"Movies were his passion. Women were his inspiration. Angora sweaters were his weakness."

1994

2h 7m

7.5(2433 votes)

Comedy

Drama

History

Overview

The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.

Links & Resources

IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

Videos & Trailers

2 videos

Cast & Crew

112 members

Acting

Johnny Depp

Ed Wood

Acting

Martin Landau

Bela Lugosi

Acting

Sarah Jessica Parker

Dolores Fuller

Acting

Patricia Arquette

Kathy O'Hara

Acting

Jeffrey Jones

Criswell

Acting

G. D. Spradlin

Reverend Lemon

Acting

Vincent D'Onofrio

Orson Welles

Acting

Bill Murray

Bunny Breckinridge

Acting

Mike Starr

Georgie Weiss

Acting

Max Casella

Paul Marco

Acting

Brent Hinkley

Conrad Brooks

Acting

Lisa Marie

Vampira

Acting

Jim Myers

Tor Johnson

Acting

Juliet Landau

Loretta King

Acting

Clive Rosengren

Ed Reynolds

Acting

Norman Alden

Cameraman Bill

Acting

Leonard Termo

Makeup Man Harry

Acting

Ned Bellamy

Dr. Tom Mason

Acting

Danny Dayton

Soundman

Acting

Ross Manarchy

Camera Assistant

Acting

Bill Cusack

Tony McCoy

Acting

Aaron Nelms

Teenage Kid

No Image

Acting

Biff Yeager

Rude Boss

Acting

Joseph R. Gannascoli

Security Guard

Acting

Carmen Filpi

Old Crusty Man

Acting

Lisa Malkiewicz

Secretary #1

Acting

Melora Walters

Secretary #2

Acting

Conrad Brooks

Bartender

Acting

Don Amendolia

Salesman

Directing

Tommy Bertelsen

Tough Boy

Acting

Reid Cruickshanks

Stage Guard

Acting

Stanley DeSantis

Mr. Feldman

Acting

Lionel Decker

Executive #1

Acting

Edmund L. Shaff

Executive #2

Acting

Gene LeBell

Ring Announcer

Acting

Bobby Slayton

TV Show Host

Acting

Gretchen Becker

TV Host's Assistant

No Image

Acting

John Rice

Conservative Man

Writing

Catherine Butterfield

Conservative Wife

Acting

Mary Portser

Backer's Wife

Acting

King Cotton

Hick Backer

Acting

Don Hood

Southern Backer

Acting

Frank Echols

Doorman

No Image

Production

Matthew Barry

Valet

Acting

Ralph Monaco

Waiter

Acting

Anthony Russell

Busboy

Acting

Tommy Bush

Stage Manager

Acting

Gregory Walcott

Potential Backer

Acting

Charles C. Stevenson Jr.

Another Backer

Acting

Rance Howard

Old Man McCoy

Acting

Vasek Simek

Professor Strowski

Acting

Alan Martin

Vampira's Assistant

No Image

Acting

Salwa Ali

Vampira's Girlfriend

No Image

Acting

Rodney Kizziah

Vampira's Friend

No Image

Acting

Korla Pandit

Indian Musician

Acting

Hannah Eckstein

Greta Johnson

No Image

Acting

Luc De Schepper

Karl Johnson

No Image

Acting

Vinny Argiro

TV Horror Show Director

No Image

Acting

Patti Tippo

Nurse

Acting

Ray Baker

Doctor

Acting

Louis Lombardi

Rental House Manager

Acting

Jim Boyce

Theatre Manager

Acting

Ben Ryan Ganger

Angry Kid

Acting

Ryan Holihan

Frantic Usher

Acting

Marc Revivo

High School Punk

No Image

Acting

Charlie Holliday

Tourist

Acting

Adam Drescher

Photographer #1

Acting

Ric Mancini

Photographer #2

No Image

Acting

Daniel Riordan

Pilot / Strapping Young Man

Acting

Mickey Cottrell

Hammy Alien

Acting

Christopher George Simpson

Organist

No Image

Acting

Robert Binford

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Herbert Boche

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Linda Rae Brienza

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Marlene Cook

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Sylvia Coussa

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Audrey Cuyler

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Joseph Golightly

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Carrie Starner Hummel

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Ramona Kemp-Blair

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Carolyn Kessinger

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Nancy Longyear

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Matthew Nelson

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Robert Nuffer

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

William Michael Short

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Susan Eileen Simpson

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

George F. Sterne

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Charles Alan Stephenson

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Cheri A. Williams

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Cynthia Ann Wilson

Choir Member

No Image

Acting

Maurice LaMarche

Orson Welles (voice) (uncredited)

Acting

Jesse Hernandez

Wrestling Opponent

Acting

Lena Banks

Sexy Pedestrian (uncredited)

Acting

Ada Tai

Vampira's Friend (uncredited)

Acting

Arlene Tai

Vampira's Friend (uncredited)

Acting

Rayder Woods

Car Vandal (uncredited)

Acting

Bill Blair

Carny (uncredited)

Acting

Bill Anderson

Wrestling Referee (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Eugenie Bondurant

Dagmar (uncredited)

Acting

Mike Breyer

Photographer (uncredited)

Acting

Patrick Cranshaw

Editor on Studio Lot (uncredited)

Acting

Ryal Haakenson

Wedding Guest / Theatre Goer (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Zachary Keats

Trick-or-Treating Kid (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Susan Knego

Girl in Theater Lobby (uncredited)

No Image

Costume & Make-Up

Navya La Shay

Secretary (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Tanya Marten

Secretary (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Gorja Max

Bra Stuffing Transvestite (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Johnny Meyer

Kid At Movie Theater (uncredited)

Acting

John Michael Quinn

Minister (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Michael Satterfield

Taxi Driver (uncredited)

No Image

Crew

Jeff Shrewsbury

Theater Patron (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Richard Yett

Wrap Party Guest (uncredited)

No Image

Similar Movies

7.5

1939

The Rules of the Game

A weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances.

Movie

8.0

1928

The Passion of Joan of Arc

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

Movie

7.5

2000

Almost Famous

In 1973, 15-year-old William Miller's unabashed love of music and aspiration to become a rock journalist lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview and tour with the up-and-coming band, Stillwater.

Movie

7.2

1993

Mrs. Doubtfire

Loving but irresponsible dad Daniel Hillard, estranged from his exasperated spouse, is crushed by a court order allowing only weekly visits with his kids. When Daniel learns his ex needs a housekeeper, he gets the job -- disguised as a British nanny. Soon he becomes not only his children's best pal but the kind of parent he should have been from the start.

Movie

6.8

1998

City of Angels

When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.

Movie

8.1

1966

Persona

A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.

Movie

7.9

1953

Roman Holiday

Overwhelmed by her suffocating schedule, touring European princess Ann takes off for a night while in Rome. When a sedative she took from her doctor kicks in, however, she falls asleep on a park bench and is found by an American reporter, Joe Bradley, who takes her back to his apartment for safety. At work the next morning, Joe finds out Ann's regal identity and bets his editor he can get exclusive interview with her, but romance soon gets in the way.

Movie

7.3

1980

Airplane!

An ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning.

Movie

8.0

1961

Judgment at Nuremberg

In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner.

Movie

6.6

1998

Playing by Heart

In a vibrant tapestry of love and longing, nine interconnected souls navigate romance and heartbreak in L.A., where passions collide and truths unfold, revealing that the heart's desires often lead us where we least expect.

Movie

7.5

1951

The Day the Earth Stood Still

An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.

Movie

7.9

1974

Chinatown

Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.

Movie

8.1

1931

M

In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.

Movie

7.9

1952

Umberto D.

When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.

Movie

7.7

1945

Brief Encounter

Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is thrown by happenstance into an acquaintance with virtuous doctor Alec Harvey. Their casual friendship soon develops during their weekly visits into something more emotionally fulfilling than either expected, and they must wrestle with the potential havoc their deepening relationship would have on their lives and the lives of those they love.

Movie

7.5

1988

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect.

Movie

5.0

1962

Whistle at Eight

A film crew wants to make a serious drama, but the investors agree to fund the movie only if they make something funny. Hence the drama becomes a comedy with famous singer Đorđe Marjanović in star role.

Movie

1987

The Second Attempt of Viktor Krokhin

During the flight, the hero of the film, the boxing champion, recalls his life's journey. The hero’s childhood was in the first post-war years. He grew up without a father, his mother was busy with work, his older brother was in prison, the relationship with the new stepfather did not work out, and the boy was brought up on the street. There he learned to fight, and this led him to the boxing ring. Over time, the stubborn street boy became the champion of Europe.

Movie

5.5

2019

Mister T.

Warsaw, Poland, 1953. Mr. T., a renowned writer, lives in a hotel and earns his living by giving private lessons.

