Ed Wood

This is probably my favorite Tim Burton film because I love the incredibly wretched films of Ed Wood and appreciate a bio-pic of this king of dreck! Having seen BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, GLEN OR GLENDA, PLAN 9, NIGHT OF THE GHOULS AND JAIL BAIT, I was absolutely thrilled that the stories behind these films was finally brought to the screen. Plus, it was a great thrill to see the behind the scenes work that crazy of Ed did to get his horrible films made. It also helped that Johnny Depp played the character with so much energy and sincerity. It helped even more that the producers took such great pains to replicate the weird group of stock characters from the Wood films. Of course Martin Landau got a lot of attention (and an Oscar) for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi, but the rest of the characters were so close it was spooky. Plus, I admired that even the clothing and sets were dead on as well. Instead of simply making fun of Wood's horrible career, the film is more of a loving homage to a man who made rotten films that were still somehow very appealing--leading his films to be regarded as trash film cult classics. Perfect and enjoyable throughout and a truly wonderful time capsule.

It is a well known fact by now that Johnny Depp is a subtle, tender, beautiful force of nature. Tim Burton has been able to create universes that Johnny Depp can inhabit with the strange naturalness of someone who belongs. "Ed Wood" is the ultimate demonstration of that theory. You're introduced to the world of someone who appears almost a figment of someone's imagination to realise that there is something of him in you and me. What is incredible is that the realisation comes hand in hand with a personal discovery. That funny weird kid represents more than something but the best of you and me. Angora sweaters and childish dreams. The purity of an artist with a talent that is concentrated in his heart. Remember the Salieri of "Amadeus" torturing himself cursing God for giving him the gift of recognising the talent in others without having any of his own. Ed Wood, as told by Burton and Depp, is so far away from that pathology that to watch his films after having met him with Johnny's face is an entirely different experience. Everything makes sense. Strangely enough (or not) "Ed Wood" died at the box office but as it happens more often than not, "Ed Wood" is more alive today than many of the greatest moneymakers of all time. Yes, that business of time never fails. Greatness prevails.

As one of the most overlooked films ever made, "Ed Wood" does for Tim Burton what "Malcolm X" did for Spike Lee and "JFK" did for Oliver Stone, it ruins any expectations one can have of Tim Burton, because he has set a standard here that he will never achieve again. An interest in the period in which it is set is essential, given the set decoration is the film's greatest triumph. It's not surprising that Burton's first "biopic" is about someone revered in the b-movie heyday of the 1950s - that spawned Burton himself. Burton must have felt he had to make this picture because without filmmakers like Ed Wood, Burton himself would have never existed. Set in seedy B-movie Hollywood in the mid 1950s - and wisely and beautifully shot in black-and-white, Johnny Depp plays the titular character; a young, talentless, but optimistic auteur who dreams of being a film director; going so far as to model himself after his idol, Orson Welles. Despite an over-reliance on stock footage, a tin ear for dialogue, and a fondness for wacky, exploitative horror and sci-fi fare, Wood wiggles his way into B-moviedom. Casting anyone willing to step before his camera, Wood cranks out a series of cheesy movies.

When he has a chance encounter with horror film legend Bela Lugosi, now a 74 year-old, foul-mouthed morphine addict wrecked by his lost fame, Ed sees his meal-ticket. Quick for his next fix, Lugosi doesn't seem to mind that Wood is also an out-and-proud transvestite with a particular fondness for Angora sweaters, and soon begins starring in Wood's features. Lugosi, played by Martin Landau, gives the story its biggest jolts of energy. Landau is hysterical in scene after scene utilizing the "dirty old man" routine. Remember, there is nothing funnier on earth than an old man who likes profanity. A gentle - albeit somewhat fictionalized - bond forms between Wood and Lugosi. Depp does a spectacular job of fleshing out Wood's quirky innocence and unbridled passion for moviemaking. This may also be the only Johnny Depp film where you actually see him smile!

What ultimately makes this film so stellar is the impeccable production and costume design and the crisp B&W cinematography; it literally transports you back to the clean-cut, wide-eyed days of the 1950s. I cannot recommend this film enough if you have an interest in the world of 1950s B-movies that produced titles like "Teenagers From Outer Space" and "Project Moonbase". This film functions quite well as a time warp. I liken "Ed Wood" to epics like "JFK" because like those films, this movie doesn't seem to be about what happens as much as how it FEELS to be there; and that's what draws me to the film every time I see it. With "Ed Wood", I'm not always interested in following the story, but I'm totally fascinated with being inside that world. Tim Burton did the best job that anyone could in taking you there.

It's sort of embarrassing to admit it took me ten years to see this film. I'm not really a big fan of Tim Burton, and while I never had anything against him, I've only recently started to enjoy Johnny Depp's work. Given the subject matter, this just wasn't a movie I was interested in for a long time. But sometimes good things really are worth the wait.

Ed Wood, of course, chronicles the Hollywood career of its eponymous subject, truly one screwed up individual; a cross-dresser with a fetish for angora, Wood churned out one horrifically bad film after another, culminating with Plan Nine From Outer Space, before descending into crappy porn films toward the end of his life. It isn't necessarily a happy story, and Burton wisely only tells a small sliver of it, from Ed's first movie, Glen or Glenda, through the premiere of Plan Nine.

