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Dom Robinson reviews
The Director’s Chair CollectionA true story of courage and dignity.
Momentum Pictures
- Cert:
- Cat.no: MP037D
- Running time: 118 minutes
- Year: 1980
- Pressing: 2001
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 28 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono)
- Languages: English, Italian, Spanish
- Subtitles: 6 languages available
- Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £17.99
- Extras: Trailer, Photo Gallery, Exclusive 56-page companion book
Director:
- David Lynch
(Blue Velvet, Dune, The Elephant Man, Eraserhead, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, The Straight Story, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Wild at Heart, TV: Hotel Room, On the Air, Twin Peaks)
Producer:
- Jonathan Sanger
Screenplay:
- Christopher de Vore, Eric Bergren and David Lynch
Music:
- John Morris
Cast:
- Frederick Treves: Anthony Hopkins
John Merrick: John Hurt
Mrs Kendal: Anne Bancroft
Carr-Gomm: John Gielgud
Mothershead: Wendy Hiller
Bytes: Freddie Jones
Night Porter: Michael Elphick
Mrs Treves: Hannah Gordon
Princess Alex: Helen Ryan
Fox: John Standing
Bytes’ Boy: Dexter Fletcher
Nora: Lesley Dunlop
Nurse Kathleen: Nula Conwell – Viv Martella
Alderman: Frederick Treves
2nd whore: Pauline Quirke
Plumed Dwarf: Kenny Baker
Screaming Mum: Patricia Hodge
Dubbed The Elephant Man when appearing at the local circus show,in the 19th century, the one thing John Merrick (portrayed by John Hurt, who was nominated for an Oscar andwon a BAFTA for his performance) didn’t have was the condition of elephantitis. However, thecondition is still one that cannot be cured and those with the power won’t allow his bodyto be released for DNA testing.
In what is based on a true story, Merrick was a young man of 21 years of age rescued fromexploitative circus showman Bytes (Freddie Jones) by Doctor Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) in order tostudy his affliction and give him a better lease of life. As the story unfolds he is introducedto established actress Mrs Kendal (Anne Bancroft), Treves’ wife (Hannah Gordon)and specialist Mr Carr-Gomm (John Gielgud), each of whom treat him with the kindnessand respect he deserved, but there’s less welcoming opinions from Mrs Mothershead (Wendy Hiller),the Nurse Ratched of her time who runs the hospital where Merrick is staying and theNight Porter (Michael Elphick, currently appearing in Eastenders and lookingwell past his prime), who tries to make some money out of the man and behaves towards him in asick and disgusting manner.
Don’t watch this film expecting to find some answers or realistic reasons why Merrick becamethe way he was from his birth to his death in 1890, but do watch it for the staggering and tear-jerking performances from Hurt,most notably when he breaks down in front of Hannah Gordon because he just can’t accept peoplebeing nice to him after suffering brutal treatment in the circus. Hopkins is one of my favouriteactors and his performances of determined characters are always his best. Classic moments alsoinclude nurse Nora (Lesley Dunlop, appearing in ITV’s Where The Heart Is at thetime of writing) taking Merrick some dinner but without being forewarned of his appearanceand the wanton public harrassing him and chasing him into a public toilet. Note also that it’snearly an hour before we actually get to see what Merrick looks like.
Cameos are abound in this film. Nula Conwell, as Nurse Kathleen, used to play WPC VivMartella in ITV’s The Bill until her character was gunned down, Birds of a Feather‘sPauline Quirke plays “2nd whore”, R2D2’s Kenny Baker is the Plumed Dwarf,Press Gang‘s Dexter Fletcher plays Bytes’ boy and Patricia Hodge is the”Screaming Mum”. There’s also a Frederick Treves playing the part of Alderman in thisfilm, but checking theInternet Movie Database didn’t showhow, if at all, he is related to the character played by Hopkins and if it was mentioned in theaccompanying book then I’ve missed it.
David Lynch shot the film in 2.35:1 Panavision and in black and white, to evoke thefeel of the period, which aids it immensely. Recreated in the original 2.35:1 widescreen ratioand being anamorphic, this is the type of print we’ve deserved for so long. There’s a fewprint flecks along the way but nothing to put you off watching at all.The average bitrate is 5.86Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 8Mb/s.Note that a widescreen video was once released in the dim and distant past before such thingsbecame mainstream, but it wasn’t labelled as such so would’ve been a real find at the time.
The back of the box states a Dolby Stereo soundtrack but on the disc it says mono. Dialogueis clear and I think if a Dolby Digital 5.1 version was created with split-stereo rear effectsit would take away the closeness of the atmosphere created rather than add to it in any way.The dialogue is in English, Italian and Spanish.
The extras on the disc are a small affair with just a 3-minute Trailer and a 20-strongPhoto Gallery, but off the disc we have a another of the excellent range ofExclusive 56-page companion books, this one entitled “One of Us: David Lynch andThe Elephant Man”. Written by James Oliver (no, not that one!), it gets the balanceright between a look at Lynch’s career and detailed notes on many aspects of the film’s production.I’m a big fan of these books – and reading anything other than a TV guide is something Irarely enjoy – as it’s nice to have something to take away from the screen that providesplenty of background info.
Subtitles come in 6 languages: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and Turkish.There are 28 chapters to the film which is fine and the main menu sees elephants moving aboutto the haunting theme tune.
Other DVDs to come in the “Director’s Chair” series include The Doors, Manhunter, The CottonClub, Jacob’s Ladder, Chaplin, King of Comedy, The Producers and The Sure Thing.
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.