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The Elephant Man (1980)

PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous facade, there is revealed a person of intelligence and sensitivity.

8.2/10
188,160

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77 Metascore

Photos

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Cast & Crew

Top Billed Cast

Anthony Hopkins

Frederick Treves
John Hurt

John Merrick
Anne Bancroft

Mrs. Kendal
John Gielgud

Carr Gomm
Wendy Hiller

Mothershead
Freddie Jones

Bytes
Michael Elphick

Night Porter
Hannah Gordon

Mrs. Treves
Helen Ryan

Princess Alex
John Standing

Fox
Dexter Fletcher

Bytes' Boy
Lesley Dunlop

Nora
Phoebe Nicholls

Merrick's Mother
Pat Gorman

Fairground Bobby
Claire Davenport

Fat Lady

Full cast

Director:

David Lynch

Writers:

Christopher De Vore (screenplay), Eric Bergren (screenplay), David Lynch (screenplay), Frederick Treves (book), Ashley Montagu (in part on the book "The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity")

All Cast & Crew

Awards

Nominated for 8 Oscars.

Another 10 wins & 13 nominations.

Top Rated Movies #147

Reviews & Commentary

User Reviews

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Parents Guide

Did You Know?

Trivia

One documentary on the Elephant Man ended with a computer graphic extrapolation of what he might have looked like if he were not deformed: an image morphing from his actual face to a hypothetical one. This was done with a voiceover reading his ... ...

Quotes

Skeleton Man: Get rid of them! I don't want to see them!
Fat Lady: Darling, don't be difficult! Let's take our sweet lovely children on an outing.

Goofs

In the film Joseph befriends Dr Treves before he is kidnapped and taken to Belgium. In real life Joseph never met Treves until he was rescued by police from a train station in London as was shown in the film.

Crazy Credits

Closing disclaimer: This has been based upon the true life story of John Merrick, known as The Elephant Man, and not upon the Broadway play of the same title or any other fictional account.