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Glen or Glenda?

Glen or Glenda?

List Price: $24.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Scary stuff for 1953
Review: If you have never seen an Ed Wood movie, then check this one out! It's cheesy, it's cheap, and the inept story begs for forgiveness. But for some crazy reason I keep viewing it. Even with Bela's unrelenting ramblings about who knows what(?), I still believe there is a definate message of understanding for the viewer. Only Ed himself could tell you why that stock footage of a buffalo herd were edited into the film, unless you could have the answere. Personally, I think he was trying to show that the extinction of a species was close at hand. In 1953 that was a certaincy for the bison, and the bigotry associated with it towards humans. Times have certainly changed. Some of it to the worse. But the message in that so-called awfull flick, is alive to-day as it has been, well over forty years ago.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What can I say ? It's the amazing Ed Wood !
Review: If you like well-directed action scenes with plenty of sfx, maybe mixed with intelligent comedy and some drama, acted out by capable performers, then you won't want to see "Glen or Glenda". However; if you're one of those strange people who take joy in marvelling at just how bad it is possible to make movies, then this is for you.

Let me tell you: This is weird. Almost worse than Wood's masterpiece, "Plan 9 from Outer Space", it had me actually gaping in amazement for close to 70 minutes. Originally Wood's attempt at social commentary, trying to open people's eyes to the plight of the closet transvestites of the world (of which he himself was one, and played one in the film), this film has it all: an almost incoherent and incomprehensible story within a story within a story, narrated on several levels. Stock footage galore, among other things, a buffalo herd having, well - nothing to do with the film, and a lot of sweaty soldiers loading shells into cannons and shooting them off for close to 5 minutes, to sorta symbolise WW2 ("And just as quickly as the war had started... it was over!"). Lousy lines, lousy cast (Probably just picked'em up in the bar on his way over to the studio), lousy props (VERY obviously pasted-together newspaper front pages), a positively ludicrous explanation as to why it's so nice to wear women's clothing, a close to 15-minutes long, totally unrelated, episodic dream sequence containing lots of women wearing lingerie while performing various acts (like one woman pouncing upon another woman, binding and gagging her), all to the tune of "Czardas", the most rushed piece of violin music ever, while Wood's dream ego looks horrifiedly at the proceedings. And all under the watchful eye of the overseer Bela Lugosi, sitting in his mad scientist-laboratory and spouting totally wigged-out lines. PULL THE SKRINKS !

If you think this review was incoherent, it is because the film itself is incoherent. And if what I've described is your idea of fun, then you'll enjoy it as much as I did. If it isn't, well... "Bevare!"

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What can I say ? It's the amazing Ed Wood !
Review: If you like well-directed action scenes with plenty of sfx, maybe mixed with intelligent comedy and some drama, acted out by capable performers, then you won't want to see "Glen or Glenda". However; if you're one of those strange people who take joy in marvelling at just how bad it is possible to make movies, then this is for you.

Let me tell you: This is weird. Almost worse than Wood's masterpiece, "Plan 9 from Outer Space", it had me actually gaping in amazement for close to 70 minutes. Originally Wood's attempt at social commentary, trying to open people's eyes to the plight of the closet transvestites of the world (of which he himself was one, and played one in the film), this film has it all: an almost incoherent and incomprehensible story within a story within a story, narrated on several levels. Stock footage galore, among other things, a buffalo herd having, well - nothing to do with the film, and a lot of sweaty soldiers loading shells into cannons and shooting them off for close to 5 minutes, to sorta symbolise WW2 ("And just as quickly as the war had started... it was over!"). Lousy lines, lousy cast (Probably just picked'em up in the bar on his way over to the studio), lousy props (VERY obviously pasted-together newspaper front pages), a positively ludicrous explanation as to why it's so nice to wear women's clothing, a close to 15-minutes long, totally unrelated, episodic dream sequence containing lots of women wearing lingerie while performing various acts (like one woman pouncing upon another woman, binding and gagging her), all to the tune of "Czardas", the most rushed piece of violin music ever, while Wood's dream ego looks horrifiedly at the proceedings. And all under the watchful eye of the overseer Bela Lugosi, sitting in his mad scientist-laboratory and spouting totally wigged-out lines. PULL THE SKRINKS !

