Connection to the previous post (HAMLET (ZEFFIRELLI)): CHRISTOPHER De BORE wrote both screenplays.
RATINGS: IMDB ― 8.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 90%, ME ― 85%
John Merrick: [after seeing pictures of Dr. Treves' family] Would you care to see my mother?
Dr. Frederick Treves: [surprised] Your mother? Yes please.
[John pulls out a small portrait]
Mrs. Treves: Oh but she's... Mr. Merrick, she's beautiful!
John Merrick: Oh, she had the face of an angel!
[sadly]
John Merrick: I must have been a great disappointment to her.
Mrs. Treves: No, Mr. Merrick, no. No son as loving as you could ever be a disappointment.
John Merrick: If only I could find her, so she could see me with such lovely friends here now; perhaps she could love me as I am. I've tried so hard to be good.
[Mrs. Treves begins to cry]
John Hurt as John Merrik, Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Frederick Treves and Hannah Gordon as Mrs. Treves.
Trivia (From IMDB):
The Elephant Man makeup took seven to eight hours to apply each day and two hours to remove. John Hurt would arrive on set at 5.00am and shoot from noon until 10.00pm. Because of the strain on the actor, he worked alternate days.
This film was executive produced by Mel Brooks, who was responsible for hiring director David Lynch and obtaining permission to film in black and white. He deliberately left his name off the credits, as he knew that people would get the wrong idea about the movie if they saw his name on the film, given his fame as a satirist.
When Paramount studio executives were shown a cut of the film, they wanted the film's opening and closing surrealist sequences to be cut. Executive producer Mel Brooks, according to producer Stuart Cornfeld, said to them: "We are involved in a business venture. We screened the film for you to bring you up to date as to the status of that venture. Do not misconstrue this as our soliciting the input of raging primitives."
Merrick's condition was undiagnosed at the time of his death. Later studies of his skeleton and the casts made of his body led researchers to suggest he suffered from neurofibromatosis (NF) type I, a genetic condition that 1 in 4,000 persons suffer from. The NF Foundation used the movie as a fund raising tool and credited it with making the disease more widely known. Later examination, including CT scans of the skeleton, lead researchers to believe he suffered from Proteus syndrome, a much rarer condition than NF. A scientist in 2001 speculated that Merrick may have suffered from a combination of neurofibromatosis type I and Proteus syndrome. In 2003, researchers used surviving DNA samples from Merrick in an attempt to determine his unique condition. However these tests were inconclusive and the cause of Joseph Merrick's medical condition remains unknown.
David Lynch was working as a roofer at the time he was offered the chance to direct.
Following the death of the real Joseph "John" Merrick, parts of his body were preserved for medical science to study. Some internal organs were kept in jars, and plaster casts were taken of his head, an arm, and a foot. Although the organs were destroyed by German air raids during the Second World War, the casts survived and are kept at the London Hospital. The makeup for John Hurt, who played Merrick in the film, was designed directly from those casts.
When the nominees for the 53rd Annual Academy Awards were announced in February 1981, many in the industry were appalled that this movie was not going to be honored for its make-up effects. At the time there was not a regular make-up category and winners for make-up were cited with a special award. Feeling that the make-up technicians deserved to be rewarded for the film, a letter of protest was sent to the Academy's Board of Governors to ask them to change their minds and give the film a special award. The Academy refused, but in response to the outcry, they decided a year later to reward make-up artists with their own annual category, and thus the best make-up award was born. Because of earlier restrictions, some other notable films did not receive Oscars for their makeup, notably Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), The Wizard of Oz (1939), and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939).
After the first day of shooting, when actor John Hurt was exposed for the first time to the inconveniences of having his make-up applied and walking around in it, he called his wife, saying, "I think they finally managed to make me hate acting."
Anthony Hopkins's portrayal of the good doctor Frederick Treves in this film is reportedly what inspired Jonathan Demme to cast him as the evil doctor Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). (Hopkins later said that he felt the sharing-and-caring role of Dr. Frederick Treves a rather dull one.)
