This biopic on "the worst director of all time" Ed Wood Jnr is utterly brilliant from start to finish. From its exhilarating beginning, helped by Howard Shore's brilliant score and Jeffrey Jones's delightful turn as Criswell, it completely gripped me. For me it isn't only one of Burton's better movies, but also one of the better movies of 1994. Tim Burton's works are admittedly strange and offbeat, and while people mayn't like that, I do. And that is why I loved this film, it was funny, it was touching, it was strange(well sort of) and it was offbeat. It is gorgeously shot, with black and white photography that is really a marvel to the eyes, and Burton lovingly directs. The script is funny and poignant, and the restoration of Wood's productions are astonishing. It was even nice to see Plan 9 From Outer Space, I know that critics cite it as the worst movie ever made, but there are other people who consider it as a "so bad it's good" movie, the way I have heard people talk about the film, whether they love or hate it, is quite fascinating. And the performances are brilliant; Johnny Depp is amazing as Ed Wood, portraying him as an optimist and an "anguished cross-dresser", and Martin Landau is absolutely superb as Bela Lugosi. Sarah Jessica Parker and Patricia Arquette are alluring and convincing as Delores and Kathy, and as Bunny Bill Murray does well even if Bunny could've been developed a little more. Overall, gripping, funny, touching and brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox
One of the best films from the 90's and one of my absolute favourites, Tim Burton's simultaneous loving and mocking tribute to the infamous ‘worst director of all time', Edward D. Wood Jr. (nicknamed Ed Wood), is chock full of ticklish/ghoulish visuals, marvellous acting (with Johnny Depp and especially Martin Landau as the two leads), and some of Danny Elfman's best composition work.
Turns out to be a thoroughly entertaining if eccentric piece of business, wacky and amusing in a cheerfully preposterous way. [28 September 1994, Calendar, p.F-1]
Burton has trouble sustaining the briskness of the first half. But the brilliance of many individual scenes, and the extraordinary performance by Landau, are more than enough to justify this goofy, tender ode to eccentricity. [7 October 1994, Daily Notebook, p.C1]
Burton has evoked the surface of Ed Wood's life, but in a story about a man who loves angora and frilly panties, he has barely unbuttoned Wood's uniform.
Quite simply, one of the great movies of our generation. Rife with great humor and idiosyncrasy, Ed wood is the perfect homage to the eponymous director and anyone whoever chased a dream.
put a wig on him..
Ed Wood
There are few laughs here and there drawn out from witty lines and amusing characters despite of resonating a lot to the practicality of the nature. A smart adaptation by Scott and Larry from Rudolph Grey's book is not only funny but edited perfectly too. Tim Burton as always excels in execution but this one was quite exciting to encounter since this wasn't one of his sketchy created world that he normally walks on. Ed Wood works great on terms of craft that one can explore into but it also offers the audience very little to hold onto on terms of entertainment.
Ed Wood impresses with a good cast (though it can get confusing with the many speaking parts it exhibits) but is a film that leads into nowhere. Obviously, Burton reveres Wood in some strange way, but he can't (or just doesn't) stop this biography of drifting off into a boring tale of a strange transvestite. A 80 minute flick would've told everything that needed to be told. But besides the protrecting, Ed Wood is an interesting as well as odd story and you can have a nice time with it.
Ed Wood is a strangely uncharismatic bio-pic from Burton and Depp. It has some nice photography, some decent performances and great period design but I felt myself drift off into boredom during the final third.
Un film-hommage à un tocard ou plutôt en l’occurrence au roi des tocards puisqu’il fut élu -à titre posthume certes- le « worst director of all time » pour la quantité de daubes à deux centimes de dollars qu’il a dû commettre et qu’il a commises… à l’insu de son plein gré ou non, là n’est pas la question (évidemment, on peut s’interroger sur l’état du « discernement » du gugusse, un peu « illuminé » je suppose, comme on s’en rend compte dans le film-hommage de Tim Burton… quand on ne s’est pas endormi bien sûr.
En tout cas, je ne sais pas pourquoi on a fait grand cas de cette sorte de Max Pécas américain en somme ! jusqu’à faire un film entier sur ce blaireau alors qu’il suffisait de l’inviter tous les mercredis soirs et puis c’est tout. Pas de quoi en faire toute une histoire… parce que chez nous, on en a plein des Max Pécas et consorts… même s’ils ne font pas dans la SF horrifique à deux balles, certes…!
Burton a donc fait un truc tarte qu’il a tartiné et étiré au maximum sur plus de deux heures… interminables ! alors qu’une heure vingt aurait amplement suffi… le résultat est bien entendu lancinant et à dormir debout, pas drôle pour un sou et pathétiquement pathétique. Et pitoyablement pitoyable. Un navet donc épouvantable pour rendre hommage à un fabriquant de nanars périmenazes ! ça ne vaut pas un pet et ce n’est que total ennui et pur ridicule du début à la fin.