If you think this review was incoherent, it is because the film itself is incoherent. And if what I've described is your idea of fun, then you'll enjoy it as much as I did. If it isn't, well... "Bevare!"

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Terrible, abominable, laughable--I loved it!
Review: If you've ever heard someone describe a film as being so bad it's good, there's a good chance they're talking about the "masterpieces" of the immortal Edward D. Wood, Jr. And if you want to see just how bad "bad" can get, watch "Glen or Glenda." It's so bad you'll alternate between uncontrollable laughter and mind-numbing, jaw-dropping amazement.

Bless him, his heart was in the right place, but his brain must have been orbiting Pluto. (Where on earth did he get the idea that wearing hats makes men bald, anyway?) Wildly incongruous montage sequences, dialogue (and acting) that wouldn't pass muster in a junior-high school Christmas pageant, and Bela Lugosi's somber ranting make this film a unique experience, if nothing else. Add to that an out-of-nowhere sadomasochistic dream sequence set to frenetic violin music, and you're off on a chaotic (and scary) journey through Ed Wood's mind. At times, the trip has the morbid appeal one gets from viewing a train wreck.

So why do I love this film? Well, being a transsexual, I have to look for sympathy where I can find it, and Wood is indeed sympathetic in his own ham-fisted way. I could have done without the loopy psychoanalysis (featuring the most implausible movie shrink in history). Did Wood, a crossdresser himself, really think that the love of a good woman was all someone like him needed, or was he simply trying to make this mess more palatable to 1953 audiences? I get the feeling even HE wasn't sure.

An interesting side note--Wood was "inspired" to produce his magnum opus at the urging of grade-Z movie schlockmeister George Weiss, who wanted to cash in on Christine Jorgenson's recent sex change (but couldn't get Jorgenson to appear). Not to be outdone, Wood replaces Christine's story with the story of Glen, a crossdresser about to be married, living in terror of what his fiancee might think if she knew his secret. Before we even get to this part of the story, we are treated to lengthy narration on the tightness and roughness of men's clothing. (Which makes me wonder how much time Wood really spent in women's clothes--he apparently never wore a bra for any length of time). In what was obviously a move to keep Weiss from strangling him, Wood does devote the last ten minutes or so of the film to an actual transsexual, (I think?) Alan/Ann. Miraculously, this is probably the most coherent part of the entire film, and does indeed give the audience a glimpse of what a transsexual must go through (it hasn't gotten that much easier in half a century).

Still, looking at this film, I'm not sure if it actually helped transgendered people--or set us back a decade or two.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Terrible, abominable, laughable--I loved it!
Review: If you've ever heard someone describe a film as being so bad it's good, there's a good chance they're talking about the "masterpieces" of the immortal Edward D. Wood, Jr. And if you want to see just how bad "bad" can get, watch "Glen or Glenda." It's so bad you'll alternate between uncontrollable laughter and mind-numbing, jaw-dropping amazement.

Bless him, his heart was in the right place, but his brain must have been orbiting Pluto. (Where on earth did he get the idea that wearing hats makes men bald, anyway?) Wildly incongruous montage sequences, dialogue (and acting) that wouldn't pass muster in a junior-high school Christmas pageant, and Bela Lugosi's somber ranting make this film a unique experience, if nothing else. Add to that an out-of-nowhere sadomasochistic dream sequence set to frenetic violin music, and you're off on a chaotic (and scary) journey through Ed Wood's mind. At times, the trip has the morbid appeal one gets from viewing a train wreck.

So why do I love this film? Well, being a transsexual, I have to look for sympathy where I can find it, and Wood is indeed sympathetic in his own ham-fisted way. I could have done without the loopy psychoanalysis (featuring the most implausible movie shrink in history). Did Wood, a crossdresser himself, really think that the love of a good woman was all someone like him needed, or was he simply trying to make this mess more palatable to 1953 audiences? I get the feeling even HE wasn't sure.

