story of Halloweentown's Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington, and his crusade to bring his version of Christmas to both our world and his own, was based on a poem by Tim Burton. After years of shopping the story to various studios, Burton teamed with composer Danny Elfman (Hellboy II: The Golden Army) and director Henry Selick (James and the Giant Peach) to deliver the film to the screen.

Surprisingly, this beautifully realized masterpiece had been released in a special edition DVD with lots of extra features, but with an inferior picture unsuitable for such a classic and unsuitable for today's HD TVs. Well, the new collector's edition corrects that by giving us a crisp anamorphic picture, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, and on the Blu-ray, TrueHD 7.1 audio.

While many of the special features of the new collector's edition overlap with the initial special edition's extras, there are some new bonus features that make this worth purchasing. A digital copy of the film is included, suitable for downloading on Macs and PCs. There's a holiday tour of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, which is taken over by Jack Skellington every year around Christmas time. Also included is a new commentary track by Burton, Elfman, and Selick, that in all honesty suffers a bit from being edited from separate conversations with each, rather than a shared interaction. But the best feature is a recitation of Burton's original poem by actor Christopher Lee (Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith) showcasing some of Burton's original line drawings used when designing the final film.

For the true raving fanatic, there's also a limited edition release available in a coffin-shaped box that holds a bust of Jack Skellington and a "Sandy Claws" hat and beard. Any way you choose, the collector's edition of The Nightmare Before Christmas is a must-have for your DVD collection.

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is available on DVD and Blu-ray today.

Stills provided courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

DVD Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Depp and Burton's Finest Collaboration Yet

by Tony Dayoub

Johnny Depp stars in his sixth movie for director Tim Burton, as the titular Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. His other films with Burton include Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When surveying Burton's work it is evident that his collaborations with Depp are often his most artistically successful ventures. Sweeney Todd, a musical, is no different. It is a fine addition to Burton's oeuvre. And there is no doubt that Depp gets the childlike sensibility that his director is seeking.

In Todd , Benjamin Barker, once a promising young barber with a wife and daughter, was sent to prison unjustly by evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). Though he was an innocent, Turpin had designs on stealing Barker's family for his own. Apparently, Barker's wife died while he was away. Now, the insidious Turpin seeks to make Barker's daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener) his young bride. Returning from prison in the guise of Sweeney Todd, he seeks revenge on Turpin - and London society, for their complicity in sending him to prison. Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), a local pie-maker, conspires with Todd in his quest for revenge, selling pies made out of all the victims of Todd's chair.

Sweeney Todd is a master barber, of course... the better to lure his prey into the chair. Like Todd, Depp's characters in Burton's films are frequently childlike outcasts with some distinctive talent. The eponymous Ed Wood is a second-rate film director that nonetheless has the ability to bring all sorts of freaks and misfits together to turn his vision into a film. Willy Wonka is adept at his work as a chocolatier. Edward Scissorhands can style hair AND shrubbery with ease. It is easy to see why the odd-looking Burton may identify with his protagonists as portrayed by Depp.

Perhaps the most obvious component of Depp's characters that resemble Burton is their appearance. Burton's sullen demeanor, wild hair, pallor, and dark-pitted eyes are depicted in most of Depp's personifications. Sleepy Hollow's Ichabod Crane is pale, while Willy Wonka is so white he's blue. Edward Scissorhands has an exaggerated reimagination of all of the director's physical characteristics. And Sweeney Todd, his shock of gray hair notwithstanding, is an idealized version of Burton himself... gothically handsome, but still wild-haired, pale, and sullen with sunken eyes.

Each of Depp's performances bear a resemblance to Burton in a much more important way than in their physical traits. Each is a stunted man-child delineated much more clearly by Depp than any of Burton's other alter egos. Ewan McGregor in Big Fish is obviously immature, but we don't get the tilted Burton sensibility in his portrayal. His performance has more in common with those of any number of film characters nostalgically reliving their pasts through tall tales like Terry Gilliam's Baron Munchausen. Michael Keaton, who has played Beetlejuice and Batman for Burton, has a darker more cynical take on Burton's protagonists. His performances eliminate Depp's capacity for childlike expressiveness so evident in Depp's eyes. Keaton's Beetlejuice is a hard-living (or unliving, as the case may be) wisecracker. Keaton's Batman is about stoic non-expressiveness. His Bruce Wayne died when he was a child leaving only the vigilante Batman. Even Depp's murderous Todd still uses the bitterness only to mask the wounded child within. We finally get a glimpse of that child at the end of the film, when he realizes the futility of his revenge, and let's his defenses down in defeat.

Sweeney Todd is a high point in Depp and Burton's collaboration. The DVD has a wealth of special features about the film, Stephen Sondheim's stage musical, and even the urban myth from which Todd is historically derived. I highly recommend it.

Still provided courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment.