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Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller ... see more see more... , Freddie Jones , Michael Elphick , Hannah Gordon , Helen Ryan , John Standing , Dexter Fletcher , Lesley Dunlop , Phoebe Nicholls , Kenny Baker , Kathleen Byron , Fanny Carby , Gerald Case , Claire Davenport , Roy Evans , Chris Greener , Patricia Hodge , Eiji Kusuhara , Tony London , Hugh Manning , Orla Pederson , Marcus Powell , John Rapley , David Ryall , Lisa & Teri Scobie , Patsy Smart , Stromboli , Frederick Treves , Robert Day , Dierdre Costello , Pat Gorman , Pauline Quirke , Maggie Cartier , Robert Bush , Teresa Codling , Carole Harrison , Richard Hunter , Bernadette Milnes , William Morgan Sheppard , Tommy Wright , Peter Davidson

John Hurt stars as John Merrick, the hideously deformed 19th century Londoner known as "The Elephant Man". Treated as a sideshow freak, Merrick is assumed to be retarded as well as misshapen because o... read more read more...f his inability to speak coherently. In fact, he is highly intelligent and sensitive, a fact made public when one Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) rescues Merrick from a carnival and brings him to a hospital for analysis. Alas, even after being recognized as a man of advanced intellect, Merrick is still treated like a freak; no matter his station in life, he will forever be a prisoner of his own malformed body. Unable to secure rights for the famous stage play The Elephant Man, producer Mel Brooks based his film on the memoirs of Frederick Treves and a much later account of Merrick's life by Ashley Montagu. The film is lensed in black and white by British master cinematographer Freddie Francis. Though nominated for eight Academy Awards, the film was ultimately shut out in every category. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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PG, 2 hr. 3 min.

Directed by: David Lynch

Release Date: October 3, 1980

Keywords: sad

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DVD Release Date: December 11, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (3,773)

  • UniversalDreamer
    January 11, 2013
    UniversalDreamer
    Take away all the famous names in this work and you'd still be left with the story of a very human soul tormentingly imprisoned in a lump of his own hideous flesh. The big names then do the story well: Lynch controls his usual antics to deliver understatement (a shock in itself)... read more, Hopkins as the well meaning doctor who actually uses the animal just like everyone until he realizes his mistake, Bancroft is no embarassment, Gielgud and Hiller are the rocks the story rests on ... but Hurt, as the man himself, is exemplary. Well, Hurt and the makeup guy. Look for the tea scene.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    January 3, 2013
    TheDudeLebowski65
    David Lynch's The Elephant Man is a surreal masterwork about the life of John Merrick who was a several deformed man. Beautifully shot in glorious Black & White, David Lynch captures a certain atmosphere with this picture, one that acts as part of the story to elevate the dramati... read morec tone of the experience. Anthony Hopkins is phenomenal as Frederick Treves a sympathetic doctor who tries to help Merrick. This is a superb film that showcases the kindness of the human nature. This is a terrific drama that will certainly please cinema buffs. The acting of John Hurt is spectacular as John Merrick and considering how difficult his performances must have been, he definitely did deserve an Oscar of some kind. Unfortunately this stunning picture would only be nominated and come out empty handed. Everything about this film is beautiful, the cinematography immaculate, and the choice to shoot this in Black & White brings out the subtle qualities of this true story. David Lynch, who previously directed the surrealistic psychological horror film Eraserhead, crafts something unique with The Elephant Man, and he goes deep into the cruelty of humanity and also brings out the best in human nature as well. This is not a film for everyone, but if you're looking for a compelling real life drama, then give this one a shot. With Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt's performances alone, The Elephant Man stands as one of the best films of 1980's. This is filmmaking at its best and David Lynch has made his masterpiece with this one. With a strong cast and terrific storytelling, this is a marvelous film that is moving, poignant and simply unforgettable.
  • spielberg00
    September 8, 2012
    spielberg00
    It's extremely difficult to assess The Elephant Man beyond its strictly harrowing and thoughtfully afflicting value. If writer-director David Lynch crafted this masterpiece for other reasons than to show how disgusting humanity can be-especially without realizing it-then I will ... read morerefrain from trying to search for other rationales. We look at the perfectly written, meticulously paced writing, and from there, it only leads to countless other great achievements: brilliant, careful editing; an ongoing tour de force involving just about every last player; the spiritually dampening conclusion, set against Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings"; and a catharsis that is so deeply doused in our thoughts, it guarantees its own testament inside the human heart. Let's not forget the famous "I am not an animal" scene, in which the picture is brought to a stunning climax. This isn't a feel-good film, nor is it a film that will endure several willing viewings. Let's say that with its ability to leave an audience both verbally and emotionally speechless, it should act as required viewing.

