| The Elephant Man [DVD] [1980] | ![The Elephant Man [DVD] [1980]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C4z4oGbML._SL75_.jpg) | Director: David Lynch
Actors: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller
Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £17.99
Buy New: £4.98
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Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 3,708
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, PAL, Widescreen
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.78:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5055201803863
ASIN: B0019GJ4BU
Theatrical Release Date: 1980
Release Date: August 4, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
You could only see his eyes behind the layers of makeup in The Elephant Man but those expressive orbs earned John Hurt a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of John Merrick, the grotesquely deformed Victorian 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 and offers him an existence with dignity. Anne Bancroft co-stars 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 co-writer of this sombre 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 ceremony empty-handed, its dramatic power and handsome yet haunting imagery remain just as strong today. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com On the DVD: Being black and white, it's easier to judge the digital transfer in terms of shade and thankfully this print looks just fine. There's a little confusion over the sound, however, which is advertised as Stereo on the box but says Mono on the Audio Menu. It certainly seems to be a basic Dolby stereo but it's a shame Lynch hasn't given it the personal touch since he's obsessed with mixing his films' sound himself. From the nicely thought-out animated menus there's a gallery of 20 photos and a misguiding, dramatic theatrical trailer. The only other extra is a 64-page book of which only 10 pages relate directly to the film (the rest re-tell Lynch's career and the real Elephant Man's life). --Paul Tonks
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
Great extras and a classic movie June 24, 2010
D. Kohen (London)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed the interviews with John Hurt and David Lynch - very informative and as interesting as the classic movie itself.
This is a film that makes you appreciate how lucky you are to be born with a regular body.
Beautifully shot June 6, 2010
TheGerbilTamer (London)
Strangely, I've never seen The Elephant Man so being a fan of David Lynch's work, I thought I'd watch this film as I've heard so many good things about it. Basically, it's the story of John Merrick, the titular 'Elephant Man' (John Hurt)dubbed by Victorian London because of his severe deformities and peddled around various freak show fayres for the delectation of many. Surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) rescues him and provides him with a more dignified existence in the relative safety of the London Hospital. As you can imagine, the impressive cast consisting of John Mills, Anne Bancroft, Wendy Hillier, Michael Elphick, Hannah Gordon, Freddie Jones and a very young Dexter Fetcher make it a pleasure to watch and David Lynch's direction is dream-like and flows beautifully.
I would recommend this film to anyone who hasn't seen it as it's an ultimately sad but engaging tale. The black and white cinematography only seek to enhance the print and make it incredibly atmospheric.
Must-see film but a disappointing Blu-ray transfer June 2, 2010
DVDfever
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Dubbed The Elephant Man when appearing at the local circus show, in the 19th century, the one thing John Merrick (portrayed by John Hurt, who was nominated for an Oscar and won a BAFTA for his performance) didn't have was the condition of elephantitis. However, the condition is still one that cannot be cured and those with the power won't allow his body to be released for DNA testing.
In what is based on a true story, Merrick was a young man of 21 years of age rescued from exploitative circus showman Bytes (Freddie Jones) by Doctor Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) in order to study his affliction and give him a better lease of life. As the story unfolds he is introduced to established actress Mrs Kendal (Anne Bancroft), Treves' wife (Hannah Gordon) and specialist Mr Carr-Gomm (John Gielgud), each of whom treat him with the kindness and respect he deserved, but there's less welcoming opinions from Mrs Mothershead (Wendy Hiller), the Nurse Ratched of her time who runs the hospital where Merrick is staying and the Night Porter (Michael Elphick, currently appearing in Eastenders and looking well past his prime), who tries to make some money out of the man and behaves towards him in a sick and disgusting manner.
Don't watch this film expecting to find some answers or realistic reasons why Merrick became the way he was from his birth to his death in 1890, but do watch it for the staggering and tear-jerking performances from Hurt, most notably when he breaks down in front of Hannah Gordon because he just can't accept people being nice to him after suffering brutal treatment in the circus. Hopkins is one of my favourite actors and his performances of determined characters are always his best. Classic moments also include nurse Nora (Lesley Dunlop, appearing in ITV's Where The Heart Is at the time of writing) taking Merrick some dinner but without being forewarned of his appearance and the wanton public harrassing him and chasing him into a public toilet. Note also that it's nearly an hour before we actually get to see what Merrick looks like.
Cameos are abound in this film. Nula Conwell, as Nurse Kathleen, used to play WPC Viv Martella in ITV's The Bill until her character was gunned down, Birds of a Feather's Pauline Quirke plays "2nd whore", R2D2's Kenny Baker is the Plumed Dwarf, Press Gang's Dexter Fletcher plays Bytes' boy and Patricia Hodge is the "Screaming Mum". There's also a Frederick Treves playing the part of an alderman in this film, but checking the Internet Movie Database didn't show how, if at all, he is related to the character played by Hopkins.
David Lynch shot the film in 2.35:1 Panavision and in black and white, to evoke the feel of the period, which aids it immensely. Presented in the original 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio, this is the first time this film has been released on Blu-ray and for the most part it looks fantastic. It's sharp and detailed and makes an excellent film look even better. Occasionally, there's a slight shimmering on the dark areas, such as with the recent Luc Besson releases, but while it doesn't affect it as often, it's still annoying when it happens and makes me wonder how this has actually come about at Optimum. Put on a very dark scene, such as when Treves first meets Merrick, and it stands out like a sore thumb. For the record, I'm watching on a Panasonic 37" Plasma screen via a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player. Note that a widescreen video was once released in the dim and distant past before such things became mainstream, but it wasn't labelled as such so would've been a real find at the time.
