Ed Wood(1995)
Review by Laurence Mixson (venom8@hotmail.com)
Starring Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill Murray, and Lisa Marie
*** out of ****
Ed Wood is the most infamous(note I didn't say "famous") director of all time: his movies are generally regarded as some of the worst schlock ever filmed. He used measly budgets, stock footage, poor actors, and bad dialogue to bring together some of the most hideous pictures of all time. Yet Ed Wood did not see it that way: he was in love with the complete process of cinema, and believed that no shot of film, however flawed or illogical, was bad. To him, it was all great.
Tim Burton's biopic of Wood is regarded by most critics as his best film yet, and it certainly is one of the better movies of 1995. While not relying on megastars or a large budget, it manages to create a eerily realistic atmoshpere of sleazy Hollywood, early 1950's. It captures this feeling not only with its black and white photography but also with its set design and, most importantly, actors.
Ed Wood, the man, was interesting even by himself: he was a transvestite, who had a particular weakness for his girlfriend's anghorra sweater. Although completely heterosexual, he revels in dressing up in women's clothes, and eventually places a large distance between himself and his girlfriend(Dolores Fuller, an unnotable actress, who is played by Sarah Jessica Parker)because of his strange urges. Johnny Depp plays Ed Wood perfectly: his portrayal is that of a nervous yet kind man, who loves what he does and tries to help everyone through it. The movie follows Ed through the productions of three of his worst movies, from Glen or Glenda? to Bride of the Monster and finally to Plan 9 From Outer Space, which has been recognized internationally as the worst movie ever made.
Along the way, Wood encounters what he perceives to be a huge star: Bela Lugosi(Landau, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role), star of 20's and 30's horror films, and most notable for bringind Dracula to America. But despite what Wood perceives of him, Lugosi is now a washed-up has been who is also a morphine-addict. Wood, however, with his typical blind eye to reason and glee for anything movie-related, still views Lugosi as a great horror actor, and is amazed when none of the studio heads see it that way(as a matter of fact, their usual response is "Isn't he dead?")
Glen or Glenda, Wood's first major films which was produced by a grade-z schlock studio, tells the story of a young man engaged to his beautiful wife, who loves her deeply but hides his cross-dressing and anghorra-weakness from her. If this sounds familiar of Wood, you're right: not only did he direct it, but he also wrote and starred in it.
The movie tries to take itself seriously, telling the story of Glen(played by Wood) in a documentary style. It fails at this, however, as Wood uses stock footage liberally and spices it up with Lugosi. In what could be called simultaneously both the most hilarious and worst scene ever captured on film, Lugosi shouts "Pull the strings! Pull the strings!" as the film fades into a herd of buffaloe stampeding. Of course, this has absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter, but as told in "Ed Wood", Wood never met a piece of film he didn't like, and thought it would be a waste not to include Lugosi or the buffalo stampede. *Sigh*. The film is so bad, that when shown to a Studio mogul, he believes it is a practical joke by a friend.
The actors and crew members of Wood's films were horribly pathetic themselves: We already know the story of drug-addicted Lugosi, but Wood also featured such favorites as Butterfly, a gay queen played unexpectedly well by Murray, Dolores Fuller, Wood's real-life girlfriend, Vampira(Lisa Marie), a local horror-host, a la Elvira or Rhonda-Up-All-Night, Tor, a huge wrestler, and various grips and gaffers who obtain special-effects, like a non-working rubber octopus, by breaking into studio storage houses and stealing them.
Tim Burton was the perfect choice to direct Ed Wood: not only is he known for bringing outsiders to the screen with gusto(Jack Skellington, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, etc.), but he himself is an eccentric, odd director, who likely understands Wood more than any of us can. And although this film has it's faults(it stretches a little long with its second act, and it doesn't go in-depth enough into Wood's filmmaking career), it's a most enjoyable flick, and certainly one of the oddest of the year. Exactly like all of Burton's other films.
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