Tim Burton's latest, the blood-smattered SWEENEY TODD, was released to much critical and audience acclaim, and now this coming Tuesday, it's finding its way to DVD store shelves. But before you go and rush to pick it up, why not look back at some of the ups and downs of the man behind the geysers of blood.

Tim Burton

Genre of choice:
Gothic Fantasy

Filmography:
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
Beetle Juice (1988)
Batman (1989)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Batman Returns (1992)
Ed Wood (1994)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Big Fish (2003)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Corpse Bride (2005)
Sweeney Todd (2007)

The Best

1. ED WOOD - At least one good thing came out of Ed Wood, the director infamously known as the worst in the world: he inspired this hilarious and fascinating faux-biopic of his life. Burton manages to inject his brilliantly quirky sense of style without getting in the way of telling a great story.

2. BIG FISH - Burton changes things up a bit with this sweet, colorful, uplifting fantasy drama about the magic of storytelling, showing a maturity to his work that had not yet been seen. What a wonderful movie.

3. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS - A humorous, romantic, haunting, and visually stunning tale of a gentle being who has scissors for hands. It's the type of weirdness that could only be done justice by someone like Tim Burton.

4. BEETLEJUICE - Michael Keaton chomps down on the scenery and spits it out as Beetlejuice, a hugely fun and stylish comedy about a deceased couple hiring a bio-exorcist to help them get rid of the yuppie family residing in their home, complete with a multitude of darkly amusing slapstick gags.

5. BATMAN - Acting as a catalyst for a darker breed of superhero/comic book movies, Burton deserves props for fighting against the studio to get this film made the right way. It doesn't hold up quite as well now, especially not with BATMAN BEGINS showing how to tell the story ten times better, but it's still a solid (and damn good-looking) flick all the same.

The Worst

1. PLANET OF THE APES - Reinventing the '68 classic to staggeringly dull results, this remake offers almost none of the interesting stylistic traits so many people have come to know and love from Burton, and ends up nothing more than an utterly forgettable and by-the-numbers action film. Snooze.

2. MARS ATTACKS! - This darkly comedic throwback to old school '50s sci-fi is all promise, and very limited payoff. On a basic level, it's entertaining and definitely features enough goofy alien antics to keep you watching, but one can't help but feel the potential for something overtly better was simply wasted.

Hidden Gem(s)

Before directing feature films, Tim Burton worked on numerous shorts, including VINCENT and FRANKENWEENIE (featured below, respectively).

Part 2: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xVAixkBXYMg

Part 3: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ODB4_TBYzXI

Style/Trademarks

Obviously, Tim Burton is most noted for the dark, offbeat atmosphere he brings to his films, but he has other stylistic traits as well.

Depp - Burton loves him some Johnny Depp, and casts him in just about every other one of his movies.

Christmas - His films are commonly set around Christmas or winter, and feature the giving of presents.
Found in: Batman Returns, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands

B&W - Black-and-white stripes/tiles repeatedly appear in his films.

Recurring Elements - Burton frequently shows: dead dogs, clowns, falling snow, twisted trees, jack-o-lanterns, scarecrows, striped snakes, butterflies, redheads...

Spirals - Burton often has the corners or edges of objects curl or spiral at the end.

Dinner - Dinner table scenes appear in many of his films.
Found in: Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride

Childhood - Many of his characters have troubled childhoods, and problems with their fathers.

Music - Danny Elfman has scored all but two of Burton's movies thus far.

Behind the Camera

After working as a cell painter for Ralph Bakshi's THE LORD OF THE RINGS (which was his first animating job), Tim Burton was hired by Disney as an animator apprentice to work on THE FOX AND THE HOUND. Unsatisfied with the film's artistic direction, as well as with his time working at Disney, he went on to make VINCENT and FRANKENWEENIE (featured above in the "Hidden Gems" section).

Burton's early work garnered the interest of film industry, and was approached to direct AFTER HOURS, which had been passed on by Martin Scorsese so he could make THE LAST TEMPTATION OF THE CHRIST. But when THE LAST TEMPTATION's budget fell through, Burton decided to drop AFTER HOURS out of respect for Scorsese. Soon following, Paul Reubens (having just seen FRANKENWEENIE) called upon Burton to direct his next movie.

Burton currently resides with his fiancée Helena Bonham Carter.

Upcoming Projects

Burton will be directing two 3D films for Disney: a motion capture adaptation of ALICE IN WONDERLAND (in pre-production) and a stop-motion remake of his short film FRANKENWEENIE.

Overall

While some may understandably be growing tired of Tim Burton's constant foray into the "dark, weird, and gothic," there's no denying that he's stacked up an incredibly impressive résumé of movies for himself. Still, it would be interesting to see him branch out a bit more, like he did with the decidedly more dramatic and sweet-minded BIG FISH. After the exceedingly Burton-esque CORPSE BRIDE and SWEENEY TODD, he's certainly due for a departure.

What are your favorite/least favorite Tim Burton films? Submit your choices in the Strike Back section below!