One of the most underrated films of the last 15 years

Rating: 10/10 (15 September 2001)

ED WOOD is the best overall film Tim Burton has ever directed, in my opinion.
What's the greatest thing about it? The acting from all corners, the pacing in the directing and editing choices, the beautiful black-and-white photography, and the story setting are all superb. But the very best feature of this film is its tone. It's hard to combine the comedy of the hilarious/ridiculous scenarios that Ed Wood found himself in while embarking on a career as the Worst Director of All Time, while also showing the failure and tragedy of that career where that label was richly deserved. There are moments in ED WOOD, like Ed's explanation of why he doesn't want to re-do a shot where Tor visibly shakes the soundstage's formation and his efforts to get Bunny to not over-camp his PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE role, that are as funny as anything I've seen at the movies. And then there's genuine drama and sadness, in the relationship between Ed Wood and Bela Lugosi, that's a perfect 10 on the dramatic side of the scale.
The fact that this movie is ensconced on the IMDB Top 250 is sort of poetic justice. When it came out in 1994, it was quickly eclipsed by THE SPECIALIST and STARGATE, both of which made scores more at the box office than this film did. The only film of that period to get both critical and commercial super-status was PULP FICTION. After about seven years, it's great to see this film, along with THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and QUIZ SHOW, getting the recognition it deserves. This is a movie where history has given the right verdict.