Ed Wood (1994)

Ambitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams, despite his lack of talent.

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers:

Rudolph Grey (book), Scott Alexander

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker

Won 2 Oscars. Another 25 wins & 34 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	Ed Wood
Martin Landau	...	Bela Lugosi
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Dolores Fuller
Patricia Arquette	...	Kathy O'Hara
Jeffrey Jones	...	Criswell
G.D. Spradlin	...	Reverend Lemon
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Orson Welles
Bill Murray	...	Bunny Breckinridge
Mike Starr	...	Georgie Weiss
Max Casella	...	Paul Marco
Brent Hinkley	...	Conrad Brooks
Lisa Marie	...	Vampira
George 'The Animal' Steele	...	Tor Johnson
Juliet Landau	...	Loretta King
Clive Rosengren	...	Ed Reynolds

Storyline

Because of his eccentric habits and bafflingly strange films, director Edward D. Wood Jr. is a Hollywood outcast. Nevertheless, with the help of the formerly famous Bela Lugosi and a devoted cast and crew of show-business misfits who believe in Ed's off-kilter vision, the filmmaker is able to bring his oversize dreams to cinematic life. Despite a lack of critical or commercial success, Ed and his friends manage to create an oddly endearing series of extremely low-budget films.

---

Plot Keywords:

director | film director | misfit | friend | hollywood | 

---

Taglines:

Movies were his passion. Women were his inspiration. Angora sweaters were his weakness.

---

Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

One story claims that the producers decided to make the film in black and white because no one could decide how Bela Lugosi should look filmed in color.

---

Goofs

The film presents Orson Welles as though he were the same age as he was when he made Citizen Kane. Welles was already over 40 at the time of the scene depicted. Though one could write it off as Wood imagining talking to Welles in his prime.

---

Quotes

Edward D. Wood, Jr.: This story's gonna grab people. It's about this guy, he's crazy about this girl, but he likes to wear dresses. Should he tell her? Should he not tell her? He's torn, Georgie. This is drama.

---

Crazy Credits

Immediately preceding the final credits, the film features a "What Ever Happened To" and/or "Where They Are Now" sequence about Edward D. Wood Jr., Kathy Wood, Bela Lugosi, John Breckinridge, Dolores Fuller, Tor Johnson, Maila Nurmi, Paul Marco', Conrad Brooks, Tom Mason, and Criswell. The commentaries include such statements as: "Bela Lugosi never rose from the grave, but after appearing in 103 films, he is more famous than ever. Today, his movie memorabilia outsells Boris Karloff's by a substantial margin" and "Dolores Fuller, after leaving Ed, went on to a successful songwriting career. Her compositions include the Elvis Presley hits 'Rock-a-Hula Baby' and 'Do the Clam.'"

---

Connections

Spoofed in Rod Wood (1995)

---

Soundtracks

Seringa
Written by Jon Arkell

User Reviews

A masterpiece about failure

It's truly ironic that Tim Burton was able to make such a great masterpiece out of the life story of Edward D. Wood Jr. The least you can say is that his life wasn't. What makes this film so great is that Burton never makes fun of Ed Wood. His way of film-making, his lifestyle and his vision of things are always shown with respect. It's obvious that Burton didn't intend to make a comedy about Hollywood, but a drama about a man with a dream to make films. And he won't give up that dream, no matter what. I'm a great fan of Tim Burton. Especially when he casts Johnny Depp in the leading role. Edward Sciccorhands, Sleepy Hollow and this Ed Wood can easily make the top 50 films of ALL TIME. There's chemistry on the screen, when those 2 work together. And Johnny is not alone this time. The Oscar that Martin Landau received for his role of Bela Lugosi is perhaps one of the most deserved ones in the history of the Academy Awards. He's very creepy as the washed up actor, but very pathetic at the same time. It really is an outstanding performance. Patricia Arquette is just adorable as Kathy, the woman who stays with Edward in good and bad days. She's always giving him support, believes in him, accepts him as he is ( his confession to her in the spook house is really heartbreaking ) Lisa Marie is really sexy as Vampire. People can think she receives all her roles because she sleeps with the director, but she really can act. Very well as the matter a fact. One little disappointment maybe, I was hoping the role of Orson Welles ( played by Vincent D'Onofrio - one genius plays another one ) would have been a little bigger. "Ed Wood" is one of the best films of the 90's... what am I saying ? One of the best films EVER !!!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ed Wood

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$71,566, 2 October 1994

Gross USA:

$5,887,457

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,887,457

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1