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{{For|the 1982 television film|The Elephant Man (1982 film)}}
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{{Infobox film
| name           = The Elephant Man
| image          = TheElephantManposter.jpg
| image_size     = 225px
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[David Lynch]]
| producer       = [[Jonathan Sanger]]
| screenplay     = {{Plain list|
* Christopher De Vore
* [[Eric Bergren]]
* David Lynch
}}
| based on       = ''The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences''<br>by [[Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet|Frederick Treves]]<br>''The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity''<br>by [[Ashley Montagu]]
| starring       = {{Plain list|
* [[Anthony Hopkins]]
* [[John Hurt]]
* [[Anne Bancroft]]
* [[John Gielgud|Sir John Gielgud]]
* [[Wendy Hiller]]
}}
| music          = [[John Morris (composer)|John Morris]]
| cinematography = [[Freddie Francis]]
| editing        = [[Anne V. Coates]]
| studio         = [[Brooksfilms]]
| distributor    = {{Plain list|
* [[Universal Pictures]] {{small|(UK)}}
* [[Paramount Pictures]] {{small|(US)}}
}}
| released       = {{Film date|1980|10|03|[[New York City|New York]]<ref>The Times, October 8, 1980, in large article on page 9 by John Higgins: "The Elephant Man, which opens tomorrow at the ABC, Shaftesbury Avenue, is also likely to establish the reputation of its director, David Lynch." Read in The Times Digital Archive on October 28, 2013</ref>|1980|10|10|US}}
| runtime        = 124 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $5 million
| gross          = $26 million {{Small|{{No wrap|(North America)}}}}<ref>{{Citation | title = The Elephant Man (1980) | work = [[Box Office Mojo]] | publisher = [[Internet Movie Database|IMDb.com, Inc]] | url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=elephantman.htm | accessdate =July 4, 2010}}</ref>
}}
'''''The Elephant Man''''' is a 1980 American [[historical drama film]] about [[Joseph Merrick]] (whom the script calls John Merrick), a severely deformed man in late 19th century [[London]]. The film was directed by [[David Lynch]] and stars [[John Hurt]], [[Anthony Hopkins]], [[Anne Bancroft]], [[John Gielgud]], [[Wendy Hiller]], [[Michael Elphick]], [[Hannah Gordon]] and [[Freddie Jones]]. It was produced by [[Jonathan Sanger]].

The screenplay was adapted by Lynch, Christopher De Vore and [[Eric Bergren]] from [[Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet|Frederick Treves]]’s ''The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences'' (1923) and [[Ashley Montagu]]’s ''The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity'' (1971). It was shot in [[black-and-white]] and featured make-up work by [[Christopher Tucker]].

''The Elephant Man'' was a critical and commercial success with eight [[Academy Award]] nominations, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]], [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]] and [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]. After receiving widespread criticism for failing to honor the film's make-up effects, the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] was prompted to create the [[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling]] the following year. The film also won the [[BAFTA Awards]] for [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]], [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor]] and [[BAFTA Award for Best Production Design|Best Production Design]] and was nominated for [[Golden Globe]] awards. It also won a French [[César Award]] for Best Foreign Film.

==Plot==
<!-- PER WP:FILMPLOT, PLOT SUMMARIES FOR FEATURE FILM ARTICLES SHOULD BE BETWEEN 400 AND 700 WORDS. -->
[[Royal London Hospital|London Hospital]] surgeon Frederick Treves finds John Merrick in a [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[freak show]] in London's [[East End of London|East End]], where he is kept by a Mr. Bytes. His head is kept hooded, and his "owner", who views him as [[Retard (pejorative)|retarded]], is paid by Treves to bring him to the hospital for exams. Treves presents Merrick to his colleagues and highlights his monstrous skull, which forces him to sleep with his head on his knees, since if he were to lie down, he would [[asphyxia]]te. On Merrick’s return he is beaten so badly by Bytes that he has to call Treves for medical help. Treves brings him back to the hospital.

John is tended to by Mrs. Mothershead, the formidable matron, as the other nurses are too frightened of Merrick. Mr. Carr-Gomm, the hospital's Governor, is against housing Merrick, as the hospital does not accept "incurables". To prove that Merrick can make progress, Treves trains him to say a few conversational sentences. Carr-Gomm sees through this ruse, but as he is leaving, Merrick begins to recite the [[Psalm 23|23rd Psalm]], which Treves did not teach him. Merrick tells the doctors that he knows how to read, and has memorized the 23rd Psalm because it is his favorite. Carr-Gomm permits him to stay, and Merrick spends his time practicing conversation with Treves and building a model of a cathedral he sees from his window.

