Ed Wood

R, 127 min. plus supplements, Dolby Digital 5.1, widescreen, Street: Oct. 19; First Run: W, Oct. 1994, $5.9 mil.

BUENA VISTA

Initially slated for release last winter, Ed Wood finally arrives as a thoughtful, if unexceptional, special edition DVD. Although the movie is immediately identified as a Tim Burton film starring Johnny Depp, this digital incarnation of Ed Wood belongs squarely to screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and co-star Martin Landau. All three dominate the commentary, which also includes contributions from Burton (who offers very little), cinematographer Stefan Czapsky and renowned costume designer Colleen Atwood (who delivers one of the track's best stories when describing how Ed Wood's widow, Kathy Wood, met Depp on the set while he was in full drag attire and exclaimed, "He looks just like my Eddie!"). In addition to a vintage production making-of piece and a music video featuring a writhing Lisa Marie Presley in full Vampira garb, the disc includes three new featurettes by Three Legged Productions. One concerns the use of the theremoin, a bizarre musical instrument best known for use in '50s horror films and the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations." Another is a studied look at the work of production designer Tom Duffield in the film. The finest of the three, "Making Bela," focuses on the Bela Lugosi character in Ed Wood--a true collaboration between the make-up genius of Rick Baker and the acting prowess of Martin Landau (who claims to have watched 35 Lugosi films to prepare for his role). It's no surprise that both men received Oscars for their work. Fans probably will be most excited about the seven minutes of deleted scenes, highlighted by an uproarious bit that finds Bill Murray's pre-op transsexual Bunny Breckinridge singing "Que Sera Sera" in a meat locker, accompanied by a mariachi band. Now there's a moment that Ed Wood would have loved. --Cyril Pearl