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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]

Reviews for Ed Wood

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

It certainly succeeds as a funny, touching tribute to tenacity, energy, ambition and friendship.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

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

A droll riot.

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment Comment
11/06/01
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Movieline

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

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

[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

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

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

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

Tim Burton, fidèle à son talent et à sa réputation, transforme un scénario déjà bien concocté en un film des plus divertissants

Full Review Source: Panorama | comment Comment
11/25/04
Louis-Jérôme Cloutier
Louis-Jérôme Cloutier
Panorama

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

Hilarious and enormously entertaining.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/13/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

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

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'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

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

True or not, the film is brilliant in every capacity %u2013 rich, warm and outrageously funny.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
08/13/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

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...

See All

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