An interesting side note--Wood was "inspired" to produce his magnum opus at the urging of grade-Z movie schlockmeister George Weiss, who wanted to cash in on Christine Jorgenson's recent sex change (but couldn't get Jorgenson to appear). Not to be outdone, Wood replaces Christine's story with the story of Glen, a crossdresser about to be married, living in terror of what his fiancee might think if she knew his secret. Before we even get to this part of the story, we are treated to lengthy narration on the tightness and roughness of men's clothing. (Which makes me wonder how much time Wood really spent in women's clothes--he apparently never wore a bra for any length of time). In what was obviously a move to keep Weiss from strangling him, Wood does devote the last ten minutes or so of the film to an actual transsexual, (I think?) Alan/Ann. Miraculously, this is probably the most coherent part of the entire film, and does indeed give the audience a glimpse of what a transsexual must go through (it hasn't gotten that much easier in half a century).

Still, looking at this film, I'm not sure if it actually helped transgendered people--or set us back a decade or two.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: these videos were pure fun
Review: im a huge fan of ed wood and cult films,so you could imagine my delight at this boxed set. 'GLEN OR GLENDA" is a testament to noble failure or maybe just angora sweaters. "BRIDE OF THE MONSTER" is an utterly hilarious tribute to classic universal horror movies,but is an unintentionally zany comedy. And finally theres "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE" this movie is to cult films what "CASABLANCA" is to mainstream movies,it is the timeless epic of grade z movie making. In the end these videos provide hours of ultimate guilty pleasures. As grade z movies i grade them "a".

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Awful but enjoyable
Review: It seems that Ed Wood set out to make a really profound statement with this film, but he succeeded only in producing a film remarkable for its awfulness. Between the dreadful acting, the inane script, and the mismatched stock footage, this one is a mess from beginning to end. In the midst of this hodgepodge is Bela Lugosi, reciting a series of nonsensical vintage Ed Wood phrases. As a drama, it gets no stars, but for pure laughability, it gets three big stars. Just hold your nose and laugh!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not the best but a good wood movie
Review: It's Ed Wood. You know that in the first five minutes. It's filled with odd little bits of Bela Lugosi preaching the old Wood gospel. And that odd factor is almost what makes this movie great. It was great to see Lugosi in a solo role, not quite so sinister...pretty much JUST funny. What REALLY makes this movie interesting is Ed Woods performance. For those who know Ed Wood, they know he WAS a transvestite, and it was good to see a little bit of his view on transvestites. If you want 70 minutes of very oddball humor, check it out.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Is This Film for You?
Review: It's for you if you want to see a film that lives right down to its reputation. In contrast to some bad movies--Ed Wood's "Jail Bait," for example, "Glen or Glenda" is bad enough to be "good" at some level, and thereby hold your attention. It's in the category of "I can't believe this is real." This is the Ed Wood's classic--if this helps you make up your mind. It's especially likely to appeal to folks who saw and liked Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" film and are curious to see how closely he matched his Glen or Glenda scenes to the originals shown here. Very close.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Films don't get more unintentionally funnier than this!
Review: Looking for something to piss-yourself laughing at: lay your hands on a copy of GLEN OR GLENDA. It's just soooooo unintentionally funny (and pretty inept). It was also everyone's favourite cross-dressing master of trash, Ed Wood's first film. Ed casted himself (as Daniel Davis) as a transvestite who leads a double life as Glen and Glenda, he also casted his long-faced girlfriend, Deloros Fuller (who recorded a couple of songs with Elvis Presley in the 60's) and his best friend, Bela Lugosi as God. If you look closely into Lugosi's eyes: you can tell that he uses needles (poor ol' guy). Ed also casted about every friend he had including Lyle Talbot (who had a small part in the 1932 musical, 42ND STREET). GLEN OR GLENDA is great, see it if you dare.


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