The Elephant Man
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Hopkins, Claire Davenport, Fanny Carby, Gerald Case, John HurtCinematographer: Freddie Francis
Composer: John Morris
Composer: Samuel Barber
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 124 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-12-11
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of The Elephant Man
Movie Review: A Film About Looking
Summary: 5 Stars
Roger Ebert misses the point of the movie. It is not a film about courage; it is a film about looking. This makes Ebert's comments about "drawing a blank" ironic, because his job is to look at movies, and that is, in part, what the film is about. The movie challenges the audience to ask why it is watching a film about this disfigured man. What the audience can expect to see is a reflection of their own motivations in the motivations of the characters. Hopkins' character (the film's real protagonist and a stand in for the director, perhaps) questions himself in response to John Merrick. The initially harsh head nurse reveals her true tough but loving character. The hospital head (Gielgud) is in it for the good of the hospital. The honest board member is cowed and forced to vote disingenuously by seeing how the Queen, of all people, looks at the situation. The film is all about looking, not just at Merrick, but at each other, and ourselves. The less self-reflective characters are revealed by the elephant man to be what they are as well. Merrick is a mirror: the refined and reflective see more of themselves, both good and bad, in him and all is revealed in his presence. The refined see the refined in him and the ugly see only the ugliness. What does Merrick see? When shown a mirror, he screams, because his point of view is completely outward. He seeks beauty in the world and this reveals his true character. Those about him who seek him out to stare at his ugliness reveal their character as well. So, what is the audience looking for? How is it implicated in this crowd of onlookers? What was Ebert looking for? He assumed Merrick to be the spectacle (the protagonist) and expected a story about courage. Hence, he came up blank. The motivations of the audience, of the director (perhaps), of the characters, including Merrick himself, are all brought to light by the effect his appearance has on everyone around him. It is a circus, but we are all in the center ring.
Summary of The Elephant Man
You could only see his eyes behind the layers of makeup, but those expressive orbs earned John Hurt a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of John Merrick, the grotesquely deformed Victorian-era man better known as The Elephant Man. Inarticulate and abused, Merrick is the virtual slave of a carnival barker (Freddie Jones) until dedicated London doctor Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins in a powerfully understated performance) rescues him from the life and offers him an existence with dignity. Anne Bancroft costars as the actress whose visit to Merrick makes him a social curiosity, with John Gielgud and Wendy Hiller as dubious hospital staffers won over by Merrick. David Lynch earned his only Oscar nominations as director and cowriter of this somber drama, which he shot in a rich black-and-white palette, a sometimes stark, sometimes dreamy visual style that at times recalls the offbeat expressionism of his first film, Eraserhead. It remains a perfect marriage between traditional Hollywood historical drama and Lynch's unique cinematic eye, a compassionate human tale delivered in a gothic vein. The film earned eight Oscar nominations in all, and though it left the Oscar race empty-handed, its dramatic power and handsome yet haunting imagery remain just as strong today. --Sean AxmakerArt House & International DVD Video
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