But the love that Burton has for Wood and his movies shines through in every frame. Though I find Burton needlessly artsy as a director, here that tendency serves him frightfully well, as he manages to do the near-impossible; make a film about someone that plays like one of their films (the abysmal Dragon is a shining example of how NOT to do this). Shot entirely in black and white, we see all of Wood's weirdos not as they were, but rather as Ed probably saw them, through the bizarre filter he must have viewed life with.

Depp is simply brilliant here, probably even better than he was in Pirates of the Caribbean. He captures Wood's enthusiasm and slanted viewpoint, but he does so in a loving, positive way. Wood accepts, as we must, that he was a screwed-up hack, but it never drags him down; in fact, Depp has him reveling in it, and it is that very passion that buoys up the movie. It doesn't hurt that nearly everyone else is very strong too, from Jeffrey Jones' crank 'psychic' Criswell to Bill Murray's Bunny Breckenridge, who often talks about having a sex change but never goes through with it. George 'The Animal' Steele captures Tor Johnson perfectly, and even Lisa Marie is excellent as Vampira. But the true great performance of the film, outshining even Depp, is Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi. He won the Oscar for this, and deservedly so; he presents Lugosi at the end of his life, a washed-up has been, a shell of a man who was once a great star but is now no more than an addict. Landau virtually disappears in the role, and all you get is Lugosi, every tragic inch of him. Again, we see him not only as he was, but how Wood and even Burton see him, and the effect is masterful. One speech in particular, where Lugosi repeats a speech that Wood wrote for him about once being the master of the world but now on the verge of coming back is particularly haunting, and Landau is simply riveting.

Ed Wood is a rare beast – it's a Tim Burton film that doesn't go overboard, it's a movie about Hollywood (sort of) that isn't self-indulgent, it's a nostalgia trip that manages not to be sappy but is still very warm and caring, and overall it's just a strikingly well-done film. I was impressed on many levels, most particularly with Depp and Landau, but really with the whole movie, that such a truly screwed-up human being could be shown in such a positive, indeed, loving way. Ed Wood is nothing less than a tribute to its subject, and in that, as in many other ways, it succeeds marvelously. If somehow you've missed this film, as I had until recently, you owe it to yourself to see it. It's simply a wonderful piece of film-making that should not be missed.

Ed Wood is a frustrated actor and director who's small theatre productions barely can get a good word said about them. When a cheap little production company advertises a project about sex change, Wood jumps at the chance and uses his personal fetish for women's clothing as the hook to get the job. Despite his final project being laughed out of the major studios, Wood now has the taste for it and starts to try and get funding to make his own films - aided by the ailing star Bela Lugosi who is desperate for work to help fund his habits. With a collection of freaks and oddballs, Wood made what are now considered to be some of the worst films ever made.

Some things in life are depressing and it is often the case that we try to look on the bright side and make jokes about the situation as an attempt to deal with it. I'm from Northern Ireland and my humour is quite dark and gallows style simply because that is the kind of comedy I grew up with was draw from the background of murder and violence - gallows humour is an appropriate term. This film may not be based on gallows humour but it is such a potentially depressing story that the only way to do it and make it enjoyable is to tell it with humour. Burton treats his subject with a great deal of affection and thus makes this film a funny tale of a dreamer who we know will never see his dreams fulfilled in the way he would like. The story is funny but not in the cruel mocking way that it could have been but in a fanciful way that is amusing and all the better for being based on truth. This strand continues all the way through the film and helps us to like Wood even if it is impossible to defend his films - the ending is perfectly upbeat considering that Wood then ended his life an alcoholic making cheap nude pictures. The characters are exaggerated but still quite true to the real life people they represent (I take this from comments made in documentaries).

As director, Burton is excellent. He gives the whole film an otherworldly feel that is very fitting for a tale that involves characters that are very weird indeed. The affectionate approach that Burton has for Wood really helps - I wonder does he relate to the guy just trying to make the films that appeal to him or what it is that makes him feel this way towards him? Either way the end result is very good and it stands out as a film that is pretty much without flaw. I questioned the film's inclusion in the imdb top 250 but then I thought well, what is wrong with it? I had to admit that almost nothing is wrong - the only thing would be that the story may not be to everyone's tastes and not everyone will buy into Burton's affectionate look at Wood.

The cast is led by a magnificent performance by Depp who I have long maintained is one of the finest actors (or at least bravest) of my generation. Here he continues Burton's affectionate approach by portraying Wood as a man filled with hope and dreams - even doing a good job of turning cross dressing into an amusing quirk. The cast is truly all star but they all do a great job playing their characters. Landau's Oscar may have had a touch of sentimentality about it but it was still deserved - he plays Lugosi really well and manages the difficulties of his drug addiction really well to make him both amusing but deeply sympathetic. The support cast includes good turns from Parker, Arquette (quite interchangeable really!), Jones, Murray, Starr, D'Onofrio and Spradlin. All the cast do well but it is those that play Wood's wooden cast members that do the best job - managing to do both natural performances outside of Wood's movie but also doing justice to just how bad their characters really were!

Overall this is a great movie but the tale of a rubbish movie director who enjoys cross-dressing and hangs out with a group of weirdoes is likely not to be to everyone's taste. Regardless of this, if it interests you then you should be pleased with a slick movie that takes an amusing and affectionate look at what is a fairly depressing story.