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.
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.
* * * * *
Warm regards, Skip
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.
* * * * *
Warm regards, Skip
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