Tim Burton is, hands down, one of the most unique directors in the film industry. With a career spanning over 50 years, this filmmaker has managed to pull off something that very few artists have: a signature style so strong that audiences recognize almost immediately. Burton was always deeply interested in film, and as a child he used to make short films in his backyard in Burbank, California.
This interest stuck with him through the years, to the point where he eventually attended the California Institute of the Arts. There, he made the short film that earned him his first big break in the industry, Stalk of the Celery Monster. Following this feature, Walt Disney Productions offered him a spot in their animation division, which marked the beginning of a rocky relationship with the company and, at the same time, laid the groundwork for the marvelous career that was to follow.
Over the years, Burton has treated audiences to some of the most extraordinary films across all genres, many of which have grown into cinema classics. Among his most popular movies, it is worth mentioning Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, and Ed Wood, which are also among his most personal productions. Despite his huge success and his many years in the industry, Burton does not seem to be slowing down, and is still working on major projects to this day. Late 2022 marked the release of his latest production to date, Netflix’s Wednesday, a TV series in which he serves as director and executive producer.
There are many stylistic trademarks that define Burton’s films, ranging from his dark visual aesthetic to his characters, who are generally eccentric and considered misfits by those around them. Much of what makes him unique also stems from the films that defined him over the years, shaping his career as an artist. Some of these have evolved into his all-time favorite films. Check them out.
8 The Omega Man
1971 marked the release of The Omega Man, the second film adaptation of Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend. This production, directed by Boris Sagal, features Charlton Heston as Robert Neville, a scientist who became the sole survivor on the planet after a plague struck humanity. Hopeless of ever being part of any society again and with his sanity worsening by leaps and bounds, Robert spends his days wandering around Los Angeles and trying to bring down “The Family,” a group of victims who were turned into mutant creatures as a result of the pandemic. However, as things between him and this band turn ugly, Robert realizes that he is not as alone as he thought he was.
The first adaptation of this Matheson novel, released in 1964, starred Vincent Price, one of Burton’s favorite stars. This story made its way to the silver screen one more time, in Will Smith’s 2007 film I Am Legend.
7 The War of the Gargantuas
The War of the Gargantuas is a Japanese monster film directed by Ishirō Honda and released in 1966. It is a sequel to Frankenstein vs. Baragon, a film from the previous year that was also directed by Honda. This production, which grew into a cult classic and one of the favorite films of many contemporary filmmakers, follows a group of scientists as they attempt to account for the origin of two giant monsters that emerged to terrorize Tokyo.
This Honda film turned into a landmark that has been referenced in many popular film productions, inspiring artists such as Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo Del Toro, and Hajime Isayama. According to Burton, this is not only one of his favorite films, but one of his daughter’s as well, and as a young child she used to recreate the monsters’ fight alongside her brother.
6 Where Eagles Dare
Bearing in mind Burton’s style, you would think that his list of favorite films would be mostly made up of horror movies or quirky productions. And even though the 1968 war film Where Eagles Dare seems like an odd one to include on this list, the filmmaker actually discussed his fondness for it in a few interviews. Directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton and actor/filmmaker Clint Eastwood, Where Eagles Dare follows a group of soldiers on their mission to break into a remote fort to rescue U.S. General George Carnaby, who has been captured by Germans.
Alistair MacLean wrote the screenplay for Where Eagles Dare while working on his novel of the same name, which was released one year prior to the film. Both the novel and the movie enjoyed great success, with the latter becoming a cinema classic.
5 Dracula A.D. 1972
Dracula A.D. 1972 is the seventh film in Hammer Film Productions’ Dracula series. It was directed by Alan Gibson and starred Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. This was Lee’s penultimate time playing the role of Count Dracula, with his last being the 1973 film The Satanic Rites of Dracula. Gibson’s film takes the audience back to 1970s London, where a group of hippies bring the infamous Count Dracula back to life, unaware of how dangerous this is. Among the young people taking part in this ritual is Jessica Van Helsing, who hails from the most famous family of vampire hunters in history, something that will trigger a new face-off between Dracula and the Van Helsings over a hundred years after their last one.
This 1972 film had a poor reception at the time of its release, and in fact, it is considered to be among the worst in the film series. Still, this production somehow managed to sneak into Burton’s favorites, and served as a source of inspiration for his 2012 film Dark Shadows.
4 The Wicker Man
The year 1973 marked the release of The Wicker Man, a British horror film directed by Robin Hardy that became a hit with critics. This production features Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland and Diane Cilento, and it turned into one of Burton’s favorites because, according to him, it is a hypnotic movie that feels like “a weird dream”. Inspired by David Pinner’s novel Ritual, The Wicker Man follows Neil Howie, a policeman who travels to the small island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. As the case unfolds, Howie discovers that the island’s residents are involved in some very strange and shady pagan practices that may explain the disappearance.
The Wicker Man was adapted in America in 2006, with Neil LaBute as director and Nicolas Cage as lead actor. Unfortunately, this production failed to be as successful as the original film, earning terrible reviews and becoming a box-office flop.
3 The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
Ray Harryhausen was a major influence on Tim Burton’s career, and his 1973 movie The Golden Voyage of Sinbad remains one of the director’s favorite films. In it, Harryhausen serves as producer, story writer and special effects creator, while Gordon Hessler spearheads as director. This production is the second installment in Columbia Pictures’ Sinbad trilogy and follows the legendary mariner on his quest to reach the Fountain of Destiny on the lost land of Lemuria, an adventure that will confront him with some highly dangerous creatures. The Golden Voyage of Sinbad not only proved to be a hit with audiences, it also became the recipient of the first Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film.
2 Frankenstein
Many actors portrayed Frankenstein’s monster throughout the course of movie history. However, Boris Karloff is probably the greatest of them all, and his role in James Whale’s 1931 production consecrated him as an icon of the horror genre with an enormous influence in later productions.
Frankenstein is one of the many adaptations of Mary Shelley’s novel, recounting once again the tale of the obsessive scientist who creates a monster out of human body parts, oblivious to how dangerous the outcome would be. Joining Karloff in this hit film are Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Dwight Frye. The success of this production spawned the development of several sequels and even a few spin-off films.
1 Black Sunday
Rounding out this list is Black Sunday, a 1960 production that marked the directorial debut of Italian filmmaker Mario Bava, who heavily influenced Burton’s career. This film starring Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Cecchi and Ivo Garrani, follows Asa, a vampire witch murdered by her own brother who comes back to life hundreds of years later to take revenge on her relatives.
While it was not a major hit in Italy upon its release, Black Sunday paved the way for the nation’s horror genre, garnering widespread acclaim in America and around the world. Tim Burton was heavily inspired by Bava’s work, and his influence is clearly seen in his 1999 film Sleepy Hollow.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
