FILM REVIEW- Ed Wood (1994)

Ed Wood (15)

Where- On DVD.

The best film ever made about the worst films ever made…

Plot- The biopic of Ed Wood, a film director from the 50’s who is revered (reviled?) for making some of the most technically inept films ever committed to film. Making them with his band of unusual friends he also managed to rope in ageing horror star Bela Lugosi at the end of his career.

Review- There has, in many people’s minds, the thought that Tim Burton has not yet made the masterpiece he has always threatened.

But in 1994 he made that film. Ed Wood may have won two Oscars, for best supporting actor as well as best make up, but it flailed at the box office resulting in a slow slide into cult status.

Likely shunned by mainstream audiences for being in black and white, it also didn’t do itself any favours for being about a nobody, a story no-one should care about.

Many derided it for looking at a man that had little talent, and was a tiresome exercise in pointlessness.

That is missing the point. This film is a tribute to all those many people that have tried but failed to grab success, a tribute to the underdog.

It starts slow and may under whelm on first viewing, but it is a film that rewards continued visits. You find yourself watching again and again just to noticing another small detail or joke you missed last time round, as well as just to spend time with the characters.

And what characters. From Johnny Depp’s (Wood) infectious optimism, Jeffrey Jones slimy but suave Criswell and Bill Murray’s effeminate turn as Bunny Beckbridge these are people with stories both fascinating and unbelievable.

Martin Landau steals the film as Bela Lugosi however, portraying the drug addled 30’s horror icon with both sensitivity and humour. You almost want to see a whole film dedicated to him, and his relationship with Wood is the films true centre.

Sadly, there are, flaws, even though they fail to detract from the films magic. Sarah Jessica Parker is an irking annoyance whenever on screen, and even if this was deliberate she still seems to be sleepwalking through her role. There are also numerous problems with calling this a biopic, with much of it not so much altering events but inventing new ones altogether.

But this is wise decision from Burton. Wood was, in reality, a severe alcoholic with wild mood swings. If no-one wanted to see the film in its current incarnation, who would go to see that version?

Ending on a high, instead of the low it easily could have, Burton has turned a story that should by all rights be tragic and depressing, and reshaped it into tale of celebration and hope.

Verdict- A beautiful piece of filmmaking that is heart-warming, at times tragic, yet ultimately uplifting. (5/5)

The films trailer…