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Johnny Depp,
Johnny Depp,
Martin Landau,
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Tim Burton,
Tim Burton
see all cast/crew...
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: Touchstone
: Biopics, SNL Alums
: 127 min.
: English
: English, Spanish
see additional details...
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Hollywood visionary Tim Burton pays homage to another Hollywood visionary, albeit a less successful one, in this unusual fictionalized biography. The film follows Wood (Johnny Depp) in his quest for film greatness as he writes and directs turkey after turkey, cross-dresses, and surrounds himself with a motley crew of Hollywood misfits, outcasts, has-beens, and never-weres. The real story, however, is his friendship with aging, morphine-addicted Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), whom he tries to help stage a comeback. Landau's unforgettable Oscar-winning performance must be seen to be believed, as must Rick Baker's Oscar-winning makeup. While it would have been easy to make a film simply ridiculing the bumbling director, Burton instead focuses on his driving passion for filmmaking and his unwavering persistence in the face of ridicule and failure. Possibly the most surprising aspect of the film is the genuine sentiment with which Burton treats the relationship between Wood and Lugosi; his devotion to Lugosi is touching, as is Lugosi's final soliloquy -- an inane bit of dialogue from the hilariously bad Bride of the Monster that grows into a poignant metaphor for the actor's life and ultimate triumph of his spirit. Even the look of the film is right; it manages to preserve the air of one of Wood's own films while retaining a sense of artistry in much of the composition on screen (note the scene at the drug rehab where Lugosi endures a horrifying night of detox). In all, Ed Wood is a unique film -- at times side-splittingly funny; at others, tragic or even frightening -- and a heartfelt tribute to the love of movies, good and bad alike. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
You might also enjoy:
The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Surprisingly touching and insightful documentary on the (in)famous director
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Everyone's favorite B, er make that Z movie is a Wood classic
Mars Attacks!
Tim Burton's own subversive salute to 50's sci-fi B movies
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| Stranger than Fiction
by CZumwalt
January 25, 2005 - 1:17 PM PST
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3 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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Much has been said about Tim Burton's films. Some may never forgive him for Batman Forever or the disappointing Planet of the Apes (the anticipation for that was almost as excruciating as waiting for the end), but you can't deny his ability to capture an aura. It's almost as if Burton has reanimated a lost autobiography of Edward D. Wood Jr. written and directed by the principal of the film himself. Not only does this film perfectly reminisce the camp and kitsch of a 50's era B classic, but the characters Wood surrounds himself with, are just as vintage. Landau necromantically plays Bela Lugosi to a much deserved Oscar and Lisa Marie makes an uncanny Vampira. Though I've never heard the original screen Queen of Darkness speak, the resemblance is unearthly right down to Vampira's inappreciable 17 inch waist.
Ed Wood is easier to embrace if one has viewed a few of Ed's charming pictures, especially his signature film, Plan 9 from Outer Space. If you view Ed Wood without having been subjected to Plan 9 then you will almost certainly feel implored to add it to your Greencine queue and promote it to the coveted #1 slot.
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.34)
640 Votes
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