Merrick has tea with Treves and his wife, and is so overwhelmed by their kindness that he shows them his mother's picture. He believes he must have been a "disappointment" to his mother, but hopes she would be proud to see him with his "lovely friends". Merrick begins to take guests in his rooms, including the actress Madge Kendal, who introduces him to the work of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]. Merrick quickly becomes an object of curiosity to high society, and Mrs. Mothershead expresses concerns that he is still being put on display as a freak. Treves begins to question the morality of his actions. Meanwhile, a night porter named Jim starts selling tickets to locals, who come at night to gawk at the "Elephant Man".

The issue of Merrick's residence is challenged at a hospital council meeting, but he is guaranteed permanent residence by command of the hospital’s royal patron, [[Queen Victoria]], who sends word with her daughter-in-law [[Alexandra of Denmark|Alexandra]]. However, Merrick is shortly kidnapped by Mr. Bytes during one of Jim's raucous late night showings. Mr. Bytes leaves England and takes Merrick on the road as a circus attraction once again. Treves confronts Jim about what he has done, and Mrs. Mothershead fires him.

Merrick escapes from Bytes with the help of his fellow freakshow attractions. Upon returning to London, he is harassed through [[Liverpool Street station]] by several young boys and accidentally knocks down a young girl. Merrick is chased, unmasked, and cornered by an angry mob. He cries, "I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I&nbsp;... am&nbsp;... a&nbsp;... man!" before collapsing. Policemen return Merrick to the hospital and Treves. He recovers some of his health, but is dying of [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]]. Treves and Mrs. Mothershead take Merrick to see one of Madge Kendal's shows at the theatre, and afterwards, Kendal dedicates the performance to him. A proud Merrick receives a standing ovation from the audience. Back at the hospital, Merrick thanks Treves for all he has done, and completes his church model. He lies down on his back in bed, imitating a sleeping child in a picture on his wall, and dies in his sleep. Merrick is consoled by a vision of his mother, who quotes [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson|Lord Tennyson]]'s "Nothing Will Die".

==Main cast==
* [[John Hurt]] as [[Joseph Merrick|John Merrick (actually named Joseph Merrick)]] - An intelligent, friendly and kind-hearted man who is feared by most people in his society because of his severe deformity. 
* [[Anthony Hopkins]] as [[Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet|Frederick Treves]] - a doctor who takes John from the freakshow to work in the hospital. 
* [[Anne Bancroft]] as [[Madge Kendal]]
* [[John Gielgud]] as Francis Carr-Gomm
* [[Wendy Hiller]] as Mrs Mothershead
* [[Freddie Jones]] as Mr. Bytes, The Ringmaster (based on [[Tom Norman]]<ref>{{cite web|last=von Tunzelmann|first=Alex|title=The Elephant Man: close to the memoirs but not the man|date=10 December 2009|publisher=''[[The Guardian]]''|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/dec/10/the-elephant-man-reel-history|accessdate=29 April 2015}}</ref>)
* [[Dexter Fletcher]] as Bytes’ Boy
* [[Michael Elphick]] as Jim, The Night Porter
* [[Hannah Gordon]] as Ann Treves
* [[Helen Ryan]] as [[Alexandra of Denmark|Alexandra, Princess of Wales]]
* [[John Standing]] as Fox
* [[Lesley Dunlop]] as Nora, Merrick’s Nurse
* [[Phoebe Nicholls]] as Mary Jane Merrick
* [[W. Morgan Sheppard|Morgan Sheppard]] as Man In Pub
* [[Kenny Baker (English actor)|Kenny Baker]] as Plumed Dwarf

