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The Elephant Man is a 1980 biopic loosely based on the story of the 19th century British deformed celebrity, Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film). The film was directed by David Lynch and stars John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Michael Elphick, Hannah Gordon and Freddie Jones. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (494x755, 95 KB) This image is of a movie poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the movie or the studio which produced the movie in question. ...
For other persons named David Lynch, see David Lynch (disambiguation). ...
Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926) is an Academy Award-winning American actor, writer, director and producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedy parodies or, as he says, spoofs. // Born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York to Russian-Jewish parents Maximillian Kaminsky...
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE (IPA: ) (born 31 December 1937) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning Welsh film, stage and television actor. ...
John Hurt as Chancellor Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta. ...
Anne Bancroft (September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an iconic Academy, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning American actress. ...
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH (14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000), known as Sir John Gielgud, was an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Academy Award-winning English theatre and film actor, and is generally regarded as one of the great British actors in history. ...
Freddie Francis (born December 22, 1917) is an English cinematographer and film director. ...
Anne V. Coates (born 12 December 1925) is a Academy Award winning British film editor with a 40-year-plus career in film editing. ...
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ...
October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...
// Events April 30 - The Roger Daltrey film, McVicar, opens in London. ...
A biographical film or biopic is a film about a particular person or group of people, based on events that actually happened. ...
Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...
For the Jamaican missionary to Cameroon, see Joseph Merrick (missionary) Joseph Carey Merrick. ...
For other persons named David Lynch, see David Lynch (disambiguation). ...
John Hurt as Chancellor Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta. ...
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE (IPA: ) (born 31 December 1937) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning Welsh film, stage and television actor. ...
Anne Bancroft (September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an iconic Academy, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning American actress. ...
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH (14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000), known as Sir John Gielgud, was an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Academy Award-winning English theatre and film actor, and is generally regarded as one of the great British actors in history. ...
Wendy Hiller in I Know Where Im Going! (1945) Dame Wendy Hiller (August 15, 1912 – May 14, 2003) was a distinguished English film and stage actress. ...
Michael as Harry Slater in EastEnders Michael Elphick (born September 19, 1946 in Chichester, West Sussex; died September 7, 2002 in London) was a British actor. ...
Hannah Gordon (born 9 April 1941 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish-born British actress. ...
Freddie Jones (born September 12, 1927) is a British character actor. ...
The screenplay was adapted by Christopher De Vore, Eric Bergren and David Lynch from the books The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences (1923) by Sir Frederick Treves and The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity by Ashley Montagu. It was shot in black-and-white. For other persons named David Lynch, see David Lynch (disambiguation). ...
Sir Frederick Treves Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet GCVO CH CB (February 15, 1853 - December 7, 1923) Born at 8 Cornhill Street on the 15th of February, 1853, he was the son of an upholsterer in Dorchester, Dorset. ...
Ashley Montagu (June 28, 1905, London, England - November 26, 1999, Princeton, New Jersey), was an English anthropologist and humanist who popularized issues such as race and gender and their relation to politics and development. ...
Black-and-white or black and white) can refer to a general term used in photography, film, and other media (see black-and-white). ...
Synopsis
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. The story begins with Dr Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) discovering John Merrick (John Hurt) in a Victorian freak show where he is managed by the brutish Bytes (Freddie Jones). Merrick is so hideously deformed that he must wear a hood when in public. Also, Bytes claims his exhibit is an imbecile. Treves is moved by Merrick's condition and pays Bytes to bring him to his hospital so that he can inspect him and present a lecture on his peculiar physique, at which Treves coldly displays him as a mere curiosity. On Merrick's return, Bytes beats him so severely that Treves is called, who attempts to take him back to the hospital. Bytes confronts Treves and accuses him of also exploiting Merrick for his own ends, which leads the surgeon to resolve to do what he can to help the unfortunate man. Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE (IPA: ) (born 31 December 1937) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning Welsh film, stage and television actor. ...
John Hurt as Chancellor Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta. ...
Coney Island and its popular on-going freak show. ...
The ward nurses are revolted by Merrick's appearance, so Treves places him in a quarantine room under the watchful care of the dour matron, Mothershead (Wendy Hiller). Mr Carr Gomm (John Gielgud), the Governor of the Hospital, questions Treves about the infectious patient and reminds him that the place cannot entertain an incurable. Treves attempts to coach Merrick (who has thus far remained mute) to recite a few polite sentences such as "Hello. My name is John Merrick." However, during his interview with Carr Gomm, the confused and anxious Merrick breaks down. Carr Gomm leaves, telling Treves it was a good attempt, but the man is an obvious imbecile. As Carr Gomm walks away, Treves hears Merrick in a strong and confident voice recite the 23rd Psalm and he calls back his superior. The Lord is My Shepherd by Eastman Johnson Wikisource has original text related to this article: Psalm 23 Psalm 23 (Greek numbering: Psalm 22), sometimes known as the Shepherd Psalm because of its opening line, The Lord is my shepherd, is perhaps the best-known psalm, and perhaps the best...