The writers based this film on the memoirs of Dr. Frederick Treves as well as other true accounts, but avoided the play by Bernard Pomerance. The true name of the Elephant Man was not John Merrick as most believe, but Joseph Carey Merrick. Merrick was born in Leicester, England on August 5, 1862, and died in the Royal London Hospital on April 11, 1890, at the age of 27. When Dr. Treves wrote his memoir, he referred to him as John. His handwritten manuscript reveals that Treves knew that Merrick's name was Joseph, and deliberately crossed out Joseph and replaced it with John. Merrick's surviving correspondence shows he signed his name as Joseph, and contemporary newspaper articles about his case refer to him by his correct name. Why Treves changed his name to John is unknown, but this movie is partly responsible for that continuing misconception.
When Frederick Treves sees Merrick for the first time, he sheds a single tear. Anthony Hopkins thought of his sick father at that moment to help him to cry.
Due to the constrictive deformity of his mouth, Merrick never spoke as clearly in real life as he does in the film. Doctor Frederick Treves often had to act as Merrick's interpretor for visitors. Those who knew him well, such as hospital staff and friends, grew used to his impeded speech but it remained indistinct and worsened as Merrick's condition deteriorated.
David Lynch narrowed his choices for the film's cinematographer down to two names; Christopher Challis, who was considered a safe pair of hands, or Freddie Francis, who Lynch considered to be a much more talented cinematographer, but hadn't worked in that role since 1964. Lynch decided to go with his gut instinct and hire Francis after producer Stuart Cornfeld told him that "no-one ever made it big by being a pussy."
The industrial scenes were all archive footage as those factories were all gone by the time the film was made.
As well as writing and directing the film, David Lynch also provided the musical direction and sound design.
The real Merrick's London showman, Tom Norman, was not a brutal drunk like the fictional "Bytes." Norman was a well-respected showman and founder of a temperance society. He and Joseph Merrick were friends and business partners. Norman paid all of Merrick's expenses and split their earnings fifty-fifty. In a few weeks, Joseph saved up fifty pounds, as much as a typical working family made in a whole year. Ever since Treves wrote his memoirs with the character of the cruel showman, the Norman family has been appalled and embarked on a campaign to clear Tom Norman's good name. His granddaughter, Valerie, is 82 and hopes to see his reputation restored before she passes away.
In the film Anne Bancroft plays actress Madge Kendall and John Gielgud plays Mr. Carr-Gomm the hospital governor. As a young man Gielgud once performed on stage with the real Madge Kendall.
Director David Lynch originally wanted John Hurt to wear a whole body suit to play Merrick, but the costume was too unwieldy and unworkable to wear.
Joseph Merrick was a very intelligent and well-read gentleman. He loved to read and acted out scenes from pantomimes that he was taken to see. He often ended his correspondence to well wishers by quoting an Isaac Watts verse: "Tis true my form is something odd But blaming me is blaming God Could I create myself anew I would not fail in pleasing you. If I could reach from pole to pole Or grasp the ocean with a span I would be measured by the soul The mind's the standard of the man." ~ Isaac Watts 1674-1748
The opening scene of Merrick's mother being attacked by an elephant is not factual; his deformities were the result of disease, and he was called "The Elephant Man" because of his lumpy skin. However, the idea of an elephant attack comes from the melodramatic speech originally delivered by Tom Norman to those who paid to see Merrick exhibited.
Director David Lynch originally tried to do the makeup for the Elephant Man himself but simply wasn't able to.
Director David Lynch's first studio film and Lynch's first commercial movie.
A lifelong smoker, John Hurt still managed to smoke his cigarettes through the heavy facial prosthetic makeup whenever the urge came on during the lengthy hours on set.
The last lines, spoken by Merrick's mother, are quoted from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "Nothing Will Die."
This film was based on two published works, "The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences" (1923) by Sir Frederick Treves (who was played by Anthony Hopkins) and "The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity" (1973) by Ashley Montagu, published fifty years after Treves' book. This movie was made and released about 57 years after the former, seven years after the latter, and ninety years after the death of The Elephant Man/Joseph Merrick who died in 1890.
The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture. It is widely believe had the Best Make Up category existed at the time it would have won the Oscar for this.
Originally offered to Terrence Malick but he passed.
One of two black-and-white films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1981; the other was Raging Bull (1980). Both films lost to Ordinary People (1980).
It's around 13 minutes into the film before John Merrick is seen, and around 40 minutes in before he is heard speaking.
