Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
genuine entertainment, 5 Jul 2004
By A Customer
"Ed Eood" is the true story of Hollywoods worst director, Edward D. Wood Jr. The plot centres around Ed's struggle to make succesful films, films which tell a story. Ed also likes to dress up in women's clothing. As funny as this may sound, Ed's cross dressing is strangely meloncholy. One feels genuinly sorrow for him because no one will accept him for who he is, not even his own wife. Despite poor reviews and his less than supportive wife, Ed remains passionate about his film making and never gives up, something which, at times, brings a tear to the eye. Tim Burton directs the film and yet again he gets it spot on. Burton draws from classic horror films such as the Hammer Horror productions with great effect. The fact that the film is black and white provides moments of extreme noir a la Werner Herzog, while at the same time creating some crisp cinematography. In one particular scene Bela Lugosi casts a long, large shadow across the wall when putting on his cape, beautifully echoing a classic convention used in many a Dracula movie. Ed Wood is funny, sad and heart warming. It's a film which provides genuine entertainment from start to finish. If your looking for something different then you have found it.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
impressive and ghoulishly funny, one of Burton's best, 3 Mar 2008
Tim Burton pulls off an original, sweet-tempered and enjoyable film once again which is one of my favorites among his arsenal. Ignored in life, mocked in death, Edward D. Wood Jr. was a real phenomenon in American cinema history, especially famous for his Z-budget filmmaking. Making a biopic about such a schlocky visionary reputed as the worst director of all-time is just a groovy idea, which only Tim Burton or Coen Brothers dare to do it.
Shot beautifully in moody black & white, the film centers on Wood's most "prolific" period, when he relentlessly churned out one movie after the next, from his 1953 beyond-awful debut "Glen or Glenda" to his "groundbreaking" 1959 sci/fi "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Paying a final tribute to this idiosyncratic director, Burton opts to portray Wood and his misfit menagerie in an overexaggeratedly sympathetic way, not to depict the darker side of his life. The film ends before his slide into porn, misery and alcoholism. The film charts Wood's tragi-comic career: his flagrant ineptitude as a writer, producer and director; his efforts to beat the bushes for cash; his indifferent, hyper-enthusiastic and over-optimistic disposition against all kinds of professional and personal setbacks; his sheer passion and child-like naiveté; his transvestite tendencies with a particular taste in fluffy Angora sweaters, blond wigs and high heels; and lastly his strange friendship with 70-year old sepulchral Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi.
The film is hilarious and witty from beginning to end, especially the recreation of certain scenes from Wood's original work (e.g. Lugosi's fight with a flaccid rubber octopus puppet and graveyard scene of "Plan 9 From Outer Space") are hysterically funny. But such a film desperately needs a some degree of gravity. The relationship and chemistry between Wood and Lugosi is the emotional core of the film. Johnny Depp gives a sympathetic and charismatic portrayal of Wood. But, this is Martin Landau who really steals the show, and he is the glue that holds the movie together. His performance is dazzling, conveying the ego, pathos, pride and real dignity of the former horror hero Bela Lugosi. This is the role which won him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and he really deserved it.
To me, "Ed Wood" shows that life is not merely about success, fame or money; but rather about your creative spirit, and how much you cling to your principles and how much you love what you do. Burton portrays Wood as a winner, because he dared to make films yet he had absolutely no gift when it comes to filmmaking. Today, despite the fact that his films are used as a benchmark that the most awful films are measured by, that's not the problem at all.
The wonderful irony of the film is that it won two Oscars with the name "Ed Wood" written on it :))
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unique, 9 April 2004
By A Customer
This black and white film potrays a true story about Ed Wood - who is said by many to be the worst director of all time. We follow Ed through part of his adult life while he is making films and dressing up in drag occasionally! Johnny Depp is excellent as the main character Ed. Ed Wood is optimistic and enthusiatic about film making and he is very likeable. We actually feel sorry for him as he is a good man and passionate about his work, although maybe not that good at it! He makes friends with ageing actor Bela Lugosi and he agrees to star in all Eds films. If you like slightly oddball films or are always wanting to see something different rather than the typcial blockbuster movie then this might be worth your while. It is interesting and funny and it is refreshing to see a film so unique as this. The acting is fantastic and you may recognise quite a few faces (Johnny Depp, Sarah Jessica Parker and Bill Murray amoung them). I saw this film because i am an admirer of Depps work and was not disappointed.
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