The Elephant Man (1980)

14 out of 14 people found the following review helpful:

Man or freak

films2 from Greater Manchester, 26th March, 2004

No one watching this film cannot be moved by the sheer physical pain and social misery and manipulation John Merrick - aka the elephant man, endured during his short and troublesome life.

This film captures perfectly the sideshow circus theme, the era, the time, the poverty and the ignorance of the time, plus ignorance of this poor mans condition.

This film is the best version of the elephant man, and John Hurts portrayal is second to none, this is a weepy, and as you watch you begin to see John Merrick- in his very own words -as a human being. Poignant and touching.

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11 out of 12 people found the following review helpful:

Deeply touching

blunderwood from East Sussex, 6th February, 2004

David Lynch is a director ideally suited to deal with this sensitive subject. A world famous "freak" trying to survive in a post-industrial age.

Black and White film is used here to stimulating effect, somehow conveying the emotional impact of this harsh time.

It's well worth a watch, though I wouldn't call it entertainment in the conventional sense.

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8 out of 8 people found the following review helpful:

An Unforgettable Experience

Anne from London, England, 12th July, 2004

On one hand, the film invoked feelings of empathy through its portrayal of the needless suffering of John Merrick (known a The Elephant Man) who was incessantly subjected to mockery and humiliation at the hands of ignorant and merciless people, who could not see past his physical deformity. On the other hand, the film unravels John Merrick?s genial character through his reactions to various acts of kindness. Although John Hurt, who acted the part of John Merrick, was wearing a monstrous mask, which could easily have hidden the man underneath, he still managed to convincingly display the human emotions experienced by John Merrick; and in doing so, was able to bring to the surface the amiable, sensitive man hidden behind the grotesque exterior.

Initially, the viewer is kept in suspense as the Elephant Man is gradually revealed through the eyes of Dr Frederick Treves, a benevolent doctor played superbly by Anthony Hopkins, who is the first person in the film to challenge the social ostracism of the Elephant Man. As the film progresses, the viewer is thrown into the true horror of the Elephant Man?s life, a horror that keeps echoing throughout the film until it peaks in a horrendous crescendo. This horror is further accentuated by the black and white setting of the film and the underlying knowledge that the film is based on a true story.

This is a must-see film, which will take you on an emotional journey you will never forget.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

The most moving film ever...

Michael Smith from Greater Manchester, England, 14th April, 2004

I have recently seen this for the first time, and it is genuinly one of the most compassionate and moving films I have ever watched. The performances are breath taking. You will come away from this with a new perception of us as human beings, whether that be for the better or worse. Simply astounding. Please, I urge you to watche this move.

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Life...is full of suprises!

Tiresias from from London, 13th October, 2008

The portrayal of John/Joseph Merrick in this film, Lynch's second commercial appearance as a director, is both touching and memorable, an incandescent example of 'classic Lynch' in his otherwise erratic oeuvre and remains one of John Hurt’s most celebrated performances. It tells the true story of the infamous Elephant Man, so badly contorted with deformity that he withdraws from society to become a spectacle in a travelling freak show. Eminent surgeon Sir Fredrick Treeves, played flawlessly by a young Anthony Hopkins, stumbles across this debacle of man and animal and takes him away to understand his anatomy and, later, his mind. What he finds is a humble and gentle man, capable of overwhelming eloquence and sensitivity. But what are the motifs of a man like Treeves, and what is to become of John as he enters the jaws of a stiff Victorian society? This film remains meditative and startling, and has several scenes of emotional deftness that linger in the viewer’s mind for months, even years, after watching. Shot on location in the east end of London, Lynch manages to create a convincing Victorian milieu, filled with drunks, prostitutes, laymen, aristocracy and royalty. This film still affects me after my third watching of it. Its clear narrative, a device strayed from by Lynch in later work, and characterisation of Victorian Britain (even down to the final Alfred Lord Tennyson quote) is a strong foundation for such characters to act upon. I cannot help but feel empathy towards John Merrick. As Mrs. Kendal says “Mr. Merrick, you are not an Elephant Man at all. You are Romeo”.

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Elephant Man

CM from from London, 12th July, 2008

A sad tale of a man hindered by his unusal appearance. Brutalised and exploited by people who see him as a means to make their own fortune, he is taken in by a surgeon who despite his higher stature in society doesn't neccesarily treat him the way he should or would maybe like to be treated.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

A real emotional weepy

xanadu from from London, 10th July, 2008

When I first watched this over 25 years ago I never imagined how affected I would be by it.The misery that this poor man suffered at the hands of some so called humans is appalling.John Hurt does a terrific job of portraying the tragic John Merrick.The scene where he breaks down because someone is nice to him cannot fail to move even the most cold hearted of people.A real true story tearjerker.

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Customer Review

A Customer from UK, 23rd June, 2008

I am a big David Lynch fan and decided I just had to see this film. I stuck it at the top of my rental list and a few days later it arrived in that special packaging that puts a smile on my face every time. I watched it that night and it certainly did not disappoint. It lived up to every expectation and blasted most of them right out of the park.

`The Elephant Man' follows the life of Joseph Merrick, incorrectly named John in the film, and that of Frederick Treves who was his doctor and friend. While the film is filled with its fair share of inaccuracies and errors it is no less perfect for it. A lot of the fiction is there for a reason as it serves to make the film more entertaining and helps to provide more character depth. I really do urge you to watch the film, even if you are unsure because of the made up bits, because it is a superb and phenomenally beautiful film.

The film stars Anthony Hopkins as the doctor Frederick Treves and John Hurt as Joseph Merrick, the elephant man. They are both brilliant in their roles, everyone is, but it really is John Hurt who is the star here. I think there are probably a lot of ways you could mess up the character of Joseph Merrick but John Hurt just excels. He was nominated for an Oscar and as far as I'm concerned he should have won it. His portrayal of Joseph Merrick is one of the best character performances I've ever seen and I do consider myself to be a movie buff.

Not leaving out Lynch himself, the director brings us more of his trademark direction and invites once again to view his marvelous vision of the surreal. Though, `The Elephant Man' certainly never reaches the weirdness of `Mulholland Drive' it is no less a David Lynch film and masterpiece of cinema. Throughout the film his direction, as with the script and sets, is spot on. This film is a sum of all its parts and every part in the equation was an essential ingredient equaling near perfection.

While the whole film is wonderful, there is one part, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to break down into tears during this scene, at the end of the film that was pure visual poetry. With Samuel Barbers joyously sad and emotionally overwhelming Adagio for Strings playing in the background, we are treated to an almost too simple shot of Joseph Merrick just sitting on his bed starring at the viewer and it just killed me. I can say in all honesty and without any over exaggeration that it was one of the most beautiful things I ever saw in my whole like. Perfect. Just a perfect scene.

So, basically, just buy or rent this now. If you consider yourself even remotely interested in truly good films then you have no choice but to see it.

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