ED WOOD [1994 / 2016] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] One Of The Year’s Funniest! Two Big Thumbs Up! Visions Are Worth Fighting For!
Experience Tim Burton’s acclaimed, true-life story of the wackiest filmmaker in Hollywood history, ‘ED WOOD’ for the first time on Blu-ray and complete with an all-new digital restoration, featuring enhanced picture and sound. Celebrated actor Johnny Depp stars as the high-spirited director who never let terrible reviews or hostile studio executives derailed his big-screen dreams. With an oddball collection of showbiz misfits, Edward D. Wood Jr. takes the art of bad moviemaking to an all-time low!
Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker and Academy Award winner Martin Landau [Best Supporting Actor, 1994, ‘ED WOOD’] are hilarious in this warm and witty comedy. Relive every madcap moment like never before on Blu-ray!
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1994 Awards Circuit Community Awards: Win: Best Make-Up & Hairstyling. Nominated: Best Motion Picture for Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi. Nominated: Best Director for Tim Burton. Nominated: Best Actor in a Leading Role for Johnny Depp. Nominated: Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Martin Landau. Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay for Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander. Nominated: Best Cinematography for Stefan Czapsky. Nominated: Best Art Direction for Okowita and Tom Duffield. Nominated: Best Costume Design for Colleen Atwood. Nominated: Best Original Score for Howard Shore. Nominated: Best Cast Ensemble for Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, G.D. Spradlin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bill Murray, Mike Starr, Max Casella and Lisa Marie. 1994 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. Win: Best Cinematography for Stefan Czapsky. Nominated: Best Film. 1994 Faro Island Film Festival: Nominated: Golden Train Award for Best Film for Tim Burton. 1994 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. 1994 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. Win: Best Cinematography for Stefan Czapsky. Win: Best Music for Howard Shore. 1994 National Board of Review, USA: Win: NBR Award for Top Ten Films. 1994 New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. Win: Best Cinematographer for Stefan Czapsky. 1994 Society of Texas Film Critics Awards: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. 1995 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Martin Landau. Win: Best Make-Up for Rick Baker, Ve Neill and Yolanda Toussieng. 1995 Golden Globes: Win: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for Martin Landau. Nominated: Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical. Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical for Johnny Depp. 1995 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Win: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for Martin Landau. 1995 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Win: Saturn Award for Best Actor for Martin Landau. Win: Saturn Award for Best Music for Howard Shore. Win: Saturn Award for Best Make-Up for Rick Baker and Ve Neill. Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Writing for Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander. 1995 American Comedy Awards: Win: Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for Martin Landau. 1995 Cahiers du Cinéma: Nominated: Top 10 Film Award for Best Film for Tim Burton [Eighth Place]. 1995 Cannes Film Festival: Nominated: Palme d'Or for Tim Burton. 1995 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. Nominated: Best Actor for Johnny Depp. Nominated: Best Director for Tim Burton. 1995 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. 1995 National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. Win: Best Cinematography for Stefan Czapsky. 1995 Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards: Win: Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. Nominated: Best Picture [6th place]. 1995 Writers Guild of America: Nominated: WGA Award (Screen) for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander. 1996 BAFTA Awards: Nominated: Best Make-Up /Hair for Rick Baker, Ve Neill and Yolanda Toussieng [USA]. Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Martin Landau [USA]. 1996 Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards: Nominated: Silver Condor Award for Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera) for Tim Burton [USA]. 1996 Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain: Win: Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera) for Tim Burton [USA]. 1996 Grammy Awards: Nominated: Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television for Howard Shore for the main title. 2015 20/20 Awards: Win: Felix Awards for Best Makeup. Nominated: Felix Awards for Best Picture. Nominated: Felix Awards for Best Director for Tim Burton. Nominated: Felix Awards for Best Actor for Johnny Depp. Nominated: Felix Awards for Best Supporting Actor for Martin Landau. Nominated: Felix Awards for Best Original Score for Howard Shore. Nominated: Felix Awards for Best Production Design for Tom Duffield. Nominated: Felix Awards for Best Cinematography for Stefan Czapsky.
