The Elephant Man (1980)

                        

Director: David Lunch
Starring: Sir Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Ken Boon, Anne Bancroft, John Geelgood

A tragic, moving, sad, emotional story of a man struggling with a hideous deformity, The Elephant Man is nothing like other superhero films. For a start there are no special effects and no explosions. This is a person we should be feeling sorry for, rather than applauding his extraordinary abilities.

Also, The Elephant Man is true. He was a real person. This is a fact. As far as I am aware Spiderman was pure fiction! LOLZ! Seriously though, Spiderman is not real.

Unlike Grease, The Elephant Man is filmed entirely in black & white. There are also no songs. This gives the film a great sense of the olden days. A time when we relied on steam trains and bubonic plague was rife. A time known as Victorian times.

Anthony Hopkins plays Dr Frederick Treeves. A brilliant young brain surgeon, he decides to take the night off and visit the circus. This is believable because sport and cinema had yet to be invented.

Whilst there he heads into the Freak Tent and is shocked and fascinated by the Elephant Man, a deformed person on display for cheap laughs. The Elephant Man's owner is a cruel gypsy, so Treeves kidnaps him (the Elephant Man, not the gypsy) and takes him back to the London Hospital. After showing everyone that he can talk, the Elephant Man becomes the toast of London society. Then he dies and the film ends.

Anthony Hopkins is superb as Treeves. Fresh from playing the title character in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic PSYCHO! (also filmed in black and white) he plays the arrogant doctor with consumate skill. Hopkins actually trained to become a fully qualified brain surgeon in preparation for the role. Such was his committment to realism.

Elephont Man was a springboard to greater things for Hopkins. Soon after this film he was totally drenched with the ubiquity fire-hose and went on to appear in such huge hits as Silence of the Lambs, Amistad and Tron.

John Hurt is excellent as Elephant Man. Unrecognisible under heavy layers of make-up (that reportedly took 7 days to apply), he creates a very sad, sympathetic character. He also looks seriously cool with his mask on.

After this John Hurt appeared in Alien, Indiana Jones and Contact. He did not wear the Elephant Man make-up in any of these films.

Also keep an eye out for Anne Bancroft as a woman and Sir John Geelgood as a man. Both are excellent in these small, but essential roles.

Director David Lunch directs with authority. He also creates a superb atmosphere, covering his sets with the thick smoke and decay of Victorian London, a decay that still exists today - except with added ultra-violence, graffiti and general malaise. I have no idea what else he made after this film.

There are so many subtexts too. By showing Elephant Man off to his rich doctor friends isn’t Treeves really just as bad as the nasty gypsy? Food for thought? More like a FEAST for thought! Seriously though, there is lots going on under the surface. Sadly I don't have the time to elaborate as I am currently running late for the Framlingham Leek Festival.

There are some hilarious moments (such as when the Elephant Man is chased around Grand Central Station in London), but this is not really a comedy. There is also some blistering action (such as when the Elephant Man is chased around Grand Central Station in London), but this is not really an action film.

No, it is a TRUE film. A drama about a triumph over adversity. I wept when I watched it for the first time, and I wept when I watched it for the second time. I was currently half way through my third watch when my DVD went missing, so on that occasion I wept for different reasons. But I am weeping again now.

This should be reason enough for you to watch it and weep too.

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Warm regards, Skip

Grease 2 (1982)

Director: Unknown
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Maxwell House, Adrian Zod, Sid Caeser, Eve Ardon

Quite simply the greatest sequel ever made, Grease 2 picks up exactly where Grease 1 left off (albeit three years later). Everything is EXACTLY the same at Rydell High School apart from all of the students and most of the teachers. The songs are also different, and the violence has been toned down a little.

The Pink Ladies are still there too. This time lead by Michelle Pfeiffer as Stephanie. This was Michelle's first film and she is terrific. Although not as desirable as Olivia Newton-John, she is still very good. I also love her hair. She went on to star in Scarf Ace and Labyrinth.

The T-Birds are also back, although this time they are obsessed by motorbikes instead of cars. They are a fearsome bunch of scoundrels who favour swift brutality. Their leader is Zod.

The plot involves an English exchange student called Michael (Maxwell Coal Field). Everyone thinks he is a giant square and nowhere near popular enough to hang around with the ultra-trendy T-Birds. He is also forbidden from dating a Pink Lady due to an ancient code that I didn't really understand.. Personally I thought his blazers, light grey slacks and penchant for tweed to be the epitome of style, but what do I know! LOLZ! Maxwell is very good as Michael, perhaps too good. After Grease 2 he was abducted by the anonimity mothership and disappeared from our screens altogether. He recently appeared in Casualty on BBC1 playing the same character.

Moving on, if you thought the plot to Grease 1 was complex, wait till you hear this; Michael buys a motorbike and disguises himself behind a helmet and goggles. He calls himself the 'Cool Rider' and delights Stephanie by careering wrecklessly around a large car park. Naturally they begin seeing each other but he remains mysterious due to his insistance upon wearing the helmet at every opportunity. This creates a Clark Kent/Superman type scenario whereby Stephanie just cannot tell the difference between these two guys who are really the same guy! It is a superb plot device that keeps the proceedings totally unpredictible. It also explains why I always confuse this film with Superman.

Of course, the T-Birds do not like Stephanie seeing the Cool Rider because it breaks the afforementioned code (which I still fail to grasp). She sees him anyway, creating a dramatic tension that is almost impossible to bear. Meanwhile, the square and anonymous Michael does everybodies homework because he is English and genetically more intelligent than any of the Americans. He also refuses to kneel before Zod.

I won't reveal the ending, but Michael removes his helmet and goggles at a huge Hawaiian-themed party and Stephanie embraces him and accepts him for who he is. Everyone sings a happy song about mutual respect and they all graduate from high school. Roll credits.

The songs are sensational. The opening song Back To School is a rip-snorter which focuses on the kids all returning to school after the summer. There is a song set in bomb-shelter (though thankfully without the nuclear menace that one would associate with such an environment) and another song set in a bowling alley(though thankfully without the nuclear menace that one would associate with such an environment).

The best song is a ballard called Charades. As sung by Michael, I imagine it really sums up the frustration of leading a double life. He wants Stephanie to accept him for who is, not a mindless stuntman who cavorts around on a stinking, noisy motorbike (like most, if not all motorbike owners)

The motorbike scenes are breathtaking though. The best bit is when Michael shows up at the bowling alley as 'Cool Rider' for the first time. He wows the assembled masses with a totally stunning selection of wheelies and modest jumps before roaring off into the night. Moments later he returns and everyone sings a song called 'Who's That Guy', which features my favourite lyric of the film:-

Cast: 'Who's that guy, on that motorcycle?'
Michael: (thinking, but singing) 'What would they say if they knew it was Michael!'

The scene culminates with a jaw-dropping jump over a police car, which ironically would have put Michael in Casualty had he fallen off in mid-air. Or indeed if he had ploughed directly into the side of the police car. Or skidded underneath and been impaled on the chassis and exhaust.

Anyway, time to finish. Hopefully this review has convinced you to seek out this classic film. If Grease 2 were a bird it would be a golden eagle soaring at a slightly lower altitude to Grease 1, because Grease 1 is still best. Just!

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Warm regards, Skip