Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Patricia Arquette

Story of low-budget Hollywood director Edward D. Wood, Jr., whose notoriously bad cult films include Glen or Glenda? (USA/1953) and Plan 9 from Outer Space (USA/1956).

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83% liked it

80,965 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

55 critics

R, 2 hrs. 7 min.

Directed by: Tim Burton

Release Date: September 28, 1994

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DVD Release Date: August 13, 2002

Stats: 5,601 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (5,601)


  • September 23, 2009
    Really weird movie. The acting was really good, but it was just so strange!
  • September 9, 2009
    An affectionate tribute to a fellow director unfortunately regarded as the worst in the business. The cast deliver excellent performances, especially the leads, Depp and Landau, in what is Burton's best and most unappreciated film of his career.
  • May 13, 2009
    Brilliant film...always overlooked. Seems like fans of Burton almost never bring this movie up...I think it's one of his best. Depp is hysterical.

    THESE BAPTISTS ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY. THEY'RE STUPID STUPID STUPID!

    Martin Landau delivers probably the best performance of his c...( read more)areer as Bela Legosi. The scene where he wraps himself up in a plastic octopus in a pool at 4 in the morning is hilarious.

    The whole movie kicks so much ass, and yet I consistently come across people who haven't even heard of it. Idiots
  • May 9, 2009
    Very moving and sensitive, I like old black and white monster flicks and Mr Wood was great at it..in a sense haha. This is still dark with Burton's style but still very strong and gets the story across beautifully, by the end of the film you will feel very close to all members in...( read more)volved and you wont want the story to end.

    A good cast of the usual Burton suspects really helps as they are all pretty kooky themselves hehe its a film of character actors and outcasts which suits Burton to a tee. The 'classic' feel of a proper black and white film isn't really there I must admit, Burton isn't a great director in that sense, this film isn't an epic for sure, its more of a TV movie really. Plenty of little Burton touches throughout add charm and actually do assist in the films content and there's a lovely undercurrent of humour during the film which adds a very pleasant appeal to the whole thing.
  • March 1, 2009
    A quirky true story about the man who was considered the ?worst Director?, told in a slight tongue and cheek manner, yet creatively put together and made for interesting viewing.

    This is the type of film that will probably appeal more to those who have an interest in all aspec...( read more)ts of film making. A slightly different type of project for Tim Burton, but you can certainly see in parts, why he was attracted to this project.
  • November 20, 2009
    A great original piece from Tim Burton. It is extremely different from his usual style, but handled with just as much care and passion. Johnny Depp plays a priceless Ed Wood and really makes the character quite sympathetic and naive. It has a great feel to it, as if you're not ev...( read more)en watching a biopic, but something else entirely.
  • November 16, 2009
    Tim Burton's zany comedic biopic is a great film - about (arguably) the worst filmmaker that ever lived. Johnny Depp stars as Edward D. Wood, Jr., a naive aspiring director whose latest stage production has gained a bad review in which only the costumes were given a modicum of pr...( read more)aise. One day, he hears about a Z-grade production house making a thinly-veiled true story about a man that changed his sex. Wood comes back with his first "hit" screenplay - "Glen or Glenda?," and directs himself in the starring role (Wood had a penchant for dressing in womens' clothing). This is much to the chagrin of his aspiring ingenue girlfriend Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker), whose about had it with Wood and his growing circle of misfits, perverts (including a low-key brilliant Bill Murray as transsexual-in-the-making Bunny Breckinridge) and freaks (his ensemble cast would soon include Vampira and Tor Johnson, the Swedish wrestler played here by Lisa Marie and George "The Animal" Steele, respectively). Fate soon connects Wood with childhood icon-turned-morphine addict Bela Lugosi (a magnificent, Oscar-winning Martin Landau) and his career is set - the film covers much of the production of films such as "Bride of the Atom" (which became "Bride of the Monster") and "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (funded by the Baptist Church as a fundraiser for their films about the 12 Apostles, it was originally went by a more "offensive title" of "Graverobbers from Outer Space"!). Burton's film, stunningly photographed in stark black and white, is a throwback to the time of Z-grade horror and science-fiction films, and the results are magical. Depp gets deep into the skin of the superficial cineaste Wood, whose aspirations to be an auteur ironically hit a fever pitch when bad director met great director in an inspirational bar conversation with Orson Welles (an uncanny Vincent D'Onofrio). The acceptance Wood never found professionally was even made up for when he met a girl who loved him for him (Patricia Arquette). This is perhaps one of the oddest, funniest and (in its way) weirdly inspiring films about show business ever made. It's also one of the best.
  • November 7, 2009
    Tim Burton's homage to the guy that was considered as the worst filmmaker of his time is an explosive tribute of wonderful uniqueness, stylish sensations and a mirroring of the technical beauties that enhanced the brilliance of a good classic film. Burton goes much more beyond th...( read more)e definition of a spoof. He mocks Ed Wood while mocking himself! An extraordinary contribution to Hollywood's modern filmmaking.

