Purely Joyful Movie!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Continuing my plan to watch every Johnny Depp movie in order, I come to Ed Wood (1994) This is one of the best movies of 1994 for me. Depp's performance of the title character is so enthusiastic, you can't help but like him. His enthusiasm is contagious. He should have received his second Oscar nomination here, as it was, he was ignored again, and remained without a single nomination for several more years. Depp is superbly backed up by a ridiculously talented cast. Martin Landau is simply superb as Bella Lagousi, Bill Murray was also deserving of an Oscar nod, but like Depp he was ignored. Sarah Jessica Parker, Mike Starr, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones and Lisa Marie all stand out too. There is not a weak link in the cast.The heart of the movie is not between Ed Wood and one of his women but his relationship with Bella Lagousi. A man he truly adores.The movie won two Oscars. One for Martin Landau in the Best Supporting Actor category and one for Best Make Up and opened to great reviews but was a box office bomb. Grossing only $6 million against an $18 million budget. Was it the fact it was released in black and white?? Was it that it was released one week after Don Juan Demarco, the subject matter??? Whatever it was that turned audiences off, it's a real shame, as it's a great movie filled with great performances.

I won't write a lot about this masterpiece but I can only say that this Burton's film is one of the best his jobs. I think so not only because I love his movies but also because he created a film which, in my opinion, reflects Wood's personality perfectly. Johnny Depp did his best. He did what not every actor could do to my mind. I also liked that movie is black and white. Thus, I could better feel the epoch which is shown in the film. I gave 7 because some scenes of the film seemed too long but it is not a big problem. The film is great and I definitely recommend it.

Another great performance in this movie was Bobby Slayton's TV show host character, an obvious tribute to Huntz Hall as the Slim Slimopowitz sketch character. Yet that character was truly over shadowed by Martin Landau's Bela Lugosi and so many other brilliant performances. Johnny Depp was terrific as Ed Wood although his portrayal through much of the movie reminded me so much of Jon Lovitz's pathological liar Tommy Flanagan character. ☺

Another successful collaboration between Burton and Depp. This movie offers a good insight into Ed Wood and Hollywoodland back in the day. I only came to know Ed Wood through this movie. Depp has done well by bringing him to life in this black and white light drama, his portrayal eliciting laughs from the viewer, but never full blown pity. His sheer optimism despite his circumstances is endearing and comical.Together with a good cast, the director brings out a believable portrayal of the campy movie director that was once tagged as the Worst Director of All Time. Martin Landau's likeness to Bela Lugosi was laudable. I have to say, the sound on this movie would take you right back to the black and white era of Hollywood. Think Bride of the Frankenstein.If for nothing else, watch this movie for the one liners. The one liners in this movie are the best thing about it, in my opinion!