| | | | The Elephant Man
(1980) |
e was a man plagued by nightmares of his mother. He was labeled as a "freak" in a circus side show. He was tormented by fellow human beings. He was disfigured on the outside, beautiful on the inside. He was John Merrick. He was...The Elephant Man.
This beautiful but heartbreaking film directed by David Lynch tells the true story of a twenty-one year old English man named John Merrick. Mr. Merrick was born with a rare crippling and disfiguring disease which caused his appearance to be altered and had ignorant people be cruelly inhuman to him. Despite his appearance, he was a very intelligent, kind, gifted young man who's warm smile and kind heart touched many lives and continues to inspire.
When Dr. Frederick Treves was first introduced to John he was in a "freak" side show at a circus and was refered to as "The Terrible Elephant Man". He was suffering from chronic bronchitis and had been cruelly beaten and ridiculed by the proprietor of the side show who claimed to "own" John, as if he were an animal rather than the beautiful soul that he was.
Dr. Treves took it upon himself to make sure that John had the best life possible and gave him a permanent "home" in the London Hospital. He finds out John is a brilliant man ,who although shy and intimidated at first, does indeed know how to speak, and does so rather gentlemanly. Although he has all the reason in the world to be angry at God, he isn't, and considers the Bible one of the most beautiful things he's ever read. He even memorized Psalms 13 and recites it in a very touching part of the film. He also created a model of a church cathedral which is so beautiful you can hardly believe a disabled man created it, although he certaintly did.
John constantly expresses his gratitude to Dr. Treves and the hospital staff, who although at first are shocked at his appearance, come to love him very much. He is given nice suits to wear and a shaving kit and is so touched by those gifts that the viewer watching the film cannot help feeling selfish for whatever they complain about in their lives when here is a man who has the worst life situartion possible, and yet in his own words is "Happy every hour of every day", because he now knows he has people who care about him.
John is a great fan of the theater, although he's never been to a play, and is utterly beside himself when Mrs. Kendell (the most famous actress of the time) starts a friendship with him. There is a beautiful, poignant scene where Mrs. Kendell and John recite Shakespear's Romeo and Juliet and Mrs. Kendell tells him he is not the elephant man, but Romeo, indeed.
John even has the support of the royal family. The Princess of Wales makes a visit to the hospital and commends them on the kind, christian act of taking care of such a wonderful man as Mr. Merrick. Although the hospital chairmen were considering transferring John somewhere else, they certaintly change their mind after the Princess addresses them.
Although only twenty-one years old, John is dying, but his last day on earth is a beautiful one. He had a balcony seat to one of London's most wonderful plays which Mrs. Kendell dedicated to him, and he received a standing ovation.
That night John was the happiest he'd ever been, and so wanted to leave the world that way. He arranged his pillows so he could sleep lying down (which he couldn't do before because his large head would cut circulation of blood and oxygen off) and passes away in his sleep.
This film is beautiful, touching, heartbreaking and heartwarming. There are many heartbreaking scenes I left out because I feel it is well worth it to watch this gorgeous film starring Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Treve and John Hurt as John Merrick. Words cannot describe the inner beauty of this man who will forever be known as a legend in his own right.
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I have to give this film such a high mark because it's beautifully done, realistic, and heartbreaking.
I admit I was hesitant to watch this film again because I knew I would definitly be reduced to tears, but it is a great reminder for all people to realize they shouldn't feel so sorry for themselves and complain about small things because there are people out there who are fighting much tougher battles, and I certaintly can't think of someone who's had a harder life than John Merrick. He's a beautiful person because his hearts beautiful, and every time I see the movie I want to give him a big hug and adopt him.
I really, really recommend this movie for anyone with a compassionate, humanitarian heart.
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The film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (John Hurt). 
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Although he was called The Elephant Man, John Merrick did not suffer from Elephantitas. Merrick actually had a rare disease called Proteus Syndrome, which causes overgrowth of bone and other tissue, and has been recorded in fewer than 100 cases, ever.
