GSFE

No actor who can't sing should take a role where he has to be dubbed. This role belonged to "the Original," Richard Kiley. Period. He was promised the role and the producers went back on their word. They deserved an embarrassment and they got it. If they had used the original Broadway cast they could have immortalized the film but they went for "movie stars," an all too common and fatal flaw. Reference The success of Robert Preston in "The Music Man" where the author, James Meredith stood firm and insisted on Preston who originated the role and the result was magic. It could have been the same with the brilliant, wonderful "Man of La Mancha." What an incredibly waster opportunity.

This film has more "fade to black" scene changes than a hacked TV episode on TV Land. And that's the good news. The soundtrack will drive you insane after the first ten seconds but if you turn the sound off you won't miss anything. Johnny Depp was brilliant, John Hurt was the best part of the film and the other actors were awful. None of them could decide what dialect to use and the dialect was cringe-worthy throughout. The theme "no one can live as a legend" must have been concocted by an ad man trying to sell this turkey. The best scene was with Johnny Depp and a stuffed fawn but the director did not have the skill to make it poignant. Just awful.

The only place this film failed was in the advertising, which probably represents a lack of vision into what "Ed Wood" metamorphosed into. What it isn't, is a comedy: viewers expecting a good laugh will go away disappointed. From start to finish, this brilliant work of art is a tragedy, so thoroughly overpowered by Martin Landau's inspired performance that there are more tears and bitter recriminations than smiles. Ed Wood, the self-destructive optimist may not have had the talent to survive in mainstream Hollywood, but he had the heart. His story is legend. And how many wannabe's wouldn't trade places with him? Being the "worst director of all time" is better than not being a director at all. Martin Landau gave dignity to a very beloved and underappreciated actor; Martin and Bela shared a soul for this film. One of the most inspired performances ever.