I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Aris Iliopulos

Writer:

Edward D. Wood Jr. (writer)

Release Date:

10 September 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A mental patient escapes from the looney bin in drag, robs a bank, and goes on the lam! |

Plot Keywords:

Hooker | Money | Sanitarium | Cult Favorite | Car Crash

Awards:

7 wins

Cast

Billy Zane	...	The Thief
Tippi Hedren	...	Maylinda Austed
Ron Perlman	...	Cemetery Caretaker
Michael Greene	...	Tom Harris
Christina Ricci	...	Teenage Hooker
Roberta Hanley	...	Housewife
Andrew McCarthy	...	Cemetery Cop
Ann Magnuson	...	Loan Secretary
Robert Musselman	...	Eartha Kitt's Escort
Marvin Lorence	...	Eartha Kitt's Piano Player (as Marvin Lorence)
Bud Cort	...	Shopkeeper (as Lord Hienrich 'Binky' Alcoa III)
Taylor Negron	...	Loan Office Cop
Megan Odebash	...	Wardrobe Mistress (as Megan Odabash)
Carel Struycken	...	Undertaker
Max Perlich	...	Assistant Undertaker

Also Known As:

Ed Wood's I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
I Awoke Early the Day I Died (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:7

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Muse Productions

Trivia:

The second film with no dialogue that Ron Perlman has acted in. The first was La guerre du feu (1981).

Soundtrack:

Jesus I Was Evil

Slapstick expressionism & Ed Wood

I've been disappointed, if not surprised, at the lack of appreciation this film has received. Once again, Billy Zane proves he's more than just a Hollywood pretty boy in a silent performance that combines spastic slapstick with understated pathos. Calling this a silent film is inaccurate, as there's a lot of music and sound. It has a manic pace and is full of the goofy inventiveness that Ed Wood is finally beginning to be appreciated for. Look at the cast listing, and realize that everyone shines. No one is there just to show their face. I believe they're all in the movie to show their appreciation of Wood, and to do a broad, physical kind of acting not seen much these days.

But, today, reviewers try to guess what's going to become a hit much more than they show any kind of esthetic appreciation for a movie. And IWUETDID has no discernable target audience. It was made mostly out of love for Wood's script. Even after his death, the trendy social parasites have dealt him another serious blow, and deprived the world of a minor classic. This is a highly entertaining and a genuinely experimental film that really deserves to live, at least on DVD.