The Elephant Man's name was Joseph Merrick, not John Merrick. When Frederick Treves wrote his memoir he refered to him as John. His handwritten manuscript reveals that Treves knew that Merricks name was Joseph, and deliberately crossed out "Joseph" and replaced it with "John". Merricks surviving correspondence show he signed his name as Joseph and contemporary newspaper articles about his case refer to him by his correct name. Why Treves changed it is unclear.
In real life, John (Joseph) Merrick often quoted this poem he wrote: "Tis true my form is something odd, but blaming me is blaming God; Could I create myself anew, I would not fail in pleasing you. If I could reach from pole to pole or grasp the ocean with a span, I would be measured by the soul; the mind's the measure of the man."
In real life John Merrick wasn't beaten at all. He was a mountain of gold for his owners so they wouldn't have taken the risk of maltreating him. On the contrary, he was well treated. -Thanks to Alain Lamothe
The Elephant Man was shockingly not even nominated for Best Makeup, the reason why? Because the oscars didn' have a best makeup category then. However, because of the Elephant Man, the following year the Academy Awards decided to have a Best Makeup category which is still in the awards ceremony today. -Thanks to Darren
It was once rumored that Michael Jackson wanted to buy the real Elephant Man's Bones.
David Bowie played the role of Joseph Merrick on Broadway. However, he did not wear any make-up. The Elephant Man's deformities were conveyed to the audience by twisting his body and dragging his foot. -Thanks to Kara Cohen
As told on the Discovery Channel documentary, the real-Life Joseph Merrick was a "hawker" in his teen-age years. A "hawker" being defined as the near equivalent of a door-to-door salesman. -Thanks to Joshua
Anne Bancroft, who stars in the film, is married to it's producer, Mel Brooks. -Thanks to Patrick Fogerty
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check out this list: ..... Outsiders ..... Rain Man ..... Drugstore Cowboy ..... Stand By Me ..... Wall Street ..... Mask ..... Amadeus ..... Full Metal Jacket ..... Witness ..... Breakfast Club ..... Glory ..... Platoon ..... Scarface ..... Six Weeks ..... Urban Cowboy .....[More]
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John Hurt, the actor who portrays the Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, played the role without pay. Upon being interviewed for the part, informed of the story, he told the producers, "Don't tell my agent, but I will do this role for nothing." -Thanks to Joshua
Following the death of the real John Merrick, parts of his body were preserved for medical science to study. Some internal organs were kept in jars, and plastic casts were taken of his head, an arm and a foot. Although the organs were destroyed by German air raids during the second world war, the casts survived and were kept at the London Hospital. The makeup for John Hurt who played Merrick in the film, was designed from those casts.
This film was executively produced by Mel Brooks who was responsible for hiring Director David Lynch solely on the basis of his one previous film, the highly surreal cult movie Eraserhead. He also obtained permission to film in black and white. He deliberately left his name off the credits as he knew that people would get the wrong idea about the movie if they saw his name on the film, given his fame as a satirist.
Director David Lynch originally tried to do the makeup for the elephant man himself but simply wasn't able to.
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|  |  |  | | The Elephant Man
Locations |
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 Featured Movie Location: The Station
Wanna see the real life filming location used for The Station in the movie? These scenes were actually shot at Liverpool Street Station, located at Bishopsgate in London, GREATER LONDON, UK.
The Elephant Man was filmed at locations in London, GREATER LONDON, UK.
Can you help? Do you know any of the London, UK (or any other) filming locations used for The Elephant Man? [Please send them in]
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The soundtrack is all music composed by John Morris and performed by the Phil Harmonic Orchestra and includes "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber. It has a very hitchcock type feeling to it, and really transports the viewer back to the early 1800's.
Michael Jackson dances with a claymation version of the skeleton of John Merrick in his video "Leave Me Alone".
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Soundtrack Available:
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