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Director Tim Burton has long been known for his dark sensibilities: even his most lighthearted films, like Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, feature accomplished touches of the macabre. But one peculiar thing about Burton is that he seems to surround himself — or somehow spawn — collaborators that have the same tendencies, creating a cottage industry of sorts … of filmic weirdness. Let’s start off with Burton himself, and one of many scenes from Pee Wee that I found absolutely nightmarish as a kid — the Evil Clown Dream.
One of the films Burton is most closely associated with is one he didn’t actually direct: The Nightmare Before Christmas, which was helmed by stop-motion animator Henry Selick — who’s now working on the much-anticipated stop-motion feature film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, a strange, dark and otherworldly tale which seems very much in line with the Burton style:
Burton’s longtime composer collaborator, Danny Elfman, has made a lot of happy/creepy music for movies like Edward Scissorhands and Pee Wee, but his rock-’n'-roll side project, 80s band Oingo Boingo, had plenty of creep factor of its own. In fact, their biggest hit, “Dead Man’s Party,” sounds like it was written for a Burton film — and the video for it (which features a lot of lame footage from Back to School) even opens with macabre stop-motion animation a la a very cheap version of Nightmare Before Christmas:
Another collaborator closely tied with Burton is actor Johnny Depp, who of course has played the lead role in so many of Burton’s films, from Edward Scissorhands to Ichabod Crane to the “demon barber of Fleet Street” in Sweeney Todd, and so on. But Depp’s done plenty of strange and macabre films without Burton’s involvement, as well: witness his role as a scholar searching for a gate to Hell in Roman Polanski’s The Ninth Gate and his breakout role (well, kind of) in the original Nightmare on Elm Street. Here’s the Ninth Gate trailer — in Japanese! (Even creepier!)
Comments (9)
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Ransom Riggs = awesome
posted by stacy on 9-5-2008 at 8:08 am
Everything is creepier in Japanese! ;-)
posted by Beth on 9-5-2008 at 8:19 am
Does anyone remember Johny Depp from 21 Jump Street? He was a teen heartthrob at that point. He was on with the DeLuise kid who now plays the dad on Wizards of Waverly place on the Disney Channel. Holly Robinson, daughter of the guy on Sesame Street, was also on the show and married a football player named Peete and still acts in various projects.
posted by kzafran on 9-5-2008 at 8:42 am
You mentioned Danny Elfman and The Knights of Oingo Boingo, but no mention of “The Forbidden Zone”? Just watch the trailer and you’ll see why Burton wanted to work him.
I think it’s interesting to note that one of the only Burton films Elfman didn’t score was for “Ed Wood”. Given that Elfman credits Bernard Herrmann’s score for “The Day the Earth Stood Still” as a primary catalyst for his career in music, one would think he would jump at the chance to score something so wonderfully retro as “Ed Wood”.
But, alas, that job went to Howard Shore (who’s genius collaboration with Ornette Coleman on the “Naked Lunch” soundtrack still gives me chills), as Elfman was busy with the no doubt daunting task of scoring “Black Beauty”.
Elfman would get his chance to nod at Herrmann with his score for “Mars Attacks” two years later.
Great article, sir. Keep them coming.
posted by Boggy Creek Creature on 9-5-2008 at 9:30 am
stacy = absolutely right
posted by adrienne on 9-5-2008 at 10:56 am
Forbidden Zone is amazing. Honestly addicting. My copy was nabbed by a jealous friend.
And, not to be rude, but I think “Weird Science” might have been a bigger hit than “Dead Man’s Party”. Movie theme, no?
posted by Kristyn on 9-5-2008 at 1:07 pm
Oh! And has anyone seen “Frankenweenie”?
Captcha: and Haskins. Made me think of Saved by the Bell. Hahaha.
posted by Kristyn on 9-5-2008 at 1:09 pm
Captcha:
Twisted films
lawwwwlz :P
posted by Zoasterboy on 9-5-2008 at 8:58 pm
this is why i love the _floss, man.
recaptcha: congregation would
posted by purplehazel78 on 9-5-2008 at 11:06 pm