Pull the string!
"Write what you know," goes the adage.

Applying that sage admonition to heart, noir B-cinema savant Ed Wood concocted his sole masterpiece, a crossdressing confession / fantasy that remains, half a century later, the supremest TS call-to-arms.

Employing a disciplined narrative not discerned in his freakier (and more notoriously renowned) fare, Wood kicks off with high transtragic drama, then aims his ideological agenda sharply at God and mankind, then proceeds to dramatize the anguish - and humanity - of the TS experience. "Mistakes are made [in nature]" and technology (SRS) can correct this particular one, Wood first states - then muses that surgery would not be necessary if society would simply loosen up. Very modern!

The ensuing "dream sequence" - a pseudoballet of opium poetry spiced up with crowdpleasing sex kicks - leads to the film's denouement, and what a hotter it is! To Wood's credit, the theatrical tension is so sublime that anticipating the payoff is neigh impossible. (Actually, two very different endings were filmed.)

Crude, cheap, didactic - sure - but right on, and uncannily beautiful, too.

SIZE 18 FROM OUTER SPACE (*A Haiku Review)

Ed's pink angora
IN GLORIOUS BLACK AND WHITE.
"Oooh, that's scary, kids!"

~ Stephen or Stephanie T. McCarthy
<"As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly."
~ Proverbs 26:11>

Bad, But I Recommend It
This is a painful yet highly effective introduction to the world of incredibly bad movies. The best tape out of these three is something that will make you say, "Is this a movie?? It can't be. No movie can be this bad. This must be something else."

But no, these are real movies. It's just that you don't hear much about their theatrical release history, which makes sense, because they're so bad.

Let's start with oldest of these three movies, Glen or Glenda. This is a movie that attempts to grab your attention with the first-ever sex change operation (which was a current event at that time) before it segways into a movie about transvestites. Why a transvestite movie? Because Ed Wood, the man responsible for the movie, was a transvestite himself. He wanted people to understand why he was the way he was. The movie does accomplish Wood's desire in a way, but it's so bad that going any more than halfway through the final print is darn near impossible. The story just stops in the middle and random music and footage arise to combine in such a wrecthed manner that the audience is hypnotized to instantly press the nearest "off" button they can find. So only half of what Ed Wood wanted to show actually comes across.

Fortunately, Ed's films do get better. Bride of the Monster can actually be viewed all the way through, but just barely. Not much happens in it. I think it's supposed to be one of those movies that shows us how taking science too far is ultimately destructive. Also, it seems to put a lot of emphasis on the unsurpassed danger of lying on top of a completely immobile fake octopus.

Plan 9 From Outer Space can actually be watched more than once. That doesn't mean it's good, but it's actually not PAINFUL painful like the others. It's just mildly painful. It takes the destructive science theme from Bride of the Monster and brings it a step further, saying man will destroy the universe by finding a way to explode rays of light. The "Plan 9" of the title is actually an attempt by outer space aliens to stop man before this explosive carnage happens. But all that doesn't seem to grab your attention when Ed won't even bother doing a second take after a man nearly falls over trying to pick up a freaking newspaper.

I highly recommend this as a supplement to Tim Burton's 1994 biography of Ed Wood. Why? Because you actually get to see the REAL footage that Johnny Depp acts out in the Burton movie. So this set of tapes is very educational, but gosh, the movies are ever so bad.

"15 Frightful Horror Films ... Bela Lugosi ... Passport Video"
Passport Video presents "The Bela Lugosi Box - 15 Frightful Films" (1942) --- (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Béla Lugosi was the stage name of actor Béla Ferenc Dezs Blaskó (October 20, 1882 - August 16, 1956) --- Lugosi was born in Lugos, Hungary, at the time part of Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), the youngest of four children of a baker --- best known for his portrayal of "Dracula" in the American Broadway stage production, and subsequent film, of Bram Stoker's classic vampire story.

Late in his life, he again received star billing in movies when filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr., a fan of Lugosi, found him living in obscurity and near-poverty and offered him roles in his films, such as "GLEN OR GLENDA?" (1953) (in which his role made no more sense than the rest of the movie) and as a Dr. Frankenstein-like mad scientist in "BRIDE OF THE MONSTER" (1955), during post-production of the latter, Lugosi entered treatment for his addiction, and the premier of the film was ostensibly intended to help pay for his treatment expenses. The extras on an early DVD release of "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE" (1959) include an impromptu interview with Lugosi upon his exit from the treatment center, which provide some rare personal insights into the man --- this was one of Lugosi's most infamous roles was released after he was dead. Ed Wood (Director) features footage of Lugosi interspersed with a double --- Wood had taken a few minutes of silent footage of Lugosi, in his Dracula cape, for a planned vampire picture but was unable to find financing for the project --- Wood later conceived of Plan 9, Wood wrote the script to incorporate the Lugosi footage and hired his wife's chiropractor to double for Lugosi in additional shots --- notice however the "double" is thinner than Lugosi, and covers the lower half of his face with his cape in every shot --- Leonard Maltin (Famous Film Critic) was quoted - "Lugosi died during production, and it shows."

Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16, 1956 while lying in bed in his Los Angeles home. He was 73 --- Bela Lugosi was buried wearing one of the many capes from the Dracula stageplay, as per the request of his son and fifth wife, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California --- Contrary to popular belief, Lugosi never requested to be buried in his famous cloak; Bela Lugosi, Jr. has confirmed on numerous occasions that he and his mother, Lillian, arrived at their decision independently.

BIOS:
1. Bela Lugosi (aka: Béla Ferenc Dezsõ Blaskó)
Date of birth: 20 October 1882 - Lugos, Austria-Hungary. [now Lugoj, Romania]
Date of death: 16 August 1956 - Los Angeles, California
2. Edward D. Wood Jr. (Director, Writer and Producer)
Date of birth: 10 October 1924 - Poughkeepsie, New York
Date of death: 10 December 1978 - North Hollywood, California

This collection of "The Bela Lugosi Box - 15 Frightful Films" (1942) --- still has the magic that we remember from those bygone years --- but as long as we have the labels and networks who play and show these wonderful films of yesteryear, they will never be forgotten ... Plus the half-hour tribute "100 Years of Horror: Bela Lugosi", hosted by Christopher Lee --- and a great job by Passport Video for this release --- looking forward to more of the same from the '20s and '50s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or Passport Video, stay tuned once again for more remarkable films from the vaults of classic television and Hollywood during the Golden Era of Entertaiment.

Total Time: 1034 mins on DVD ~ Passport Video #5260 ~ (9/05/2006)

cult classic??
not the best film ever made and probably only bought and viewed by fans of ed,still quite a brave subject to explore on celluloid and ed obviously had his heart in this flick;not must see material but a curiosity none the less,good transfer as well!