A must-see for Ed Wood fans although others might not get it

Rating: 9/10 (6 August 2008)

This is probably my favorite Tim Burton film because I love the incredibly wretched films of Ed Wood and appreciate a bio-pic of this king of dreck! Having seen BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, GLEN OR GLENDA, PLAN 9, NIGHT OF THE GHOULS AND JAIL BAIT, I was absolutely thrilled that the stories behind these films was finally brought to the screen. Plus, it was a great thrill to see the behind the scenes work that crazy of Ed did to get his horrible films made. It also helped that Johnny Depp played the character with so much energy and sincerity. It helped even more that the producers took such great pains to replicate the weird group of stock characters from the Wood films. Of course Martin Landau got a lot of attention (and an Oscar) for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi, but the rest of the characters were so close it was spooky. Plus, I admired that even the clothing and sets were dead on as well. Instead of simply making fun of Wood's horrible career, the film is more of a loving homage to a man who made rotten films that were still somehow very appealing--leading his films to be regarded as trash film cult classics. Perfect and enjoyable throughout and a truly wonderful time capsule.