Rating: 
Summary: Sarcastic, inteligent and moving view on Ed Wood
Review: MY RATING- 8.0To begin, it's a well-aclaimed mov here in Portugal and we have some Ed Wood moviegoers (thank god there isn't a lot!) It's a damn well made mov, created when Burton had finished his personal Batman Returns, this one on the life of Edward Wood Junior, the worst director ever.
Well I never watched a mov from Ed, and to be honnest, I don't intend to spend my money doing so. This mov spare us the torture of it, and Burton uses again his strange sense of humour to tell the story of a guy who was convinced that his movs were excellent. In a way, the message is given by Vincent D'Onofrio in a delicious cameo as Orson Welles- we must go through with things, even if they're bad as Ed's movs.
As Ed, Johny Depp goes quite well, as well as Sarah Jessica Parker as the girlfriend who leaves him, Bill Murray (ultrafunny!), Patricia Arquette (very sweet), Lisa Marie Juliet Landau and Jeffrey Jones as the omnipresent Criswell. But the real surprise is Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, the horror star from 30's Dracula. Under his heavy makeup, we really forget we're seeing an actor, he truly looks like Bela! What a performance! Impossible not to sympathise with him, he even won the Oscar (which is quite rare in a Tim Burton mov). Overall, this is a quite entertaining doc mov, and a interesting change on the director's career, that will please fans and nonfans.
Rating:
Summary: Charming
Review: A very offbeat movie indeed. Johnny Depp is quite adept at portraying this astonishingly talentless film director. The oddball characters that Martin Landau and Bill Murray play are quite entertaining as well. The black and white setting works well with the mood of the film. The twists and turns that Depp encountes in getting this film releases are indded comical. Although the formula tires just a little bit towards the end, the overall impression is a good one. Worthy of a viewing.
Rating: 
Summary: Utter Brilliance!
Review: When I heard about this movie being made I thought 'are they nuts?'. Ed Wood NEVER made a good movie in his life, so how could they make a good movie about his life. Well, they did not make a good movie, they made a Brilliant movie. The writing, directing and acting are magnificent. This movie is a laugh riot, border line farce you would think, till you understand THAT WAS Wood!! Yet the movie mines deep pulling no punches, but at the same time reaching into your heart. Depp shows he is one of the best actors of today, Martin Landau demonstrate in his later years just was a true craftsman he is. His Lugosi is dead on target without being one thimble full of OTT. He is funny, sharp and makes you feel so much for the sad actor that faced this bitter end. Just brilliant!!
Rating:
Summary: good movie about bad movies
Review: Johnny Depp as Ed Wood is hilarious -- even his hair is too slick and styled without real substance. With a hodgepodge of inexperienced people as his movie crew, he finds famed but washed-up actor Bela Lugosi -- who once scared audiences as Dracula --- to be his star in "Plan 9 from Outer Space". They shoot scenes in one take ("That was perfect!" yells Ed Wood with a wooden smile after each take.) The best scene is when Lugosi is in a swamp with a giant stuffed octopus and has to wrap himself in its tentacles, and make it 'fight' him as he struggles to escape it, since they don't have enough crew or expertise to do the scene more realistically. Also starring Bill Murray ("They loved me in Paris in sparkles."), Martin Landau, Juliet Landau, Maz Casella and Sarah Jessica Parker, this is a great cast. It takes good acting to play bad actors -- kudos to all!
Rating:
Summary: Wait no longer
Review: Ed Wood is available on DVD from Amazon.co.uk or Play(Region 2) For my money this is Tim B's best film. Bill Murray steals every scene he appears in. But then every actor delivers a really lively performance plus Juliet Landau looks incredible, what better reason to get your DVD machine 'chipped'?
Rating:
Summary: The Shocking True Facts Of The Life Of Edward D. Wood Jr.!
Review: ...or at least according to the appropriately campy opening sequence with Jeffery Jones portraying Criswell. The universally acclaimed schlock film director receives an admirable film treatment courtesy of director Tim Burton. What would have been easy to lampoon instead becomes one of the silver screen's most memorable biographies. Burton's sly but conventional interpretation of Hollywood's most unconventional moviemaker provides us with necessary elucidation of this enigmatic legend. Usually working with the sparest of elements and a dreadful lack of logic did not deter Wood Jr. from attempts to realize his greatest ambitions. Early in the film he laments to his girlfriend that he hasn't been able to get his career in movies started. "Orson Welles was only 26 when he wrote, produced and directed 'Citizen Kane'. I'm already 30 years old!" Wood Jr. begins his movie making career after convincing a low budget film producer to allow him to direct the company's newest production 'I Changed My Sex'. This movie eventually morphs into the infamous and disastrously awful 'Glen Or Glenda?'. From this point Wood Jr.'s career spirals out of control, taking on a shape and form that he becomes convinced is the height of artistic expression. We also discover the circle of friends that Wood Jr. continously surrounds himself with were as hopelessly eccentric as he was. Though Depp is the star of the film - and he makes an indelible impression as Ed Wood - Landau steals the film entirely portraying horror film legend Bela Lugosi. Alternately belicose, vainglorious, outlandish, profound, mystifying, pathetic, Lugosi finally succumbs to a 20 year drug addiction, deeply affecting Wood Jr. Shortly afterward the intrepid filmmaker has an encounter with his gullible landlord whom he convinces to finance the movie 'Plan 9 From Outer Space'. This sequence of the film is perhaps the most memorable because of the diametrically opposite forces involved. The film's financial backers are members of a Baptist church who object to virtually everything about the production - first politely then vehemently when Wood Jr. emerges from his dressing room after a tantrum wearing the angora sweater and dark colored skirt made famous in 'Glen Or Glenda?' He flees the production site winding up in a bar where he spots none other than Orson Welles. Director Burton paints Welles as a victim of coincidence who innocently tells Wood Jr. that "visions are important. Never give up your visions, Ed." Does this mean we have Welles to thank for 'Plan 9' and the other Wood Jr. schlock films that followed? 'Ed Wood' also has one of the best supporting casts you will ever see in a Hollywood film. The bizarre and campy characters are played to great effect, their dialogue being as eminently quotable as Wood Jr. was notorious. Since it's release in 1994 I cannot think of a movie that has made me laugh as hard and long as this one does. If you haven't seen 'Ed Wood' stop denying yourself this cinematic treat and correct this oversight immediately!