As for the sound, this was only ever filmed with a mono soundtrack. Dialogue is clear and I think if a DTS or Dolby Digital 5.1 version was created with split-stereo rear effects it would take away the closeness of the atmosphere created rather than add to it in any way.
The extras are as follows:
* "Joseph Merrick: The Real Elephant Man" featurette (19:53): Elephant Man fan Jonathan Evans, an archivist at the Royal London Hospital Museum, talks about the man, the characters in the film and how well they relate to real-life events. For example, he was apparently more in control of his own life and didn't keep getting captured and did actually sign himself up for a freak show rather than being forced into it. This is a fascinating supplemental.
* Interviews: Firstly, there's three here with David Lynch. One at the Cartier Foundation, Paris in 2007 (14:50), entited "The Air is On Fire", in which he meets for the first time with Michel Chion, who wrote the first book on Lynch's Cinema back in 1992; a Q&A-style one (24:49) on several topics within the film; and also one between Lynch and director Mike Figgis (19:50). There's also a Q&A-style interview with John Hurt (20:14).
* BD Live: Hook your Blu-ray player up online and... well, I got a 'download error. Apparently the solution is that "The server may be temporarily unavailable. Please wait a few minutes and try again later.", but why can't all this info be on the disc itself? That'd be easier, surely? I got a few other error messages when I tried later. Oh well.
The menu mixes images from the film with a short piece of the opening theme playing over and over. mixes footage from the film in black and white with some of its eerie music. There are English subtitles but the Chaptering is, again for Optimum, appalling with just 12 over the 123-minute running time.
Film: 10/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 6/10
Extras: 4/10
Atmospheric and moving March 22, 2010
Simon D. Jones (Somerset)
The Elephant Man was only the fourth film directed by David Lynch and before he hit the big time with Dune (1984) and Twin Peaks (1990-91). Prior to this film his major breakthrough was Eraserhead (1976) but he started with The Grandmother (1970) and The Amputee (1974).
Eraserhead was both disturbing and surreal and like The Elephan Man shot in black and white.
This movie would never have came about if not for Mel Brooks - he of Blazing Saddles and numerous other conedies - it is after all a Brooksfilms Production.
The stand out feature of this movie is the cinematography - done by the legendary Freddie Francis and filmed in authentic London locations that were bulldozed and obliterated a mere year after the film was made. It is atmospherically dark, capturing Victorian London in reasonable quality along with the hospital and costumes. To my mind some of the lighting inspiration from this film must have rubbed off on Ridley Scott whe he came to make Blade Runner (film noir).
The story is based on real events, that of John (Joseph) Merrick, although Lynch took slight liberties with the storytelling, deviating from historical facts regardng Merrick's actual life (he willingly placed himself in a workhouse and willingly used his deformities to earn a living).
The debate regarding the condition suffered by Merrick has been extensive - initially described as "Elephantis" the film goes along with the Victorian Freakshow proprietor's explanation that "something" happened to his mother at 4 months preganant involving a remote island and elephats.
The proprietor here is played with tremendous effect by Freddie Jones who has the right balance between menace, subservience and anger - he considers himself Merrick's "owner".
The modern diagnosis is neurofibromatosis type I although Proteus syndrom was postulated 2003 DNA tests did not confirm this diagnosis.
Paramount didn't quite know how to market this film, John Hurt describes a showing where a Paramount exec turns to him and says "We're going to have a hard time marketing a monster movie" which is precisely what the film is not about.
We see Merrick mistreated and beated and "presented" as The Amazing Elephant Man by Jones. Enter Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) who at first sees him as a medical curiosity - it is Treves own book (or portions thereof) upon which the screenplay was based and a latter 1970s publication. At one point Treves wonders if he and Jone's character have becoe the same - parading Merrick as a sideshow except this time ih high society.
What we get from this film is to look past the deformities to a man who is initially frightened and frightening (women scream at the sight of him) but gradually he demonstrates he is not only intellectual but a deft model maker - the church he builds still exists although not the one shown in this film.
The film garnered 8 Oscar nominations but won none, not that it matters a jot as the film is wonderful in many respects. The makeup is convincing, the actors are great and the historical accuuracy is very good (we can forgive artistic licence). In most ways this is a very authentic and human story of a man who died aged just 27.
Sometimes I wonder whether modern man has progressed any from his Victorian counterpart when encountering someone with severe disabilities - are they shunned, ignored or treated as some kind of curious feak - I wish it were not so and maybe humanity should re-evaluate it's "gorp" mentality - as Merrick said "I am not an animal, I am a man"
A movie that is good for all the right reasons, wonderfully shot and acted - a work of craft that should be humbling not a spectacle. Watch it, appreciate it and remember that "we must be kind to one another because each voice enriches and enobles us and each voice lost diminishes us."
The Elephant Man March 6, 2010
Debit (Queens,NY,USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
WOW! This is one of the best quality Blu-ray movies I ever seen. Picture and sound are excellent. I thought I'm watching real thing. Is this really 1980's movie? Any way I wanna see Blu-ray movies like that!!! Great job, UK!!!!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
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