FILM FACT No.2: According to Bela G. (his son), Forrest Ackerman, Dolores Fuller and Richard Sheffield, the film's portrayal of Bela Lugosi is inaccurate: In real life, he never used profanity, owned small dogs, or slept in coffins. And contrary to this film, Bela Lugosi did not struggle performing on ‘The Red Skelton Show.’ The scenes of Bela Lugosi used for ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’ were not filmed outside Bela Lugosi own house, as the film depicts. They were, in fact, filmed outside Tor Johnson's house. Additionally, Bela Lugosi was not prone to fits of swearing, particularly in front of women and did not perform his own water stunt in ‘Bride of the Monster.’ Bela Lugosi is also depicted as dying alone and miserable. Bela Lugosi's wife of twenty years, Lillian Lugosi, did leave him in 1953, but he remarried in 1955 to Hope Lininger.
Cast: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Lisa Marie, Jeffrey Jones, G.D. Spradlin, Max Casella, Bill Murray, Mike Starr, Max Casella, George "The Animal" Steele, Juliet Landau, Ned Bellamy, Ross Manarchy, Bill Cusack, Biff Yeager, Joseph R. Gannascoli, Melora Walters, Tommy Bertelsen, Stanley DeSantis, Gretchen Becker, Mary Portser, Conrad Brooks, King Cotton, Matthew Barry, Anthony Russell, Vincent D'Onofrio, Gregory Walcott, Charles C. Stevenson Jr., Rance Howard, Patti Tippo, Ray Baker, Louis Lombardi, Ryan Holihan, Charlie Holliday, Daniel Riordan, Mickey Cottrell, Bill Anderson (uncredited), Lena Banks (uncredited), Mike Breyer (uncredited), Maurice LaMarche (uncredited), Johnny Meyer (uncredited), Jeff Shrewsbury (uncredited), Ada Tai (uncredited), Arlene Tai (uncredited) and Lars Woods (uncredited)
Director: Tim Burton
Producers: Denise Di Novi, Michael Flynn, Michael Lehmann and Tim Burton
Screenplay: Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander and Rudolph Grey (book)
Composer: Howard Shore
Cinematography: Stefan Czapsky, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Spanish: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Português and Spanish [Latin America]
Running Time: 126 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: With the film ‘ED WOOD’ [1994] we find out that the filmmaker Edward D. Wood Jr. [Johnny Depp] would like to make a Hollywood director that will go down in film history. Only there is one small problem: Edward D. Wood Jr. is untalented and totally hopeless, but his passion for film is limitless. In primitive cardboard scenes and with a bizarre troupe he turns unswervingly horror and science fiction cheap productions, the encounter with critics and audiences with little understanding. With silent movie star and Dracula symbol Bela Lugosi [Martin Landau] Edward D. Wood Jr. wanted to turn his masterpiece, but seemingly insurmountable obstacles stand in his way. The film's black-and- white photography convincingly recaptures the look and feel of 1950s, including some of the least convincing special effects in film history. There are also running gags involving Edward D. Wood Jr.'s ability to write almost any piece of stock footage into almost any script.
At first glance one of the least likely people to have their life story filmed is Edward D. Wood Jr., the flamboyantly bad filmmaker sometimes called "the world's worst." But however awful his films might seem initially, they do hold up to repeated viewings almost as surely as ‘CITIZEN KANE’ [1941], but for completely different reasons and the sheer ineptness is fascinating, often reaching inspired peaks of lunacy. Wood's life was also quite unusual and at times deeply depressing as he scurried for decades around the fringe of Hollywood. So it was only a matter of time before Tim Burton added the director to his gallery of outsiders in a film simply entitled ‘ED WOOD.’
The cast features a bunch of wonderful character actors, including Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Bill Murray, and Lisa Marie. Scott Alexander adapted the screenplay from Rudolph Grey’s book. The story tells the true-life story of Edward D. Wood Jr., famed as the worst director in the history of Hollywood, but at heart an enthusiastic movie fan with a passion to create. The film follows Edward D. Wood Jr. during his early career.