    87/100
  • November 5, 2009
    This film has a great entertaining script and two outstanding performances by Johnny Depp and Martin Landau. The rest of the cast does a fine job as well. I highly recommend this film.
  • November 3, 2009
    Ed Wood es una biopic acerca del que, para muchos, es el peor cineasta de la historia: Edward D. Wood Jr. A diferencia de lo que se podría pensar sobre una película de esta naturaleza, este trabajo germinal de Tim Burton no pretende ser una parodia descarada sobre el direc...( read more)tor de The Bride of the Monster, sino que utiliza el talento de los actores en personajes muy bien elaborados para dar como resultado una comedia fresca y de refinada manufactura.

    El filme se desarrolla en el periodo en que Wood creó sus más célebres "obras maestras" y pone en un papel central la relación del director con Bela Lugosi, el legendario Drácula de Universal Monsters; así como en la afición de Ed Wood por vestir con ropa femenina. El argumento central de la película consiste en la lucha de un ingenuo cineasta admirador de Orson Welles por llegar a ser el mejor director de Hollywood, un sueño que se verá eclipsado por los incesantes fracasos de Wood en todas las películas que, con esfuerzos, logra filmar.

    Con el paso del tiempo, Ed consigue la amistad y el afecto de un grupo de actores, de segunda o en decadencia, y, a pesar de las malas críticas hacia sus películas, se da cuenta que al final del camino su única misión era hacer lo que el creía bueno y llevarlo lo más alto posible. El resultado: Plan 9 from Outer Space.

    Sin duda, Ed Wood cumple su objetivo como una comedia ligera y le permite a la audiencia entrar en contacto con la vida de un cineasta tan histórico como Wood, sin embargo, es importante decir que sufre de los mismos problemas de la mayoría de las películas biográficas al no poder condensar la vida de una persona en un metraje de buen ritmo, esto en cuanto a edición se refiere. Por otro lado, pese a tener un guión (teóricamente) correcto, el clímax no llega en ningún momento y la película no solo se siente incompleta, sino que el argumento termina dependiendo únicamente del trabajo de los actores y del disfrute generado al espectador por una fotografía en blanco y negro creativa y muy acorde con el mood de la serie B.

    Normalmente reconozco el trabajo de Johnny Depp en papeles protagónicos de este tipo, sin embargo, es notoria la falta de fuerza del personaje creado por él para esta película, pues es un personaje con el cual es difícil formar empatía y el cual no tiene una personalidad suficientemente elaborada como para ser el pilar de el filme. Mención aparte merece la actuación de Martín Landau, quien interpreta un personaje secundario en el reparto pero crucial para la trama (Bela Lugosi), una muestra estupenda de un elaboración de un personaje complejo, entretenido y fiel a la naturaleza de la película.

    A pesar de que defectos como estos ponen a Ed Wood por debajo de otras películas de Burton, no limitan la experiencia del espectador ni nos impiden ver la sombra del genio detrás de Edward Scissorhands

    ***1/2

Critic Reviews


May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Outrageously disjointed and just as outrageously entertaining, the picture stands as a successful outsider's tribute to a failed kindred spirit. full review

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie's black and white photography convincingly recaptures the look and feel of 1950s sleaze, including some of the least convincing special effects in movie history. full review

View more Ed Wood reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • ton24968
    July 26, 2008
    Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future.
  • terris85017
    February 16, 2008
    Martin Landau--that man made some movies!! AN elegant individual!!
  • yasminknowles
    November 3, 2007
    I loved this movie and I loved Johnny Depp in it as Edward D Wood JR. I love Johnny Depp sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much and he totally owned the role of Ed Wood and Martin Landau was also good as Bela Lugosi.
  • pinchedhelmet469
    February 28, 2007
    "Pull the strings! Pull the strings!" Martin Landau owned this movie. Johnny Depp's great in it, but is overshadowed by Martin Landau. It's a very underrated movie. Tim Burton's a genius with it.
  • Ish678
    December 12, 2006
    Loved this film. It was funny but very very sad at the same time. Tim Burton is a total god haha.
  • SilentMovie101
    November 25, 2006
    Should he tell her? Should he not tell her? He's torn Georgie, this is drama!

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Ed Wood Trivia


  • For which of these films did Danny Elfman NOT do the score?  Answer »
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