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Ed
Wood
(1994) |
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A perfectly acted, beautifully crafted loving ode to a father figure of a character - the immortal Edward D. Wood Jr. renowned maker of the worst stinkers Hollywood ever produced. Tim Burton has surpassed all his previous and indeed subsequent efforts with this sensational homage which is stunningly shot right from the sublime opening title sequence to the very end. This is the work of a man seriously in love with his subject matter as well as his craft and the result is a beautifully etched page from the lives of some quirky, madcap, people - people with dreams. The cast is unbelievably strong with Martin Landau giving an absolutely towering performance as Bela Lugosi. His performance is one of the great pieces of Hollywood acting in many a year. A work of sheer genius. Then you have a fabulous supporting cast with seasoned performers like Jeffrey Jones performing wonders as Criswell and Bill Murray as excellent as ever. Everything about this movie works quite beautifully and though it never made anywhere near as much money as some of Burton's mega budget extravaganza's this film is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. An inspired and brilliant piece of work from a man at the very top of his form.We found ourselves watching Plan 9 over and over again interspersed with viewings of Burton's Ed Wood. The film follows Depp's faltering career as Wood, faltering for money perhaps but never for enthusiasm or lack of truly imaginative ideas…..such as Dr. Acula! Depp plays Wood as a man of bizarre quirks but with the innocence of a lamb. The sleaze element is largely played down. The scenes where Wood's work is recreated are magnificently staged - the bit where Bela battles the Giant Octopus for example is enough to bring tears to the eye! The movie captures the essence of the insane Wood as well as his off the wall crew, which included such great talents as Tor Johnson and Ms. Nurmi. The movie is a delight from start to finish and at the end there is a yearning for more which it seems can somewhat be satisfied by watching all of Ed Wood's true classics from The Hot Spot's Video Library. Including such gems as Plan 9, Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghoulies, Glen or Glenda, Jail Bait and so on. This movie is a glorious celebration of those wonderful cheesy epics that so many of us have grown up worshipping. For many these were the Creature Features shown on Saturday or Sunday mornings, for us in the UK it was watching Hammer's Friday Night Horror Double Feature with a massive tub of ice cream trembling in fear of what Messrs Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing would spring upon us next. Tim Burton's Ed Wood encaptures the spirit perfectly and he went on many years later to direct another lavish and loving ode to the Hammer Style of gothic horror with his visually stunning Sleepy Hollow.
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