At the heart of the fil is Edward D. Wood Jr.'s friendship with Bela Lugosi, a man he truly adores, and who comes to depend on him. We see Bela Lugosi alone and lonely in a flimsy little tract house, inhabiting the deepening gloom of his obscurity and addiction, his first scene in the film shows him trying on a coffin for size, and Wood is able to lift the gloom, if only briefly, in a final series of roles which gave him double immortality: As the star of some of the best horror films ever made, and then of some of the worst.
Do not let the fact that this film is shot in Black-and-White turn you away from watching this masterpiece. It is truly one of the best Tim Burton films. Just like Edward D. Wood Jr., Tim Burton shot the film with what seems to be a low budget. One interesting bit of info is that the film was actually shot on Black-and-White to give the film its authentic reality. At the time, there were enough professional processing places that were able to handle Black-and-White. When a director wants to do a Black-and-White film now, it has to be shot in colour and then removed in post-production.
Johnny Depp is absolutely brilliant in this title role; I actually like him better in this film than I do in the film ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.’ If you really want to see how wonderful a character actor Johnny Depp is at such a young age, then ‘ED WOOD’ is the film to start appreciating this talented actor. Johnny Depp was able to hold his own with other fantastic character actors like Bill Murray and Martin Landau. Sarah Jessica Parker is the best she has been in this film, especially as I am not a huge fan of her at the best of times. Martin Landau is really wonderful in every role he plays, but he was meant to play Bela Lugosi and his performance is the best part of the entire film.
Howard Shore scored this film, is a total pleasure to listen to and gives the film great atmosphere. The sound quality of this Blu-ray disc is simply phenomenal, especially with the 5.1 soundtrack. The sound mix is completely front-cantered. Tim Burton’s choice to use Black-and-White film was the best ideal choice ever; because Tim Burton wanted to make sure that the look, feel and even the sound of the film was not too modern. Howard Shores’ film score is hauntingly beautiful, and is presented throughout the film through the rear channel. Also totally brilliant is Tom Duffield’s tongue-in-cheek design and Stefan Czapsky’s luxurious black-and-white cinematography also enhances this film, which is very much in the tradition of Tim Burton’s other films about outsiders.
‘ED WOOD’ ends right after the premiere of ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’ in 1959 without chronicling Edward D. Wood Jr. and his real-life descended into alcoholism and pornography. The film got favourable reviews from the likes of Roger Ebert, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Leonard Maltin and others. Still, sadly this wasn't enough to pull viewers into the cinemas, so ‘ED WOOD’ became Tim Burton's first film that didn't make money even though it's considered one of his best and I totally agree 100%.
Finally, one nice extra bonus is that we get to read at the end of the film, updated information about the real people that were portrayed in the film ‘ED WOOD’ and they are as follows:
Edward D. Wood Jr. kept struggling in Hollywood, but mainstream success eluded him. After a slow decent into alcoholism and monster nudie films, Edward D. Wood Jr. passed away in 1978, at the age of 54. Two years later, Edward D. Wood Jr. was voted “Worst Director Of All Time,” bringing him worldwide acclaim and a new generation of fans.
Kathy Wood was married to Edward D. Wood Jr. for over 20 years, and loyal throughout many ups and downs. After Edward D. Wood Jr. death, Kathy Wood never remarried. Bela Lugosi never rose from the grave, but after appearing in 103 films, Bela Lugosi is more famous than ever. Today, his film memorabilia outsells Boris Karloff’s by substantial margin.
Bunny Breckinridge, despite much talk, never actually had his sex change and is currently living in New Jersey. Dolores Fuller, after leaving Edward D. Wood Jr., went on to a successful song writing career. Dolores Fuller compositions include the Elvis Presley hits “Rock-A-Hula Baby” and “Do The Clam.”
Tor Johnson, appeared in numerous “B” movies, before achieving his greatest fame as a best-selling Halloween mask. Tor Johnson passed away in 1971.
Vampira [Maila Nurmi] retired from show business to sell handcrafted jewelry. In the 1980s, Vampira unsuccessfully sued Elvira [Cassandra Peterson] for stealing her act.
Paul Marco and Conrad Brooks are still personalities on the Hollywood scene. Paul Marco is founder and president of the Paul Marco Fan Club. The New York Times recently named Conrad Brooks the “Gielgud of Bad Movies.”