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  • emilkakko
    August 10, 2012
    emilkakko
    One of the most conventional and less surreal films in Lynch filmography, but also one of his heartfelt and touching works as well.
    The Elephant Man begins with a very disturbing and symbolic dream sequence and from there it becomes much more straightforward film to watch. For m... read moree this films feels like a mixed bag. It is definetly a important story worth to tell. A story about a man who was deformed from the outside but who was intelligent and tender person from the inside. There are moments which are absolutely heartbreaking and some nightmarish moments that show us how evil other people can be towards each other because of how they look.
    I admire the sophisticated black and white photography of Freddie Francis and typically restless sound desing by Lynch himself. I still find Lynch's way to tell this story a little too sentimental. It is aiming for tears way too clearly and at times it almost resembles of an any typical weepie made in Holywood. Luckily Lynch has injected some of his trademarks here in the form of dreams and oddly claustrophobic production design by Stuart Craig. The Elephant Man has distant echoes of his own Eraserhead but as a whole it is quite different kind of film.
    Anthony Hopkins is extremely good as Dr. Frederick Treves and John Hurt does phenomenal work as John Merrick. Hurt perfectly captures the vulnerability of Merrick and even with heavy proestethics he can give us performance which is iconic as it is stunning to watch.
    This might not be the masterpiece it is often heralded as, but it is still important and beautiful film about a beautiful human being.
  • fb1664868775
    March 4, 2012
    fb1664868775
    One of the most tame and straight forward of Lynch's films, atleast on the surface. Look closer and you'll see all the things Lynch is now famous for (dream sequences, white noise, etc.).
  • tolkienfan101
    September 27, 2011
    tolkienfan101
    David Lynch has had a career with ups and downs, troubles finding funding for films, being a veritable box office leper for a couple decades now, nostalgia is invaded for this wonderful and horrific film that emerged from 1980, signaling the ending bang of the Golden Age of filmm... read moreaking tha had blossomed throughout the mid 1960s till the later years of the 1970s, The Elephant Man is dramatic, personal, sincere, cruel, unfair, tragic, wonderful, and many other adjectives I could pile on and on just to basically say that this, in a way, captures the feel of life as a whole with its many complexities and ever altering states of being. John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins give the audience absolutely amazing performances nursed by Lynch's direction and screenplay (shared with Bergen and DeVore). The choice to film it in black and white was a complete option by Lynch, and I will say with a degree of certainty that if this film was shot in color, it wouldn't be nearly half as effective as it was. An overall conventional way of telling a story, with Lynch's trademark surrealism and love of confounding the audience, this film has worked its way into the finer calibers of filmmaking.
  • mjgildea
    May 24, 2011
    mjgildea
    Outside of the few obvious David Lynch moments, you'd barely recognize The Elephant Man as a David Lynch movie. Its a fairly simple if not incredibly sad but beautiful story. The makeup and photography are magnificent as is the acting (especially from John Hurt) was superb. The E... read morelephant Man is also the kind of movie that speaks for itself (especially more so in the final two shots) than any amount of babbling ever could.
  • Tomassgringo
    March 13, 2011
    Tomassgringo
    Anthony Hopkins looks so young in this movie. I have know the story, but now I also have seen the film. The way the movie is filmed to look like a much older movie does not add to the story, but the performances are strong.
  • ythelastman89
    February 11, 2011
    ythelastman89
    It's easy to see why this is the most respected of David Lynch's library because it doesn't really have the outrageousness that his other films posses. The story is straight forward and really goes all out in honoring the name and legacy of John Merrick. That is not to say that i... read moret doesn't have all of David Lynch's trademarks; everything from overbearing non-diagetic sounds to layering images are there. This also seems to be the most performance heavy movie from David Lynch. Both Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt give beautiful performances worthy of praise, even if John Hurt was put through more pain to get his through. Some of the sequences in here are truly disturbing in a way that you could only get from telling a largely true account of events.
  • mumby1988
    August 8, 2010
    mumby1988
    One of the most common (and flippant) charges laid against acclaimed filmmakers is that they are too interested in ideas and concepts to leave room for human emotions. Directors from Stanley Kubrick to Christopher Nolan have had their films criticised for being heartless or clini... read morecal, or have been backhandedly complimented for producing works of distance and icy cool. Surrealist filmmakers are deemed to be especially guilty, with their obsession with dreams and psychosexual imagery forcing characters and empathy to play second fiddle.

