The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.
Johnny Depp
Ed Wood
Martin Landau
Bela Lugosi
Sarah Jessica Parker
Dolores Fuller
Patricia Arquette
Kathy O'Hara
Jeffrey Jones
Criswell
Bill Murray
Bunny Breckinridge
Lisa Marie
Vampira
Jim Myers
Tor Johnson
G. D. Spradlin
Reverend Lemon
Vincent D'Onofrio
Orson Welles
Mike Starr
Georgie Weiss
Max Casella
Paul Marco
Brent Hinkley
Conrad Brooks
Juliet Landau
Loretta King
Clive Rosengren
Ed Reynolds
Norman Alden
Cameraman Bill (uncredited)
Leonard Termo
Makeup Man Harry (uncredited)
Ned Bellamy
Dr. Tom Mason (uncredited)
Danny Dayton
Soundman (uncredited)
Ross Manarchy
Camera Assistant (uncredited)
Bill Cusack
Tony McCoy
Stanley DeSantis
Mr. Feldman (uncredited)
Biff Yeager
Rude Boss (uncredited)
Joseph R. Gannascoli
Security Guard (uncredited)
Carmen Filpi
Old Crusty Man (uncredited)
Lisa Malkiewicz
Secretary #1 (uncredited)
Melora Walters
Secretary #2 (uncredited)
Conrad Brooks
Bartender (uncredited)
Don Amendolia
Salesman (uncredited)
Reid Cruickshanks
Stage Guard (uncredited)
Lionel Decker
Executive #1 (uncredited)
Edmund L. Shaff
Executive #2 (uncredited)
Gene LeBell
Ring Announcer (uncredited)
Bobby Slayton
TV Show Host (uncredited)
Gretchen Becker
TV Host's Assistant (uncredited)
John Rice
Conservative Man (uncredited)
Catherine Butterfield
Conservative Wife (uncredited)
Mary Portser
Backer's Wife (uncredited)
King Cotton
Hick Backer (uncredited)
Don Hood
Southern Backer (uncredited)
Matthew Barry
Valet (uncredited)
Ralph Monaco
Waiter (uncredited)
Anthony Russell
Busboy (uncredited)
Gregory Walcott
Potential Backer (uncredited)
Charles C. Stevenson Jr.
Another Backer (uncredited)
Rance Howard
Old Man McCoy (uncredited)
Vasek Simek
Professor Strowski (uncredited)
Vinny Argiro
TV Horror Show Director (uncredited)
Korla Pandit
Indian Musician (uncredited)
Patti Tippo
Nurse (uncredited)
Ray Baker
Doctor (uncredited)
Louis Lombardi
Rental House Manager (uncredited)
Jesse Hernandez
Wrestling Opponent (uncredited)
Jim Boyce
Theatre Manager (uncredited)
Ben Ryan Ganger
Angry Kid (uncredited)
Charlie Holliday
Tourist (uncredited)
Tommy Bertelsen
Tough Boy (uncredited)
Adam Drescher
Photographer #1 (uncredited)
Ric Mancini
Photographer #2 (uncredited)
Daniel Riordan
Pilot / Strapping Young Man (uncredited)
Mickey Cottrell
Hammy Alien (uncredited)
Lena Banks
Sexy Pedestrian (uncredited)
Maurice LaMarche
Orson Welles (voice) (uncredited)
Ada Tai
Vampira's Friend (uncredited)
Arlene Tai
Vampira's Friend (uncredited)
Rayder Woods
Car Vandal (uncredited)
Ralph Moratz
Extra (uncredited)
Bill Blair
Carny (uncredited)
Ryan Holihan
Frantic Usher
Bela Lugosi
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Director
Tim Burton
Book
Rudolph Grey
Screenplay
Scott Alexander
Screenplay
Larry Karaszewski
September 12, 2023
9
**A sincere tribute to the man and his work, full of bizarreness, humor, artificial octopuses and angora.**
I've been wanting to see this for a while now, and the opportunity finally came. Very intelligently directed by Tim Burton, it is a brief biography that honors Ed Wood, reckoned as the worst director Hollywood has ever known (although that title is disputed by other more recent directors).
I already knew Ed Wood's work, I've seen one or two of his films, and I can guarantee that his fame is justified: the films are the most amateurish imaginable and the number of errors and problems is such that even the general public saw the director's inability and naïveté. I won't dwell on this point, just add that this film covers the filming of “Glenn or Glenda”, “Bride of the Monster” and “Plan 9 from Outer Space”. As is typical of Burton's films, there is a certain amount of bizarreness which makes the most sincere homage to Ed Wood's work. One notices, implicitly, a certain sympathy or admiration for the director, who never achieved fame (at least, positive) and to whom success has eluded. He is a man with a vision and a dream, but without any ability to achieve it and who, even so, never gave up.
Johnny Depp was a smart choice for the protagonist. The actor likes unusual roles and portrayed Wood in a very faithful way, emphasizing his incorrigible and absolutely blind optimism, as well as his habit of dressing like a woman and the problems that caused him in being taken seriously. There is, in the character, a certain bizarre fetish about angora fabrics that I don't know if it was real, but it fit very well. I also really liked Martin Landau, a very respectable veteran who fit wonderfully into the role of Bela Lugosi, the mythical horror actor who was forgotten by the industry towards the end of his life and succumbed to morphine addiction and depression, and Lisa Marie, who played Maila Nurmi, Finnish actress famous for her character Vampira. Sarah Jessica Parker also did an impeccable job as Wood's girlfriend. Jeffrey Jones does a good job as Criswell, a fake psychic famous for his TV appearances. Bill Murray appears little, but does a decent job whenever asked.
The film was very well shot in black and white, and I believe this fit better with the spirit of the film, and the way it was designed. There is a beautiful limpidity and the cinematography is very crafted and stylistically rich. The film plays a lot with the difficulties that Wood encountered in filming and promoting his films, and the total amateurism with which he did so, and this is funny and, at the same time, moving. The sets and costumes are excellent, convincing, and the reproduction of the films was well done and honors the originals. The soundtrack, written by Howard Shore, does the rest and gives the film a bizarrely delicious tone. Finally, a word about the opening and ending of the film, in a style magnificently suited to cheap horror productions of the time.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$18,000,000.00
Revenue:
$5,900,000.00