Let's discuss the British period drama. The film follows Dr. Frederick Treves as he cares for Joseph Merrick.

Direct by David Lynch

Produced by Mel Brooks and Jonathan Sanger

Music by John Morris

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, Sir John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones, and JOHN HURT as The Elephant Man

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by Anonymous

reply 50

January 19, 2024 4:50 PM

One of the best films ever made.

by Anonymous

reply 1

April 6, 2023 12:25 AM

Great film. John Hurt is excellent, but this could be my favorite Anthony Hopkins performance

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by Anonymous

reply 3

April 6, 2023 12:42 AM

[bold]Ay m nahgch ahh amuhnuh!!! Ah ham ah hhhuuvvmahn BEEEUHNG!!![/bold]

by Anonymous

reply 5

April 6, 2023 12:51 AM

I really enjoyed this movie when I saw it.

However, I could never sit through it a second time.

by Anonymous

reply 7

April 6, 2023 1:01 AM

One of the saddest stories ever. Made me weep, even as a little child.

by Anonymous

reply 8

April 6, 2023 1:03 AM

Adiago for Strings at the end made me break down. Saw it once and that was enough.

by Anonymous

reply 9

April 6, 2023 1:05 AM

The Elephant man actually looked worse than depicted in the movie. I thought John Hurt should have won the Oscar for this.

by Anonymous

reply 10

April 6, 2023 1:19 AM

[quote]One of the saddest stories ever. Made me weep, even as a little child.

It was heartbreaking. It's exactly why I can't watch it again - both because it was so heartrending the first time and there's a small part of me that is afraid I'm so jaded now that it wouldn't be particularly sad if I saw it again today.

by Anonymous

reply 11

April 6, 2023 1:33 AM

It depends on how you see things, though. Yes the film is sad because you see what John had to go through but at the same time it's wonderfully optimistic and beautiful to think that a man so abused by society could maintain such a good,refined and pure soul to the end. That's the reason I have been able to see it more than once.

by Anonymous

reply 12

April 6, 2023 1:37 AM

Does anyone here know if preparing for and playing the Elephant Man caused John Hurt any psychological harm? I would think the kind of creative dive required by the part would put an actor at risk of falling apart. Having to think about the subject matter every day for weeks and months on end would make you crazy, wouldn't it?

Not an actor here. Just wondering, because, like other posters here, I've never seen a performance that affected me as much as Hurt's did in this film. I would have to brace myself to watch it again.

by Anonymous

reply 14

April 6, 2023 1:58 AM

I loved Anne Bancroft as Europe's greatest tragic actress.

by Anonymous

reply 16

April 6, 2023 2:38 AM

R14 Good actors just act, love.

by Anonymous

reply 17

April 6, 2023 2:38 AM

In college, whenever someone would say something dickish to me I used to say "I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!" and no one knew what the hell I was talking about. It was disappointing.

by Anonymous

reply 18

April 6, 2023 2:55 AM

R14, I don't know about John Hurt but there have been stories of other actors who said they had to "shake off" certain characters they played due to how intense they were. Two that come to mind are Sally Field after she played Sybil (a woman who had multiple personalities) and Robert Powell after he played Jesus in the 1977 miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth." So yes, it can happen.

by Anonymous

reply 20

April 6, 2023 3:56 AM

R20 I am so method I still have a kooky accent.

by Anonymous

reply 21

April 6, 2023 4:02 AM

I used to wake up in the middle of the night and watch tv when I was a kid and I saw this movie when I was 10. It was really haunting. I went on to become a big David Lynch fan as an adult and didn’t realize for a long time that he directed this.

by Anonymous

reply 22

April 6, 2023 4:17 AM

It’s a bit of an anomaly in Lynch’s filmography, but a complete masterpiece. It’s truly one of the saddest movies I’ve ever seen.

by Anonymous

reply 23

April 6, 2023 6:15 AM

A version of the Broadway play was also filmed. Glenn Close had a bit part.

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by Anonymous

reply 24

April 6, 2023 12:28 PM

I adore what Anne Bancroft did with her character in the film adaptation of "The Elephant Man." It's all with her eyes. She looks beautiful in black and white as well.

the movie is sad as the very day itself is long for obvious reasons. But, screw it! Check it out if you haven't seen it because it's wonderfully well rendered from start to finish. There's no false note.

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by Anonymous

reply 28

May 11, 2023 4:48 PM

I could never stand to see this - nor the Cher one.

by Anonymous

reply 29

May 11, 2023 5:43 PM

Lynch's best film. Probably because it was based on a previous work, and Lynch's stylistic touches don't (for once) overwhelm.

by Anonymous

reply 31

May 12, 2023 9:27 AM

This is the movie where I fell in love with Anne Bancroft. I was 9 years old.

We've listed our picks for "perfect films" here before. This is on my list.

