Summary
A biopic of the life and work of the legendary worst director of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr., concentrating on the best-known period of his life in the 1950s, when he made Glen or Glenda (1953), Bride of the Monster (1955) and Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), and focusing on both his transvestitism and his touching friendship with the once great but now ageing and unemployed horror star Bela Lugosi. (Brooke,1994)
Ed Wood the undisputed master of very bad movies and campy showmanship is portrayed in the film bearing his namesake as an inspired and unfailingly resilient optimist. The plot of Ed Wood centers on the director’s unique lifestyle and worldview and how they interact with his enthusiastic drive and obsessive pursuit to creating …show more content…
The story is plausible and undeniably engaging, fashioned with elements that are equal parts Greek Tragedy and a slow motion train wreck. Structured and presented in such a way that the blind optimism, faith and naiveté of the main character are at times both infectious and frustrating. The depth of Wood’s personality and its influence on his career is brought to life by Johnny Depp in his portrayal of Woods character.
“The film follows Wood in his quest for film greatness as he writes and directs turkey after turkey, cross-dresses, and surrounds himself with a motley crew of Hollywood misfits, outcasts, has-beens, and never-weres.” (Beday, "Ed Wood (1994) Synopsis - Plot Summary - Fandango", 1994) These characters that make up Ed Woods ‘entourage’ include the aging horror cult actor Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), un unintelligible Swedish wrestler named Tor Johnson (George 'The Animal' Steele), a questionable "psychic", Criswell (Jeffrey Jones), Ed’s personal friend and fellow transvestite John “Bunny” Breckenridge (Bill Murray), Ed’s long suffering girlfriend Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker) and a host of other actors representing the detritus of 1950’s ‘Z’ grade horror …show more content…
The actors themselves are believable and their portrayals are emblematic of the seedy underside of Hollywood and the life of an actor living in the shadows who still hopes to ‘make it big’. The desperation and anxiety is almost palpable, especially in Landaus portrayal of Bela, who by this point in his career was near death, broke and addicted to alcohol and morphine, a sad shadow of his glory days as Dracula. The relationship between Depp’s Ed Wood character and Landaus Bela provides perhaps the most poignant moments of the film and give it the gravity and depth that strengthen its emotional core. For his part Depp was cast in the role of Ed Wood and plays his part very well, outside of his normal recessive fare Depp demonstrates flair for drama and comedy by breaking form and expressing Woods “wide-eyed optimism” (Travers, "Ed Wood", 1994) without the props or angst ridden teen
A biopic of the life and work of the legendary worst director of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr., concentrating on the best-known period of his life in the 1950s, when he made Glen or Glenda (1953), Bride of the Monster (1955) and Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), and focusing on both his transvestitism and his touching friendship with the once great but now ageing and unemployed horror star Bela Lugosi. (Brooke,1994)
Ed Wood the undisputed master of very bad movies and campy showmanship is portrayed in the film bearing his namesake as an inspired and unfailingly resilient optimist. The plot of Ed Wood centers on the director’s unique lifestyle and worldview and how they interact with his enthusiastic drive and obsessive pursuit to creating …show more content…
The story is plausible and undeniably engaging, fashioned with elements that are equal parts Greek Tragedy and a slow motion train wreck. Structured and presented in such a way that the blind optimism, faith and naiveté of the main character are at times both infectious and frustrating. The depth of Wood’s personality and its influence on his career is brought to life by Johnny Depp in his portrayal of Woods character.
“The film follows Wood in his quest for film greatness as he writes and directs turkey after turkey, cross-dresses, and surrounds himself with a motley crew of Hollywood misfits, outcasts, has-beens, and never-weres.” (Beday, "Ed Wood (1994) Synopsis - Plot Summary - Fandango", 1994) These characters that make up Ed Woods ‘entourage’ include the aging horror cult actor Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), un unintelligible Swedish wrestler named Tor Johnson (George 'The Animal' Steele), a questionable "psychic", Criswell (Jeffrey Jones), Ed’s personal friend and fellow transvestite John “Bunny” Breckenridge (Bill Murray), Ed’s long suffering girlfriend Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker) and a host of other actors representing the detritus of 1950’s ‘Z’ grade horror …show more content…
The actors themselves are believable and their portrayals are emblematic of the seedy underside of Hollywood and the life of an actor living in the shadows who still hopes to ‘make it big’. The desperation and anxiety is almost palpable, especially in Landaus portrayal of Bela, who by this point in his career was near death, broke and addicted to alcohol and morphine, a sad shadow of his glory days as Dracula. The relationship between Depp’s Ed Wood character and Landaus Bela provides perhaps the most poignant moments of the film and give it the gravity and depth that strengthen its emotional core. For his part Depp was cast in the role of Ed Wood and plays his part very well, outside of his normal recessive fare Depp demonstrates flair for drama and comedy by breaking form and expressing Woods “wide-eyed optimism” (Travers, "Ed Wood", 1994) without the props or angst ridden teen