==Production==
{{Refimprove section|date=October 2010}}
The film's producer, Jonathan Sanger, optioned the script from the writers Christopher Devore and Eric Bergen after receiving the script from his babysitter. Sanger had been working as [[Mel Brooks]]' Assistant Director on ''[[High Anxiety]]''. Sanger showed Brooks the script, which he read and decided to help finance the film through his new company, Brooksfilms. Brooks' personal assistant, Stuart Cornfeld, suggested David Lynch to Sanger. Sanger met Lynch and they shared scripts they were working on (''The Elephant Man'' and Lynch's ''[[Ronnie Rocket]]''). Lynch told Sanger that he would love to direct the script after reading it and Sanger endorsed him after hearing Lynch's ideas. However, Brooks had not heard of David Lynch at the time. Sanger and Cornfeld set up a screening of ''[[Eraserhead]]'' at a screening room at 20th Century Fox, and Brooks loved it and enthusiastically let Lynch direct the film. By his own request, Brooks was not credited as Executive Producer, to ensure that audiences would not expect a comedy after seeing his name attached to the film.<ref name="IMDB">{{cite news|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080678/trivia|title="The Elephant Man" Trivia|work=IMDB.com |location=USA |accessdate=20 July 2014|date=1 July 2000}}</ref>

For his second feature and first studio film albeit independently financed,<ref name="TimeOutInterview" /> David Lynch furnished the musical direction and sound design. Lynch tried to design the make-up himself too, but the design didn't work. Lynch referred to that episode as one of the "darkest moments of my life".<ref name="IMDB"/> The makeup, now supervised by [[Christopher Tucker]], was directly designed from casts of Merrick’s body, which had been kept in the [[Royal London Hospital]]’s private museum. The makeup took seven to eight hours to apply each day and two hours to delicately remove. [[John Hurt]] would arrive on set at 5am and shoot his scenes from noon until 10pm. When Hurt was having his first experiences with the inconveniences of applying make-up and having to perform with it, he called his wife saying "I think they finally managed to make me hate acting." Because of the strain on the actor, he worked alternate days.<ref name="IMDB"/>  Lynch originally wanted [[Jack Nance]] for the title character. "But it just wasn't in the cards," Lynch says; the role went to John Hurt after Brooks, Lynch and Sanger saw his performance in ''[[The Naked Civil Servant (film)|The Naked Civil Servant]]'' as Quentin Crisp.<ref>{{cite web|last=Potter|first=Maximillian|title=Erased|date=August 1997|publisher=''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]''|url=http://www.lynchnet.com/absent/nancepre.html}}</ref>

Lynch bookended the film with surrealist sequences centered around Merrick's mother and her death. Lynch used [[Samuel Barber]]’s ''[[Adagio for Strings]]'' to underline the end of the film and Merrick's own death. When Lynch and Sanger screened ''The Elephant Man'' for Brooks after they returned from England with a cut, Brooks suggested some minor cuts but told them that the film would be released as they made it.

==Reception==
{{expand section|date=November 2014}}

===Critical response===
''The Elephant Man'' was met with critical acclaim. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film holds a 90% rating, based on 41 reviews, with an average score of 8.4/10. The site's consensus reads, "David Lynch's relatively straight second feature finds an admirable synthesis of compassion and restraint in treating its subject, and features outstanding performances by John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/1006527-elephant_man/ |title=Rotten Tomatoes: The Elephant Man |publisher=Uk.rottentomatoes.com |date= |accessdate=November 12, 2014}}</ref>

[[Vincent Canby]] wrote: "Mr. Hurt is truly remarkable. It can't be easy to act under such a heavy mask&nbsp;... the physical production is beautiful, especially Freddie Francis's black-and-white photography."<ref>[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1731B32CA0484CC0B7799C836896 Vincent Canby: The Elephant Man review]</ref>

A small number of critics were less favorable. [[Roger Ebert]] gave it 2/4 stars, writing: "I kept asking myself what the film was really trying to say about the human condition as reflected by John Merrick, and I kept drawing blanks."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-elephant-man-1980 |title=Roger Ebert: The Elephant Man review |publisher=Rogerebert.suntimes.com |date= |accessdate=September 12, 2012}}</ref> In the book ''The Spectacle of Deformity: Freak Shows and Modern British Culture'', Nadja Durbach describes the work as “much more mawkish and moralising than one would expect from the leading postmodern surrealist filmmaker” and “unashamedly sentimental”. She blamed this mawkishness on the use of Treves’s memoirs as source material.<ref name="Durbach35" />

