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.
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.
The Elephant Man became a huge surprise success, and received eight Academy
Award nominations, including Best Picture in 1981.
Synopsis
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.
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. I am very pleased to meet you." 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.
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 (Hannah
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.
John Hurt as John 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.
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.
(Merrick normally slept in an upright position to prevent the weight of his oversized head from snapping his neck.) The spirit of
his beloved mother appears to comfort him during the last scene of the movie.
Historical inaccuracies
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. In fact, Merrick had saved up a great deal of money
from the wages he had earned while working there. Likewise, Treves did not "rescue" Merrick from a sadistic carnival proprietor:
it was Merrick who freely approached the doctor with a written note requesting his care.
Contrary to the film, Dr Treves did not cajole Merrick into speaking his first words. Indeed, on account of a severe
constrictive deformity of the mouth, it actually took several operations before Merrick was physically able to speak at all. The
film's chief antagonist, Bytes, is an entirely fictitious character. As played by Freddie Jones, wearing ratty clothes with a
stove-pipe hat, a perpetual five-o'clock shadow and a chronic case of alcoholic tremors, Bytes is seemingly modelled after
Robert Newton's characterisation of Bill Sykes in
David Lean's 1948 film adaptation of Oliver
Twist.
The film also repeats an error in many early biographies and fictionalisations of Merrick's life in calling him John, when his
name was, in fact, Joseph.
Production
The film was produced by Mel Brooks, who had been impressed by David Lynch's earlier film Eraserhead at a private screening.
Brooks downplayed his involvement as he did not want the project to be perceived as a comedy.
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. The final make-up was devised by Christopher Tucker. It was so convincing that the Motion Picture Academy was
prompted to create a new category for Best Make-up for the Oscars.[citation needed]
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 (it would be later used in the 1986 Oscar-winning Vietnam War film,
Platoon, and in the funeral scene in Amélie
by Jean-Pierre Jeunet).
Actor Frederick Treves, great nephew of the surgeon, appears in the opening
sequences as an Alderman trying to close down the freakshow.
Awards and media listings
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.
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. It was also listed by
the American Film Institute's list of "Greatest Film Scores" and "Saddest
Moments", as well as being selected for a listing in the National Film Registry
by the United States Library of Congress. Also, in 2006, the film was listed in a
televised Australian series 20 to 1 countdown celebrating "Great Movie One-Liners",
The Elephant Man was featured, with the line ""I am not an animal! I am a human being!", it was also featured in
Entertainment Weekly's "Saddest Moments".
See also
External links
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