Ed Wood and Akira Kurosawa are not necessarily a pair that one tends to think of together. With one commonly being called the “worst director of all time”, and the other generally considered as one of the greatest film makers in the history of cinema, this is perhaps not surprising.
I therefore really had no choice but to jump for the opportunity to link to it when I read an article at the stripperversusdvds blog by Sir Cranky, linking the two legendary film directors. At the end of his entry, Cranky asserts:
…although I wouldn’t class Wood with Kurosawa, I will say he is as much a solid part of our world film heritage as the late “emperor” of the Japanese cinema is. They both clearly loved the medium in which they worked, and a love for filmmaking is one of the things that motivates and makes their films memorable.
And I think that he is right. You find connections in the weirdest places.
Update: Sir Cranky has written another post, this time on Yojimbo, and it mentions Akira Kurosawa News and Information and links here. Thank you, Cranky! (I would thank you on the blog, but commenting would require joining Blogstream.)
Wow, I would never think the two would ever be mentioned together.
I do completely agree with the article.
Ed Wood although clearly had no talent in writing and directing, had a intense nearly brilliant passion for movies. The amount of movies he was able to get funded, the amount of work he was able to get from his crew and actors despite every movie of his failing is amazing. He perhaps exceeds the passion and love for movie that we see from Kurosawa.
Wood is one person I have admiration for, when people say its impossible to get a movie made when your a nobody, they should first take a look a Ed Wood. He is easy to criticize, but if more people made movies based on passion, instead of money, cinema would be far better then it is today. Even if the passion is poorly executed 🙂
For those who never seen a Ed Wood, you must check out “Plan 9 from outer space”, “Glen or Glenda” and “Bride of the monster”. They are so insanely horrible, its beyond words, I dont think anyone could ever come close no matter how hard they tired or didnt try to matching the beyond poor writing, directing, acting and overall production of his movies.
His later drunken slip into porno is rather interesting as well, like “Plan 69 from outer space”.
Also its important to watch the fantastic Tim Burton movie about him “Ed Wood”, one of the greatest Tim Burton pictures ever.