Rating: 
Summary: Best book on Burton yet
Review: ''Also interesting is how a rave review always pops up now after a review that criticizes the book. Very interesting. And then the rave has to go on to criticize the person who didn't like it.''Yeah - there's no need to get into an AOL-style flamewar here. Keep that kind of stuff for the immature on AOL who enjoy it, and here, stick with reviewing the book itself. And it's a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: can you say - nothing new?
Review: A huge disappointment. If you're a big fan of Burton as I am, you learn very little new from this book. Hanke's "insights" are merely his opinions. Amusing is the reader from Hawthorne, CA who can give this book a 4-star rating while claiming "I haven't read this book."
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Thought Provoking
Review: A really killer book! This is a very entertaining look at Tim Burton--and even more at his films. But the important thing is how thought-provoking the book is. It's one thing to like Burton's movies, but it's quite another thing to seriously consider what they mean, and that's what's so great about this book. It really does get inside Burton's movies--and it does so fairly. I especially liked the author pointing out that a central feature of Burton's work is the way the director is so completely non-judgmental about his characters. It made me think of the line in ED WOOD about how Ed can't afford to be judgmental or he wouldn't have any friends, but it really does apply to Burton's relationship with all his characters. This is the kind of thing that the book does over and over and each time it throws new light on the movies, making the reader appreciate them just that much more. In much the same way, the book is largely non-judgmental on Burton. It recounts some of his apparent shortcomings as a human being, but leaves the reader to draw his own conclusion about what they mean or how important they are. A dynamite job!
Rating:
Summary: A Rare Pleasure
Review: A superior book in every way, Hanke does more than trot out the facts of Tim Burton's life and career--he takes the reader on a very absorbing journey, perfectly balanced by data and a mesmerizing analysis of Burton's peculiar, evolving style from film to film. It's a portrait of an artist by someone who evidently understands quite well the uniqueness of such a creator as Burton, but not to the point of being blatantly one sided. There's enough information here to suggest that Burton is very much an artful practitioner of self promotion, and that his cinematic quest over the years has left a prequisite amount of bodies, given his stature. A key to the book's success is the knowledgeable weaving of intricate, postwar influences that helped shape Burton's inner landscape, which the author very much identifies with as a way of explaining the dark charm of Burton's best work. Hanke never shuns a complex examination of what makes an artist tick, and it is a very refreshing thing to read. I only wish the book kept on going, but perhaps a revised edition will be available after another round of Burton's highly personal dreams manifest upon the screen. Hanke is a most excellent writer for making Burton's work all the more fascinating to discover.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting
Review: An admiralable book in many ways. Hanke's insights are always interesting, if not always on the mark. More interesting is the fact that reviewers here are now reviewing the reviews themselves..instead of keeping to topic on the book. One would think one is entitled to their opinion, without having it criticized. Also interesting is how a rave review always pops up now after a review that criticizes the book. Very interesting. And then the rave has to go on to criticize the person who didn't like it.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the reviewers would have you think
Review: Authors should not have to suffer for the sins of their reviewers, nor should they have to suffer for the sins of rival authors. Just as Chan fans battle over who was best - Toler or Oland (and Oland was, by the way) Chan fans are arguing over the best Chan book - the old, better selling Hanke or the newer, not so well selling Mitchell. And caught in the crossfire is Hanke's extremely well-selling Burton book. Ignore the reviews - buy the book and see for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: boring
Review: Being unauthorized, this book is missing what would have really made it interesting or worth the money...anecdotes, recollections, ANYTHING by Burton himself. As it ends up, one reads only Hanke's opinions.
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Piece of Work
Review: By the time I've gotten around to saying something about this book, I see that it's mostly already been said and I'm left to repeat the praise of others. Still, I think it's worth saying and maybe worth noting that it's not at all the sort of book I usually read. (Hey, I just like Tim Burton movies.) Because of this, I can't really say whether it's better than most books of its type, but the fact that it's entertaining and accessible to someone who doesn't know film books says something--you don't have to be an expert or an "insider" in order to get this book. It made me watch all of Burton's movies again and think about them. It gave me new enjoyment in them. What more could I want?
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Analysis of an Artist!
Review: Despite the fact that Ken Hanke's new book is ringing the withers of the lunatic fringe Burton fans (how dare anyone suggest their Tim is anything but the sainted innocent of their imagining), it is quite the best book around on the filmmaker--attempting to place the director's work and life into some kind of perspective beyond Burton's own (somewhat tiresome) inarticulate posturing as the poster boy for dysfunctional artists. In the main, Hanke succeeds in this attempt. Reading the films as an extension of Burton's own personality and life, he produces an intriguing and oddly satisfying portrait of the artist as savvy businessman hiding behind a carefully crafted facade of innocence designed to appeal to anyone who ever felt like a put-upon outsider--a facade that appears to go down quite well with Burton's most ardent supporters, who are the very people most likely to keep the director from ever reaching his full potential as a filmmaker (beware the fan who insists on referring to his hero by his first name!). Oddly, it is equally evident that Hanke is himself a staunch admirer of Burton and his work, just not an uncritical one. Unlike BURTON ON BURTON, which is basically a book-length bit of PR fluff designed to appeal primarily to the more adolescent Burton fans, this is a Burton book for adults, full of insightful analyses of the films, along with much background information on their creation and the very mixed critical responses to them and their creator. As such, TIM BURTON: AN UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF THE FILMMAKER is an important work about one of the most interesting of all contemporary filmmakers--a book that is bound to generate controversies and arguments as much as the films of its subjects has. For the open-minded Burton fan who recognizes that the director is human and flawed, it should come as nothing short of a revelation.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: Genre writers don't get any better than Ken Hanke and this book is another winner. Hanke's book "Charlie Chan at the Movies" is still the best book about that detective, and his regular articles in Scarlet Street magazine (he is the associate editor of this superior publication) are a treat. I was especially impressed by Hanke's coverage of "Edward Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood" in his new book, and only wish the book will be updated to include "Sleepy Hollow."
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