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Movies / On DVD / Ed Wood
Ed Wood

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Ed Wood (1994)

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Reviews Counted:55

Fresh:50

Rotten:5

Average Rating:7.9/10

Consensus: Tim Burton and Johnny Depp team up to fete the life and work of cult hero Ed Wood, with typically strange and wonderful results.

Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: A stranger-than-fiction true story of the early career of Edward D. Wood, Jr., the undisputed "worst movie director of all time," Tim Burton's ED WOOD is nevertheless a delightful, zany, and... A stranger-than-fiction true story of the early career of Edward D. Wood, Jr., the undisputed "worst movie director of all time," Tim Burton's ED WOOD is nevertheless a delightful, zany, and ultimately moving film. Wood was the auteur behind GLEN OR GLENDA? (1953) and PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1959), and it is during the making of these two no-budget flicks that Wood is profiled. His friendship with the aging, drug-addicted, former film star Bela Lugosi--who he cast in his movies--is one of the most poignant characters ever portrayed on film. Wood had an infectious enthusiasm which inspired his cohorts, including transsexual wannabe Bunny (Bill Murray), the psychic Criswell (Jeffrey Jones), and behemoth wrestler Tor Johnson (George "The Animal" Steele). To a large extent, ED WOOD celebrates bad filmmaking raised to the level of a fine art form. With his fetishistic style of dressing in for pumps, narrow skirts and angora sweaters, Ed Wood was as much of an outsider as his actors. Perhaps the final irony is that ED WOOD may be one of the best films of all time about one of the worst filmmakers of all time. [More]

Starring: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill Murray

Starring: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill Murray, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, G.D. Spradlin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Mike Starr, Max Casella, Lisa Marie, Juliet Landau, Clive Rosengren, Ned Bellamy, Danny Dayton, Bill Cusack, Biff Yeager, Joseph R. Gannascoli, Melora Walters, Conrad Brooks

Director: Tim Burton

Director: Tim Burton
Producer: Denise Di Novi, Tim Burton

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Oct 19, 2004

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Ed Wood
  • From Tim Burton, acclaimed director of BIG FISH, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, and BATMAN, and the producer of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, comes the hilarious, true-life story of the wackiest filmmaker in Hollywood history, Ed Wood! Johnny Depp (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, CHOCOLAT, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS) stars as the high-spirited movieman who refuses to let unfinished scenes, terrible reviews, and hostile studio executives derail his big-screen dreams. With an oddball collection of showbiz misfits, Ed takes the art of bad moviemaking to an all-time low! The all-star cast features Bill Murray (LOST IN TRANSLATION, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS), Sarah Jessica Parker (TV's SEX AND THE CITY), Patricia Arquette (STIGMATA, LITTLE NICKY), and an Academy Award(R)-winning performance by Martin Landau (Best Supporting Actor, 1994) as Bela Lugosi. Hailed by critics everywhere, this laugh-packed comedy hit is sure to entertain everyone!
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Ed Wood

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    1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
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    This Ed Wood is dead wood.

    Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment 3 Comments
    01/01/00
    Richard Corliss
    Richard Corliss
    TIME Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Given the finished film, one also has to wonder if Ed Wood was interesting enough to base a two- hour movie on.

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 2 Comments
    01/01/00
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The film's greatest achievement is to avoid the easy, patronizing laughs and instead see the near heroic qualities of a patently untalented artist.

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    10/05/08
    Channel 4 Film

    Typically, Burton's storytelling is sometimes erratic, but his emphasis on humanizing marginal characters -- a project that seems central to his artistic agenda -- is as strong as ever.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    10/05/08
    TV Guide's Movie Guide

    Depp's magnificent performance, plus Burton's love of his subject make for a wonderful film. Landau is magnificent as Bela Lugosi. A great film that celebrates the little filmmakers who dreamed big.

    comment Comment
    09/21/04
    Bob Bloom
    Bob Bloom
    Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

    A glorious homage to the power of film in general and one of Burton's finest moments.

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Bob McCabe
    Bob McCabe
    Empire Magazine

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    04/07/03
    Brian J. Arthurs
    Brian J. Arthurs
    Beach Reporter (Southern California)

    Landau's Lugosi is an alternately amusing and heartbreaking character who is given one last taste of life while in orbit around Wood's infectious mania

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    03/02/04
    Brian Mckay
    Brian Mckay
    eFilmCritic.com

    Ed Wood is truly wacky with a weird sensibility that only becomes more amazing with the knowledge that just about everything in the film is true.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Chris Hicks
    Chris Hicks
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    Bizarrely amusing.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Christopher Null
    Christopher Null
    Filmcritic.com

    Johnny Depp is a master of his craft...Burton's film lacks nothing

    comment Comment
    04/27/03
    Clint Morris
    Clint Morris
    Moviehole

    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.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Desson Thomson
    Desson Thomson
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Audiences these days need to be reminded that the road to the worst films is often paved with noble ambitions.

    Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
    05/30/03
    Dragan Antulov
    Dragan Antulov
    rec.arts.movies.reviews

    An entertaining, oddly affectionate look at the cross-dressing grade-Z moviemaker.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Edward Guthmann
    Edward Guthmann
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Tim Burton at his best, with great work by Johnny Depp & Martin Landau.

    comment Comment
    03/12/03
    Edward Johnson-Ott
    Edward Johnson-Ott
    NUVO Newsweekly

    Droll and witty, Burton's tribute evokes the career of Hollywood's "worst" director by making a most stylishly polished production

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    06/27/05
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    This delightful film focuses on the more telling years when Edward D. Wood did what he did to become who he is...

    Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
    10/30/04
    Emily Blunt
    Emily Blunt
    Blunt Review

    Vastly entertaining biopic on one of the great directors of trash films.

    comment Comment
    10/11/02
    Forrest Hartman
    Forrest Hartman
    Reno Gazette-Journal

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    03/22/04
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    Idiosyncratic portrait of an oddball whose enthusiasm for making movies is endearing.

    Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
    08/26/02
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Spirituality and Practice
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
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    Latest News for Ed Wood

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    When Tim Burton and Johnny Depp get together, pretty wild movies tend to happen. Frankly I think all five of their previous collaborations have been darn fine films, and here's... More...

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    January 09, 2006: Burton & Depp Together Again for "Sweeney"?
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