"Bela has risen from the grave!"

Rating: 9/10 (29 July 2005)

1994 was arguably the best movie year for 20 years. The year had movies like The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, the Lion King, Clerks, Heavenly Creatures and even a good Elm Street sequel! Many were then outraged, when their favorites were ignored in the Oscars when Forrest Gump (a good, but not great movie) cleared the table. Many argue that Shawshank should've won best picture and Pulp should've won the best actor awards. But, to my opinion, a more worthy winner to these awards would've been this gem, Tim Burton's masterpiece.
Burton has always had his own vision that no one else can't have messed with. This movie too is about outsiders, freaks even, who can't adjust to the surrounding world. It's almost tragic that many things described here actually happened. A lesser director would've made a Bowfinger-like comedy that has cheap laughs for the bad talent of the director, but Burton still holds the strings. While the movie has plenty of humor, it is never mean to it's characters and never points fingers and laughs at them, but rather with them.
The movie's best qualities lie in the acting talent. I honestly think Martin Landau's Bela Lugosi is the best performance I have ever seen an actor do. He makes the horror icon seem so vulnerable, so painful and yet a wonderful actor, although given crappy material by Wood. For example, who understands what the hell the "Pull the String!" scene means, but Bela's (and Landau's) talent covers it up. And kudos also to the make-up. If Wood would've had the make-up artists, maybe the Bela look-a-like in Plan 9 could've shown his face, too.
All the other actors are wonderful, too. Johnny Depp proves once again that he is one of the greatest actors of his generation. The movie's positive tone is mostly thanks to him and his positive attitude and it's a small wonder that Wood couldn't sell his movies if he resembled anything like Depp in real life. Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill Murray, Lisa Marie, Jeffrey Jones... the movie is full of unforgettable performances! The movie's story is a success-story without the success. The movie is a testimony of how hard it can be to make even a cheap movie made in Hollywood. The movie is about overcoming these obstacles. In that it's like a tribute to the cinema itself. At the end the ever-optimistic Wood thinks he's made the movie he'll be remembered, Plan 9 from Outer Space. He's right, but not after he's gone. The optimistic end is contrasted by the following epilogues, that like in American Graffiti, prove that life doesn't always work the best way for every one. Burton still made the right decision to end the movie in the right point of Wood's life.
***** (the top 10 movies I've seen #3)