Mel Brooks hired David Lynch to direct the film because he admired Lynch's work in Eraserhead (1977).
Although critically acclaimed, there are some film critics (including Roger Ebert) who accuse the film of excessive sentiment. They tend to attribute it to David Lynch relying heavily on Frederick Treves' memoirs for source material.
Second consecutive black-and-white film for director David Lynch whose previous film was the b/w Eraserhead (1977).
In the film, Merrick constructs his cardboard cathedral from scraps he finds in the rubbish. He bases his design on a view of St. Philips Church from his window. Actually, Merrick's rooms in Bedstead Square were around the corner from the church. Also, the real Merrick assembled his church from a prefab kit of Mainz Cathedral, Germany. However, it's a very difficult model with a lot of tiny pieces. Joseph's work is still a miracle, as he could only use his left hand and primitive tools. (It took a modern kit builder 17 solid hours to assemble one, using both hands and modern tools.) Joseph Merrick's beautiful cathedral can still be seen at the Royal London Museum Archives, ironically in the basement of St. Philips.
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Karl Pilkington's favorite film.
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This film is the reason why 'Bradley Cooper' (American Hustle (2013)) became an actor.
When Anthony Hopkins shot the tearful reaction to encountering Merrick for the first time, John Hurt wasn't on set. Hopkins simply stared, unblinking, into a strong light until a tear appeared.
The film was made and released around the time that another Elephant Man production was being performed, a stage play by Bernard Pomerance, which won the 1979 Tony Award for Best Play. This movie is not an adaptation of that play.
Two actresses played Merrick's mother- Phoebe Nicholls and Lydia Lisle. Both received screen credit.
One of two medical history movies made by Mel Brooks' Brooksfilms. The second was The Doctor and the Devils (1985). Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft appears in the film.
One documentary on the Elephant Man ended with a computer graphic extrapolation of what he might have looked like if he were not deformed: an image morphing from his actual face to a hypothetical one. This was done with a voiceover reading his famous poem, that ends with the line "The mind's the measure of the man".
John Hurt kept the prosthetic cast of John Merrick's head after the shoot. He stored it in a cupboard in his house. Years later his house was burgled while was out, a friend phoned him and said "There has been a burglary at your house" John Hurt asked what was taken and the reply was "Nothing! The robber must have opened the cupboard and the mask fell out! The burglar must have fled the scene in fright!"
The film cast includes four Oscar winners: Anthony Hopkins, John Gielgud, Anne Bancroft and Wendy Hiller; and one Oscar nominee: John Hurt.
In the film, Anne Bancroft plays a theater actress. In real life, Bancroft was a stage actress before starring in films.
The original painting that was the basis of the artwork for the 1981 Van Halen album "Fair Warning" cover hangs in the hospital where this movie was filmed.
John Hurt had previously played Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings (1978). His make-up in this film inspired the look of Gothmog in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
John Merrick (John Hurt) is held prisoner by Mr. Bytes, played by Freddie Jones. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), Olivander (Hurt again) is held prisoner by the Malfoys, but rescued by Dobby, played by Toby Jones, Freddie's son.
Trevor Howard was asked to play the Freddie Jones part.
Helen Ryan, who played Princess Alex, also played the same person as Queen Alexandra in the mini series Edward the King (1975).
The idea that a fright to a Mother can cause deformity in her Child can be found in Medical Textbooks from the 1950s.
Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.
John Hurt and Hannah Gordon had previously co-starred in the animated adaptation of Watership Down (1978), which was released two years earlier.
Both Freddie Jones and Lesley Dunlop would later go on to star in the British soap opera Emmerdale (1972) as Sandy Thomas and Brenda Walker.
John Hurt and some of the cast would later appear in Doctor Who (1963) and Doctor Who (2005). John Hurt played The War Doctor in the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor".
The first of two times that Anthony Hopkins played a doctor. He would do so again in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
Cameo ―
Frederick Treves: The great-nephew of Doctor Frederick Treves, appears in the opening scene as an Alderman trying to close down the freak show.
Director Cameo ―
David Lynch: when Merrick returns to London, he is chased by an angry mob, and flees underground. The shot of the crowd descending the stairs in pursuit features Lynch in full costume.
