"Really? Worst movie you ever saw? Well, my next one'll be better. Hello...?"

Rating: 9/10 (14 June 2006)

Edward D. Wood Jr. had everything needed to be a success  he had the passion, the motivation, an undying belief in himself and a mindless optimism that drove him forward to show the world what he believed were masterpieces of film-making. Unfortunately, the world didn't agree with him.
Burton lovingly chronicles Wood's first major exploits as a filmmaker, his naively positive outlook leading him to pour his heart and soul into movies that were, in a word, dire, and how he sort out encouragement and acceptance among the few people who genuinely wanted to see his next film get made. Thankfully, the film about him shares no aspects of the ones he made, and 'Ed Wood' is an absolute joy to watch.
Aside from the outstanding performances from the principles and supporting cast and the stunning black and white visuals, the enjoyment of this movie stems from how oddly upbeat it is, considering it tells the story of one who failed dismally at something he truly cared about. This positiveness stems from the fact that it seems to neatly overlook the failure of Ed's movies  we see his satisfaction with them and childish love for them, and there is little mention of their failure at the box office and their labelling as the worst movies of all time is hardly mentioned. But that's because the audience doesn't need it spelt out for them; flying saucers on a string, strands of appalling dialogue and constant shots of Ed yelling "Cut! Perfect!" are all we need to tell us that Ed had no idea had to shoot a decent film. But never puts a glitch the perpetual optimism that endures until the last frame, bought to life by Depp's terrific performance (though we know, or are told by the ending captions, that Ed's life from then on could only go spectacularly downhill).
If there's tragedy in the film, it belongs to Landau as Lugosi, whose moments of cynicism triumphantly undercut Depp's energy. Lugosi is a truly wretched figure, a shell of his old self given new life by a man that only the audience knows as a failure. Despite his cursing, arrogant, explosive persona being played to the full, it's the quiet moments of poignancy that make his performance really worth watching, as he stands up to his knees in water and admits that he turned down the iconic role of Frankenstein's Monster for being too degrading, then proceeds to flail around screaming, pretending to be attacked by a giant octopus.
Burton ensures that every frame is worth looking at, as well as striking an exceptionally good balance between comedy and tragedy; though we laugh at the characters and their faults, we're behind them all the way which makes the horrible knowledge that they failed so dismally all the more affecting.
'Ed Wood' is a wonderful antidote to the biographies of successes - it reads like a story of one who accomplished great things as we see his ideas coming together, his overcoming of pitfalls and final triumph...the only comedown being our own knowledge that he wasn't a seccess in any sense of the word. See it--then see Ed's movies, and try to see the passion and effort that went into them, rather than the wobbly tombstones or spaceships that cast shadows on the sky.