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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 source)
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    The finest example of Tim Burton’s work as a director and a role that Johnny Depp will have to go a long way to better.

    Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
    10/09/01
    Mike DeWolfe
    Mike DeWolfe
    Apollo Guide

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    06/04/03
    Philip Martin
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

    The strangest biographical film ever made is also one of the most charming, melancholy and quirkily humorous films of the year.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Marc Savlov
    Marc Savlov
    Austin Chronicle

    No review available.

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

    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

    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

    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 Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Roger Ebert
    Roger Ebert
    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    [It] remains the greatest movie about the pleasures and hardships of independent filmmaking.

    Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
    10/26/04
    Mark Palermo
    Mark Palermo
    Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

    Ed Wood would make a great double feature with Citizen Kane, the sad, fascinating lives of two men vying for greatness and almost achieving it.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    A gentle valentine that celebrates the creative spirit, no matter how misguided that particular spirit happens to be.

    Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
    11/09/04
    Matt Brunson
    Matt Brunson
    Creative Loafing

    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

    [Tim Burton's] own jazz-hands dance to the spirit of movie-making.

    Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com | comment Comment
    04/05/06
    Mark Bourne
    Mark Bourne
    DVDJournal.com

    "Strangely compelling and inspiring..."

    Full Review Source: eCinemaCenter.com | comment Comment
    07/19/04
    Gabe Leibowitz
    Gabe Leibowitz
    eCinemaCenter.com

    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

    It's refreshing to see Burton in a relatively upbeat mood, but he picked the wrong story to give an optimistic spin.

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    07/30/07
    Rob Gonsalves
    Rob Gonsalves
    eFilmCritic.com

    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

    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

    If you love movies, you've got a little Ed Wood inside you.

    Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
    11/30/04
    Walter Chaw
    Walter Chaw
    Film Freak Central

    In his finest, funniest, most poignant film to date, Tim Burton plays cinematic alchemist, turning drive-in schlock into movie gold.

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    John Hartl
    John Hartl
    Film.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    [An] oddly affectionate bio-pic.

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Lucy Mohl
    Lucy Mohl
    Film.com
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by source)
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    Latest News for Ed Wood

    August 17, 2006: Burton & Depp Together for the 6th Time: Sweeney Todd
    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...

    June 13, 2006: Burton Moves to "Sweeney Todd" and Bumps "Ripley," Believe It or Not
    If you were eagerly anticipating the Tim Burton/Jim Carrey collaboration called "Ripley's Believe It or Not!," then you might have an extra year or two to wait,... More...

    March 09, 2006: Cusack Checks In to King's "1408"
    Popular actor John Cusack has signed on to star in the movie adaptation of Stephen King's short story "1408," says Variety. The story, which is available on King's... More...

    January 09, 2006: Burton & Depp Together Again for "Sweeney"?
    Andrew Hartman of MovieMusicals.net looks to have snagged quite the impressive scoop ... provided it turns out to be accurate, of course. Word is that insane filmmaker Tim... More...

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