Review of Elephant Man, The

Introduction

Joseph Carey Merrick was born on 5th August 1862 to Mary Jane Merrick, a kind-hearted woman who loved her son. John (although his real name was Joseph, Frederick Treves, his surgeon, substituted the names for some reason - probably to protect the identity of Merrick`s family) was not born with any deformities, but they soon began to manifest themselves, leading to severe disfigurement of his face and body. The explanation for his deformity was that his mother was knocked over by an elephant during pregnancy...however this was not the case. Although a diagnosis was not able at the time of his life, in 1979 a new disease was found: Proteus Syndrome - a terrible disease that affects the skeleton and skin tissue. The disease is incredibly rare, but there is a good chance that John Merrick suffered from this, although nothing can be proved without DNA testing.

In Victorian society, people with deformities were stuck into freak-shows and gawked at, whilst the freak-show owners made money off other people`s disadvantages. They didn`t think whether there was a real person inside this deformed façade, and exploited them without consent. However, the majority of them are real people, and the most famous of these cases was John Merrick - aka The Elephant Man. He died (or committed suicide depending on your view) in April 1890, at the tender age of 28. Although in his early years his quality of life may have been awful, a surgeon by the name of Frederick Treves tried to change all of that. He attempted to give Merrick a better quality of life, by letting him have his own room at the back of a hospital - and this was undoubtedly achieved, however, due to aggravating factors it was understandable he may have wanted to end his own life.

After many adaptations of the story, it was decided that a big screen version was needed. Screenwriters Christopher DeVore and Eric Bergren wrote a script that focused on John Merrick the man and not the monster, and hoped to show that he had courage and dignity. After securing a script, a director was needed. At this time, a little-known helmer by the name of David Lynch had made a violent, bizarre movie named Eraserhead. After Mel Brooks (yep, the comedian had an uncredited role in bringing the script to screen) saw it and decided that yes, Lynch had what the project needed, he was hired. The Elephant Man was good to go.

Video

It is presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, and instead of going for the conventional colour palette, The Elephant Man is presented in crisp black and white. There is no dust or grain on the print, and there are no compression signs visible.

The main reason for chosing the black and white approach is so Merrick`s deformities could be played down, to make them less horrific on screen. However, it seems they`ve killed two birds with one stone - black and white visuals give the movie more atmosphere, and more ambience. Lynch also fades to black a lot at the end of scenes, and it fits well.

Merrick`s make-up is excellent - considering this was 1981, it beats some of the recent Hollywood movies in the sheer attention-to-detail stakes.

Audio

A DD 2.0 track is on offer, and the main audio stream is crisp and clear, reproducing the dialogue well, with no compression signs. However, a DD 5.1 track would have been better, but since this doesn`t rely on surround sound, it does its job well.

The script is good, and fleshes each character out well, although it lacks the flair that would make this an instant classic. Although the original draft was good enough to get greenlighted, in true Lynch fashion he asked Brooks if he could tweak it somewhat, so even the script bears a few Lynchian trademarks. Come to think of it, all Lynch movies have the same elements, with the details changed from movie to movie.

Features

The main extras on the disc are just a measly trailer and photo gallery (comprising of 20 stills from the production) - not good considering this movie must have an excellent story behind it. However, all is not lost, as there is a 64-page accompanying book written especially for the DVD release. It focuses on the cast and crew (mainly the hiring of Lynch), the production itself (set design, make-up et cetera) and the most interesting part - the real Elephant Man.

The book would have been better transferred to the screen as a documentary, but as it stands, and if you have the patience to read it (hell, it`s only 64-pages...it won`t take long) you will enjoy it.

The menus are animated visually, with music playing in the background, giving an eerie impression as you setup the disc - the perfect atmosphere for watching the movie.

The Elephant Man is presented in a clear Amaray case, with the 64-page book supplied in the inside cover.

Conclusion

The movie is one of those that you have to see, and the acting in it is excellent. From Anthony Hopkins` excellent performance as Treves to the outstanding John Hurt as John Merrick, their talent is what makes the movie worth watching. Sure, the directing, make-up, and supporting actors (such as John Gielgud) add to the movie, but the power of the two leads makes The Elephant Man what it is.

Disc wise, everything is fine quality wise (although a 5.1 track would have been better), but the extras need some real work. If only there was a documentary and commentary, but alas, it`s not to be. The book does gain some kudos however, but even this can`t prevent its low mark.

Overall, if you can find this for a good price, add it straight to your collection, otherwise, give it a rent - it`s definitely worth that. Let`s just hope a more definite disc is in the works...