It is soon revealed that Merrick is in fact a sophisticated and articulate person, and that his playing dumb is merely a defence mechanism to avoid beatings from Bytes. Carr Gomm arranges a set of rooms at the hospital, and Queen Victoria — having learned of Merrick — instructs funds to be set aside for his care. He makes drawings and models of churches and reads. Merrick visits the home of Treves and his wife (Gordon) and reveals his most treasured possession, a portrait of his mother. When he states his hope that his mother would love him if she could only see what lovely friends he now has, Mrs. Treves breaks down and begins to weep, much to her embarrassment. Merrick begins to receive society visitors in his rooms, including the actress Mrs Kendall (Anne Bancroft) and becomes a celebrity. He becomes so successful that the head nurse complains that it seems that Merrick is still being treated as a freak show attraction, albeit in a more upper class, celebrated style. For Treves' part, this observation and his role in this situation deeply trouble him, and he begins to question whether or not he has done the right thing. Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819–22 January 1901) was a Queen of the United Kingdom, reigning from 20 June 1837 until her death. ...
 John Hurt as Joseph Merrick However the rooms are not secure, and a night porter (Elphick) begins to exploit Merrick. Also Bytes learns how to get to his former "property" and abducts him to continental Europe, where he is put on show again. Merrick escapes with the help of his fellow freak show attractions, and makes it back to London. However, he is harassed by a group of boys at a train station, and accidentally knocks down a young girl. He is chased, unmasked, and cornered by an angry mob, at which point Merrick angrily asserts his humanity in the film's most famous scene, saying, "I am not an animal! I am a human being! I... am... a man!" He then collapses from exhaustion. Image File history File links Sjff_03_img1147. ...
Image File history File links Sjff_03_img1147. ...
Meanwhile, Treves is consumed with guilt and, with the help of Mothershead, he takes action against the night porter. When the police bring Merrick back to the hospital, he is re-installed in his rooms in the hospital and makes some recovery, but it is clear that he is dying. As a treat, Mrs Kendall arranges an evening at the theatre where Merrick receives an ovation. That night, back at the hospital, Merrick thanks Treves and for the first time sleeps lying down — even though he knows this will kill him (because of his oversized head, which he had to rest on his knees lest it snap his neck). The spirit of his beloved mother appears to comfort him during the last scene of the movie.
Historical inaccuracies This section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since March 2007. The film is based on historical events but makes numerous changes to recorded fact. For example, the incidents in Belgium and at the railway station took place before Merrick was admitted to Treves's hospital, not afterward, and Merrick travelled to Belgium of his own accord, because freakshows had been made illegal in Britain, unlike the film, in which he is kidnapped. There is also no evidence that Merrick was abused while working at the freakshow.
The film also repeats an error in many early biographies and fictionalizations of Merrick's life in calling him John, when his name was in fact Joseph.
Production The film was produced by Mel Brooks, who downplayed his involvement as he did not want the project to be perceived as a comedy.[citation needed] Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926) is an Academy Award-winning American actor, writer, director and producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedy parodies or, as he says, spoofs. // Born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York to Russian-Jewish parents Maximillian Kaminsky...
The make-up for John Hurt was made from casts of Merrick's body, which had been preserved at the Royal London Hospital. David Lynch originally attempted to do the make-up himself but the results were not filmable.[citation needed] The final make-up was devised by Christopher Tucker. The make-up was so convincing that the Motion Picture Academy was prompted to create a new category for Best Make-up for the Oscars.[citation needed] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...
In addition to writing and directing the film, David Lynch provided the musical direction and sound design. During its depiction of the final moments of Merrick's life, the film uses "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber. This has been partly responsible for a resurgence in the piece's popularity[citation needed] (it would be later used in the 1986 Oscar-winning Vietnam war film, Platoon). Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Adagio for Strings is a piece of classical music for string orchestra, arranged by the American composer Samuel Barber from his first string quartet. ...
Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Samuel Osborne Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer of classical music ranging from orchestral, to opera, choral, and piano music. ...
Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...
Platoon is an award winning 1986 Vietnam war film, written and directed by Oliver Stone and starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe. ...
Actor Frederick Treves, great nephew of the surgeon, appears in the opening sequences as an Alderman trying to close down the freakshow. Frederick Treves is an established British actor with an extensive repertoir. ...
Awards The Elephant Man was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role (John Hurt), Art Direction-Set Decoration, Costume Design, Director, Film Editing, Music: Original Score, and Writing: Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...
// The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ...
The Academy Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to male actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ...
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. ...
This Academy Award was first given for movies made in 1948 when separate awards were given for black-and-white and color movies. ...
The Academy Award for Directing is an accolade given to the person that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences feels was best director of the past year. ...
The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. ...
From Rule Sixteen of the Special Rules for The Music Awards Original Score: An original score is a substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ...
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. ...
It was also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film as well as other BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best Actor (John Hurt) and Best Production Design, and was nominated for four others: Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography and Editing. This page lists the winners and nominess for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards. ...
BAFTA Award The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ...
See also For the Jamaican missionary to Cameroon, see Joseph Merrick (missionary) Joseph Carey Merrick. ...
The Elephant Man is a Tony Award-winning play by Bernard Pomerance and produced by Nelle Nugent among others. ...
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