I recently finished the series TIM BURTON LIFE ON THE LINE which had the first episode play at Tribeca in 2024.
The series started with the intention of being a 90 minute film, but there is too much stuff regarding Burton and his friends and collaborators were more than willing to talk so an hour and a half went to over four hours.
When I originally saw the first episode at Tribeca some 18 months ago I kind of groaned at the start and winced thinking it was going to be a conventional retelling of Burton's life. However almost instantly the film changed and morphed into something spectacular and moving.
This is not a conventional bio of Burton- yes it tells the story of his life, but the series is structured so that people like Danny Elfman, Winona Ryder, Johnny Depp, Michael Keaton and everyone else talk about Burton in relation to their lives. They don't tell what HE did but what THEY did together. How did working on the various projects change their lives. By allowing the everyone to talk about themselves and their connections to Burton the film becomes something bigger and greater than just a guy who makes movies and instead becomes a portrait of a force of nature who has changed the world.
More simply put it's an explanation of why following your dream and voice is a good thing, especially when you can find people who need to follow your example.
You have to understand that the series is less aboput,the films and more about the man. The films are there, the focus is really on Burton the man and the artist. I say this up front because there is a moment or two where the series seems to be unfocused. The march through his films goes side ways, we get lost in say how they did CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY or SLEEPY HOLLOW before pulling it back around to Burton and we realize the films aren't the point of the series, the artist is. You have to remember that unlike the recent Scorsese docuseries, this is not going to tell you everything about Burton's movies, but rather a great deal about the man himself.
When I reviewed the first episode of the series last year when it played Tribeca and it floored me. The episode promised an in-depth look at not just Tim Burton but his collaborators. It is this look at how Burton makes everyone around him better is what sets the series apart. It’s a move that puts Burton into the greater history of cinema.
The second episode of Tara Wood’s Docuseries made me cry. Danny Elfman talking about how Burton’s work allowed him to move away from Oingo Boingo and be the writer/performer he wanted to be made me misty. That Wood is blessing us with moments like that, in a film that is essentially about someone else, speaks volumes to why the series is one of the greatest films on film I’ve ever.
The episodes are focused on groups of films. For example the second episode focuses on four films, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, BATMAN RETURNS and ED WOOD, detailing how Burton connects to the subjects of his films and how those films made the careers of people like Johnny Depp (who was revealed to be a great actor) and Danny Elfman who was became a music god. The third episode focuses a great deal on his work SLEEPY HOLLOW, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, BIG EYES and the films he made with Helena Bonham Carter.
While we get a great a lot of stories about who the films came to be and were shaped, we get more information on the creative process that went into them. Elfman, Depp and Carter go into detail about how they work with Burton. Christoph Waltz ends up becoming a defacto narrator of sorts with his off the cuff comments putting everything about being a creative visionary into context. (I want to now talk to Waltz about his films because I think the insight into things on a larger scale he would give would be amazing)
When I saw the first episode I said that if the series maintained the promise of the first episode it would be one of the greatest films on film ever made. It has more than lived up to that, It is one of the greatest looks at films and filmmaking. It is a film that is so full of stories and images and magic that you will want revisit multiple times because there is simply too much to take in.
I can't tell you how wonderful this is.
Highgly recommended. If you love the movies you must see this.
If you want to see the film go here.
No comments:
Post a Comment