ThiefHott Too much of everything

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

elicopperman As someone who has watched movies ever since he was a little kid, I've seen my fair share of good ones, bad ones, and mediocre ones. However, no matter how the movie turns out, I never forget that at the end of the day, almost if not all film directors put their best foot forward on movies trying to make ends meet with art. The exact same thing can be said about Edward D. Wood Jr., the man infamously known as the Worst Director in history, as he made movies cheap and fast resulting in films in laughably dubious quality like Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster, and of course, Plan 9 from Outer Space...but as incompetent as he was, he made these films out of earnest intention because he had such a passion for filmmaking, and who better to tackle the project of an eccentric weirdo who had such a passion for film than another eccentric weirdo who made his own weird albeit earnest and passionate films than Tim Burton.What could have easily been a straight up mockery of the filmmaker ends up being a love letter to the man, as Burton clearly understands how hard it is to get a film made, thus sympathizing with the director through trial and error. What gives Wood a spark of light in the feature is that he is so optimistic and positive about the filmmaking experience and his own movies that he did whatever it took, from hiring his friends as actors, to getting washed up star Bela Lugosi in his films, to stealing props, to getting funding from a Baptist church. Sure a lot of this seems nuts, but keep in mind many other filmmakers have done crazy things to get their films made too (look up how Apocalypse Now and Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs were made), and while Wood may have been in the wrong, his unbelievably passionate drive to making the greatest films ever made really is worth the price of viewing.As for other technicalities, the acting is phenomenal, from Johnny Depp capturing Mr. Wood's upbeat and eccentric mannerisms, to Sarah Jessica Parker presenting his former girlfriend Dolores Fuller as motivating at first and then embarrassed by Ed's transvestism (the inspiration for Glen or Glenda), to Patricia Arquette as Ed's second girlfriend Kathy O'Hara presenting as sweet and accepting to Wood's transvestism, to Jeffrey Jones bringing the weird albeit earnest psychic Criswell to life, to Lisa Marie as the stern fatale Vampire, and even George Steele as the bulky unintelligible albeit sweet wrestler Tor Johnson. But the real scene stealer is Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, who rightfully earned his Oscar for bringing to life this iconic horror movie actor to screen with his erratic behavior, heartbroken nature, and gentleness to Ed Wood that gives him a soft spot making one sympathize with the poor old man. Oh, and Bill Murray as the lovable homosexual Bunny Breckinridge? GENIUS!The film made the right decision in not only shooting it in black & white, but by also on occasion using real stock music to create the right mood for the 1950s, almost like a time capsule. Admittedly, the movie is not 100% accurate to Ed Wood's life, but it still elevates Wood's goal to keep pushing forward through all hardships. Tim Burton even explained, "In doing a biopic you can't help but get inside the person's spirit a little bit, so for me, some of the film is trying to be through Ed a little bit. So it's got an overly optimistic quality to it." Besides, its a movie first, and a biopic second (like Amadeus), don't except everything to click authentically. In conclusion, Ed Wood is not only my favorite film from Tim Burton, but one of my all time favorites for its wonderful intent that filmmakers always try to make the greatest films ever (even if studios may disagree with their visions), the fantastic cinematography and editing, the marvelous acting, the witty humor, and just about everything else. There is a reason I never judge a movie until I see it, and that's because I don't know something unless I actually view it. Sure I may assume it could be bad, but I don't know it is until I give it the time of day to fully analyze it. If I didn't, then I would not have seen movies I love with all my heart like La La Land, The Lego Movie, Zootopia, and especially this film. That, and even if their films end up poor, filmmakers will always put their best foot forward and I respect them for that every time they try to make a motion picture. As Orson Welles in this film said it best, "Visions are worth fighting for, why spend your life making someone else's dreams?"

