Review of The Elephant Man (1980) by Simon H — 06 Jun 2014

A lot goes into The Elephant Man which makes it a superb film which teaches you that everyone should be equal no matter what. Well written with an emotional side to it, Lynch takes the story from actual memoirs which with the powerful performance from John Hurt just adds to the impact. Anthony Hopkins also deserves credit for the caring surgeon he portrays with a lovely and touching opening scene.

The make up is fantastic and makes Hurt unrecognisable. If there was an award for this category at the time, this film would have surely won it. The music is also used effectively and will be familiar to many people who would have heard it outside the film. However, away from all the praise given already, I can not go without mentioning the cinematography. I believe it was a smart decision filming it in Black and White. With the Victorian era sets and the editing style, the movie had a feeling of being filmed during the time period it was set in. It is hard to see any of 1980 in it. This makes the message even more powerful as you feel yourself there with the characters. I feel this movie would not have worked as well if in colour. At just the right length, The Elephant Man is worth learning from.