Alternative Hollywood iconography

Rating: 10/10 (27 January 2010)

I rewatched this just now and holy hell, it's better than I remember it! Ed Wood speaks to the passionate cinema loving man-child in all of us, who just cannot play it straight with the big guys and has to live the independent route--even if he does suck. I would not be surprised if positive reception of Ed Wood's movies post-1994 stem entirely from Johnny Depp's charismatic depiction of him. I certainly know this movie lead me to Ed Wood's films (by the way, this is the first time I watched this movie since I've seen them. It's worth noting that I actually really like Glen or Glenda for precisely the reasons stated in this movie--because it was honest, even if he had no idea what he was doing and wasn't smart enough to know how to make it acceptable for other people).
Oh God, and the acting! Martin Landau as Bela Legosi is downright chilling. Lisa Marie as Vampira is friggin' amazing! Vincent D'Onofrio as Orson Welles nailed it! This movie is all about its own kind of iconography, the pulp we grew up with (too bad Burton's Mars Attacks isn't as good).
Everyone has a lot of fun, and the writing is snappy and believable--this movie is everything Ed Wood wanted to be, and it's almost heart-wrenching to think that he eventually got it, but through no effort of his own, but through Tim Burton's. Oh, and it's nice seeing Burton work without Danny Elfman; Howard Shore does a great job and hits the beats exactly! --PolarisDiB