    The Elephant Man is proof positive that such criticisms are total nonsense. And it is also proof that it is possible to make a film about ?the triumph of the human spirit? without descending to the very depths of saccharine schmaltz. While not a flawless work, The Elephant Man is a compelling exercise in biographical filmmaking, both as a character study and in its examination of social attitudes.

    As I mentioned in my review of Ed Wood (1994), in any biopic there is a natural tension between the supposedly objective, historical record of events and the subjective sensibility of the filmmaker. A good biopic is not simply one which gets all the facts right, especially at the expense of the drama. In order for any biopic to work, there have to be clear signals from the director right from the start about their attitude to the material and the extent to which their creativity is going to intervene.

    The comparison between Ed Wood and The Elephant Man is very apt, since both films depart from the accepted version of events to make deeper points about themes and social attitudes. In real life, Ed Wood never met Orson Welles in a bar, and Bela Lugosi did not curse like a sailor. It doesn?t matter. Tim Burton makes it clear that he is being affectionate towards Wood, using such creative decisions to turn an ordinary story about a struggling filmmaker into an extraordinary film about a battle between deluded creativity and an equally deluded studio system.

    Likewise, it doesn?t matter that Joseph/ John Merrick wasn?t ritually flogged, or that he went to Belgium before meeting Dr. Treves rather than after. The film is not so much about the life and death of Merrick as it is about the society which shuns him. The Elephant Man is one of the most moving and honest examinations of the truism that a society mocks, denies or hides from that which it cannot understand. Merrick?s deformity may be biologically unique, but it is also an exaggerated means of expressing his difference, and by extension the small-minded, fickle nature of the people who come into contact with him.

    This small-mindedness runs throughout the social structure of Victorian society. Regardless of their proximity to him, most of the characters mistreat or spurn Merrick, despite (or perhaps even because of) claiming to understand him. Bytes calls him an ?imbecile? and treats him like a possession, though he is strangely moved when he comes to Treves demanding to take him back. Treves starts by seeing Merrick is little more than a career opportunity, and Mr. Carr Gohm is equally aloof. It is only when Merrick demonstrates his intelligence (by reciting the whole of Psalm 23) that their attitudes and perceptions begin to change.

    In a lesser director?s hands, this kind of character arc could have been completely overplayed, and the remainder of the film would have been one long exercise in trying to make us cry. But what is impressive about The Elephant Man, and about Lynch?s direction, is that it manages to feel raw and emotional without ever looking like it is trying to be either.

    The visuals betray both the success and failure of The Elephant Man, containing many images and motifs which we now associate with Lynch. He has always been fond of the grotesque side of human existence; the freak shows and dark streets are played slower, forcing us to linger on their twisted and strange quality. But in general, the visual style is very restrained, respectful and fastidious, recalling the work of David Lean. The film is like a surrealist Great Expectations, and is beautifully lit by Freddie Francis.

    The film is incredibly respectful towards its subject from a visual point of view. The cloak and hood was only intended to be used for a couple of scenes; its presence was increased because Christopher Tucker struggled to complete the make-up in time. When Merrick is first revealed, it is not played for shock value, neither is it designed to make the audience deeply uneasy in the manner of Eraserhead. Moments in the film, like the opening scene of Merrick?s mother and the dream sequence involving machinery, resemble Eraserhead very closely, and it can feel like the edgier side of Lynch is trying to escape. This experience is nowhere near as jarring as it is in Dune, but it remains somewhat frustrating.

    Because of this fastidious quality of the visuals, and the conventions of the period, there is really very little room for mawkishness. But there is plenty of room for emotional involvement with the characters, even in scenes which seem overtly sentimental. Covering actors in lots of make-up is a risky business: the audience can spend so long glued to the prosthetics that the performance becomes little more than pantomime, as in Legend or Return of the Jedi. But John Hurt?s performance as Merrick is terrific: it feels utterly genuine from the first to last frame, and it is hard not to cry at his every triumph and tragedy.

