Ed Wood (1994)

 

Talk about one heck of a love letter: this is absolutely, totally and completely one from Burton to the late, maybe-not-so-great-yet-always-entertaining Edward D Wood Jr.. Wood has often been derided as one of the worst directors ever, but this is very much hyperbole. He wasn't thàt bad, he just had a vision and never the budget or technical acumen to make it all work. 

Seriously, I can think of a few more 'renowned' directors whose films are never as entertaining as Wood's.

This film chronicles the time that Ed Wood made his three most known pictures: 'Glen or Glenda', 'Bride of the Monster' and 'Plan 9 From Outer Space'. This also coincided with his friendship with an old, worn down and drug addicted Bela Lugosi. Johnny Depp plays Wood as a nearly always enthusiastic and positive man, who just gets the short end of the stick when it comes to talent and funding. Yet, you can't help but feel sympathy for such a tragic character. It could be that Wood was such a man, but it's highly likely there were some embellishments left and right. 

This is one of those biopics that rises to the occasion thanks to the spotless portrayals on display. Depp is good, but once again it is the sidecharacters that steal the show. Martin Landau especially is brilliant as Bela and even though he doesn't quite look like the man, he does have the mannerisms, speech patterns and demeanour down to a T. The same goes for Jeffrey Jones as the psychic Criswell. Heck, everyone is on top of their game here and it absolutely feels as though no one wanted to bring the person of Ed Wood down, yet lift him up as a filmmaker. 

Through the years, Wood has gotten quite a resurgence and his body of work has been re-evaluated. Sure, his films still aren't masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination, but they're hard to fault when it comes to entertainment. 'Bride of the Monster' is probably his most standard film, but 'Plan 9' is so wonderfully inept yet so enthusiastic that you can't help but be entertained. 

Burton knows his misfits and outcasts and here, this is no exception as Wood most definitely was an outcast in the glimmering world of Hollywood. So consider this a glorious love letter and a very, very good film in its own right.