The Elephant Man official wallpaper
The Elephant Man poster

The Elephant Man

  • 8.2 /10

  • 3790

  • 91%

Plot

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

Cast

Anthony Hopkins as Frederick Treves
Anthony Hopkins

as Frederick Treves

John Hurt as John Merrick
John Hurt

as John Merrick

Anne Bancroft as Mrs Kendal
Anne Bancroft

as Mrs Kendal

John Gielgud as Carr Gomm
John Gielgud

as Carr Gomm

Wendy Hiller as Mothershead
Wendy Hiller

as Mothershead

Freddie Jones as Bytes
Freddie Jones

as Bytes

Michael Elphick as Night Porter
Michael Elphick

as Night Porter

Hannah Gordon as Mrs Treves
Hannah Gordon

as Mrs Treves

Helen Ryan as Princess Alex
Helen Ryan

as Princess Alex

John Standing as Fox

Movie Facts

Rated

  • PG

Status

  • Released

Release Date

  • October 9, 1980

Production Companies

  • Brooksfilms

Production Countries

  • United States of America

Spoken Language

  • English

Budget

  • $5,000,000.00

Revenue

  • $26,000,000.00

Runtime

  • 2.07 hrs

Links

Gallery

Reviews

_**The ultimate outcast**_ In 1884 London, a doctor (Anthony Hopkins) meets Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man (wrongly called John Merrick in the film) who was being exploited as a freak show attraction. Treves (Hopkins) tries to help Merrick (John Hurt) for the last six years of the latter’s life wherein he becomes cultured, but he inevitably remains an object of curiosity, to high society…

Saw this, recently up-converted to 4K at the London Film Festival and, apart from the clear improvements to the quality and detail of the image, I was reminded of just how good it is. Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft play their roles with engaging sincerity - very ably supported by Sir John Gielgud and Dame Wendy Hiller. Prosthetics aside, John Hurt captures both the despair and optimism of Merr…