Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Tuesday, November 29th, 2005Candy doesn’t have to have a point. That’s why it’s candy.
I dimly remember reading Roald Dahl’s book as a child but, for the life of me, I can’t recall if I ever saw the 1971 adapatation with Gene Wilder. I almost rented it to watch a few weeks ago but the only copy I could get from Netflix was the original pan-and-scan “full” screen edition. I’m sorry, but if there is one thing that this writer does not abide, it’s the butchering of a film’s original image to fit the confines of a TV screen. Thus the Wilder version will go unreviewed here until I can track down a widescreen copy.
Tim Burton’s other films based on other people’s material have been a mixed bag. His two Batman movies have been impressive to look at but ultimately unsatisfying if you were actually interested in seeing a film about Batman. His take on Planet of the Apes didn’t exactly make people forget about Charleton Heston. Until now, Burton had seemed happier playing in sandboxes of his own creation. Charlie’s off-center, slightly twisted fairy tale universe, however, seems tailor-made for the director’s style.