Dr. Tom Mason, the chiropractor, appeared in one more Edward D. Wood Jr. film, ‘Night Of The Ghouls.’ This time Edward D. Wood Jr. let him show his face.
Criswell [aka The Amazing Criswell] continued making highly inaccurate and bizarre predictions, often as a guest on “The Tonight Show.” Jeron Criswell Konig departed our dimension in 1982.
ED WOOD MUSIC TRACK LIST
BUNNY HOP (Written by Ray Anthony and Leonard Auletti) [Performed by John Keating]
SPRING FASHION (Written by Alan Braden)
SWEET AND LOVELY (Written by Alan Braden)
KUBA MAMBO (Written by Dámaso Pérez Prado) [Performed by Dámaso Pérez Prado]
QUE SERA SERA (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) (Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans) [Performed by Mariachi Band and Bill Murray]
NAUTCH DANCE (Written and Arranged by Korla Pandit) [Performed by Korla Pandit]
GRIP OF THE LAW (Written by Trevor Duncan)
SERINGA (Written by Jon Arkell)
DESOLATE VILLAGE (Written by Bruce Campbell)
LASST UNS ERFREUEN (ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING) (Lyrics by John Athelstan Laurie Riley) (Music by Peter von Brachel) (Arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Toccata and Fugue in D minor (uncredited) (By Johann Sebastian Bach)
Ballet music from “Swan Lake,” Opus 20 (uncredited) (By Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Touchstone Pictures brings you an excellent and stunning 1080p encoded crisp black-and-white picture images. Also most of the time you get really good sharpness and equally convincing detail drawing on a good and balanced contrast. Most of the scenes you view throughout the film have good depth effects. Overall throughout the film the impression is really brilliant and the choice of using Black-and-White film was the best choice ever for Tim Burton the director. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Touchstone Pictures brings you a truly excellent 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Howard Shore scored this film, and it is a total exciting pleasure to listen to. The sound quality of this disc is simply phenomenal with the 5.1 soundtrack. The sound mix is completely front-centred. This goes back to Tim Burton’s choice to use Black-and-White film; he wanted to make sure that the look, feel and even the sound of the film was not too modern. Howard Shores score is truly hauntingly beautiful, and is present throughout the film and also through the rear channels.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with Director Tim Burton, Actor Martin Landau, Co-Writers Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander, Director of Photography Stefan Czapsky, and Costume Designer Colleen Atwood: Director Tim Burton, Actor Martin Landau, Co-Writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Director of Photography Stefan Czapsky, and Costume Designer Colleen Atwood all start to introduce themselves over time. Tim Burton's comments focuses on the film ‘ED WOOD,’ and how "there's a real razor's edge between good and bad filmmaking." Tim Burton discovered Edward D. Wood Jr. films on TV, and for him he has a distinct style, which lends a certain power to his films. Ironically, writers Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander were tempted to write the screenplay after musing on how hard it was to make good films, and how most people aren't trying to make rubbish. They'd written the screenplay for a “Problem Child,” which had then been taken off them and turned into a silly children’s film, instead of the adult comedy they wanted to make in the first place and that started them thinking about Edward D. Wood Jr. and the passion he had for making films. The screenwriters take up most of the conversation and they provide a very interesting account of the script's path to the screen while elaborating on differences between the movie and its real-life inspirations. Burton also chimes in with some great insights into his approach to the material and his stylistic intentions. Filled with fun trivia and a refreshingly candid discussion of the moviemaking business, this is a strong audio commentary that is definitely worth a listen.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [1994] [1080p] [1.85:1] [7:39] Here we have five separate deleted scenes to view, which includes “Breaking In;” “Dinner at the Johnsons’;” “Escape;” “Que Sera Sera” and “Sleep Over.” Which consists of Two extend scenes with the theft of the giant octopus. We get a glimpse of Tor Johnson's home life. The strangest is a scene involving Bunny Breckenridge [Bill Murray] and the mariachi band seen briefly at the wrap party for ‘Bride of the Monster.’ The best is an additional scene between Edward D. Wood Jr. and Bela Lugosi. You can either watch them separately or Play All.
