TIM BURTON myth of originality
Tim Burton often hailed as a visionary filmmaker of great originality has gone from producing such charming and yes, original, movies as Edward Scissor Hands and Beetlejuice to regurgitating the ideas of others.
His best film I feel is Ed Wood which takes the story of the incompetent director and turns it into a fresh and warm film. However the bones of the story were already there as Ed Wood existed and was somewhat of a legend in the movie world (even for the wrong reasons). Since then Burton has, to me, become synonymous with rehashing other peoples work although this seems to be overlooked by critics.
Alice in Wonderland has been made in many formats and is hardly an original choice Planet of the Apes missed the subtlety of the original movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory did not have the charm of the Version with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. Sweeney Todd is a basic run through of the stage version. Batman had the terrible performance of Jack Nicholson as the Joker holding it back and Returns was hit and miss.
Mars Attacks, Sleepy Hollow and Big Fish are also taken from existing material so it would seem that it is a complete misnomer to accuse him of originality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvR2mCx-Jnc
Where his strength seems to lie creatively is in his animated work which is excellent.
In choosing Johhny Depp as his muse Burton also limits himself to leading characters that are childlike and often irritating. It’s a shame that Burton gets kudos and is lauded when genuinely original filmmakers don’t receive comparable support.
Maybe one mans plagiarism is another mans originality.
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having said that;