Tim Burton's EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (American Revival)

Music Box — Monday-Tuesday, Dec. 19-20, Check venue website for showtimes
After the success of BATMAN, Tim Burton was able pull out all the stops for this surreal take on teenage suburban isolation, and got twice the budget that was originally planned. Often referred to as his masterpiece, this contemporary fairy tale vacillates between story elements straight out of a Universal horror film and a stylized set of pastel tract homes, emphasizing Burton's mixed feelings about the American middle class lifestyle. Based on drawings Burton made while growing up in Burbank, where he struggled to keep friends and often retreated into his painting and stop-motion animation, Johnny Depp's portrayal of the meek and scarred Edward is amongst his finest performances. Notable for his character's economy of dialogue and cautious demeanor, the meek and scarred Edward is the incomplete construction of a deceased inventor, played by Vincent Price. Emotionally stunted from his "father's" death but bursting with creativity, our hero stands in for every adolescent who would rather be left alone to make art than conform in order to make friends. Dianne West is wonderful as the Avon Lady who finds Edward in the abandoned mansion on a hill, and takes him home to join the cookie cutter enclave below. Frightened by his outward appearance but seeing the gentle prince underneath, her motherly efforts to integrate him into the conservative town are doomed from the start. But, there is magic in both of their hearts, and eye-candy galore for us. (1990, 105 min, 35mm) JH - Cine-File.info

Gerard Damiano's LET MY PUPPETS COME (Cult/Adult Film Revival)

Doc Films (University of Chicago) - Thursday, 9:45pm
Gerard Damiano may be the most important director of pornographic film ever. His 1972 film DEEP THROAT created a sensation that almost single-handedly launched the adult entertainment industry. He had another hit with his 1973 follow up, THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES, and went on to direct more than 60 films through the mid '90s. His meteoric rise is the stuff of legend, making this entry into Doc Films' sexploitation series as intriguing as it is odd. The semi-autobiographical tale of a company in financial distress that decides to make a porno to stay afloat is a common premise, but having most of the roles played by puppets is pure genius. Musical numbers abound, and intercourse is an afterthought as foam rubber perverts crack jokes that feel like they came from a foul-mouthed seventh grader and copulate in the most unerotic ways. Complete with a parody of '70s commercials ("Climax watches: they take a lickin'..."), this film really is a product of its era. Lighthearted and at times hilarious, PUPPETS has to be seen to be believed. (1977, 75 min, 35mm) JH - Cine-File.info