Elephant Man

'I am not an animal! I am a human being! I …am …a man!'

John Merrick (as portrayed in The Elephant Man)

'If Your Life Sucks, Watch this Movie' 'The Elephant Man,' directed by David Lynch and written by Sir Frederick Treves and Ashley Montagu, is a macabre story about Dr. Frederick 'Freddie' Treves (Anthony Hopkins) who shows compassion for a man with Proteous Syndrome John Merrick (John Hurt). The story is based on the true account of John Merrick's life as a side show freak in the nineteenth century. The viewer is taken on a journey of a man trying to regain some self-respect and the doctor who is helping him to do so.

If you are like me and in a bad space in your life, watch this movie. Although a depressing film there are brief moments of hope with the interaction of Merrick and Treves. But, mostly it is scene after scene of abuse, torture and the dark side of human nature. This is not a movie that a viewer is going to want to watch time and time again. Watching this movie is like being drug through a crime scene, most don't want to look but most can't help themselves. After viewing the film, I felt a lot better about my life, and right now I am unemployed, fat and alone.

That being said, the movie taken as a work of art was excellent. The black and white cinematography really added to the Victorian feel of the nineteenth century. The character development was superb and the acting of Hopkins and Hurt phenomenal. The makeup and costuming was dark as the film itself and the direction by Lynch, using his signature 'dream' scenes only added to the dimness of the entire film. I highly recommend this film once because it is beautifully directed and a great story. But, unless you are a masochist, once is enough.

I first saw The Elephant Man at its pre-release showing in 1980, and it struck an immediate and resonant chord with me. Few movies are like this, and it remains (many viewings later) one of my top 10 films of all time.

The plot is presented well in other reviews here, so I will not repeat it or comment further. Of the film itself I would only add that it is without doubt the most mature and satisfying of David Lynch's works - in many ways it is the final, polished jewel carved from the rough and ugly (but fascinating) diamond of Eraserhead, with the self-conscious artiness and juvenile qualities of the earlier film distilled into a potent and poignant statement on the human condition.

Some critics have dismissed The Elephant Man as an exercise in emotional manipulation, however I believe this completely misses the point. All films are manipulative to some degree, but it is a manipulation in which we as an audience engage by consent. The Elephant Man will stand the final test and it will be appreciated fully by future audiences, in much the same way as Citizen Kane had to wait for some decades until audiences were able to fully comprehend its greatness.

In memory of Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890).

The movie is Joseph Merrick's story who became known as The Elephant Man. This is one of the saddest movies I have ever seen and yet it is so good. My heart goes out to Merrick - he had to endure so much in his life.

The Elephant Man is filmed in black and white - which is perfect for the film. The black and white gives the viewer a feeling of being a much older film than it actually is. It also has a feeling of being a classic horror movie - which works perfectly for the story because Joseph Merrick's condition is horrifying yet his story is so beautiful, touching and sad.

A great film.

9/10

There have been many films made dealing with an individual who's outer appearance is completely at odds with their inner character. Some of these films are quite good but this is by far and away the very best. This is probably one of the most perfect films ever made. It succeeds on every level. Visually it transports one into a dark, grey, industrial nightmare of a world. It's within this world that we come to discover true beauty. It lies within one hideously deformed, abused and unfortunate soul who is being kicked around in this hellish existence. The screenplay, acting, direction all come together to create this extraordinary viewing experience. You really feel like you get inside this man and his tortured existence. The ending is one of the most effective and completely engrossing I've ever seen. Rarely does a film find a way to leave us with such a sense of closure and lingering fascination. The thing that really makes this film truly great is it changes the way people see themselves, other people and the world. I can still remember the palpable air of silence and awe over the audience when leaving the theater both times I saw it on the big screen. There's a transforming quality about it. You only need to read the many other user comments to see how people were moved and changed by this film. If you haven't seen it, it's a must!

I believe that one of the greatest ideas in the movie, is that it starts by frightening you, it makes you fear John, in such way that you don't even want to see him. And then when the movie continues it is revealed that John is just a loving human being, who wants to be loved like everybody else, and you suddenly look at him and has a kind of sympathy for him.

This is a VERY VERY VERY strong idea in my opinion BECAUSE the movie shows us that we are not better than anyone else. Even though we think that the people who've seen John as a horrible deformed monster were horrible, we were thinking the same way in the beginning of the movie. Because the movie introduced John to us that way. This teaches us that unfortunately we are not objective, we don't really check things out before we judge them. We base our opinions on what others tell us, and not on what's right.