Edward Scissorhands
1990, PG-13, 100 min.
D: Tim Burton; with Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Conchata Ferrell, Kathy Baker.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp come close to achieving perfection in this dream tale about a boy whose maker dies before attaching his creation’s hands. Burton’s combination of fantastic and real imagery add to the story’s dreamy but satiric edge. Depp, as the fragile but irresistibly fabulous title character, is “shear” delight. This performance is the one that upped his popular standing from TV teen throb to credible film actor.

This article appears in December 21 • 1990 (Cover).

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.