Ed Wood (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Ed Wood |
| Original title | Ed Wood |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1994 |
| length | 126 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Tim Burton |
| script |
Scott Alexander , Larry Karaszewski , Rudolph Gray |
| production | Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi |
| music | Howard Shore |
| camera | Stefan Czapsky |
| cut | Chris Lebenzon |
| occupation | |
| |
Ed Wood is in black turned feature film of the American film director , writer and producer Tim Burton from the year 1994 . The tragic comedy , based on the book Nightmare of Ecstasy by Rudolph Gray , was produced by the Walt Disney Company 's Touchstone Pictures film studio .
action
Ed Wood survived in the 1950s with various small jobs in Hollywood . A play written by him is performed in front of almost empty stands and receives catastrophic reviews. Wood still believes in a successful career in the film business.
As a great admirer of Orson Welles , he dreams of one day being able to follow in his footsteps. By chance he meets the unemployed film star Bela Lugosi . Although he has not made a major film in years, thanks to his title role as Dracula from 1931 he is still very well known. Wood can persuade a B-movie producer to let him direct a movie. With Lugosi as the actor, who has since become a good friend of Wood, the production should be a success. Ed Wood, who himself likes to wear women's clothes, makes transvestism the subject of his film Glen or Glenda . Wood himself and his girlfriend Dolores Fuller take the lead roles. It is only after reading the script that Dolores learns that Ed is a transvestite. The film fails and Wood is fired from the producer. Even with other distributors and producers, where he tries to sell the film, his work only gets amusement and head shaking.
The unshakable Wood is not deterred by this. He begins filming his next film, Bride of the Atom , which he later renames Bride of the Monster . This time Lugosi should be highlighted as a star. Tor Johnson , a wrestler , is hired as an additional actor. Wood met a young woman, Loretta King, in a bar and assumed she had significant financial resources, which later turns out to be a misunderstanding. He has to give Loretta the female lead in the film. Originally his girlfriend Dolores should take over the part, which leads to a heated argument between the two. After a few days, Wood ran out of money while filming and his crew was thrown out of the studio.
After several unsuccessful attempts to find new sponsors, Ed finally gets a meat producer who is willing to fund the film - on condition that changes are made to the script and that his son, who is completely inexperienced in acting, takes on a role as a police officer . Ed agrees and the film can be completed. But the premiere of the film is shouted down by the audience. Ed is left by Dolores. Lugosi, who has been a drug addict for many years, suffers multiple breakdowns. Ed always stands by him selflessly and eventually accompanies him to a clinic for drug withdrawal. In the waiting room he meets Kathy, they fall in love and become a couple. Lugosi has to leave the clinic due to lack of money. Shortly after Ed filmed a few scenes with Lugosi in front of his house, he receives news of his death. The former horror film star is buried in a Dracula costume.
Ed lives in a poor house and can't pay the rent. The landlord is a member of the Baptist Church . Ed Wood offers him the opportunity to direct a successful science fiction film. With the profit, the congregation could then make films about the twelve apostles . With the scenes shot with Lugosi, he should be highlighted as the “star” of the film. After some hesitation, the Baptists agreed to raise funds for the film. However, all members of the film crew must first be baptized as Baptists. The TV announcer Vampira and the “fortune teller” Criswell can be won as actors. Kathy's chiropractor , in whom Wood believes he recognizes similarities with Bela Lugosi, takes on his role in the missing scenes by holding a cape in front of his face. Ed Wood combines recordings of toy UFOs , archive material and a few minutes of film with Bela Lugosi with his script for the film Plan 9 from space . After an argument with his sponsors - the Baptists are appalled because Ed is sometimes directing in women's clothes, and they question his ability as a director - Ed escapes, exasperated, to a bar, where he actually meets Orson Welles and talks to him about filmmaking . Wood finishes his film with renewed enthusiasm.
At the acclaimed premiere of Plan 9 from Outer Space , Ed Wood ponders that he will go down in film history with this work. After the performance, Ed and Kathy go to Las Vegas to get married.
useful information
- Gregory Walcott , star of Plan 9 from Outer Space , makes a guest appearance as a potential financier.
- Plan 9 from Outer Space and director Ed Wood went down in history differently than portrayed in the film. "Awarded"a Golden Turkey Award and similar prizes, the work is considered one of the worst films ever.
- A meeting between Orson Welles and Ed Wood has probably never occurred.
- As one of the few people in Ed Wood's environment, his girlfriend Dolores Fuller was successful. She became a composer and producer and wrote many songs, including for Elvis Presley , Nat King Cole , Peggy Lee and Nelson Riddle . She was also the first woman in the United States to start her own record company .
reception
criticism
The lexicon of international films gives a positive verdict: “The somewhat bumpy dramaturgy is more than made up for by a great love of detail, conscious stylizations, playful actors and visual imagination. A tragic comedy that, despite all its absurdity, betrays deep sympathy for its characters. "
Awards
The film won an Oscar in two categories . One went to Martin Landau for best supporting actor, the other was awarded to Rick Baker , Ve Neill and Yolanda Toussieng for the best make-up .
Martin Landau also received a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor , the Saturn Award for Best Leading Actor and the American Comedy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of old Bela Lugosi ; he was also nominated for a BAFTA Award .
In addition, the film won 19 other awards and eleven nominations.
Gross profit
The film was a flop in theaters. With a budget of around 18 million US dollars, the film was only able to bring in around 6 million US dollars in the North American region.
Web links
- Ed Wood in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Ed Wood at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Ed Wood at Metacritic (English)
- Ed Wood in the online film database
- Ed Wood in the German dubbing index
- Official trailer for the film
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ed Wood. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Winner of the American Comedy Awards 1995 ( Memento April 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) at whosdatedwho.com.
- ↑ Personal data on Cinefacts.de.
- ↑ Ed Wood. Retrieved May 15, 2020 .