Review of The Elephant Man (1980) by Shane S — 16 Dec 2010

The most powerful drama ever written, filmed, and conceived, David Lynch's major studio debut proves that the master of surrealism can make some of the greatest work man has ever seen. From the truly stunning and visceral "Blue Velvet" to the "emotional manipulation" of "The Elephant Man", he shows that to every creep in society, there exists somebody that needs to be understood on a much deeper level.

And, frankly, from my experiences on the Internet, this is the most powerful and strongest anti-trolling allegory that exists to this day. To see a man treated like that just because of something trivial as his look sickens me to see that humans could stoop that low. And they do - Encyclopedia Dramatica, 4chan (especially /b/), etc. And I'm sad to say that I was one of the crowd members who brought torture to "elephant men", even if I did not participate in the trolling activities myself.

I also note that the critics who dismiss this film as "manipulative" are trolls themselves. They don't understand humanity - much as ED when they make articles on Juliana Wetmore and various people who don't need to be picked on. It's kind of arrogant for me to say that, but it's true. Ebert is excused because he simply does not like extremely artsy fare (note: "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", "Brazil", "Blue Velvet", "Wild at Heart", "Zabriskie Point").

Goes to prove that John Hurt is an underrated actor. Same here for Anthony Hopkins. And Anne Bancroft.

Yep, Mel. You did the right thing.