Stephen Bird Ed Wood is an okay film, but not as great as people make it out to be..., to shoot the film in black and white was a novel idea, but I think this choice hampered the overall viewing experience somewhat, Ed Wood is an eccentric film that would've greatly valued from the use of colour, lot's of colour instead of no colour at all would've been my call, the usage of black and white was to honour the past, give the impression of realism making the film look as though it was actually in the 1950's, but no, it needed bright vibrant colours I'm afraid.Apparently Edward D Wood Jr was the worst director ever, and the film tries to explain why this is so in a bubbly, comedic kind of way..., but after seeing the film, I'm not quite sure, was he the worst director ever? He sure did make some lousy films granted, but the guy had passion and belief and personally I believe there must be worse out there, Wood was a nice, relatable character expertly portrayed by the sublimely talented Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp is a master of his craft, I'm always mesmerised by his performances, he brings something very real out even if his character is very outlandish..., making Depp one of the most talented actors ever most probably; and that poses a question, one of the best actors ever playing the so-called worst director ever, hmm, was Edward Wood actually that poor? Or was Johnny Depp that good at bringing his character alive?Who knows?The supporting cast fitted into the overall project very well, I was particularly impressed with the late wrestler, George "The Animal" Steele, watched him as a wrestler as a youngster, didn't know the guy could even talk, wow, first time I think I've heard the animal say anything. Enjoyable viewing most certainly, but it fails to reach the lofty heights so many people have given it, am I not seeing something that so many others are? Am I really that dull?

gottdeskinos Despite Johnny Depp's almost menacing performance, the movie left me rather not engaged enough emotionally. The story is told in a linear, straight fashion: It's about how Ed Wood struggled to make his movies. And you get a good sense of what Ed Wood's philosophy could have been like, but I doubt that Burton tried to depict him authentically and rather showed us his vision of the man. Depp plays this quirky version very well, this might even be one of best performances before he finally turned into a walking parody in the 2010s. I would have liked the movie to take a breath at some time and just show me a bit more about Ed Wood's relationships or some emotional struggle the man must have had. It feels like a romanticized biopic without any real drama. In fact, we know that the real Ed Wood's life found a rather depressing ending.

thejcowboy22 In one of her last Interviews the Original Vampira (Maila Nurmi) who was a host on KABC's late night Horror show back in the 1950's was quoted as saying," Birds of a feather." about how endearing the real Ed wood was to his close friends and colleagues and he wouldn't stop at no expense to help them. Transvestites , dope addicts and misfits were all assembled in the Ed Wood World of movie making in post WWII Hollywood so authentically depicted by Director Tim Burton. Johnny Deep captures the enthusiasm and integrity of this cross-dressing alcoholic and winsome wannabee director of the cinema. Wood would go to great lengths to get the picture done without permits, stealing props and even getting his entire cast baptized in order for the church to fund his movies. Martin Landau was delightful as the Iconic Bela Lugosi with a spot on Hungarian accent yet Landau's performance was never to upstage the real actor as thought by Bela Lugosi's real son who did eventually watch the movie and paid tribute to Landau for portraying his late Father. So much so that they are real friends to this day. Furthermore Landau won the Oscar for best Supporting Actor for this role. To me this move was about loyalty, creativity although questionable by higher standards Ed Woods methods and practices were at the very extreme with the one goal in mind, to get the picture done his way! So many characters. Bill Murray as the hopeful sex change recipient. Criswell played by Jeffrey Jones as the master of outrageous predictions. Sara Jessica Parker as Ed's first significant, Dolores Fuller who constantly complains and wonders what she's doing with this non- conformist cross-dressing film Director. Juliet Landau who cons her way into an Ed Wood movie who is allergic to water. George the Animal Steele as the Hefty Tor Johnson. Vincent D'Onofrio as the portly Orson Wells in one of my favorite scenes in this movie when a frustrated Ed Wood chews the fat about the problems of producing movies in Hollywood. I thought it was the actor's voice and kudos to D'Onofrio but the Wells voice was lip-synced. The real voice belonged to Maurice LaMarche. Great film for all those sentimental 50's Sci-Fi schlock movie aficinados. Where giant lizards and mutated humans not to mention UFO aliens were the norm and being produced in huge numbers annually throughout the decade, Ed Wood and his troop of lovable faithfuls put together some of the most forgettable movies ever produced which over time became a new art form of film obscure.Ed Wood hoping with each film project that this will be the movie he'll be remembered for. This movie is a tribute to all those hopefuls out of film school and it's not bad movie to watch if you were ever afraid of horror movies. Bravo Mr. Burton !