Special Feature: Music Video Composed by Howard Shore [2009] [480i] [1.37:1] [3:27] This ‘ED WOOD’ music video is Howard Shore's title theme, and Toni Basil's campy choreography fits right in. With this Black-and-White music video features some clips from the film interspersed with shots of Vampira [Lisa Marie] writhing around in a misty spooky cemetery. Directors: Tim Burton and Toni Basil. Composer: Howard Shore. Choreography: Toni Basil.
Special Feature: Let's Shoot This F#*%@r! [1994] [1080i] [1.37:1] [13:55] Johnny Depp provides an introduction and conclusion to this special promotional feature, where they were doing a wrap party in a Meat Packing Plant. Most of this special consists of neatly edited footage from the set with Johnny Depp in both Black-and-White and Colour. By far the best section chronicles the shooting of Bela Lugosi's "octopus" encounter. Most the material is simply fly-on-the-wall clips of the director Tim Burton at work, providing a brief but worthwhile peek into his process and obsessive attention to detail of this brilliant director.
Special Feature: The Theremin [1994] [1080i] [1.37:1] [7:24] Howard Shore discusses the use of this unique electronic instrument in the music film score, which is apparently a fusion of Cuban, old Sci-Fi, Henry Mancini and jazz. Theremin expert Mark Segal describes how the instrument works, by informing us that the instrument's controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the Thereminist's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other. The electric signals from the Theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. The strange, and ghostly vibe that pervades it comes from a 1920s electronic instrument known as the Theremin, which is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the person who plays the instrument. It is named after its Russian inventor, Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. We get to see the extraordinary instrument in action, which is played by hand movement in the space between the two metal rods and is totally fascinating.
Special Feature: Making Bela [1994] [1080i] [1.37:1] [8:14] Actor Martin Landau contributes his really nice thoughts in this really nice special feature, especially on the profile on Bela Lugosi [1882 – 1956], and also on his portrayal of the man. Make-up artist Rick Baker also talks through his work on how they transformed Martin Landau into Bela Lugosi, and why he would of have happily have done it for free. Martin Landau goes into great detail on his performance, and also talks fondly on the actor Bela Lugosi and we also get to see a very sad black-and-white photo of an emaciated Bela Lugosi when he entered a rehab centre for abuse of alcohol and drugs.
Special Feature: Pie Plates over Hollywood [1994] [1080i] [1.37:1] [13:49] Tom Duffield [Production Designer] discusses the challenges of the film's production design and also provides lots of information on the film's visuals. Tom Duffield also shares sketches from his rare production design book that has loads of photos and Xerox images, which Tom Duffield always produces with each film he works on and also discusses how together Tom Duffield and Tim Burton designed the look of the film. You also get to see clips from the film and you also get a combination of Black-and-White and Colour images throughout this special feature. This was quite a nice little feature.
Theatrical Trailer [1994] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:19] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘ED WOOD.’ Despite being brief, it is still a very clever trailer. It is also a fantastic presentation and this trailer certainly gives you a flavour of what to expect when you actually see this brilliant and eccentric ‘ED WOOD’ film.
Finally, 'ED WOOD' isn't your typical biopic. It is more of homage to the era and style of the filmmaker than a straight recitation of the facts. However, it works perfectly in this case. 'ED WOOD' is a loving celebration of outcasts, misfits, passion, and filmmaking. Tim Burton brings a heartfelt spirit of quirky nostalgia to the picture that somehow finds laughter and tears in one of the most unlikely biopics ever made. The video transfer is strong and while the audio is very front-heavy, it serves the film well. The commentary and featurettes offer some great insights into the production and real-life inspirations for the story. This is one of my many favourite films from Tim Burton, and thankfully Touchstone Pictures has done the film justice. This is easily his best picture, and perhaps his most personal one and Edward D. Wood Jr.’s friendship with Bela Lugosi reflects Tim Burton’s own relationship with veteran horror actor Vincent Price. There is no picture which captures better the importance of art, friendship, resilience, optimism, and respect for others and for history. Try and purchase it to see why I love this film. 'ED WOOD' is a triumph, and the Blu-ray is well worth the price. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