    The film?s supporting cast are also very solid. Anthony Hopkins complained in later life that he found Treves a dull character to play, but there is nothing dull about his performance. Treves begins as an opportunistic doctor looking to impress his London Hospital friends, but the experience of treating and caring for Merrick brings about a profound if gradual change in his worldview. In a key scene, he wrestles with himself as to whether keeping Merrick at the hospital has made him a circus act all over again. Much like Tom Hanks? character in The Green Mile, Hopkins is wrestling with the idea of doing good which is simultaneously harming someone he cares about.

    The role of women in The Elephant Man is peripheral, with neither Treves? wife nor Anne Bancroft?s actress being given much screen time. But this is compensated for by the recurring images of Merrick?s mother, who appears in flashbacks and in the photograph which Merrick carries. The photograph is not just a symbol of Merrick?s devotion to his mother, but an expression of his desire to be loved and accepted. This makes the final scene, in which he finishes his model and lays down to die, all the more cathartic and beautiful.

    The Elephant Man may not be Lynch?s finest work, being neither as artistically pure as Eraserhead nor as shockingly beautiful as Blue Velvet. But it sits close to the company of Ed Wood as a yardstick of inspirational biopics, and as a milestone of black-and-white cinema. Being one of Lynch?s most accessible films, it is also a good starting point for anyone interested in his career, and taken purely as a drama it delivers a genuine emotional punch. An all-round excellent effort from one of cinema?s greatest directors.

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Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
April 30, 2008
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

The picture itself is a strange trade-off between Lynch's personal themes -- the night world of obscure, disturbing sexual obsessions -- and the requirements of a middlebrow message movie. Full Review

Variety Staff
April 30, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

Director David Lynch has created an eerily compelling atmosphere in recounting a hideously deformed man's perilous life in Victorian England. Full Review

Tom Milne
January 26, 2006
Tom Milne, Time Out

A marvellous movie, shot in stunning black-and-white by Freddie Francis. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I kept asking myself what the film was really trying to say about the human condition as reflected by John Merrick, and I kept drawing blanks. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

What we eventually see underneath this shell is not 'the study in dignity' that Ashley Montagu wrote about, but something far more poignant, a study in genteelness that somehow suppressed all rage. Full Review

Scott G. Mignola
January 2, 2011
Scott G. Mignola, Common Sense Media

Heartbreaking drama isn't for sensitive viewers. Full Review

April 30, 2008
Film4

The greatest contribution -- apart from the central performances -- comes from Francis, whose wonderful black and white, widescreen photography lends atmosphere and clarity to the proceedings. Full Review

April 30, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A moving, faithful retelling of a bizarre true story. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
April 23, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's an amazing story about the human spirit that's told with great sensitivity. Full Review

Michael A. Smith
December 14, 2006
Michael A. Smith, Nolan's Pop Culture Review

One of the year's best films. Only DeNiro could take the Oscar away from John Hurt.

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Facts

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    • John Merrick: I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I ... am ... a ... man!
    • John Merrick: Doctor, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for some time.
    • Dr. Frederick Treves: Yes, what is that?
    • John Merrick: Can you...cure me?
    • Dr. Frederick Treves: No, I'm afraid not.
    • John Merrick: I thought as much....
    • John Merrick: Hello. My name is John Merrick.
    • John Merrick: It's just that I-I'm not used to being treated so well by a beautiful woman... [after John cries]
    • Dr. Frederick Treves: Oh, he's an imbecile, probably from birth. Man's a complete idiot... Pray to God he's an idiot.
    • Carr Gomm: Can you imagine the kind of life he must have had?
    • Dr. Frederick Treves: Yes, I think I can.
    • Carr Gomm: I don't think so. No one could possibly imagine it! I don't believe any of us can!
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The Elephant Man Trivia

  • Mel Brooks helped produced this film, but kept his name out of the credits for fear that if they were included, the film would not be taken seriously.   Answer »
  • Which movie has this tagline : " I am not an animal! I am a human being! I...am...a man! " ?  Answer »
  • What 1980 film had this quote : I am not an animal. I am A human Being. I... am....a...man ?  Answer »
  • Which movie contains the immortal lines "I am not an animal. I am a human being"  Answer »
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