Storyline
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.
Directors
Cast
Kathleen Byron, Dexter Fletcher, William Morgan Sheppard, John Hurt, Kenny Baker, Claire Davenport, Ralph Morse, Anthony Hopkins, David Ryall, John Standing, John Standing, Harry Fielder, Marcus Powell, Freddie Jones, David Lynch, Anne Bancroft, Phoebe Nicholls, Fred Wood, John Gielgud, Alfie Curtis, Patsy Smart, Michael Elphick, Roy Evans, Carol Harrison, Wendy Hiller, Helen Ryan, Lesley Dunlop, Pat Gorman, Orla Pederson, Hannah Gordon, Frederick Treves, Richard Hunter, Robert Lewis Bush, Joan Rhodes, Nula Conwell, Tony London, Bernadette Milnes, Hugh Manning, Dennis Burgess, Fanny Carby, Gerald Case, Deirdre Costello, Pauline Quirke, Lesley Scoble, Eiji Kusuhara, Patricia Hodge, Tommy Wright, Peter Davidson, John Rapley, Janie Kells, Lydia Lisle, Eric Bergren, Christopher De Vore
Trailer
Reviews
100
Hurt is brilliant as Merrick, projecting in his anguished eyes and mournful body language a humanity past the makeup that embodies so convincingly the pain of Merrick, the original elephant man, whose rare disease was exploited by the people running a Victorian freak show.
100
This is a tale of redemption and transcendence, of the hunchback of London Hospital, of the noble phantom who want to go to the opera, of Beauty and the Beast. In Treves' account, though, the Beast was a Beauty. In Lynch's hands, so is this film.
100
A marvelous movie, shot in stunning black-and-white by Freddie Francis.
100
Hurt gives a tour de force performance, masterfully conveying emotions while unable to use his face or even much of his voice.
90
Hopkins is splendid in a subtly nuanced portrayal of a man torn between humanitarianism and qualms that his motives in introducing the Elephant Man to society are no better than those of the brutish carny. The center-piece of the film, however, is the virtuoso performance by the almost unrecognizable John Hurt.
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