Ten Best Tim Burton Movies
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ORIGINAL HEADING:
Here’s another blog I made. Another one?
Really? Oh well, I like lists so
this blog contains lists only. Unlike my
Best/Worst of the Year lists posted on my other blog (one of many), Best and
Worst Films Archive, this one will contain top ten lists for specific
genres. Whenever people ask me what my
favorite movie is, I never have a definitive answer so these entries will give
you a general idea of what some of my
favorite films are. Agree or disagree, I
don’t give a ‘eff’ (that’s your right)…
*Read any previous lists in the
archive section at the bottom or by clicking on arrow at top left*
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Tim
Burton is one of my favorite directors.
I didn’t fully appreciate him until the end of high school, even though
I still liked many of his films before that.
He far exerts style over substance and that is what many, especially Goths
or Goth-enthusiasts like myself, find so appealing about his oeuvre. Like all my lists thus far, and the future
won’t be any different, it was very hard compiling this. I included films he may have only produced
like The Nightmare Before Christmas. He actually didn’t direct that milestone
since it coincided with his direction of Batman
Returns, so he produced while delegating the role of director to Henry
Selick, the man behind James and the
Giant Peach and Coraline, two
films I’m also a big fan of. The concept
and characters were all completely his doing though, thus his name being atop
the title. James and the Giant Peach almost made it to the list since it was a
good adaptation of a book by one of my favorite authors, Roald Dahl, combining
live-action and claymation. Batman and Batman Returns are still my two favorite Batman movies to date, partially due to nostalgia. I remember watching my one grandmom’s VHS
copy of Batman continuously back when
it was released. Batman Returns utilized more of Burton’s style I think and Michelle
Pfeiffer will always be the best Catwoman to me. Ed Wood
was a good biopic about the “worst director of all time” and I almost feel
uneducated by not including it, but it wasn’t one of his movies I grew up with
or watched enough to say it’s one of my favorites. At first, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was a huge fan of the original film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,
before that and Roald Dahl’s book (the same title as Burton’s film) is one of
my favorite books of all time (that and Coraline by Neil Gaiman). After watching it a couple times, I grew to
appreciate it more each time and the film in its entirety makes the original
one appear, I dare say, dated. I still
love both versions though. Before you
give me flack for not including Corpse
Bride, yes I did like it, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Jack Skellington’s
feature! I indicated the year for Frankenweenie so as not to be confused
with the short live-action film that inspired the feature length claymation,
although I did enjoy that one too, just not as much. I liked pretty much all the movies Tim was
involved in, some naturally less than others, even those that may not have been
particularly Burtonesque, like Big Eyes
and Mars Attacks! The only one I didn’t care for was Cabin Boy which baffles me as to why and
how Tim got involved with producing that garbage in the first place. I didn’t much care for the Alice in Wonderland sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass,
either. I’ll always be interested in
what he puts out until his retirement or death and believe I’ll always be a fan
of his works already made (not just the ten below). One thing is certain---he was one of the main
inspirations for me wanting to pursue filmmaking even though I never stuck it
through, but at least he got me interested in the filmmaking process as a
whole, making me look at movies differently.
I even did a research paper on him as an auteur in college. I’m anxious to see his upcoming adaptation of
Dumbo, but until then, just enjoy my
ten favorite films of his below for the first or 100th time…
Ten
Best Tim Burton Movies
1. Batman (1989)
2. Batman Returns
3. Beetlejuice
4. Big Fish
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
6. Edward Scissorhands*
7. Frankenweenie (2012)
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas*
9. Sleepy Hollow*
10. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
*indicates a standout title
---Sean O.
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