SCFZ

Polling the films of director Tim Burton

The rules:

- your list can include no more than half of the Burton films you've seen, up to a maximum of 5. So if you've seen seven of his films, for example, you can list only a top 3. It's only if you've seen ten or more of his films than you can list the maximum of five.

- i'll assume ballots are ranked unless you tell me otherwise. unranked ballots are fine.

- deadline for ballots: next Tuesday, in seven days, whatever day that is

- if anyone is watching films for these polls, then i'll extend the deadline up to three days, if someone requests an extension

- next poll: whoever posts the first ballot in this thread is free to nominate the director we poll next, unless you've nominated in this round already (everyone should get a chance). Already nominated this round: umbugbene, greennui, evelyn, bure, m arkadin, mrcarmady, nrh, brian d, mesnalty, kanafani, st gloede, ofrene, silga

umbugbene created an index on letterboxd of all of our previous polls here: letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/index-of-all-scfz-director-polls/

one rule for nominees: at least 3 scfzers need to have seen 10+ of a nominee's films, or at least 4 scfzers need to have seen at least 8 of the nom's films, so if it isn't clear if that will be the case, we'll confirm that's true before moving forward

if 24 hours pass after a poll opens, and no one eligible to nominate has posted a ballot, then i'll nominate someone, and then we'll start over, and everyone will be able to nominate again

Big Fish
Ed Wood
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Sleepy Hollow
Batman

seen 13

7.

Ed Wood

Seen 10:

1. Pee-wee's Big Adventure
2. Ed Wood
3. Big Fish
4. Edward Scissorhands

Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Ed Wood
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Dark Shadows: The Bootless Reboot
Conversations with Vincent

Probably could have stopped after Pee Wee's but figured I'd fill out a whole ballot just for the added variety. I'll refrain from further comment on his films.

ed wood
edward scissorhands
batman returns
beetlejuice
mars attacks!

*seen eleven (the very definition of a director who got lost in their own world; can't tell you how much i dislike alice in wonderland and charlie and the chocolate factory)

nice choice for spooktober

seen 8

vincent
batman returns
beetlejuice
mars attacks!

i'd like to see ed wood

Seen 27:

Big Fish
Ed Wood
Batman
Edward Scissorhands
Frankenweenie (1984)

Seen 19.
1. Batman Returns (1992)
2. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
3. Ed Wood (1994)
4. Batman (1989)
5. Mars Attacks! (1996)

seen 8 9

peewee's big adventure
batman
corpse bride
mars attacks!

and i'm with greg, could have stopped after peewee. haven't seen the three most-seen on lboxd, but i have a morbid curiosity about sweeney todd, maybe about ed wood too. [watched sweeney todd, didn't get too much out of it]

Seen 7

Ed Wood

wow. i never mentally made the connection that the director of beetlejuice was tim burton. wow. it still gets quoted a lot in my house

seen 4

beetlejuice

Seen 16

Sweeney Todd
Sleepy Hollow
Ed Wood
Beetlejuice
Edward Scissorhands

I know Pee Wee is beloved, but I don't remember caring for most of it. However, Large Marge ruined years of my childhood.

Seen 13

Ed Wood
Sleepy Hollow
Beetlejuice
Edward Scissorhands
Mars Attacks!

Ed Wood is by far his best. No contest. Seen 20.

Ed Wood
Batman Returns
Beetlejuice
Sleepy Hollow
Mars Attacks!

seen 9

Batman Returns
Edward Scissorhands
Batman
Sweeney Todd

missed many of his beloved work, like Ed Wood..

1. Pee-wee's Big Adventure
2. Beetlejuice
3. Big Fish
4. Mars Attacks!
5. Sleepy Hollow

not a good director, but he made some interesting stuff at the beginning of his career.

01. Batman (1989)
02. Frankenweenie (1984)
03. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
04. Vincent (1982)
05. Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Burton seen: 15

Batman

Seen 5

ED WOOD
SWEENEY TODD THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
BATMAN RETURNS
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS


At his best, he's marvelous. His BATMAN RETURNS remains the finest costumed hero film yet made, and his SWEENEY TODD is the masterpiece of the current crop of musicals, and ED WOOD. Alas his best work is seeming to be behind him, but even DUMBO had glimmers of the old magic that puts that Del Toro hack to shame.

seen 15

1. ed wood
2. pee-wee's big adventure
3. beetlejuice
4. sleepy hollow
5. batman returns

Ed Wood
Mars Attacks!
Batman
Edward Scissorhands
beetlejuice

I have never understood the appeal of Sleepy Hollow. The story and pacing is a mess.. But when again I was never a fan of its source novel. I mean it's ok in terms of production quality which is always on top with Burton's loyal collaborators like Chris Lebenzon, Colleen Atwood, Danny Elfman, etc. I definitely expected more, especially given how the look of the story fits with Burton's signature style.

Silga wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 7:46 pm I have never understood the appeal of Sleepy Hollow. The story and pacing is a mess.. But when again I was never a fan of its source novel. I mean it's ok in terms of production quality which is always on top with Burton's loyal collaborators like Chris Lebenzon, Colleen Atwood, Danny Elfman, etc. I definitely expected more, especially given how the look of the story fits with Burton's signature style.

Yeah, totally agree. But it's at least better than most other stuff he did. And I think a feel for the pacing of a movie is one of the qualities Burton definitely doesn't possess. He would have been totally lost in "classic" Hollywood.

Silga: It barely resembles the source material, so that couldn't be the problem.

Sleepy Hollow is just a glorified Hammer film. Hammer mixed with Bava. I like it quite a bit, but I agree the story is a mess, and Burton's movies often have pacing issues. A close friend of mine once said that Burton knows how to frame and set up a shot, but the minute the scene gets 'moving' problems occur.

In retrospect, Sleepy Hollow was probably the first Burton film where his style became 'for-sale', so to speak, pitched to the highest bidder. The production and costume design is pretty damn great though

Seen at least 10

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sleepy Hollow
Beetlejuice
Ed Wood

I'll cop to liking SLEEPY HOLLOW a good deal, yeah the story is a mess, the backstories get choking after a while, and there's some faint hints about a woman's revenge on the patriarchy that has oppressed her and her family and all that but it never quite adds up to as much as it might. The big scenes are handsomely handled though, I'm thinking of the Horseman's attack on the church in particular, but that big chase at film's end goes on way too long. Miranda Richardson's delivery of the line about a woman she has slain ("What a goose!") pops into my head in moments of schadenfreude.

Seen 18 but there's only one I'd vote for. Burton is an inspired art director, but if he wants to make good movies he ought to collaborate with better writers who can develop plots and create intelligent dialogue.

1. Edward Scissorhands

greg x wrote: ↑Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:25 pm Probably

greg, you can pick our next director if you like!

I guess it should be someone who made horror movies, given the month. Have we done Wes Craven yet, would he work if we haven't? Tobe Hooper? Sam Raimi? James Whale? George Romero? Frickin' del Toro?