Movie

7.1

2004

Garden State

Andrew returns to his hometown for the funeral of his mother, a journey that reconnects him with past friends. The trip coincides with his decision to stop taking his powerful antidepressants. A chance meeting with Sam - a girl also suffering from various maladies - opens up the possibility of rekindling emotional attachments, confronting his psychologist father, and perhaps beginning a new life.

Movie

Recommended Movies

6.9

1985

No End

1982, Poland. A translator loses her husband and becomes a victim of her own sorrow. She looks to sex, to her son, to law, and to hypnotism when she has nothing else in this time of martial law when Solidarity was banned.

Movie

7.9

1982

Vincent

Young Vincent Malloy dreams of being just like Vincent Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams that annoy his mother.

Movie

6.7

1994

Don Juan DeMarco

John Arnold DeMarco is a man who believes he is Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiatric treatment with Dr. Jack Mickler to cure him of his apparent delusion. But the psychiatric sessions have an unexpected effect on the psychiatric staff and, most profoundly, Dr Mickler, who rekindles the romance in his complacent marriage.

Movie

7.0

1993

Benny & Joon

A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.

Movie

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown

7.5

1989

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown

No one expects much from Christy Brown, a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a miraculous event occurs when, at the age of 5, he demonstrates control of his left foot by using chalk to scrawl a word on the floor. With the help of his steely mother — and no shortage of grit and determination — Christy overcomes his infirmity to become a painter, poet and author.

Movie

7.7

1990

Edward Scissorhands

A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.

Movie

7.3

1995

Dead Man

On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

Movie

5.9

2011

The Rum Diary

Tired of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, itinerant journalist Paul Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local San Juan newspaper run by the downtrodden editor Lotterman. Adopting the rum-soaked lifestyle of the late ‘50s version of Hemingway’s 'The Lost Generation', Paul soon becomes entangled with a very attractive American woman and her fiancée, a businessman involved in shady property development deals. It is within this world that Kemp ultimately discovers his true voice as a writer and integrity as a man.

Movie

6.4

1996

Mars Attacks!

A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.

Movie

6.2

1995

Nick of Time

An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.

Movie

7.3

1984

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...

Movie

6.5

1990

Cry-Baby

A prim and proper schoolgirl goes against her society grandmother's wishes when she dates a motorcycle-riding juvenile delinquent.

Movie

6.6

2000

Before Night Falls

Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, an artist who was vilified for his homosexuality in Fidel Castro's Cuba.

Movie

6.1

2006

Locked Out

Once upon a time, somewhere... a homeless guy finds a policeman's uniform...

Movie

7.0

1964

Father Goose

During World War II, South Sea beachcomber Walter Eckland is persuaded to spy on planes passing over his island. He gets more than he bargained for as schoolteacher Catherine Frenau arrives on the run from the Japanese with her pupils in tow!

Movie

6.0

1997

The Brave

A down-on-his-luck American Indian recently released from jail is offered the chance to "star" as the victim of a snuff film, the resulting pay of which could greatly help his poverty stricken family.

Movie

6.2

1996

Flirting with Disaster

Adopted as a child, new father Mel Colpin decides he cannot name his son until he knows his birth parents, and determines to make a cross-country quest to find them. Accompanied by his wife, Nancy, and an inept yet gorgeous adoption agent, Tina, he departs on an epic road trip that quickly devolves into a farce of mistaken identities, wrong turns, and overzealous and love-struck ATF agents.

Movie

6.6

1993

Matinee

A showman introduces a small coastal town to a unique movie experience and capitalizes on the Cuban Missile crisis hysteria with a kitschy horror extravaganza combining film effects, stage props and actors in rubber suits in this salute to the B-movie.

Movie

7.0

2006

The Bothersome Man

Forty-year-old Andreas arrives in a strange city with no memory of how he got there. He is presented with a job, an apartment - even a wife. But before long, Andreas notices that something is wrong. Andreas makes an attempt to escape the city, but he discovers there's no way out. Andreas meets Hugo, who has found a crack in a wall in his cellar. Beautiful music streams out from the crack. Maybe it leads to "the other side"? A new plan for escape is hatched.

Movie

5.3

1996

The Adventures of Pinocchio

One of puppet-maker Geppetto's creations comes magically to life. This puppet, Pinocchio, has one major desire and that is to become a real boy someday. In order to accomplish this goal he has to learn to act responsibly. This film shows you the adventures on which he learns valuable lessons.

Movie