DVDs Is Tim Burton Any Good

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Michael Giltz: DVDs: Is Tim Burton Any Good? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds-is-tim-burton-any-g_b_94361.html [4/5/2009 7:16:36 PM] APRIL 5, 2009 HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY 23/6 VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE Make HuffPost Your HomePage Get Email Alerts Twitter: Follow Us BIG NEWS : Angelina Jolie | Madonna | Chris Brown & Rihanna | Paul McCartney | More... LOG IN | SIGN UP Michael Giltz BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Similar Bloggers Be the First to Submit This Story to Digg DVDs: Is Tim Burton Any Good? Posted March 31, 2008 | 09:24 PM (EST) Read More: Animated Films , Beatles, David Milch , Dvds, Emile Hirsch , Hbo , Hockey , John From Cincinnati , John Lennon , Johnny Depp , Law & Order , Movies, Murder She Wrote , Paul McCartney , Ringo Starr , Stephen Sondheim , The Cutting Edge , Tim Burton, Tom Snyder , TV Shows , Breaking Entertainment News Director Tim Burton is one of the most successful artists in Hollywood. He's a "brand name" directorwho sells tickets a la Steven Spielberg, AlfredHitchcock and other iconic figures. You knowwhat to expect: quirky projects, a strong visual flair, black humor and excellent actors. His movies are often acclaimed and usually massiveworldwide successes. I love his taste in projects and talent and invariably get excited by the movieshe's making...and invariably disappointed when they come out. The latest example: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street ($34.99; DreamWorks). Surely this project is tailor-made for him: a Gothic musical with buckets of blood and a role suited to Burton's partner-in-crime Johnny Depp. And yet (again), the movie doesn't come close toworking: the biggest crime here is not the cutting of throats but the lack of trained throats. Youreally shouldn't make a movie with one of the best and most challenging scores in Broadwayhistory by casting people who can at best deliver only one-tenth of the song's power. Depp, HelenaBonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and even Sacha Baron Cohen -- couldn't they havecast at least one person who can sing? Whatever keeps Sweeney Todd from coming alive, the film is hardly alone in the Burton canon when it comes to projects that seem like perfect fits but don't come close to delivering. Burton's feature debut was the delightful Pee-Wee's Big Adventure in 1985, but I give most of the credit for that to Paul Reubens. (Just look at the brilliant TV show he oversaw as well.) Beetle Juice in 1988 was an offbeat hit (again, most of his movies are commercially successful) but even at the time itseemed barely above the level of a so-so sitcom. 1989's Batman should be unassailable -- it drew inspiration from dark re-imaginings of Batman, featured soaringly oppressive sets and a (wildly over-praised) performance from Jack Nicholson as the Joker. But have you watched it lately? The movie is remarkably stolid. Keaton looks lightweightas Bruce Wayne, Kim Basinger is a joke as the love interest, Nicholson is beyond scenery chewing(the "scary" scene where we watch the Joker dance to a song by Prince is just embarrassing) and Popular Stories on HuffPost Fashion Face-Off! Michelle Obama And Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Finally Meet In France (VIDEO, PHOTOS, POLL) *Video, poll and slideshow Levi Johnston TalksSafe Sex With Tyra Banks (VIDEO) ***UPDATE*** 8:30pm: People.com is reporting that Sarah Palin has issued... 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We all fondly remember Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman (she really was great) but ignore the tediousness that dominates the rest of the film, from the endless backstories of the villains (like the original, it's a movie where Batman seems toplay second fiddle) to the insanely awful action "climax" featuring penguins waddling around withmissiles strapped to their backs. In between those two is Edward Scissorhands from 1990 and since a lovely performance can hide many flaws, this one holds up pretty well. But anything other than Johnny Depp is obvious and flat here, like the heavy-handed satire about cookie cutter suburban living. 