''The Elephant Man'' is highly regarded today, and stands at No.&nbsp;539 on a tabulation of the world's most acclaimed movies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theyshootpictures.com/lynchdavid.php |title=David Lynch's Acclaimed Films |publisher=''They Shoot Pictures, Don't They'' |accessdate=November 23, 2016}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by The Elephant Man}}
''The Elephant Man'' was nominated for eight [[Academy Awards]], tying with ''[[Raging Bull]]'' at the [[53rd Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Actor in a Leading Role]] ([[John Hurt]]), [[Academy Award for Best Art Direction|Art Direction-Set Decoration]] ([[Stuart Craig]], [[Robert Cartwright]], [[Hugh Scaife]]), [[Academy Award for Costume Design|Costume Design]], [[Academy Award for Directing|Director]], [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Film Editing]], [[Academy Award for Original Music Score|Music: Original Score]], and [[Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay|Writing: Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium]].<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/15593/The-Elephant-Man/awards |title=NY Times: The Elephant Man |accessdate=December 31, 2008|work=NY Times}}</ref> However, the film did not win any.

People in the industry were appalled that the movie was not going to be honored for its make up effects when the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] announced its nominations at the time. A letter of protest was sent to the Academy's Board of Governors to requesting to give the film an honorary award. The Academy refused, but in response to the outcry, they decided to give the make-up artists their own category. A year later, the [[Academy Award for Best Makeup]] category was introduced with ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'' as its first recipient.<ref name="IMDB"/><ref>{{citation | newspaper=[[The Independent]] | title=The Elephant Man | author=Roger Clarke | date=March 2, 2007 | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3735317.html}}</ref>

It did win the [[BAFTA Award for Best Film]], as well as other [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA Awards]] for Best Actor (John Hurt) and Best Production Design, and was nominated for four others: Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography and Editing.

The film is recognized by [[American Film Institute]] in these lists:
* 2005: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes]]:
** John Merrick: "I am not an animal! I am a human being. I am a man." – Nominated<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes400.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2016-07-30}}</ref>

==Home media==
There have been many releases of the film on both [[VHS]] and [[DVD]]. The version released as part of the David Lynch ''Lime Green Box'' includes several interviews with John Hurt and David Lynch and a Joseph Merrick documentary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studiocanalcollection.com/en/collection/show/8-The_Elephant_Man|title=The Elephant Man on StudioCanal Collection|accessdate=August 1, 2010}}</ref> This material is also available on the exclusive treatment on the [[Blu-ray Disc Region Code|European market]] as part of [[Optimum Releasing]]’s ''StudioCanal Collection''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studiocanalcollection.com/|title=StudioCanal Collection|accessdate=August 1, 2010}}</ref> The film has only been released on [[Blu-ray Disc]] in the UK, however this disc will play in both Region A and B players.

==Soundtrack==
{{Infobox album | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name        = The Elephant Man
| Type        = Film
| Artist      = [[John Morris (composer)|John Morris]]
| Cover       = The Elephant Man Soundtrack.jpg
| Caption     = Cover of the original vinyl edition
| Released    = 1980, 1981, 1994, 2008
| Recorded    = 
| Genre       = [[Classical music|Classical]]
| Length      = 
| Label       = [[20th Century Fox Records|20th Century Fox]]
| Producer    = [[John Morris (composer)|John Morris]]
| Last album  = ''[[In God We Tru$t]]''<br> (1980)
| This album  = ''The Elephant Man''<br> (1980)
| Next album  = ''[[History of the World, Part I]]''<br> (1981)
| Misc        = 
}}
The musical score of ''The Elephant Man'' was composed and conducted by [[John Morris (composer)|John Morris]], and it was performed by the [[National Philharmonic Orchestra]]. In 1980, the company [[20th Century Fox Records]] published this film's original musical score as both an [[LP record|LP]] album and as a [[Compact Cassette|Cassette]] in the United States. Its front cover artwork features the mask of John Merrick against a backdrop of smoke, as seen on the advance theatrical poster for the film.

In 1994, the first [[Compact disc]] (CD) issue of the film score was made by the company [[Milan Records|Milan]], which specializes in [[film score]]s and [[soundtrack]] albums.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/company/co0069496/ Internet Movie Database]</ref>

===Track listing for the first U.S. release on LP===
'''Side one'''
#"The Elephant Man Theme" - 3:46
#"Dr. Treves Visits the Freak Show and Elephant Man" - 4:08
#"John Merrick and Psalm" - 1:17
#"John Merrick and Mrs. Kendal" - 2:03
#"The Nightmare" - 4:39

