Day 18: Ed Wood.

Day 18: Ed Wood (1994, Dir. Tim Burton)

One of the finest hours for Burton/Depp collaborations, telling the tale of some real life Hollywood stars trying to make a great film that proves to be outrageously funny and oddly inspiring.

Johnny Depp gives a great performance as Ed, a genuinely funny turn as the underdog director; getting laughs in all the right places with the right mix of childish charm, enthusiasm and pure idiocy. But it is Martin Landau who steals the show as an aging horror icon Bela Lugosi. You really believe it is Bela in the film not only sharing his rich acting past, his wit and unique life story but his darker side too.

As a director, I think Tim Burton delivers a really beautifully shot film, and I think this partly due to the real life story he is conveying and the fact it is shot in Black & White. Whilst not as creatively directed as something like Edward Scissorhands, Burton gets a chance to extend his talent to other areas of the film and not seem to be distracted by gothic visuals or a vivid colour pallet. I’m not saying this merely because it is in vogue and easy to pick on Burton for some of his questionable latter day works, but because I think it is clear that when a concern for characters and story telling takes over, Burton can give some of his best work which is still distinctly his own. Burton clearly has a personal passion for the classic horror films of this time and the adventure of low budget film making and this real love for the material shines through here.

The final stretch of the movie suffers and feels a bit drawn out due to the loss of Bela, an unavoidable problem when you’re dealing with a biopic and a problem too that clearly struck Ed. However these problems are outweighed by many other great moments, witty looks at underground film making and some unique performances. The always fantastic Bill Murray as Bunny is a particular comedy highlight whilst the Orson Welles meeting and revelation provides a heart warming sequence that lifts the film up to be quite an inspirational one. Admittedly the biopic itself takes some creative license regarding some issues but ultimately becomes a better and funnier film because of it.

A fantastic biopic of a really interesting time for American cinema, far away from the bright lights of the mainstream. A true story too bizarre not to be real, dazzlingly funny, a touching tribute and a great tale of an underdog just about making it. Whilst Plan 9 From Outer Space will always be considered the real Ed’s “classic”, here is where he gets his master piece.

8/10

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109707/

Extra: It’s funny to think that this films title sequence probably had as much money spent on it as all of the real Ed Woods movies!