Countdown to Halloween Film Pick: Ed Wood

Now if you're looking for a great Halloween film, you can't go wrong with 1994's Ed Wood. Forget Edward Scissorhands and Willy Wonka, Tim Burton got the best work out of his 'Bobby DeNiro' in this throwback film to the 1950's B-movies. Johnny Depp plays the title role as the cross-dressing auteur who has no clue that he has no talent. But it's Hollywood in the 1950s and why should any ambitious filmmaker stop at that?

Arguably Wood was the Sam Raimi of his time minus having a string of successful movies. His 1959 Plan 9 From Outer Space is notable only for bringing together Vampira (the REAL Elvira) and the late Bela Lugosi who had fallen out of the spotlight and into drug addiction. Martin Landau won a deserving Best Supporting Actor Oscar as the drug-addled and profanity laced Lugosi. Some of the best scenes are Lugosi filming his cameos for Wood's horror films and spouting off lines like, "Let's shoot this f*cker!" and "Karloff isn't worth the steam off my sh*t!" It's priceless stuff and Landau is mesmerizing and heartbreaking in the role.

Sporting an awesome supporting cast including Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette and Bill Murray as the transsexual wannabe Bunny, this film is a must-see for any Johnny Depp fan. Surprisingly, there are a lot of people who have never seen this film. Shot in black and white, it appears to be Burton's most personal film to date, balancing the Burton quirkiness with a near perfect homage to the creepy, dreary 1950s horror schlock cinema.

Best line comes from Landau's Lugosi as director Wood tries to calm him down during a freezing night shoot in the swamp: "F*CK YOU! You come out here!"