The Elephant Man (1980)

A biopic truly worthy of young Joseph Merrick. From the opening frames it is clear to see this marvel of a film, is the work of true cinematic artists, with Mr Lynch at the helm, of course. As beautiful and poignant, as it is harrowing and melancholic; The Elephant Man maxes out on every aspect of filmmaking. From the cinematography, production design, screen-writing, direction, sound. Capped by superb performances by it's stars: John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins. Thank you, David. God bless you, Joseph.

The Elephant Man is a drama film based on the life of Joseph Merrick and starring John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins. Directed by David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet), it is a compassionate, tragic look into the life of one unfortunate yet fascinating intellectual.In 1880s London, surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) visits a carnival in his local area and stumbles upon a freak show as its most popular attraction. While there he discovers that the show's main exhibit is "The Elephant Man" (John Hurt), a man with hideous birth deformities giving him an almost elephant-like appearance. Intrigued by this poor man's plight, Frederick rescues the so-called Elephant Man to learn more about his condition, only to discover that he is far more intelligent than his monstrous appearance suggests.Easily one of David Lynch's best films, The Elephant Man effectively paints a human portrait of the titular character and showcases him in the positive light he most certainly deserves. Despite being more linear than most of Lynch's work, the film still contains many of his directorial trademarks, including close-ups on eyes and flashes of surreal imagery. John Hurt gives a terrific performance in the title role and the makeup effects applied to his face were fantastic. Interestingly enough, this film helped serve as a catalyst for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to introduce the "Best Makeup" category at the Academy Awards.I rate it a solid 9/10

Movie based on the life of John Merrick (John Hurt). He was a hideously disfigured man in a freak show treated like a dog. A kind doctor named Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) sees him. He wants to teach him how to talk and behave and be accepted by society.David Lynch's second film as a director and it's incredible. It's easily his most accessible film and along with cinematographer Freddie Francis presents us with a gritty and grimy Victorian England. It was shot in black and white which fits the story perfectly. Hurt is wonderful in the title role. He was buried under tons of makeup but he still manages to convey what he's feeling. John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller and Anne Bancroft are wonderful in supporting roles. Only Hopkins was bad in his role.Nominated for eight Academy Awards and it got none. A great film that is rarely shown these days. I give it a 10.

This is my first David Lynch movie and after watching it I have to say that it is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen. The movie follows the story of a heavily disfigured man named John Merrick, who, managed by his proprietor Bytes, goes from carnival to carnival as a special attraction whom people would pay good money to see. Finally he gets the attention of medical surgeon and professor Frederick Treves(Anthony Hopkins), who takes an interest in him as an interesting medical case that he could examine to gather knowledge. Treves ends up moving John into a hospital freeing him from the clutches of the abusive Bytes. From here the story follows how John's life begin transforming as he comes in contact of more and more people and people come to know that there is more to this ugly freak of nature than meets the eye. The setting of the movie is hauntingly beautiful. Most of the scenes are very dark and grainy that adds to the storytelling with an apt soundtrack. The shots of the carnival, where john is with other disfigured people are very dark and have a negative vibe to it. The make up on John is surprisingly well done, so that you wouldn't have a hard time believing the reactions of the people seeing him for the first time. The story is at all times believable and never goes over the top. I personally found the story incredibly sad and was brought to tears at many points. The direction seemed flawless. In fact, after watching this I am going to look for other works by the director.At the core, Elephant Man is in many ways symbolic to actual life. It points out how being ugly is almost considered a crime in today's society and how everything and everyone is taken at face value. You can't be the strong and silent type if you are not good looking, then you are just a loner. It shows how people need to pity and laugh at other people in order to feel happy and to feel secure themselves. This movie shows the true and unchanging nature of human mind. It shows how all individuals who are part of the society are the same in one way or other. Treves rescues John from the carnival just to put him on display in a bigger one. In that essence he is no different than Bytes. In fact every person shown in the film had something to gain from the freak and in that way they are all the same. The only exceptions are the poor disfigured people of the carnival. What they did for John was out of pure compassion and not for any personal gain. The movie makes it abundantly clear again and again that no matter how they tried, those freaks can never REALLY be a part of our society. This is the question the movie presents. Are they the ones who are the freaks, or are we?