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The Elephant Man

The Elephant Man

Drama · History · 1980

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

Movie details

The Elephant Man

“A true story of courage and human dignity.”

1980 Drama · History 2h 4m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.0 / 10

Community rating

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Elephant Man?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

David Lynch

Written by

David Lynch · Eric Bergren · Christopher De Vore

Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Frederick Treves

John Hurt

John Hurt

John Merrick

Anne Bancroft

Anne Bancroft

Mrs Kendal

John Gielgud

John Gielgud

Carr Gomm

Wendy Hiller

Wendy Hiller

Mothershead

Freddie Jones

Freddie Jones

Bytes

Michael Elphick

Michael Elphick

Night Porter

Court is in session

Put The Elephant Man on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.