TIM BURTON'S CINEMATIC INFLUENCES

At a time in film when originality is becoming increasingly difficult to come by, one man has maintained the uniqueness of his visions. From Tim Burton’s early poetry, sketches and short films there is a particular style present. His blend of German Expressionism, the Gothic and the Surreal have been collectively dubbed as “Burton-esque”.

Above: Cabinet Des Dr Caligari (1929)

German Expressionism clearly influenced the iconography used in the work of Tim Burton. The 1929 film Cabinet Des Dr Caligari features settings remarkably similar to that of Burton’s in their crooked features and imperfect architecture. This imprecise, rough style is reminiscent of some of Burton’s concept art, which is then translated onto film.

Above: A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Because the films were in black and white, lighting became very important in German Expressionism. Low key lighting was used at times when the plot became dark while high key lighting was featured at joyous points of the film. This also meant costumes were limited in that a range of colours could not be used. Black was typically associated with the villain while white helped to signify the hero or often the female love interest. This would have been because the black already had connotations of darkness and villainy while white represented purity and innocence. Tim Burton also uses these colours significantly throughout his own films. An example of this is the clothing of A Nightmare Before Christmas’s (1993) protagonist Jack Skellington. His apparel features both black and white perhaps in a way to represent the inner conflict the character is facing. Skellington has to publicly be an evil figure while his personality is actually quite sweet and caring. Black is used more predominantly in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990). This could be because the audience is meant to expect such a monstrous creature to be evil, an idea that is enhanced by the title character wearing black. This juxtaposition between Scissorhands’ appearance and personality causes Burton’s film to challenge the audience’s perception of appearances.

Even the acting in Burton’s films appears to have been influenced by this cinematic movement. Initially, films were silent meaning a lot of the acting had to be very over-the-top and expressive (hence the moniker of German Expressionism). Nowadays, acting does not need to be as over-the-top as it once did. Perhaps this is one reason why Burton’s films feature such outlandish characters to compensate for the excessive acting.

Above: Charlie and the Chocolate Factor (2005)

Although Burton insists that his work is not dark, a lot of it does abide by the conventions of the Gothic genre. One example of this is the narrative of the loner or misunderstood character of which at least one can be found in every Burton film. Perhaps Burton’s greatest example of this is his interpretation of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). In Burton's film, Wonka represses painful childhood memories turning him into a child-like adult, an idea not in the original film or book. It is typical of Gothic characters to want to be free from the repressions put on them by society although Wonka does not appear to be one who is in keeping with the ideas of society.

Sweeney Todd definitely abides by Gothic conventions. Burton’s portrayal of Mrs Lovett and Lucy Barker represent typical stock Gothic characters. Barker is the wide-eyed, naïve woman which is perhaps perfectly depicted in her death scene. During this, she is simply attempting to warn Todd of Mrs Lovett however Todd despite her intentions, Todd decides to kill her. Lovett however has been given physical characteristics of the femme fatale in that she has dark hair and red lips with an independent attitude who lusts after the male and lures him to his demise. After all, it is she who suggests to Todd that they murder the men and cook them.

Above: Concept art for Vincent (1982)

One of Burton’s more unlikely influences comes in the form of Disney. This could stem from Burton’s brief time spent in Disney’s animation department working on The Fox and The Hound (1981). Burton’s unusual style never fit in with that of Disney’s however he did get the opportunity to create his own short films while working there. The first of these was Vincent (1982), a film based on a poem previously written by Burton about a young boy wishing to mimic his hero Vincent Price.