A Filmmaker's Guide to: 5 Films by Tim Burton

Tim Burton is probably best known for his incredibly strange animation style, but even before his animated films Burton was a huge success having directed the 80s/90s Batman films before Nolan but not the first of their kind. Tim Burton's use of a regular cast during the 90s and the 2000s made it easier for audiences to identify what they wanted to see on the screen as he was constantly trying methods which really did appear on screen as oddities in the world of film. His attempts as shaping actors like Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were a massive success with both actors creating some of their best work under the guidance of Tim Burton.

With his wide shots of incredible detail, his unique use of soundtrack, his incredible creation of atmosphere through uses of light and dark and finally, yes, his animation style - we are going to take a look at five films by Tim Burton which are possibly some of his best works. Unfortunately, "A Nightmare Before Christmas" won't appear in this list since it was not directed by Burton.

5 Films by Tim Burton

5. Corpse Bride (2005)

I was super-excited when this film came out and the animation by Tim Burton was once again going to grace the screen. Apart from the incredibly unique characters, I paid attention to the way in which Tim Burton created atmosphere (I was a strange ten-year-old then). The use of trees, the use of darkness and obviously, the key light and dark difference between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Often mistaken for a children's film, this movie is so much more than that. It is a study in atmospheres, meanings and metaphors that you can really delve deep into once you hear the song they sing when Victor gets to the land of the dead.

4. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Possibly one of Tim Burton's most beloved films, this is the one that really made Johnny Depp a superstar in the world of cinema. With the help of Tim Burton's crazy characterisation, his intense storylines about difference and acceptance and his incredible wide and long shots of ice sculptures and snow, this film has become best associated with being one of the greatest films of the 1990s and yet, is completely different to every other film you'll see from that decade. It's not just a love story, it's also a film with a lesson in the amazing use of colour schemes.

3. Beetlejuice (1988)

Everyone has to admit that for Michael Keaton, this one was fairly surprising. But for Tim Burton in 1988 - this was about establishing his filmmaking style in the best way possible. All about the use of colour, this film seems to take on the role of being the most subversive 1980s film ever. With its contrast between worlds and characters, it is relative of what would later become Tim Burton's animation style in films like "Corpse Bride" (2005). But what is most memorable about this film is the way in which it lightly plays with the subject of exorcisms and ultimately kick starts the career of Winona Ryder.

2. Ed Wood (1994)

This is probably my personal favourite film by Tim Burton after "Batman" (1989) because of the fact it is filmed entirely in black and white. Many directors have experimented with this style over the years but non quite like Tim Burton who seems to go the whole nine yards in even making his characters stereotypes of the era. Based on the very true story of the life of Edward D Wood Jr., this film is associated with being one of the most subversive and atypical biopics ever because of its comedic, satirical and often even offensive topics. It is a grand film by Tim Burton and deserves far more recognition as one of his best works.

1. Batman (1989)

Tim Burton is maybe best known to us as being the director of the film "Batman" (1989) starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. This film practically created the entire interest of comic films that was to come with actors like Heath Ledger trying to live up to Nicholson's terrifyingly good performance. Again, Tim Burton's use of colour is the epitome of this film with his contrast of colour being the main point for analysis. This would later be imitated in the film "Joker" (2019) by the use of colour depicted in the clothes worn by Joaquin Phoenix.