1. Ed Wood (1994)
Without a doubt the most mature movie that Tim Burton has ever made,
Ed Wood - which has Johnny Depp starring as the "world's worst director" Edward Wood Jr. - is a genuinely inventive and unique take on the biopic format - and one which has only gotten better over the years. An unfortunate flop upon release,
Ed Wood is still relatively unknown amongst audiences - a shame, given that it's Burton's best film by miles. Obviously connecting with the real life Ed Wood as somewhat of a kindred spirit (certainly nowadays, as Burton's films get worse and worse), the director hones in a lot of his more excessive qualities and produces a picture of genuine artistry, one which contains many scenes of surprisingly affecting emotional value. Depp is perfect as Wood Jr., though it's Martin Landau's portrayal of aged and faded film star Bela Lugosi - for which he won a well-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar - that transforms the picture into a bonafide classic. Ultimately, this is the kind of magic we expect from somebody like Burton - something that touches audiences on a personal level, and a picture that comes from a personal place. No amount of CGI and visual splendour can fill in for a good, old-fashioned story, and
Ed Wood is proof of that.
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