Ed Wood

"Movies were his passion. Women were his inspiration. Angora sweaters were his weakness."

1994 2h 7m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 2,600

ComedyDramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.

“Movies were his passion. Women were his inspiration. Angora sweaters were his weakness.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Johnny Depp
Ed Wood
Martin Landau
Bela Lugosi
Sarah Jessica Parker
Dolores Fuller
Patricia Arquette
Kathy O'Hara
Jeffrey Jones
Criswell
G.D. Spradlin
Reverend Lemon
Vincent D'Onofrio
Orson Welles
Bill Murray
Bunny Breckinridge

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tim Burton
Writers: Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 33% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

32 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

282+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tim Burton, shot by Stefan Czapsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chris Lebenzon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Johnny Depp and Martin Landau and Sarah Jessica Parker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Movies were his passion. Women were his inspiration. Angora sweaters were his weakness.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tim Burton directs. Stefan Czapsky behind the camera. Howard Shore scores. Chris Lebenzon cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 33% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
232 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3282+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Tim Burton, shot by Stefan Czapsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Chris Lebenzon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Johnny Depp and Martin Landau and Sarah Jessica Parker carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Movies were his passion. Women were his inspiration. Angora sweaters were his weakness.".
9IMDB entry: tt0109707 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 18 themes, including "individual", "taxi", "fortune teller", "transsexuality".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stefan Czapsky
Original score: Howard Shore
Editing: Chris Lebenzon
Production design: Tom Duffield
Costume design: Colleen Atwood
Makeup / hair: Bridget Cook
VFX supervisor: Paul Boyington
Sound: David Parker
Stunt coordinator: John Branagan
Runtime: 127 min · 2h 7m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $18,000,000
Box office: $5,900,000
Return: 33% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Ed Wood (1994)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Tim Burton

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2023-09-12
★ 9/10
A sincere tribute to the man and his work, full of bizarreness, humor, artificial octopuses and angora. I've been wanting to see this for a while now, and the opportunity finally came. Very intelligently directed by Tim Burton, it is a brief biography that honors Ed Wood, reckoned as the worst director Hollywood has ever known (although that title is disputed by other more recent directors). I already knew Ed Wood's work, I've seen one or two of his films, and I can guarantee that his fame is justified: the films are the most amateurish imaginable and the number of errors and problems is such that even the general public saw the director's inability and naïveté. I won't dwell on this point, just add that this film covers the filming of “Glenn or Glenda”, “Bride of the Monster” and “Plan 9 from Outer Space”. As is typical of Burton's films, there is a certain amount of bizarreness which makes the most sincere homage to Ed Wood's work. One notices, implicitly, a certain sympathy or admiration for the director, who never achieved fame (at least, positive) and to whom success has eluded. He is a man with a vision and a dream, but without any ability to achieve it and who, even so, never gave up. Johnny Depp was a smart choice for the protagonist. The actor likes unusual roles and portrayed Wood in a very faithful way, emphasizing his incorrigible and absolutely blind optimism, as well as his habit of dressing like a woman and the problems that caused him in being taken seriously. There is, in the character, a certain bizarre fetish about angora fabrics that I don't know if it was real, but it fit very well. I also really liked Martin Landau, a very respectable veteran who fit wonderfully into the role of Bela Lugosi, the mythical horror actor who was forgotten by the industry towards the end of his life and succumbed to morphine addiction and depression, and Lisa Marie, who played Maila Nurmi, Finnish actress famous for her character Vampira. Sarah Jessica Parker also did an impeccable job as Wood's girlfriend. Jeffrey Jones does a good job as Criswell, a fake psychic famous for his TV appearances. Bill Murray appears little, but does a decent job whenever asked. The film was very well shot in black and white, and I believe this fit better with the spirit of the film, and the way it was designed. There is a beautiful limpidity and the cinematography is very crafted and stylistically rich. The film plays a lot with the difficulties that Wood encountered in filming and promoting his films, and the total amateurism with which he did so, and this is funny and, at the same time, moving. The sets and costumes are excellent, convincing, and the reproduction of the films was well done and honors the originals. The soundtrack, written by Howard Shore, does the rest and gives the film a bizarrely delicious tone. Finally, a word about the opening and ending of the film, in a style magnificently suited to cheap horror productions of the time.

Production companies