Movie Review: Ed Wood (1994)

Having lost a collection of DVDs I’d spent fair amount of money to develop years and years ago, I nowadays sometimes take advantage of Replay range at Poundland stores. That’s how I came across the DVD of Ed Wood – a movie that was filmed before anyone really knew what DVD was; before both, Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor had worked on one of the most artistically potent and underrated albums of the 1990s – Antichrist Superstar, and at the time when no one would’ve ever expected Johnny Depp being labelled “wife beater” by British court.

Being one of the films directed by Tim Burton, Ed Wood would these days be a commercial success even if it was made by chaneling the worst director of all time, and following his instructions closely. Yet back in 1994 the film, produced by Walt Disney Studios via its label Touchstone Pictures, ended up being a commercial failure. Columbia Pictures could sigh in relief of being correct in their decisions earlier on, when disapproving the idea of the film being shot in black and white. Some people just seem to be born as an antithesis of the concept of successful money earner, and the name of Ed Wood is one of those that equal to a sound of lugubrious farewell words: “good bye, money,” when mysterious whales of cryptomarket dump their Bitcoin in a move to manipulate said market.

Ed Wood, written by students of cinematic arts Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, is, in my opinion, a story about not finding the right balance when it comes to a set of things, such as: passion, people skills, being professional and generating return on investment. I think, if there is something Edward Davis Wood Jr. had proven, it’s that you can as a filmmaker be a failure in terms of commercial success, but, if you have genuine passion in your heart (imagine getting your cast and yourself baptized in order to obtain funds for your film!), and can create a genuine bond with people you work with; and you can transmit all that to the cinema screen; you have a good chance of being celebrated by people who vibe with your passion, and value the experience of living it more than its (absent) profit potential. The “usual gang of misfits”, as Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker), Ed’s (Depp) girlfriend describes people on Bride of the Atom set, would certainly resonate with those who understand the power of black, macabre, dark, gothic, leather and make-up – people who would sense mystifying butterflies creating shivers in them when hearing about an idea of a firepit after midnight at an old graveyard with effloads of red wine shared with other misfits who know the dresscode, music and movies, and who may find the craft of campy aesthetics to be charming.

Johnny Depp as Ed Wood and Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. Source The film still is used here on fair use basis.

As a watching experience, Ed Wood mostly feels like a cinematic “best of” list, featuring moments from the shoots back in 1950s – the decade which the “worst director of all time” is usually remembered for. The development of Glen or Glenda with cross-dressing is one of those moments. The DVD I bought has even got certain behind the scenes footage, where Depp is making an introduction to one of the movie’s scenes while wearing a fancy dress. But that probably doesn’t qualify as the most entertaining part from Glen or Glenda scenes of the film; we get to see the way Ed Wood used to operate in Hollywood when shooting movies in public spaces without permits – the procedure to follow when police appears on the crew’s radar is simple; it’s called “Run!!!” In that particular scene Depp’s Wood is wearing high heels...

What I liked most about Ed Wood movie was not Glen or Glenda shoot, nor misfits such as Tor Johnson (George "The Animal" Steele) and Vampira (Lisa Marie), nor sci-fi and cemetery set props – it was the friendship Wood had developed with his childhood idol Bela Lugosi (played by Martin Landau, who won Academy Award for this role). Ed Wood is a movie that’s partly about the actor who was the iconic Dracula of cinema, and that actor’s final days. I think, same as Ed Wood in the film, the creators of this comedy drama biopic are in a way taking advantage of Bela Lugosi’s stature, but this really plays out like a tribute to two important figures in Hollywood’s history rather than commercial considerations – Lugosi’s character in the movie is like a conduit for the genuine and caring side of human that was Ed Wood. I think being a good friend is one of the best legacies anyone can have.

Peer Ynt

A photo of the back cover of my DVD copy of Ed Wood movie, accompanied by some friends.