'''Side two'''
#"Mrs. Kendal's Theater and Poetry Reading" - 1:58
#"The Belgian Circus Episode" - 3:00
#"Train Station" - 1:35
#"Pantomime" - 2:20
#"Adagio for Strings" - 5:52
#"Recapitulation" - 5:35

==Cultural influence==
[[The Jam]]'s former bassist [[Bruce Foxton]] was inspired strongly by the film, and in response wrote the song "[[Freak (Bruce Foxton song)|Freak]]" with the single's cover even making a reference to the film.<ref>[http://nostalgiacentral.com/music/music-by-decade/1970s-music/jam/ Nostalgiacentral.com]</ref> Produced by the multiple-award-winning [[Steve Lillywhite]]<ref name="booklet">{{cite book|title=Touch Sensitive ''liner notes''|year=1984|publisher=[[Arista Records]]}}</ref> and released as a single, it became his biggest hit to date and remains his only Top 40 hit. Actor [[Bradley Cooper]] credits watching the movie with his father as a child as his inspiration to become an actor. Cooper played the character on Broadway in 2013.<ref>[http://on.today.com/1vH9Uan Today.com]</ref> British TV presenter and frequent [[Ricky Gervais]] collaborator [[Karl Pilkington]] has often cited it as his favorite film. Pilkington's love for the film brought many new features to his various podcasts and radio shows, made with Gervais <nowiki/>and [[Stephen Merchant]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Karl Pilkington - Wikiquote|url = https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Pilkington#On_The_Elephant_Man|website = en.wikiquote.org|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Ricky Gervais Explains The Mind Of Karl Pilkington @ TeamCoco.com|url = http://teamcoco.com/video/ricky-gervais-explains-the-mind-of-karl-pilkington|website = teamcoco.com|accessdate = 2015-09-26}}</ref> Rock band [[The Mars Volta]] pays homage to ''The Elephant Man'' by having singer [[Cedric Bixler-Zavala]] dressed as John Hurt's version of the Elephant Man in mask and hat in the video for their song "Goliath". The 1990s animated TV show ''[[The Critic]]'' also references the scene in Lynch's movie where the Elephant Man is shown to the room of surgeons by having film critic Jay Sherman being displayed as an obese youth being exhibited. In the "L.A. Jay" episode of ''The Critic'', the Elephant Man is seen driving a sports car with two women mocking Jay Sherman as "a freak".

==See also==
* [[The Elephant Man (play)|''The Elephant Man'' (play)]]
* [[The Elephant Man (1982 film)|''The Elephant Man'' (1982 film)]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|refs=
<ref name=TimeOutInterview>{{Citation  | last = Huddleston  | first = Tom  | title = David Lynch: interview  | newspaper = Time Out  | publisher = [[Time Out (company)|Time Out Group Limited]]  | year = 2010  | url = http://www.timeout.com/film/features/show-feature/5443/david-lynch-interview.html  | accessdate =June 16, 2010  | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5qWlSJaBH  | archivedate= June 16, 2010
}}</ref>
<ref name=Durbach35>[[#Durbach|Durbach (2009)]], p. 35</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* Shai Biderman & Assaf Tabeka. "The Monster Within: Alienation and Social Conformity in ''The Elephant Man''{{-"}} in: '''The Philosophy of David Lynch''' 207 (University Press of Kentucky, 2011).
* {{Citation  | last = Durbach  | first = Nadja |chapter = Monstrosity, Masculinity, and Medicine: Reexamining 'the Elephant Man{{'-}} | title = The Spectacle of Deformity: Freak Shows and Modern British Culture |location = Berkeley | publisher = [[University of California Press]]  | year = 2009  | isbn = 0-520-25768-5 |oclc=314839375 | ref = Durbach}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0080678|The Elephant Man}}

{{David Lynch}}
{{BAFTA Best Film 1981-2000}}
{{César Award for Best Foreign Film}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elephant Man, The (film)}}
[[Category:1980 films]]
[[Category:1980s drama films]]
[[Category:1980s biographical films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American biographical films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films about disability]]
[[Category:Films about sideshow performers]]
[[Category:Circus films]]
[[Category:Films adapted into plays]]
[[Category:Films based on actual events]]
[[Category:Films based on non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Films directed by David Lynch]]
[[Category:Brooksfilms films]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[Category:Film scores by John Morris]]
[[Category:Best Foreign Film César Award winners]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1880s]]
[[Category:Films shot in London]]
[[Category:Best Film BAFTA Award winners]]
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