1994's Ed Wood is easily Burton's best work -- ironically a loving homage to a director who lovingly made bad movies. Mars Attacks! (1996) is just a misfire, the word that typifies everything from here on out. Sleepy Hollow (1999) seems like a slam dunk when you hear about it but holds no interest after you've seen it once. Planet of the Apes is a legendary 2001 disaster, Big Fish (2003) just aimless whimsy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) creepy (and visually just a rehash of the original) and Sweeney Todd emotionally flat. That's a lot of duds surrounding the one or two movies that might make you say, "But I liked that." The one area where Burton has been consistent, the one area where he perhaps should have been focused all along, is animation and stop-motion movies. His shorts Vincent and Frankenweenie are droll, the marvelous Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas was directed by Henry Selick but has Burton's heart and soul, and Corpse Bride is a solid follow-up. So with two newprojects apparently in the works, I'll hold out the most hope for the feature-length animatedversion of Frankenweenie . The other project is a new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and of course it makes sense, it seems an obvious project that should bring out the best in himand...and...we've been down that road too many times before. Also out this week: John From Cincinnati: The Complete Series ($59.98; HBO), which features creator David Milch's commentary on the pilot and finale -- he's profane and quirky and wonderfully random but you still won't have a clue as to what's going on in this metaphysical surfshow; Father Knows Best Season One ($34.99; Shout) lacks the bite of Leave it To Beaver or the kitschy appeal of The Brady Bunch and certainly never approaches the heights of I Love Lucy but families don't change that much and it's comforting to think that at least one time long ago lifeseemed that simple; Ron Livingston stars as a crusading Vietnam Vet in Music Within ($27.98; MGM) and he's happy to be upstaged throughout by Michael Sheen as a wheelchair-bound buddy;one of the most beautiful actors ever is celebrated in The Alain Delon 5-Film Collection ($39.98; Lions Gate), with movies ranging from the 60s to the 80s and throughout Delon's savvy taste inscripts like The Swimming Pool and Diabolically Yours kept him from being just a pretty face; the Coens aren't the only brothers to triumph as a team, as demonstrated by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, who see three of their films released on DVD including Fiorile, Kaos and their masterpiece The Night Of The Shooting Stars ($26.98 each; Koch Lorber); Blue Man Group's How To Be A Megastar Live! 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Reality Star Jade Goody Buried In Lavish... rules continues with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Year Six ($59.98; Universal); and the best TV mystery show where being a card-carrying member of the AARP means you're MORE likely to get a guest-starring role continues with Murder, She Wrote Eighth Season ($49.98; Universal). So tell me: do you think Tim Burton is over-rated, under-rated or just an offbeat sensibility that somehow connects with audiences again and again? More in Entertainment... HuffPost Stories Surging Right Now Ads by Google Thriller Movie Exclusive Independent Films. Watch online for Free. Now! www.Babelgum.com/HorrorFilms Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to View Comments: Newest First Expand All lastvisibledog See Profile I'm a Fan of lastvisibledog permalink Burton has always frustrated me a great deal - interesting material, fantastic casts, wonderful visual sense . . . and, yeah, most of his films leave me wanting. I'm constantly surprised at how obvious hisfilms seem considering the ingredients that go into them and dismayed at how obvious his story senseis - like the need to have a motivation for Depp to investigate murders in Sleepy Hollow (wasn't hisbeing a detective enough?) or to boil all of Willy Wonka's life down to daddy issues. Even though I likedthose two films, I still finished watching them with a sense of "And . . .?" as I do any movie of his that I sit through. Computers India Barack Obama Michelle Obama Sports Olympics Housing Crisis Fox News Cars MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » Books by this author A cabin of one's own: New England's MacDowellColony celebrates 100years of artistic utopia.And the gay and lesbianartists who prosperedthere celebrate ... (Thenational gay & lesbiannewsmagazine) by Michael Giltz Affairs to remember:Farley Granger beddedAva Gardner, ShelleyWinters, and LeonardBernstein. In hisautobiography, IncludeMe Out, Hitchcock's muse... (The national gay &lesbian newsmagazine) by Michael GiltzJamaica to two islands in Antarctica has HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES Related Tags Animated Films , Beatles , David Milch , Dvds , Emile Hirsch , Hbo , Hockey , John From Cincinnati , John Lennon , Johnny Depp , Law & Order , Movies , Murder She Wrote , Paul McCartney , Ringo Starr , Stephen Sondheim , The Cutting Edge , Tim Burton, Tom Snyder , TV Shows This Blogger's Books from Michael Giltz: DVDs: Is Tim Burton Any Good? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds-is-tim-burton-any-g_b_94361.html [4/5/2009 7:16:36 PM] WilliePilgrim See Profile I'm a Fan of WilliePilgrim permalink Well I hope Mr Burton reads this critique of his work and really takes it to heart so he'll stop being such a looser and who knows, maybe one day he too will be a pop-culture critic on Huffington Post...he canalways dream, can't he? Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Well, I'd rather hear your appreciation of Burton than mocking someone who isn't completelyenthusiastic. As I said in my initial post, Burton is of course one of the most successful andacclaimed film directors in Hollywood and if he's like most artists, he won't waste much time reading reviews whether they're bad or good. More power to him. I never feel he's churning out trash a la Michael Bay. All his projects seem heartfelt. And if you read carefully you wouldhave heard me saying positive things about Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Ed Wood, and ofcourse I feel his real talent is for animation, such as his early shorts and The Nightmare Before Christmas (the best film he's associated with). Is that really petty or mean of me or are you unwilling to hear anyone say anything negative about artists you like? Baz13 See Profile I'm a Fan of Baz13 permalink The flaws in Burton's work are what make it endearing. No amount of perfect Hollywood blockbuster could match the sentiment in his films. Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink There's definitely something to be said for heartfelt sentiment. And as I said above, no onewould accuse Burton of churning out anonymous product. Whatever their flaws, his moviesare clearly HIS. ErnestineBass See Profile I'm a Fan of ErnestineBass permalink So when can we expect to see YOUR movie hit the cineplex, Michael? Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink At the moment, I'm working on an epic poem. It just seemed less cliche than having ascreenplay in my desk drawer that will never get made. :) Sumocat See Profile I'm a Fan of Sumocat permalink My impression of Tim Burton's work is that some people love some of it all of the time. My wife lovesSleepy Hollow and NBX, but didn't care for Sweeney Todd, while her friend, who isn't a Burton fan,loved ST. I hated Mars Attacks! but my best friend, who is a theater buff, loved it. Stylistically, Burton'swork is very consistent, but otherwise, somehow he hits different notes for different people within the same films. Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink HuffPost's Pick You make a good point. For a major director, there's no strong consensus on his best work.He really does have such a range of oddball movies that many of them have their advocates. You can usually find a fan to defend even the most obscure movie. But unlike Spielberg orCoppola or Hitchcock, (all of whom would have a short list of "best" films that most wouldagree on) there's no such unanimity for Burton. maybe that bodes well for the future of hisbody of work. celiedh See Profile I'm a Fan of celiedh permalink Michael, what is the best way to submit a DVD to you for review? Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:24 PM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:40 PM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:00 PM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:33 PM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:01 PM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:24 PM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:01 PM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:27 AM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:04 PM on 04/02/2008Michael Giltz: DVDs: Is Tim Burton Any Good? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds-is-tim-burton-any-g_b_94361.html [4/5/2009 7:16:36 PM] Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Typically, I have so many DVDs to cover every week that I can only include DVDs that have been released that week or at most a week or two before. Was the title theatrically released? Is it a film? You can always go to my website www.popsurfing.com and see more info about contacting me there. Guitarsandmore See Profile I'm a Fan of Guitarsandmore permalink There are so many formula movies in the industry that Tim Burton's craziness becomes comic relief; a breath of fresh air amidst stagnant clouds of sameness. I swear if I have to watch one more detectivestory I'm going to start throwing stuff at the wall. Granted some of his movies are outstanding while most of them just sort of stand out. We liked Beetle Juice and still like it very much. We like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Ed Wood was outrageous! What a piece of Americana! I liked the Bat Man movies. I know what you mean about the emptiness in his movies but there are many people that are living their lives in sort of a pointless manner with no big purpose. Not everyone wants to run for president and not everyone is multidimensional or following some deep meaning to its logical conclusion. It's just not there. My thirteen year old cousin loved Sweeney Todd so I know we are all going to have to watch it now. Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Like others, you highlight the facet of Burton that keeps you (and me) going to his movies. They are personal passion projects, not just poduct created to fill release date slot. I agree with you 100% on that. CroatianCritter See Profile I'm a Fan of CroatianCritter permalink You have to understand Burton's strengths to appreciate his ability. While I do agree that "Batman" and "Mars Attacks" did not hold up well and "Planet of the Apes" was a disaster, his movies succeed due totwo reasons: 1) His unique visual style, and 2) His strong characters. I read Burton's autobiography infilm school back in the late 90s and he admitted that writing a story is very difficult for him. He likes tofocus on particular ideas or characters that he has created. That is why "Beetlejuice, Pee-Wee's BigAdventure, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and Big Fish(Sorry, I disagree with your assessment onthis movie. I thought this was the most original movie he has ever done)" are so solid. There is anoriginality to his stories and as an artist, his cinematography and emotional attachment to hischaracters comes through very well in the final product. Can you not see the wonderful character development that takes place between father and son in "Big Fish?" What about the quest for meaning that Jack Skellington entails in "The Nightmare Before Christmas?" Even you admit that the strength ofthe "Batman" films is the character development and not necessarily how the movie develops or ends?If you understand his limitations as a director and keep an open mind on the ideas that he is promotingin his movies, his movies can be quite enjoyable. Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink You're right, Croatian Critter, I do find things to enjoy in Burton's movies -- usually a particularperformance or character. And certainly The Nightmare Before Christmas (directed byanother) is the best thing his name is attached to. As for Big Fish, having read the book, Iguess I felt Burton didn't expand on or improve anything in the book. I suppose if I didn't findhis movies enjoyable or interesting on some level, I wouldn't keep seeing them. His visualstyle is also perhaps his biggest plus (which made Charlie and the Chocolate Factory such a puzzle to me -- they just copied the production design from the original). Thanks for reading. jj See Profile I'm a Fan of jj permalink You hit the nail on the head. Burton would make a wonderful Art Director. Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:18 AM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:05 PM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:41 AM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:06 PM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:31 PM on 04/01/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:40 AM on 04/02/2008Michael Giltz: DVDs: Is Tim Burton Any Good? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds-is-tim-burton-any-g_b_94361.html [4/5/2009 7:16:36 PM] It's as if Burton has cool looking scenes in his mind but little to no passion for the overall narrative. (btw, It absolutely worked for Pee Wee's Big Adventure - wonderfully creative scenes and silliness wrapped in the loose macguffin of 'boy looks for lost bike.') Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Yes, JJ he would make a great art director. I'm gonna steal that neat summation and use it asmy own whenever I talk about Burton with people down the road. It sums up what I was tryingto say in seven words. DennyCrane See Profile I'm a Fan of DennyCrane permalink Burton is god-awful. All style and no substance. He ruined Batman. Instead of respecting the sourcematerial, he rewrote the characters, the story, miscast the characters and turned it into a Tim Burtonmovie. The only movie of his that I could sit through was Big Fish, but even that wasn't that good. It'sironic. A movie about a man who loves to tell big stories made by a man who's a rotten storyteller and for whom the story is a hindrance. Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Well, I prefer the irony of a man whose best film is a loving homage to a man who makes bad films in Ed Wood. But your irony vis a vis Big Fish is a good one too. Maybe that's why heidolizes the storyteller in Big Fish so much; he finds it lacking in himself. Ken Volok See Profile I'm a Fan of Ken Volok permalink Almost hit the target bullseye, except I thought The Corpse Bride was pretty boring and the animationless impressive than Nightmare Before Christmas'. :-I Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink I agree it's not nearly as good as Nightmare. But I guess I'm just a sucker for stop-motion andfound it a decent followup nonetheless. ORSunshine See Profile I'm a Fan of ORSunshine permalink I think Tim Burton is great. So I politely disagree with your sentiments of emptiness or emotionally flat. Isat in Sweeny Todd and tears slid down my cheeks at the discovery that the old woman had been hislong-lost love, with anger at Helena Bonham Carter's character for the lies and deception. Her portrayalof a crazed filthy shopkeeper was phenomenal (and I was a bit disappointed that she didn't get anylarger attention during the awards shows). Beetlejuice is on my top 10 -- Michael Keaton was never better and the story is touching and philosophical, approaching a topic that cuts to the quick in all of us in an entertaining and thoughtful way. If anything, Corpse Bride failed to hold my attention. But I've watched the Nightmare Before Christmas numerous times and hold it in the top 10 animated films. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was farmore entertaining than the original, and although the dark reveal was left out, it was far more impliedthan the original and I would think the producers may have had something to do with its elimination. My opinion is instead that there are a few duds, surrounded by a great body of work that I thoroughly enjoyed -- Big Fish and the Batman movies included. Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Thanks for weighing in orsunshine and saying you politely disagree rather than saying I'm abig fat jerk -- which would be the usual online approach to a discussion. Given the very strongreviews for Sweeney Todd, you're far from alone on liking that movie. As soon as I saw it, Ipredicted it would be disastrous and yet it went on to do solid business, get some great Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:09 PM on 04/01/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:41 AM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:34 PM on 04/01/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:43 AM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:25 AM on 04/01/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:44 AM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:47 PM on 03/31/2008Michael Giltz: DVDs: Is Tim Burton Any Good? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds-is-tim-burton-any-g_b_94361.html [4/5/2009 7:16:36 PM] reviews and Oscar nominations. It was probably sixth or seventh in voting for Best Picture. To elaborate, I thought as acting, Helena Bonham Carter and was arguably the best thing in the movie. (I found the shock of white hair in Depp just cliched and distracting.) She found anice saucy tone in her speaking scenes. And if you've never seen a good stage production or listened to Angela Lansbury on a recording, you might think she's done just fine with her big numbers. But just fine isnt good enough for some of the best comic tunes in Broadway history. What she and Depp deliver ina decent manner should be show stoppers. It probably didn't help that I'D just seen a terrific Broadway revival with Michael Cerveris and PattiLupone that put them to shame. Your feeling that he's made a few duds surrounded by asolid body of work is certainly the overwhelming consensus as far as critics and box office.Maybe we'll both be pleased by Alice in Wonderland. I know we'll both see it. JamesA1102 See Profile I'm a Fan of JamesA1102 permalink Burton's a hack. Always was and always will be. grendl See Profile I'm a Fan of grendl permalink He's only as good as his scripts. " Ed Wood" was a great script, with structure and Tim Burton followed it to the letter, and nailed it."Big Fish" was a rambling mess, with false pathos everywhere, and obligatory grotesqueries walking around a circus tent. As I said in one of your past posts he totally blew "Planet of the Apes", the monumental moment when Taylor says his first line, and of course the Rod Serling ending which was integral to that story. Whyremake a story then take out the best parts? I guess to somehow justify remaking a good movie. And the reveal he left out of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" , when Willy Wonka looks down to see Charlie the only child left standing simply says " Oh, no one else left? You won." It shows a profound lack of narrative know how on Burtons part to rob Charlie Bucket of the chance to prove himself ethically worthy of the grand prize. "Pee Wee" was great, as you say due largely in part to Rubens. "Scissorhands" wasn't as good a movie as it thought it was, " Beetlejuice" fun but uneven and ultimately empty. And "Batman" the worst casting ever for the caped crusader. And the Joker shouldn't be paunchy. Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink I suppose every director is only as good as his scripts but in Burton's place it's clear he can't do anything about weak ones or rather doesn't know when they're weak. Yes the reveal heleft out f Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was an idiotic change, especially since it was oneof the crucial changes from the rather flat novel that made the original movie work in the firstplace. BigCheese See Profile I'm a Fan of BigCheese permalink Some of the credit for Pee-Wee's Big Adventure should go to the late, great Phil Hartman. Heco-wrote the script with Rubens. Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Oh absolutely. All due credit to Phil Hartman, who played a key role on the Pee-Wee movie and daytime show and was so irreplaceable on NewsRadio. I still misshim. grendl See Profile I'm a Fan of grendl permalink Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:51 AM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:40 PM on 03/31/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:22 PM on 03/31/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:53 AM on 04/02/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 06:12 PM on 04/01/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:54 AM on 04/02/2008Michael Giltz: DVDs: Is Tim Burton Any Good? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds-is-tim-burton-any-g_b_94361.html [4/5/2009 7:16:36 PM] Comments are closed for this entry Movies are so much more interesting than real life. So... "Batman Returns" really only had one redeeming quality, and that was Michelle Pfeiffers take on Cat Woman. The movie probably should've cast her character as the lead role, and dropped Walken's Max Shreck ( not like he needed another job ), a useless villain when you have the Penguin to battle the winged crusader. But Burton blew that too. As you say in your article the real penguins were ridiculous, you almost felt sorry for them having to carry Devitos body, and those missles around. I alwaysfeel bad for animals in lousy movies, they really don't have the choice to read the script, andcan't possibly know their likenesses will be immortalized in absolute crap films. "Ed Wood" was a surprise, i must say, because it was top to bottom a very good film. Even Depp wasn't bad it, but Landau really hit the ball out of the park with his take on Bela. Seems like Burton suffers the same malady as Terry Gilliam, they try to make up for their utter disdain for narrative convention and the three act structure, with visual bombardment. Witkacy See Profile I'm a Fan of Witkacy permalink I would NEVER compare a top-flight animator/director like Terry Gilliam to anaffected (and corporate-owned) pastiche-artiste like Burton...You are way off-base:did you forget that Gilliam's first film - co-directed with Terry Jones - was MontyPython and the Holy Grail??? And if you haven't seen Brazil - because I'd think that only a person who's never seen it could compare Gilliam to Burton! - then you've missed a masterpiece(something Burton may in fact never make, since I'm sure he considers Ed Wood asan exception from his normal creative "vision")...Even Gilliam's "critical failures" suchas Tideland are infinitely more interesting than Burton's neo-gothic nonsense (hereminds me of no one more than Floria Sigismondi--the same retreat into gothicpastiche, style without vision) There are More Comments on this Thread. Click Here To See them All OttoMann See Profile I'm a Fan of OttoMann permalink Wow, Michael, you are dead on with this one. I hadn't really thought about his career this way, butyeah, you see a Burton flick, enjoy it while still being disappointed, and then move on. I haven't felt theurge to buy any of his films on DVD (and I have a lot); the only one I'd like to get someday is Ed Wood,which I agree is his best. The one director most comparable to Burton is Terry Gilliam. And what a difference! Gilliam, whose films have nowhere near the box office take as Burton's, has produced so many more great,memorable, gotta-have-on-DVD films. (There's no justice, is there?) You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in or Ads by Google Thriller Movie Exclusive Independent Films. Watch online for Free. Now! www.Babelgum.com/HorrorFilms Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:40 PM on 03/31/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:19 PM on 04/01/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:59 PM on 03/31/2008Michael Giltz: DVDs: Is Tim Burton Any Good? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/dvds-is-tim-burton-any-g_b_94361.html [4/5/2009 7:16:36 PM] HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING GREEN STYLE WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY FUNDRACE ARCHIVE Advertise | Login | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Jobs | FAQ: Comments & Moderation | FAQ: Huffpost Accounts | Contact Us Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | Archive | User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type

DVDs Is Tim Burton Any Good

📄 DVDs Is Tim Burton Any Good

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