--- title: "Ed Wood: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/ed-wood/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/ed-wood" critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Ed Wood (1994): what the critics said Critics' score 87 from 16 reviews: 16 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. Every one of the sixteen reviews is positive, and the praise gathers in the same places. Most critics take the film as an affectionate tribute rather than a mockery, a comedy about a man with no talent and no shortage of optimism. Martin Landau’s Bela Lugosi is named almost everywhere as the film’s centre, and the friendship between Wood and Lugosi as its heart. Johnny Depp’s Wood draws steady praise, as does the black-and-white photography, which several reviews read as part of the affection. A number of later retrospectives call it Burton’s best and most personal film. The reservations are few and mild. Variety finds it a little distended and lacking weight at its centre, beguiling rather than thrilling, and The Guardian is warm rather than enthusiastic. Otherwise the spread is narrow: the coolest reviews still admire it, and the argument is chiefly over how high to place it among Burton’s films. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 7 October 1994. Burton has made a film which celebrates Wood more than it mocks him, and which celebrates the zany spirit of 1950s exploitation films. The heart of the movie is Wood’s friendship with Lugosi, lifted enormously by Landau’s astounding performance. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ed-wood-1994) ## Vulture — Grierson & Leitch Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 9 September 2024. The piece ranks Ed Wood as Burton's best film, highlighting its hilarious and deeply affecting portrait of the filmmaker and especially his friendship with Bela Lugosi, emphasizing themes of artistic expression. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/best-tim-burton-movies-ranked.html) ## Empire — Mark Salisbury Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. This is perhaps Tim Burton's finest film to date, a delightful, funny, bizarre, touching, magical, moving insight into one of cinema's most maligned filmmakers. It succeeds mainly due to its performances, especially Martin Landau's Oscar-winning turn as Bela Lugosi and Johnny Depp's mesmerising portrayal of Ed Wood. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ed-wood-review/) ## Film Comment — Robert Horton Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 November 1994. Festival review. The critic finds Tim Burton’s Ed Wood daft enough and deft enough to satisfy both high-culture and low-culture fans. It is presented as a period look at showbiz that asks what an artist does when confronted with their own lack of talent, answering with the line “Cut! That was perfect! Next setup!” [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/festivals-new-york-1994/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 28 September 1994. The black-and-white “Ed Wood” turns out to be a thoroughly entertaining if eccentric piece of business, wacky and amusing in a cheerfully preposterous way. Anchored by a tasty, full-throttle performance by Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, it is proof that an absence of convention and even talent need not be a bar to happiness or immortality. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-28-ca-43804-story.html) ## The AV Club — Josh Modell Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 October 2013. The critic calls Burton’s biopic simply great, praising Depp's portrayal of Wood's optimism and Landau's Oscar-winning performance as Lugosi, noting it plays like a straightforward, funny, touching biopic. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/before-tommy-wiseau-and-the-room-there-was-ed-wood-1798241252) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 July 2019. The biopic succeeds as a funny, touching tribute to tenacity, energy, ambition and friendship, with affection shining through in the black-and-white camerawork and spot-on performances, especially Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ed-wood) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 September 2012. The review praises the film as one of America's great movies, highlighting its effortless mastery, brilliant performances by Depp and Landau, gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, and status as a testament to following one's inner tune. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/ed-wood/) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 September 1994. Festival review. Burton’s very good film about a very bad filmmaker has a cheerful defiance that would surely have appealed to Orson Welles. It filters the Z-movie ethos of Wood through Burton’s dark wit and visual brilliance. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/23/movies/film-festival-review-ode-to-a-director-who-dared-to-be-dreadful.html) ## The Guardian — Derek Malcolm Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 1995. The critic finds it an affectionate and admiring tribute to failure, highlighting Burton's optimistic portrayal of Wood as an obsessive with energy despite lack of talent, and singles out Martin Landau's Oscar-winning performance as Bela Lugosi. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/1995/may/25/1) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 1994. Festival review. Always engaging to watch and often dazzling in its imagination and technique, the picture is also a bit distended and lacking in weight at its center, resulting in something beguiling rather than thrilling. Landau’s astounding performance as the old Hungarian gives the film its most human moments. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/ed-wood-1200438707/) ## Collider — Drew Taylor Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 29 December 2020. The piece declares Ed Wood Burton's best and most personal film, praising its peerless script and Depp's peak performance as the indefatigable Wood. It highlights the heartfelt depiction of the Wood-Lugosi friendship mirroring Burton's own experiences. [Read the review](https://collider.com/why-ed-wood-is-tim-burtons-best-movie/) ## Den of Geek Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 September 2019. The piece examines why Ed Wood remains Burton's best and most personal film, a love letter to the thrill of creation and a rosy tribute to Wood as an outcast filmmaker. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/ed-wood-tim-burton-most-personal-film/) ## The Playlist — Rodrigo Perez Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 May 2012. The critic calls Ed Wood one of Burton's greatest films and a favorite among cinephiles, highlighting its non-judgmental tone and the tender friendship between Wood and Lugosi. Depp delivers one of his best performances as the optimistic yet talentless director. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-essentials-tim-burtons-5-best-films-20120510/3/) ## Consequence Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 29 September 2019. The retrospective views Ed Wood as Burton and Depp's best collaboration, a funny, sweet, and compassionate underdog tale about creative partnerships and outsiders. It notes the film's stylistic homage to 1950s B-movies and its personal resonance despite modest commercial success. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2019/09/ed-wood-anniversary/) ## Eye for Film — Gator MacReady Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2002. The critic finds the film alternately hilarious and touching, praising Burton's sympathetic portrayal of the eccentric filmmaker and his loyal cast of misfits despite its commercial failure and black-and-white format. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/ed-wood-film-review-by-gator-macready) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/ed-wood.md