Anne Bancroft was perfection in a nearly perfect film.

by Anonymous

reply 32

May 12, 2023 11:28 AM

R32 I agree! This was my first exposure to her too.

by Anonymous

reply 33

May 12, 2023 2:38 PM

A perfect movie to watch on a cold and rainy November evening.

by Anonymous

reply 34

November 5, 2023 8:57 PM

[quote] Lynch's best film. Probably because it was based on a previous work, and Lynch's stylistic touches don't (for once) overwhelm.

Have to agree. It’s a shame his ego gets in front of his obviously strong storytelling skills in virtually all of his movies. He’s so determined to show what a weird genius he is, he forgets to make a coherent story.

by Anonymous

reply 35

November 5, 2023 9:06 PM

Major kudos to the brilliant cinematography by Freddie Francis, who did superb work in the early 60's in such films as SONS AND LOVERS, SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING, and THE INNOCENTS. For some reason, he went on to direct a lot of bad horror films (including TROG!). THE ELEPHANT MAN was his first job as a returning cinematographer since the mid-60's. After that he shot such films as THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN and Scorsese's CAPE FEAR.

THE ELEPHANT MAN got 8 Oscar nominations but I was shocked Francis wasn't one of the nominees.

by Anonymous

reply 36

November 5, 2023 10:19 PM

Wonderful that Lynch can make a gorgeous straight forward story.

by Anonymous

reply 37

November 6, 2023 2:22 PM

I was about 8 when this movie made it's way to HBO and I always found the talk behind it mysterious and enthralling. Even the name, "The Elephant Man" was curious. What was under that mask, I thought? Why is his head and faced shaped like that? I was too scared to watch it then, but I did discover a book in the library about "freaks and oddities" and there was an image of the real-life John Merrick and I gasped at realizing that this wasn't just a movie. At some point, I watched the movie though I don't remember it much, conflating it with whatever it was I did in my quest to find out more about Merrick. Even today, his life and experiences still make me sad. I hope that despite the hardships of his life, that there was also joy and levity.

by Anonymous

reply 38

November 6, 2023 2:29 PM

The entire production is perfect:

David Lynch at his most reserved and finest.

Mel Brooks being a great producer, showcasing his rare sophistication

John Hurt completely transforms himself as Joseph Merrick; Anthony Hopkins is the quintessential Victorian gentleman; Anne Bancroft subtly playing America's greatest tragic actress in a very insecure way; and Sir John Gielgud can always be counted upon.

If that wasn't enough, the music of Samuel Barber speaks for itself

by Anonymous

reply 39

January 19, 2024 3:01 PM

the other David Lynch film with no stylistic overkill

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by Anonymous

reply 40

January 19, 2024 3:16 PM

R14 this film brought John Hurt in contact with Mel Brooks.

That's what affected him psychologically, after all he appeared in Mel's History of the World (part 1) and a cameo in Spaceballs.

by Anonymous

reply 41

January 19, 2024 3:19 PM

Agree with whoever said John Hurt is great in it BUT the stand out to me is AH. It's an understated but beautiful performance.

by Anonymous

reply 42

January 19, 2024 3:24 PM

I was young when I caught some on TV. There’s a very brief scene that doesn’t get commented on in the film where two lower class women are viciously fighting in a lobby. For some reason, that bothered me more than Merrick’s appearance.

by Anonymous

reply 43

January 19, 2024 3:30 PM

Anne Bancroft was so understated as Lady Randolph Churchill that you almost didn’t know who she was portraying.

by Anonymous

reply 44

January 19, 2024 3:45 PM

Years ago I showed this film to my Victorian Literature class, and even some of the too-cool-for-school students were teary at the end.

by Anonymous

reply 45

January 19, 2024 3:53 PM

I read the Treves book after seeing the movie, and it strays pretty far from the truth. Merrick e.g. never would have been paraded out at a theater. That doesn’t make me love the movie any less - but it’s interesting for its gritty b/w look it’s less faithful to the history than the seemingly more abstract play.

PS Another big vote for the score. It’s a major factor in so much of the movie working so well. And great in combo with the art direction and cinematography

by Anonymous

reply 46

January 19, 2024 4:11 PM

[quote] [R14], I don't know about John Hurt but there have been stories of other actors who said they had to "shake off" certain characters they played due to how intense they were. Two that come to mind are Sally Field after she played Sybil (a woman who had multiple personalities) and Robert Powell after he played Jesus in the 1977 miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth." So yes, it can happen.

jack Nicholson said he thought playing the Joker really affected him badly, and he wished he had told Heath ledger to have been careful when he signed up to play the character in "The Dark Knight." He thought Ledger's death had something to do with playing the part.

by Anonymous

reply 47

January 19, 2024 4:14 PM

(Tonclarify, the film strays far from the truth as recounted in the book. Sorry, bad sentence.)

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by Anonymous

reply 48

January 19, 2024 4:15 PM

There are three films that I refuse to watch a second time. This is one of them. Brokeback Mountain and Call Me by Your Name are the other two. They are nearly perfect in my memory, and I don't want to dilute memory with repetition.

I first saw Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker in the early 1960s. She was a fine actress.

by Anonymous

reply 50

January 19, 2024 4:50 PM