I Fearlessly Predict

It seems to have become a cliche to say that Tim Burton is your favourite director. I hate that: cliche. Why would it be cliche when he clearly is one of the best directors of our time? I grew up with The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is still a fantastic movie. It's not what I would consider his best, however. It is a a very close tie, but today I'm going with Ed Wood.

Like every film I review, there are so many threads on the IMDb board dissing the movie. Yet, these people have no idea what they're talking about. This line comes courtesy of Ziya80. "Tim Burton means color. Also Tim Burton means creativity. Also Tim Burton means eccentric characters."

Well, my first complaint is that they're offended that this movie is shot in black and white. This decision is stupendous. The movie is chronicling a period of director Ed Wood's life during the 1950's. All his movies during this time period were shot in black and white, and it captures the time period perfectly.


(picture copyright Touchstone Pictures)

I think I'm more exasperated at the fact that the "characters" in the movie aren't "eccentric" enough for Ziya. First of all, this is a movie based on real life. I have watched several documentaries on Wood's life, and I have to admit that Burton kept the story mostly true. Only one person's attitude was altered a bit and a few non-important facts were changed.

Truth truly is stranger than fiction. Wood's life and the people he surrounded himself with were crazy. His entourage included actor Bela Lagosi, TV personality Vampira and Swedish wrestler Thor Johnson. His movies are definitely some of the worst ever made, but you have to admire his tenacity. He never gave up on his dream of becoming a great director like Orsen Welles.

This movie is incrediably interesting whether you're a "fan" of Wood's or not. His life is fascinating and you can't help but feel sorry for him that he just wasn't very good. It's also great whether you're a fan of Burton's or not. Sure, it's not like most of his other films, but I like him best when he strays from the cliche idea of what a Burton film has to be. As Criswell would say, "I fearlessly predict that you will love this movie."