Rating:
Summary: Tim's Masterpiece
Review: This is my absolute favourite film. It is sweet, funny, sad and uplifting. While the characters in the film including Ed Wood himself must have been far more horrible in real life Tim treats them gently in his opus. Ed Wood's reputation as the worst director ever is examined here but the real message is that if you have a dream pursue it no matter what. Though Ed, his career and friends are all lovingly mocked they are given a sense of dignity they were denied in life.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Funny and Uplifting Movie
Review: Ed Wood is just a great movie. It's full of wonderful humor and great performances. The movie tells the story of real life B-movie director Ed Wood Jr., who has aquired a kind of cult status lately. Wood has been declared the worst director of all time, and his most famous movie, Plan 9 from Outer Space, is widely regarded as the worst movie of all time. In the movie Ed Wood however, we see the maligned director in a much different light. He is a man fanatically dedicated to his craft, even though he is totally inept. Johnny Depp is absolutely wonderful as Wood. He is frenetic, energized, and near insane. He has an obsession with dressing as a woman and doesn't care who, including Orson Welles, knows it. The movie is made however by the insanely good perfomance of Martin Landau as washed up movie star junkie Bela Lugosi. He is really amazing, you forget he is actually Landau. The two are great together. The movie is just hilarious, as you see the lengths Wood will go to get his movies made. Even better is the process in which he makes them. Tim Burton does a very good job of directing, with a black and white somber style that paints an interesting picture of 50's Hollywood. Don't miss this one. Rest in Peace Mr.Wood.
Rating:
Summary: Weird guy, weird movie
Review: Ed Wood was clearly a somewhat weird man, and this celluloid look at his life is, well, pretty weird. But it works because, while the movie clearly pokes fun at Wood's utter filmmaking ineptitude, it also manages to portray him in a somewhat sympathetic, almost reverent light. As portrayed by Johhny Depp, Wood is an eternal optimist, who never gave up pursuing his visions, even in the face of his lack of talent and difficulty finding financial backing for his projects. Perhaps the most telling line in the film is when Wood is on the phone with a potential backer for "Glen or Glenda," and he says, "Worst Movie You've Ever Seen? Well, I promise the next one will be better." This was obviously a man who wasn't going to allow a little thing like overwhelming disdain for his work to get him down, and it's hard not to admire such positivity. For a small-time movie, "Ed Wood" was able to attract a pretty accomplished cast, and the performances reflect that. In the tile role, Depp perfectly captures Wood's hopeless optimism and enthusiasm, wearing a perpetual happy smirk even when uttering lines like "I like to dress in women's clothing" (the scene where Ed appears in drag to reveal his fetish to his girlfriend is absolutely hilarious). Sarah Jessica Parker is also excellent as Ed's girlfriend Dolores, who tries to stand by her man until she concludes that he and his cronies are "wasting your lives making s**t!," as she informs them just before leaving Ed. The most memorable performance of the movie, though, definitely comes from Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, a washed-up, morphine-addicted ex-star who bears more than a little bitterness toward Boris Karloff. Landau does an amazing job of capturing the tragic essence of his character, who was both pathetic and good-hearted as he tried to rebuild his career and regain some semblance of dignity after years away from the limelight. The scene where the 74-year-old Lugosi has to roll around in a pond at four in the morning, wrestling with a fake octopus that's missing its motor, is both touching and funny at the same time. The movie, fittingly enough, ends with the making and premiere of Wood's defining movie, the stupendously and brilliantly horrible "Plan 9 from Outer Space." A movie about grave robbers from outer space, "Plan 9" is sort of a clinic of bad technique (even the film's backers, a couple of devout Baptists, are able to identify some of Wood's many errors). Of course it's also the movie made famous for Ed's new girlfriend's chiropractor assuming the dead Lugosi's role by holding a cape over his face. "Plan 9" is almost universally regarded as one of the worst movies ever, and a look at the bizarre life of its creator gives you an idea of just what was going on in his head.
Rating:
Summary: Never let a lack of talent get in the way
Review: This film's 1994 release went largely unnoticed and scandalously unappreciated, except for Martin Landau's Oscar for his uncanny portrayal of Bela Lugosi. And that is a shame, because "Ed Wood" is Tim Burton's affectionate and well-done tribute to the man behind such movies as the immortal "Plan 9 From Outer Space." Enthusiastic about moviemaking and wearing women's clothing, Wood never let an almost complete lack of talent get in his way, and it shows in his work. Who else would have a trademark confusion of day vs. night? Wood's movies are so amazingly bad they're often hilarious, and Burton was careful to let that part of Wood's life shine through. Buena Vista is reportedly working on a long-overdue DVD version of "Ed Wood," with lots of behind-the-scenes material. What would make it perfect if it were to include the three original Wood movies whose productions are depicted in the film: "Glen or Glenda," "Bride of the Monster" and "Plan 9" itself. Hopefully, they will appear in this release or a later one.
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