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The Elephant Man (1980)

If you are not a fan of David Lynch based on films like Eraserhead, or Lost Highway that's understandable. Lynch can certainly over-indulge his experimental film tendencies to the degree he loses connections with a large audience. Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks and the recent Mulholland Drive may have also been too dark, creepy, nightmarish and odd to catch on with a lot of you as well.

Elephant Man however is a film you should not miss or be put off by.

Elephant Man begins with a strange, dark dream-like sequence but then it becomes an extremely accessible and almost 'normal' film. It's shot beautifully by cinematographer and sometime (Hammer horror film)director Freddie Francis in beautiful black and white. Visually the film is a combination of Hammer and Universal horror films and not nearly as experimental as Lynch can sometimes be. The images are beautifully presented and preserved on this DVD.

The story of the Elephant Man is based on a true one, and the film makes it an unforgettable one. It's sad, and tragic but also full of moments of compassion and beauty. The film also gives us a remarkable performance from John Hurt who delivers an incredible depth of emotions despite all of the make up he is wearing. The rest of the mostly British thespians seem to have all agreed to award the film with some of their best moments on screen. Anthony Hopkins, John Geilguld, Freddie Jones and Anne Bancroft are all quite good in the film. Even some of the smallest supporting parts are performed with perfection.

The Elephant Man is the story of 19th-century Englishman John Merrick (John Hurt) who was afflicted with a disease that deforms the head and body with tumors, odd growths and other abnormalities. Merrick is the subject of ridicule at a travelling freak show and he is beaten and treated cruelly by Mr. Bytes (Freddie Jones). He is discovered however by Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) a highly regarded surgeon who takes Merrick to a hospital where he is shown warmth and compassion for the first time in his life. Surprisingly, Merrick is not a bitter cynical man despite his horrible experiences. Eventually however Treves wonders if he is only a slightly lesser evil that Mr. Bytes was in the exploitation and treatment of Merrick. The moral and ethical questions are fascinating to consider and the film concentrates on the issues of human compassion.

NOTE: Producer Mel Brooks was not able to secure the rights to the play so he had the film written based on the memoirs of Frederick Treves and a later account of Merrick's life by Ashley Montagu.

The Elephant Man is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. There is some visible grain and dirt in the print used, but the black levels are good. The slight imperfections of the print actually add rather than detract from the ambience of the film. There is however some noticeable edge enhancement.

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 in English, as well as Dolby 2.0 Surround in English . The newly mixed 5.1 track includes a few uses of subtle surround typ effects but the improvements are a lack of distortion or hiss on the soundtrack and the musical score sounding full and effective.

The nearly 30 minute retrospective featurette includes John Hurt , directory of photography Freddie Francis, producers Jonathan Sanger and (yes) Mel Brooks and some other cast and crew members. This is not a fluff promotional piece but a pretty indepth discussion of the film and a lot is covered.

Next is an in-depth interview with Christopher Tucker who shows off the original head model of the Elephant Man which was cast by using the actual preserved remains of Merrick.

There is also a narrated photo gallery which includes behind the scenes pictures from the film and photos of the original Merrick skull.

There is also the original widescreen theatrical trailer.

David Lynch does not like scene indexes so there are no chapter selections or scene indexes on the film. He would like you to watch the entire film and not skip around.

The Elephant Man is a compelling, tragic, interesting and beautifully made film. It is never preachy though obviously has a lot to say about human nature and ultimately human compassion. The DVD doesn't present the film as perfectly as I would like to see, but it's a good presentation and there are some worthwhile extras making this one a worthwhile disc to have in your collection.

Christopher Jarmick, is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller. For more information visit the web site at: http://www.radiofreegallery.com/jarmicknholder.htm * * * * * *

Original portions of this review Copyright© Christopher J. Jarmick 2002. The above work is protected by international copyright law.