Review of Ed Wood (1994) by Gregory G — 22 Sep 2011
Tim Burton's amusing and affectionate biopic is an homage to low grade filmmaker Edward D. Wood Jr., (Johnny Depp), who is routinely voted the worst director of all time. Wood is presented as a man with boundless enthusiasm but no talent with a fetish for wearing women's clothes.
Martin Landau is a washed up, drug addicted Bela Lugosi, who appears in a few of Wood's pictures. The friendship between Wood and Lugosi is the heart of the movie. Depp said he based his performance in part on the blind optimism of Ronald Reagan.
Landau is uncannily brilliant as Lugosi. Burton never goes for cheap laughs at the expense of the misfit characters Wood surrounds himself with. This is a celebration of the struggles of filmmaking as it embraces Wood's own form of ineptness in a period before camp existed.
Won Oscars for Martin Landau as Best Supporting Actor and Rick Baker for Best Makeup. Shot in gorgeous black and white by cinematographer Stefan Czapsky. Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszweski, based on the novel "Nightmare of Ecstasy" by Rudolph Grey.
With Sarah Jessica Parker; Patricia Arquette; Bill Murray; Jeffrey Jones; Lisa Marie as Vampira; Vincent D'Onofrio in a fabricated scene as Orson Welles; GD Spradlin, Mike Starr.
This review of Ed Wood (1994) was written by Gregory G on 22 Sep 2011.
Ed Wood has generally received very positive reviews.
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