Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 12/11/2001
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD5.1/DDS/DD1
Run Time: 123 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Paramount

John Hurt stars as John Merrick, the hideously deformed 19th century Londoner known as "The Elephant Man". Treated as a sideshow freak, Merrick is assumed to be retarded as well as misshapen because of his inability to speak coherently. In fact, he is highly intelligent and sensitive, a fact made public when one Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) rescues Merrick from a carnival and brings him to a hospital for analysis. Alas, even after being recognized as a man of advanced intellect, Merrick is still treated like a freak; no matter his station in life, he will forever be a prisoner of his own malformed body. Unable to secure rights for the famous stage play The Elephant Man, producer Mel Brooks based his film on the memoirs of Frederick Treves and a much later account of Merrick's life by Ashley Montagu. The film is lensed in black and white by British master cinematographer Freddie Francis. Though nominated for eight Academy Awards, the film was ultimately shut out in every category.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Cast:
Anthony Hopkins - Dr. Frederick Treves
John Hurt - John Merrick
Anne Bancroft - Mrs. Madge Kendal
John Gielgud - Carr Gomm
Wendy Hiller - Mothershead
Freddie Jones - Bytes
Michael Elphick - Night Porter
Hannah Gordon - Mrs. Treves
Helen Ryan - Princess Alexandra
John Standing - Fox
Dexter Fletcher - Bytes' Boy
Lesley Dunlop - Nora
Phoebe Nicholls - Merrick's Mother

Production:
David Lynch - Director
Jonathan Sanger - Producer
John Morris - Composer
Anne V. Coates - Editor
Christopher de Vore David Lynch Eric Bergren - Screen Writer
Graham Ford Hugh Scaife - Set Designer
Robert Cartwright - Art Director
Ashley Montagu - Book Author
Maggie Cartier - Casting
Freddie Francis - Cinematographer
Pat Norris - Costume Designer
Mel Brooks - Executive Producer
Stuart Cornfeld - Executive Producer
Samuel Barber - Featured Music
Anthony Waye - First Assistant Director
Christopher Tucker - Makeup
Wally Schneiderman - Makeup
David Lynch - Musical Direction/Supervision
Stuart Craig - Production Designer
Ashley Montagu - Short Story Author
Alan Splet - Sound/Sound Designer
David Lynch - Sound/Sound Designer
Robin Gregory - Sound/Sound Designer
Graham Longhurst - Special Effects
Frederick Treves - Book Author

My Left Foot
    Daniel Day-Lewis / R / 1989
Paul Leni's The Man Who Laughs
    Conrad Veidt / 1927
Freaks
    Wallace Ford / NR / 1932
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
    Mathieu Amalric / PG13 / 2007
The Man Without a Face
    Mel Gibson / PG13 / 1993
Awakenings
    Robin Williams / PG13 / 1990

1980 Directors Guild of America

1980 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie

1980 British Academy of Film and Television

1980 Golden Globe

1980 National Board of Review

1981 French Academy of Cinema