The 'Dream' Sequence or whatever it is. It rules.
The old debate about Wood was whether or not he was "in on the joke". I am of the opinion that that is the wrong question. I believe Mr. Wood was a true artist and had a very specific vision that "camp" is far too weak a word to describe.
Check out The Violent Years, which he wrote but did not direct. (I refer to it as his True Romance). The dialogue is so incredibly convoluted and circular that it had to be either the work of an insane person or a genius.
Ok, so am I saying that he was aware his work would be taken as odd or perhaps even poor film-making? In a way. I think his sense of humor was so subtle, it defies definition.
Like Andy Kauffman, but without ever, ever giving the audience the "wink" that Kauffman occasionally did.
Sorry, Glen or Glenda is the subject of this thread.
Ok. That literally ten-minute dream sequence, which is a huge amount of screen time for a movie that's like an hour and ten minutes, is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen.
His character being chased by a devilish-creature, the pointing zombie-like people judging him, the girls being whipped and approaching lesbianism as they wrestle, the big branch falling in the middle of a living room, and of course, the numerous reaction shots by The String Puller or PuppetMaster of whatever the hell he is supposed to be. God, it's nuts.
To simply say "it doesn't make sense", I would suggest, is to miss the point. I think this scene (most of Ed's work, really, but this scene in particular) transcends sense. Do Van Gogh's sunflowers make sense?
Whatever the hell it's supposed to mean, it's certainly interesting. Which is far more than I can say about anything by Michael Bay or a dozen other supposedly- talented directors.