Ed Wood is a sentimental 'biopic' to one of the strangest characters in the movie business Edward D Wood Jr. This is a comedy drama directed by Tim Burton that chronicles the life of the filmmaker highlighting his most famous (infamous films) and his relationship with 1930's horror film star Bela Lugosi.

THE STORY

On the face of it the script to this movie is unbelievable. A transvestite film director gathers together a bizarre group of misfits including a drug addict who thinks he's Dracula, ex-wrestler, a woman with a 17inch waist who looks like a vampire and a TV visionary in order to make to make movies about alien invasions and sex changes! One of this strange group is Bela Lugosi a faded Hollywood star, who unfortunately having fallen on hard times has now a drug dependency and sleeps in a coffin!

However weird this may sound this is in the main a faithful retelling of the true life exploits of Ed Wood Jr. the cult director of probably some of the worst movies ever made. In recent years new fans that have realised that the films are so bad they are paradoxically extremely watchable have rediscovered his films. Amongst his worst you can include 'Plan 9 From Outer Space', 'Glen or Glenda?' and 'Bride of the Monster'. As well as following Wood Jr's amateurish filmmaking exploits the film also explores the man himself, his relationship with Lugosi, his transvestism and the weird and wonderful company he kept.

CAST PERFORMANCES AND OPINION

Johnny Depp .... Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Martin Landau .... Bela Lugosi
Sarah Jessica Parker .... Dolores Fuller
Patricia Arquette .... Kathy O'Hara
Jeffrey Jones .... Criswell
G.D. Spradlin .... Reverend Lemon
Vincent D'Onofrio .... Orson Welles
Bill Murray .... John 'Bunny' Breckinridge
Mike Starr .... Georgie Weiss
Max Casella .... Paul Marco
Brent Hinkley .... Conrad Brooks
Lisa Marie .... Vampira
George 'The Animal' Steele .... Tor Johnson
Juliet Landau .... Loretta King
Clive Rosengren .... Ed Reynolds
Norman Alden .... Cameraman Bill
Leonard Termo .... Makeup Man Harry
Ned Bellamy .... Dr. Tom Mason

Directed by Tim Burton

Writers Rudolph Grey, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski

It is easy to see why Tim Burton wanted to make a film about Ed Wood Jr. his life in many ways read like one of the cheaply made B-movies he has become famous for. Although largely ignored during his lifetime in recent years and largely through Burton film, Wood has been re-invented as an unlikely hero. Yes it is true that Wood made some terrible films but it is also undeniable that he loved cinema and had an enthusiasm for the whole process of film making. In many ways he is the ultimate independent filmmaker, scrabbling around for money and equipment, making use of stock film to fill in gaps in his movies, employing amateurs and generally cutting corners but still being in his own way devoted to his art. The fact that he is so bad at it is really incidental!

You also have to admire Wood for other reasons, he was a self confessed transvestite at a time when such matter were very much taboo and yet he felt strongly enough about this to attempt to make a film about a transvestite (in which he starred), the film 'Glen or Glenda' a was of course awful but it was a brave and rather valiant attempt to tackle such a issue in 1950's America.

Burton treats Wood very sympathetically in the film and we end up seeing Wood as a noble heroic figure. Wood's enthusiasm for filmmaking shines through in this film. We see that he was never daunted by all the problems that he faced even the death of his star only a few days into filming was not enough for him give up. Wood always overcame the obstacles and carried on making his low budget 'masterpieces'.

Burton has always been a more visual director than most, often exploiting the full potential of lighting and montage in order to create an deeply felt atmosphere on screen. He made Ed Wood in black and white to give the film a more stylised look and to accentuate the dated atmosphere of the period. In addition since Ed Wood solely made films in black and white Burton manages to purposely blur the distinction between the life of the director and the movies he was making. From a technical point of view the cinematography, lighting and make up is excellent with some sequences reproducing actual footage from the original Wood films being superbly realistic.

Johnny Depp's central performance is excellent, playing Wood as an innocent and often bemused 'artist' who genuinely doesn't have any idea of the strangeness of his life of the badness of his films. Although much praise is owes to for Depp, it is Martin Landau as the tragic and yet funny figure of Bela Lugosi steals every scene he is in. Lugosi was a respected stage actor before he landed the part of the Universal studio's Dracula and with that film became a worldwide star and iconic figure in cinema. Unfortunately he could never quite rid himself of the Dracula persona and his film career fell apart as he started to use dugs. By the time Wood meets him Lugosi is a sad figure still clinging to former successes hating his Dracula image but at the same time unable to separate it from his real life. The relationship between the two men is the key to the story. Wood is a huge fan of cinema and to him Lugosi is still the great star of old. He cannot see beyond that to the sad old man that Lugosi has turned in to. It is touching to see the screen affection that the two men have for each other and real chemistry that exists between Landau and Depp. Landau puts in a real powerhouse of a performance managing through some excellent makeup to look (and sound) uncannily like the real Lugosi and managing to examine the subtleties of the character of the fading Hollywood star. He won an Oscar as best supporting actor for this film and it was thoroughly deserved.

The rest of the supporting cast are also outstanding Bill Murray, who I can find a little irritating in some films is perfect as the camp John 'Bunny' Breckinridge. Breckinridge was real life friend of Wood, was also openly transsexual and a great supporter of Wood and his work. Also notice the performance of a young Sarah Jessica Parker as Wood's long-suffering girlfriend (yes, he did have a girlfriend!) Dolores, which he convinces to take part in his films.

Even the smaller roles of Tor Johnson (played by the wonderfully named George 'The Animal' Steele) the wrestler Wood hired as an actor are well observed. Tor used to lumber about the sets mumbling his lines pumping in to the scenery, but Wood never re shot the scene he didn't believe in second takes and thought the inept performance added realism to the film! Vampira a minor (very minor) celebrity TV horror show host at the time also known for her impossibly narrow waist was played with conviction (as much as anyone can muster when faced with such extraordinary character) by Lisa Marie who was going out with Burton at the time (a strange parallel with the film). We also have Criswell played by Jeffrey Jones, a character that even rivals Wood Jr for sheer weirdness. Criswell was a self proclaimed visionary that vehemently believed in the occult and the existence of aliens, he appears in Wood's films as a narrator adding a note of 'authority' to the proceedings. Orson Wells a director that Wood often compared himself too even makes an appearance!

Burton has of course produced a very sympathetic, subjective view of Wood and his extraordinary life. Much of the narrative is fiction and the story also leaves out the sadder decline of Wood as he later in life became involved in directing hard-core porn films and eventually died forgotten and alone.

Overall this is a gem of a film and probably Burton's best to date. Despite being a comedy at times it deals with some dark subjects but the ludicrous nature of the film projects that Wood embarks on and the weirdness of the people he associated provide a lot of humour keeping the atmosphere upbeat and funny.

This film is a joy to watch for anyone who is interested in films especially the low budget 50's B-movies and really does prove the old saying that fact can be stranger then fiction.

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Ed Wood is available on DVD for £7.99 including delivery from Play.com or on VHS for £8.99 (+p&p) from Amazon.co.uk

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© Mauri2006