Tim Burton's Trademarks

“One person's craziness is another person's reality.”

Tim Burton is one of those directors who has an easily identifiable visual style. Almost all of his films revel in gothic imagery. The characters themselves, the props, the houses and cities where the films take place are sculpted in an an exaggerated, almost cartoonish way to emphasize “goth” features. One the most obvious and famous examples of this type of style is the costume and makeup for Edward Scissorhands, who looks like he belongs in some sort of creepy goth punk rock band. Not only is the character himself gothic, but he lives in an old gothic mansion. This is similar to the visuals in Beetlejuice.

Not only is the main character’s presentation very punk rock, but the entire film takes place in a creepy old haunted Victorian home. Another great example is Burton’s Batman where the gloomy, almost industrial streets of Gotham City are strewn with ornate details. Not to mention Burton’s Batmobile, which mimicked the sweeping lines and elaborated details of classic 30’s custom coach designs. In his later films, Burton uses CGI to expand the impact of his visuals even more. Alice and Wonderland features multiple characters generated by CGI so that their proportions are exaggerated to emphasize their gothic stylings.

List of his 10 most recognized movies so far:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. (2007).

Ed Wood. (1994).

Big Fish. (2003).

Batman. (1989.)

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. (1985).

Beetlejuice. (1988).

The Nightmare Before Christmas. (1993).

Edward Scissorhands. (1990).