The Elephant Man

"A true story of courage and human dignity."

1980 2h 4m EN

🙌

8.1

BANGER

★8.1TMDB · 4,075

DramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity.

“A true story of courage and human dignity.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Anthony Hopkins
Frederick Treves
John Hurt
John Merrick
Anne Bancroft
Mrs Kendal
John Gielgud
Carr Gomm
Wendy Hiller
Mothershead
Freddie Jones
Bytes
Michael Elphick
Night Porter
Hannah Gordon
Mrs Treves

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Lynch
Writers: David Lynch, Christopher De Vore, Eric Bergren
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

46 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Lynch, shot by Freddie Francis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Morris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anne V. Coates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt and Anne Bancroft carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A true story of courage and human dignity.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Lynch directs. Freddie Francis behind the camera. John Morris scores. Anne V. Coates cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 5.2× over at the box office.
246 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
4Directed by David Lynch, shot by Freddie Francis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Morris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Anne V. Coates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt and Anne Bancroft carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A true story of courage and human dignity.".
9IMDB entry: tt0080678 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10The top-rated still from this film on TMDB has 9 community votes — a signal the frame composition stuck with viewers.
11Classified under 40 themes, including "friendship", "london, england", "escape", "nurse".

The technical file

Cinematography: Freddie Francis
Original score: John Morris
Editing: Anne V. Coates
Production design: Stuart Craig
Costume design: Patricia Norris
Makeup / hair: Christopher Tucker
Sound: David Lynch
Runtime: 124 min · 2h 4m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $26,000,000
Return: 520% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Elephant Man (1980)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
César Award for Best Foreign Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

David Lynch

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2020-07-02
★ 7/10
The ultimate outcast In 1884 London, a doctor (Anthony Hopkins) meets Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man (wrongly called John Merrick in the film) who was being exploited as a freak show attraction. Treves (Hopkins) tries to help Merrick (John Hurt) for the last six years of the latter’s life wherein he becomes cultured, but he inevitably remains an object of curiosity, to high society as well as low society. Anne Bancroft plays a winsome entertainer who is warm toward Merrick. Directed by David Lynch and shot in B&W, “The Elephant Man” (1980) is a melancholic biographical movie, and understandably so, but Merrick’s story is worth checking out despite the fact that it inspires pity. It calls into question the concept of beauty: Natural beauty is something one is born with and did nothing to acquire, but so is physical unattractiveness. Then there’s inner beauty. The charismatic actress (Bancroft) displays both. Of course there’s also inner ugliness, like the carnival huckster. A myth developed about Merrick’s disfigurement that his mother was raped by an elephant, probably started by sideshow hawkers. The opening conveys this in an artistic manner, but it’s not to be taken literally, which is why it’s surreal. Meanwhile the factory scenes with the pipes and corresponding dangers exhibit the reality for workers in Victorian times. The score by John Morris is noteworthy with one piece being ripped-off for the moving parts of “Platoon” (1986), e.g. Elias’ melodramatic death scene. The film runs 2 hours, 4 minutes, and was shot entirely in London and nearby Shepperton Studios, just west of the city. GRADE: B
CinemaSerf2023-06-07
★ 8/10
Saw this, recently up-converted to 4K at the London Film Festival and, apart from the clear improvements to the quality and detail of the image, I was reminded of just how good it is. Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft play their roles with engaging sincerity - very ably supported by Sir John Gielgud and Dame Wendy Hiller. Prosthetics aside, John Hurt captures both the despair and optimism of Merrick with empathetic style; and Freddie Jones is just downright evil as "Bytes". His son Toby was at the screening and I couldn't help but wonder when he watched this portrayal by his father whether the pride in the performance must have been tempered by a disgust in the character, itself!! This film doesn't seem to do the rounds very often, nowadays, but it holds up very well after almost 40 years and is really a gem.