Ed Wood

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Ed Wood

R

1994

2h 4m

Biography

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

74 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Because of his eccentric habits and bafflingly strange films, director Ed Wood (Johnny Depp) is a Hollywood outcast. Nevertheless, with the help of the formerly famous Bela Lugosi and a devoted cast and crew of show-business misfits who believe in Ed's off-kilter vision, the filmmaker is able to bring his oversize dreams to cinematic life. Despite a lack of critical or commercial success, Ed and his friends manage to create an oddly endearing series of extremely low-budget films.

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Critics Consensus

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp team up to fete the life and work of cult hero Ed Wood, with typically strange and wonderful results.

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Harper Barnes

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

01/19/2024

The sweet center of the movie is Wood's resurrection of horror actor Bela Lugosi, a despairing drug addict who is played brilliantly by Martin Landau.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

06/07/2022

3/4

Ed Wood doesn’t really give us the inside of Wood’s head, but it does treat imaginatively a number of Wood movies that retain a certain fascination ...

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

11/09/2018

A

Ed Wood [is] a comedy of the ridiculous in which the ridiculous turns unexpectedly sublime.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

04/26/2025

... Tim Burton’s loving film biography... is perhaps the most loving portrait of a filmmaker ever put on screen.

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Philip Bagnall

Loud and Clear Reviews

08/16/2024

It champions the power of, and passion for, filmmaking by exploring it through the eyes of one of the worst filmmakers to have ever made a motion picture. Burton uses some truly terrible films to inspire what may be his best work.

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Malcolm L. Johnson

Hartford Courant

01/19/2024

3.5/4

While Ed Wood probably won't do the kind of business enjoyed by Edward Scissorhands, this deliciously bizarre bio-pic should instantly become a movie cultist's treasure.

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William T

@Will1 Jul 11

My favorite Tim Burton film next to Batman.

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Ashequl I

@Tofa13 Jul 2

An absolute triumph from director Tim Burton that achieves the ultimate irony—making a perfect, high-art film about the worst director of all time. Ed Wood is beautifully shot in a stunning, stylized black-and-white cinematography that captures the essence of 1950s B-movies. Johnny Depp delivers a brilliant, career-best performance packed with an infectious, breezy optimism that makes you deeply care for a filmmaker with zero technical skill. The heart of the movie lies in the moving relationship between Ed and horror legend Bela Lugosi, played flawlessly by Martin Landau. While the screenplay cuts off early and sanitizes the darker, tragic realities of the real director's life—making it fall a bit short as a complete, historically accurate biography—it functions perfectly as a joyful, hilarious, and compassionate tribute to the pure love of making movies.

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mark G

@Mark_Alan_G. May 14

A certifiable masterpiece. This has to be in the top 10 of greatest movies from the 1990s. And I feel sorry for anyone that doesn't understand that. The script, the acting, the black and white cinematography, it's just brilliant. I am by no means a Tim Burton fanatic, but this film is worthy of so much respect. Depp, Landau and Parker give the best performances of their careers, so invested.. Then you have incredible supporting performances by Murray, Jones and others. Magical film.

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Ben W

@Username618 Apr 25

remember a funny scene where someone has to pretend to be attacked by an octopus, but not much more.

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Mo S.

@9mr_0 Nov 28

تحفه فنيه و اداء اكثر من رائع للممثلين و اختيار الصوره بالابيض و الاسود كان موفق بظهر ك تكريم ل ed الذي حاول بتلك الفتره بكل الطرق ان ينجح 10/10 درامه جميله بنكه كوميديه مع شعور بالحزن في بعض الاوقات بختصار تحفه

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Nov 8

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Tim Burton

Director

Johnny Depp

Edward D. Wood, Jr.

Martin Landau

Bela Lugosi

Sarah Jessica Parker

Dolores Fuller

Patricia Arquette

Kathy O'Hara

Jeffrey Jones

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Synopsis

Because of his eccentric habits and bafflingly strange films, director Ed Wood (Johnny Depp) is a Hollywood outcast. Nevertheless, with the help of the formerly famous Bela Lugosi and a devoted cast and crew of show-business misfits who believe in Ed's off-kilter vision, the filmmaker is able to bring his oversize dreams to cinematic life. Despite a lack of critical or commercial success, Ed and his friends manage to create an oddly endearing series of extremely low-budget films.

Director: Tim Burton
Producer: Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi
Screenwriter: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 28, 1994, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.9M
Runtime: 2h 4m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo, Dolby Digital

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