Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19124 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-05-14
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Black & White, Dubbed, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
• Dubbed in: Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
You could only see his eyes behind the layers of makeup in The Elephant Man but those expressive orbs earned John Hurt a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of John Merrick, the grotesquely deformed Victorian man. Inarticulate and abused, Merrick is the virtual slave of a carnival barker (Freddie Jones) until dedicated London doctor Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins in a powerfully understated performance) rescues him and offers him an existence with dignity. Anne Bancroft co-stars as the actress whose visit to Merrick makes him a social curiosity, with John Gielgud and Wendy Hiller as dubious hospital staffers won over by Merrick. David Lynch earned his only Oscar nominations as director and co-writer of this sombre drama, which he shot in a rich black-and-white palette, a sometimes stark, sometimes dreamy visual style that at times recalls the offbeat expressionism of his first film, Eraserhead. It remains a perfect marriage between traditional Hollywood historical drama and Lynch's unique cinematic eye, a compassionate human tale delivered in a gothic vein. The film earned eight Oscar nominations in all and though it left the Oscar ceremony empty-handed, its dramatic power and handsome yet haunting imagery remain just as strong today. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Being black and white, it's easier to judge the digital transfer in terms of shade and thankfully this print looks just fine. There's a little confusion over the sound, however, which is advertised as Stereo on the box but says Mono on the Audio Menu. It certainly seems to be a basic Dolby stereo but it's a shame Lynch hasn't given it the personal touch since he's obsessed with mixing his films' sound himself. From the nicely thought-out animated menus there's a gallery of 20 photos and a misguiding, dramatic theatrical trailer. The only other extra is a 64-page book of which only 10 pages relate directly to the film (the rest re-tell Lynch's career and the real Elephant Man's life). --Paul Tonks

Special Features
2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
Italian
Spanish
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English\Mono Italian Spanish
Dolby Digital Stereo
Mono
Trailer
Photo Gallery
Scene Selection
Danish\English\Italian\Portuguese\Spanish\Turkish

Synopsis
David Lynch brings his own dreamlike style to the heartbreaking yet somehow uplifting story of John Merrick (John Hurt), a hideously deformed individual dubbed the Elephant Man during his years in a circus freak show in Victorian England. After suffering for years at the hands of his circus "master," the eloquent, soft spoken Merrick is "rescued" by compassionate surgeon Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), who allows him to live at the hospital where he works. Merrick becomes a social celebrity when he meets a popular stage performer (Anne Bancroft), but he must continue to fight for his dignity with those who still choose to view him as a freak. Meanwhile, Treves begins to question whether his supposed act of humanity has been just as exploitative as Merrick's former caretaker's.
Lynch's follow-up to his 1978 cult classic ERASERHEAD is a striking blend of art and entertainment, which earned the film eight Academy Award nominations in 1980. Freddie Francis's breathtaking black-and-white cinematography combines with John Morris's score to re-create Victorian England with a deeply haunting beauty. It is the compassionate performances of Hurt and Hopkins that lift THE ELEPHANT MAN to a more emotional level, however, bringing an inspired sadness to Lynch's striking vision.

Customer Reviews

a priceless gem...
Definitely an exquisite piece of cinema, one of the most harrowing, engrossing and poignant movies in motion picture history. No gargantuan budgets, no Hollywood hotshots, no special effects, no violence, no sex, no long-legged chicks, even no colors!. This is PURE CINEMA where both elegance and substance are blended into a perfect mixture of intensity and integrity.

It is beautifully shot black & white on purpose. Although filming B&W was very expensive process at that time, it was a right choice by director David Lynch and producer Mell Brooks because it fitted perfectly with the eerie mood and sinister ambiance of the story.

Visually it drags the viewer into dark, grey, filthy, haunting and suffocating PHANTASMAGORIA of INDUSTRIAL WORLD where cruelty and self-interest overwhelm kindness and compassion. Soggy streets, foggy alleys, smoky steel mills, and crummy crowds are all the elements of Lynch's SYMBOLISM used to portray very sharply the psychological turmoil of John Merrick - a physically plagued & horribly abused soul with massive deformities throughout his body - while being constantly bombarded with inhumane indecencies. So, this is the story of that hapless and hopeless man's arduous journey to return in humanity and dignity in a world full of real freaks and two-footed beasts.

It's sad to say that aside from a trailer and photo gallery with fairly small images, the DVD is bare bones with no extras or commentary. More disappointingly, the Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track on this disc contains a Dolby Surround audio track sourced directly from the optical audio of the film print itself, but OK it still manages to have its intended impact. On the other hand, the widescreen transfer is very good. I highly recommend R1 release with richer content in terms of interviews with cast, crew and make-up artist Christopher Tucker. It also features 5.1-channel sound support too.

One of Lynch's best
I am a big David Lynch fan and decided I just had to see this film. I stuck it at the top of my rental list and a few days later it arrived in that special packaging that puts a smile on my face every time. I watched it that night and it certainly did not disappoint. It lived up to every expectation and blasted most of them right out of the park.

`The Elephant Man' follows the life of Joseph Merrick, incorrectly named John in the film, and that of Frederick Treves who was his doctor and friend. While the film is filled with its fair share of inaccuracies and errors it is no less perfect for it. A lot of the fiction is there for a reason as it serves to make the film more entertaining and helps to provide more character depth. I really do urge you to watch the film, even if you are unsure because of the made up bits, because it is a superb and phenomenally beautiful film.

The film stars Anthony Hopkins as the doctor Frederick Treves and John Hurt as Joseph Merrick, the elephant man. They are both brilliant in their roles, everyone is, but it really is John Hurt who is the star here. I think there are probably a lot of ways you could mess up the character of Joseph Merrick but John Hurt just excels. He was nominated for an Oscar and as far as I'm concerned he should have won it. His portrayal of Joseph Merrick is one of the best character performances I've ever seen and I do consider myself to be a movie buff.

Not leaving out Lynch himself, the director brings us more of his trademark direction and invites once again to view his marvelous vision of the surreal. Though, `The Elephant Man' certainly never reaches the weirdness of `Mulholland Drive' it is no less a David Lynch film and masterpiece of cinema. Throughout the film his direction, as with the script and sets, is spot on. This film is a sum of all its parts and every part in the equation was an essential ingredient equaling near perfection.

While the whole film is wonderful, there is one part, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to break down into tears during this scene, at the end of the film that was pure visual poetry. With Samuel Barbers joyously sad and emotionally overwhelming Adagio for Strings playing in the background, we are treated to an almost too simple shot of Joseph Merrick just sitting on his bed starring at the viewer and it just killed me. I can say in all honesty and without any over exaggeration that it was one of the most beautiful things I ever saw in my whole like. Perfect. Just a perfect scene.

So, basically, just buy or rent this now. If you consider yourself even remotely interested in truly good films then you have no choice but to see it.

Brilliant movie
One of the best movies I've ever seen. John Hurt as the Elephant Man is amazing; how the gentleness and humilily of his character come through with all that makeup is just astounding. The movie can be painful to watch and definitely produces a lot of tears for me, but it is also about the triumph of the human spirit, as well as the depths to which humans can sink. They have changed some facts about Merrick's life (apparently his life with the "freak show" wasn't so bad; he experienced kindness with many of those involved in that aspect, but all his money was stolen by a dishonest promoter in Europe). However, after reading a bit about Merrick's actual life, I don't think the movie is too far off concerning the pain and cruelty he experienced. A very affecting movie, that you will think about long afterwards.