Genre: Drama / Biography
Duration: 124 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: David Lynch
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt and Anne Bancroft
IMDb score:
8,2 (268.169)
Releasedate: 9 October 1980
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
The Elephant Man plot
"I am not an animal! I am a human being! I … am … a man!"
In the conference room of the Pathological Institute of London, young surgeon Frederick Treves introduces a horrifying-looking creature to a group of doctors. The man is so disfigured that he is doomed to spend his life as a fairground attraction. His name is John Merrick (John Hurt), but he is known as the Elephant Man. Behind the disfigured face, there is a sensitive and intelligent human being.
Actors and actresses
Dr. Frederick Treves
John Merrick
Mrs. Kendal
Carr Gomm
Mothershead
Bytes
Night Porter
Mrs. Anne Treves
Princess Alex
Dr. Fox
Reviews & comments
Dievegge
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- 3077 messages
- 7942 votes
It is London in Victorian times, the decade of Jack the Ripper. Crooks make the streets unsafe. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, there is a growing gap between rich and poor. David Lynch has opted for black and white to portray this grubby atmosphere, but perhaps also to make the deformity of the Elephant Man believable. Black and white photographs of the historic Joseph (not John) Merrick have been preserved.
The theme is how beauty and ugliness are viewed in different social environments. Elephant Man acts as a mirror of the soul. He who is ugly inside sees a monstrosity; who is beautiful is a cultured gentleman. At times it becomes touching, especially during the conversation with Dr. Treves' wife. However, the bitter reality is shown. The beast doesn't turn into a prince, but dies in the end. The wind in the curtains suggests that his soul is ascending to the starry sky.
From behind his mask, John Hurt manages to make you empathize with the unfortunate, especially when he responds gratefully to every favor, to every kind word. Anthony Hopkins lets emotion shine through his character's scientific attitude. Doctor Treves starts to doubt himself. Doesn't he organize a freak show for the upper bourgeoisie himself? Is he doing it out of altruism or to further his own career? Am I a good man or am I a bad man? The fact is that he also showed the beautiful side of Merrick. The real monsters are not the ones with a physical deformity.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico (moderator films)
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- 9707 messages
- 5274 votes
The Elephant Man is a gripping film about a deformed man in the Victorian era. The creature, actually an ordinary man, is always discussed by the disrespectful as “it”, leads - or rather “suffers” - a life as an attraction during fairground performances and other public exhibitions. It does not make a person happy, although there is clearly little emotion to be found in John. He meekly undergoes his fate just like dwarves, hunchbacks and other physically deformed fellow sufferers. Incidentally, the spectacle reminded me of the curious people who saw Congolese for the first time during expo 58.
Tragic where emotions ran high. Two extremes stayed with me: the height of humiliation when the two women were forced to kiss and caress him while he was doused with drink. But also the close friendship of “his friend”, Mr. Doctor Treves, played by a sublime Anthony Hopkins. It is nice to note that attention is also paid to his morality. It's balancing on a thin rope to find out if you're not like all the rest, taking advantage of the deformed man to take advantage of it ourselves...don't we do that every now and then? Looking for the sensation? Want to read the spicy stories or titles in the newspaper?
The spoken words of friendship hit like a bomb, as a sign of recognition and gratitude. The opera performance and the very last scene in the bedroom are good examples of this. No exploited sentiment from Lynch, for which kudos. No voyeurism, but Lynch manages to tell a deeply human engaging story. The cinematography and direction are very good. Nice representation of the time somewhere in the early 20th century. The black and white images enhance the atmosphere. The camera handling was also excellent. Zooming in on Hopkins's shocked face when he first saw John, for example, reinforced the image of disbelief and horror. Recommended!
Translated from Dutch · View original
Sir Djuke
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- 349 messages
- 970 votes
After the impact of 'Eraserhead', David Lynch had caught the attention of Mel Brooks' production company. In order not to tempt the audience to laugh out loud in the cinema, Brooks's input was not mentioned on the title role. The true story of 'The Elephant Man', the badly disfigured John Merrick, was filmed by Lynch without too much experimentation compared to his earlier and later films. You can actually recognize his hand in the choice for black and white, a few terrifying dream sequences and a distorted soundtrack. It marked Lynch's breakthrough to the general public with eight Oscar nominations. Leading actor John Hurt spent nine hours per filming day making up his appearance, which led to a separate Academy Award category being established for that part from the year after 'The Elephant Man'.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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