Here it is - the film that is, in my opinion, the finest motion picture ever made in the history of the cinema. Director David Lynch cuts through all cinematic excess to get directly to the heart of the story. His unique vision, his eerie atmospherics, his wonderful use of ambient sound, his unflinching eye all pierce the heart of this story. In this wonderful film Lynch brings to the screen a scenario that is terribly heart-wrenching and yet wonderfully hopeful at the same time.

Lynch had only directed "Eraserhead," arguably the most bizarre film ever made, when Mel Brooks called upon him to direct this film - the first for his new production company, Brooksfilms. The fact that Brooks would offer such a wonderful opportunity to a little-known director is astounding enough but the fact that the film ever got made is the really remarkable thing. Brooks had to give the broadcast rights (as well as a TV special) to NBC to get funding. He then went to Paramount to seek distribution. Michael Eisner (now head of Disney) was Production Chief at Paramount at the time and dedicated the company to the production regardless of profit potential.

The finished product is remarkable. Lynch sets the mood at the film's opening sequence using his trademark unusual visuals coupled with strange sounds (usually the sounds of machines). After this mysterious opening, he shows us the strange time in history that the film is set, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Then, we move almost immediately into the heart of the film. And at the heart of the film is the cast. All high caliber English actors who move gracefully through Lynch's vision. 

John Hurt is remarkable as John Merrick, The Elephant Man. Burdened by tons and tons of prosthesis and make-up (crated by Christopher Tucker), Hurt has to make a empathetic character emerge. He does so wonderfully, giving us a heartfelt performance that is riveting and poignant. Also in the cast, Anthony Hopkins gives us an equally marvelous performance. He is called upon to teeter on the jagged precipice of right and wrong and to make us think about his character, Dr. Frederick Treves, and his motivations. Hopkins perfectly underplays Treves as subdued and introspective giving the character the counter-punctual humanity that the role calls for.

The supporting players all work wonderfully here as well. Some are called upon to do "heavies" and yet they make these characters human. Freddie Jones (who would later appear in Lynch's "Hotel Room") and Michael Elphick give us characters who do horrible things and yet still remain human. Because they do this remarkably well, we don't hate them but instead we hate their acts. They represent the dark, confused and distorted underbelly of human nature and because they do such despicable things and yet retain their human frailties, we see the point more clearly, that it is not the human that is wrong, but human nature. Adding a heart to these feelings is Dexter Fletcher, as a tertiary character, playing the boy who is forced to live in this dark society. He shows us that  it is his innocence and circumstances that   have lead him (and therefore the others too) into this society of human weaknesses. Through him, we also see that these people are not evil incarnate, instead they are the weak, unthinking, and confused. This makes them all the more frightening, for they could, at times, be ourselves. 

The hospital staff where Treves works also revolve around the plot here and we get several fine actors in minor roles. Sir John Gielgud and Dame Wendy Hiller principle among them. At the film's beginning, we see Merrick through their eyes and their emotional reactions mirror our own. Hiller, although only given one opportunity to do so, enunciates what many of us are thinking about Treves at the film's mid-point She vocalizes what we might see as the problem with Treves handling of Merrick. Yet in this short sequence she speaks volumes about her feeling and her character. It is a well written part and she performs it, like every other actor in the film, perfectly. Although Treves reacts harshly to her indictment, we later see him questioning the same things she did. This simple moment clarifies so much about Treves and punctuates the theme of the film.

The true star of secondary characters in the film, however, is Anne Bancroft (Brooks' wife). As an actress who takes an interest in Merrick she gets the most heart- wrenching scene to perform in the film and does so admirable. This may be her finest film performance ever. The heart and soul she brings to the film is marvelous. She acts like all of us would like to believe we would act in the same circumstances and makes us believe in the undauntable spirit of human kindness. This is a remarkable  feat considering she has only 2 scenes in the film.

But Lynch is the main person responsible for the films success. He films the piece in black and white giving it a sort of James Whale-like horror feel. But the spirit of the film overcomes this dark mood to become remarkably human. It force us to encounter the emotions and ideas inherent in this film and come to terms with them. Working with veteran Director of Photography Freddie Francis, Art Director Bob Cartwright and Location Manager Graham Ford, Lynch takes us into the street as well as the society of Victorian England. The early sequences in London's ghetto back streets are truly remarkable. Lynch captures an honest, gritty realism here that is probably the most accurate depiction of what it would have actually been like them Yet Lynch also gives the sequence his trademark touches; machinery, smoke, brick walls and all the other elements that made "Eraserhead" such a distinctively original, visual picture. Lynch makes all these elements work within the film to remind us of what sort of time and place the events are set, never having to rely on screen titles or narration. He tells us the story straight and simply with a great script (co-authored by Lynch, Christopher De Vore and Eric Bergren) that never utilizes gimmicks or contrivances to work. It is this straight forward approach juxtaposed against the gritty, surrealistic realism of the visuals that tie everything together here. 

Undoubtedly, one of the most successful visual ideas of the film is the appearance of Merrick. He is, at first, so hideous, so deformed and ugly, that the camera cannot focus on him and light even seems to shun him. But as the film proceeds, as we are forced to look at the so called Elephant Man more and more his appearance becomes less hideous. Soon, we can look at him without wincing, without turning our eyes away and this is when Lynch begins to show us the man underneath the deformities. As the film progresses, Merrick's  facade disintegrates and his soul, his heart, his warmth and his love emerge. It is through this simple device that we come to love Merrick, to care for him and to feel deeply about his circumstance and his fate.

"The Elephant Man" seems a highly unlikely film to be a commercial success and yet it was just that. The film was remarkably well received in Japan and broke box office records there. In the USA, the film scored well at the box office and was nominated for some Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Although it won no awards that year, it remains an artistic as well as a commercial triumph. No other film is as touching and heartfelt as this. It moves beyond the world of the real and the surreal into the world of emotions. It constantly forces us to look at man's inhumanity to man as well as humankind's undeniable kindness. It forces us to believe where there is no hope, to dream where there is no reason to dream, to love where it is difficult to love. It forces us to believe in our hearts and in the hearts of humanity. How many other films have ever accomplished this?

Note: There are at least two other films in which the main character proclaims "I am not an animal!" as Merrick  does here. The other two are "Spartacus" and "A Man Called Horse."

The condition from which Merrick suffers is properly called "neurofibromatosis."

There Oscar for Best Make-Up was introduced the year after this picture was released. Had it been included in 1980, Tucker would have surely won.

The film was nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. "Ordinary People" was voted Best Picture and it's Director Robert Redford voted Best Director for the 1980 Academy Awards.

"The Elephant Man" ranks #1 on the Lodger List of the Best Films of All Time.
 
It should be noted that the play based on this same story is uniquely different. In the theatrical production, the actor playing the Elephant Man contorts his physical body to represent Merrick's deformities. Many chiropractors and doctors have warned against performing the role.

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