The movie ED WOOD focuses on Wood as he makes his first movie, GLEN OR GLENDA and eventually makes his most famous film, PLAN 9. The movie stars Johnny Depp and Martin Landau. Lets start there.
Johnny Depp stars as Ed Wood, a man who is doing odd jobs to make a living in hopes to one day live his dream and become a film director. Martin Landau stars as infamous actor Bela Lugosi, who you know as DRACULA.
Ed Wood, like many of us, has one person that he considers his hero. One person that he idolizes. That person is Orson Welles. Welles is one of the greatest directors of all time, and changed movies forever when he made CITIZEN KANE in 1941. Welles was 26 years old. At the time of the movie Ed Wood is just over 30, and hasn't made a movie yet. By chance and good luck, Wood gets to direct a cheap B movie for a sleazy studio and it sets Wood on his path of movie directing. Johnny Depp plays Wood as a very eager, optimistic man who talks like he knows what to do, but hasn't a clue. Wood simply doesn't have talent, but somehow can talk his way into getting big actors and big budgets to get the ball rolling on each new film he conjures. No matter how absurd the plot (and titles) of his films, they get made, and released. He even befriends and directs Bela Lugosi, who's role as DRACULA cemented his fame as Hollywood gold forever. Wood also has a very peculiar personality trait that is at the center of the film that I wont discuss because it takes away from the experience, but when you see it, you'll know what it is.
Just as much as this movie is about Ed Wood, its about Bela Lugosi. Well, the final years of Bela Lugosi. When Wood meets Lugosi, he is living in a small home in California and all but done making movies, mostly because nobody will hire him. Wood, incessantly amazed by Lugosi and his acting, gives him roles in his films which makes Lugosi rediscover his confidence and talent. Martin Landau got an Oscar for this film and he deserved it. If you didn't know before seeing the movie that this was Landau, you would have never known. He perfectly captures all of Lugosi's mannerisms and speech patterns to become him in this film, but never makes him a 'character', he portrays him as the man he was. Even if it seems slightly odd, thats the man Lugosi was. I honestly think that you will feel more for Bela Lugosi than Ed Wood in this movie, and thats not a bad thing.
This movie looks like it was filmed in the 1960s. All the lighting, sets, costumes, and music have the feeling like it was filmed during the time of the movie, the lighting especially in Bela Lugosi's house looks like he lives in a 1960's horror movie. Yet somehow it looks and feels like a Burton movie. That's maybe due to Tim Burton ALREADY having movies that look like they're from another time, at least this one is the most practical. In its own weird way, ED WOOD is about living your dream no matter how strange or impractical. Following in the footsteps of his idol Ed Wood makes movies that he created and he makes them his own way. Despite having little to no talent, struggling to find money and actors, and ultimately creating laughably bad movies, he did exactly what he wanted to and he was happy with that. ED WOOD shows you that one way or another, you can never give up living your dream.
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