In THE ELEPHANT MAN, David Lynch’s heartfelt and humanist second film, a deformed man finds compassion and care with a noted doctor. Originally on Criterion Collection Blu-ray in 2020, it now has a 4k upgrade.
The Film
Coming off the underground cult success of the long-in-the-making Eraserhead, auteur David Lynch found a surprising backer for his next film: Mel Brooks (happy 100th birthday!). The master of comedy was shopping for a director for a script he bought for Brooksfilm, a relatively new production company, and well, it’s complicated (and the features below go into it a few times in great detail). And that creative freedom of a trusting producer, working form a great script by Christopher De Vore and Eric Bergren (albeit rewritten a few times, including by Lynch, who also recieves credit) led to powerful and moving second feature, establishing David Lynch as someone to watch as he builds his career, (although he almost tanked it with Dune immediately afterwards. But how this all works together to make the Lynch we know needs more space than we have.)
It’s the late 19th century, and in a gas-lit London, progressive doctor Dr. Frederick Treves hears about a unique medical oddity: an “elephant man.” This is John Merrick, a kind soul with an unkind condition, causing most to treat him unfairly and as monstrous. With the newfound safety to merely exist, Merrick grows and becomes a part of society. But within, the questions of being used, what we do to treat other people, our preconceptions, and just what makes something beautiful or ugly arise. Lynch’s film is beautiful and meditative, with an astonishing, gorgeous design and a carnival full of astounding performances.
Elephant Man is rather different than most Lynch films, yet still fully him. The skewed worldview, the intricacies and eccentricities of his distinct design show in the unique style of Freddie Francis’ black and white photography and Stuart Craig’s production design. The monochrome gives a unique atmosphere; it’s maybe the most technically ambitious of Lynch’s films, with the period piece, the crowd scenes, and the fully formed living London and the environment within. I don’t think Dune was even this big, in its own way. But if there is any question, the moments of nearly nightmare dreams, and the dream-like reality over the waking composition harken to the Lynchian vibe.
The Elephant Man is an actor’s paradise. It’s an interesting alternate take, Lynch is known for his quirkiness and oddities of style and the world’s he makes. But part of that is notable character, iconic loveable weirdos; those misfits of society, from Dale Cooper to Sailor Ripley and everywhere in between, and especially so with John Hurt’s John Merrick and even Anthony Hopkins’ Dr. Treves. He gets that from impeccable casting and gaining brilliant performances from the cast. The Elephant Man is a unique take on noted performances, as, although with a storied setup, it’s a different sort of Lynch, allowing the acting to shine.
It’s weird to think of a Lynch film with John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, John Gielgud, and Anne Bancroft. But we do. Each performer here is perfect. Hurt, working under Christopher Tucker’s extraodridngm make up, finding a true soul underneath it all. The kindness and beauty that pervades from Merrick earns that Oscar nomination (The film had 8, including Best Picture, but didn’t win any). Hopkins gives a wonderfully understated go, and John Guilguide brings a level of British class only he can. Anne Bancroft is radiant. Extra shout out ot Wendy Hiller as the hospital matron. Finally, Freddie Jones exudes a special sort of menace. Chilling.
David Lynch’s The Elephant Man proved the remarkable talent of one of our greatest directors, creating a beautiful monochrome story of remarkable compassion and gorgeous humanity.
The Packaging
Criterion‘s 4K of The Elephant Man comes in a thin blister case, with the plastic blister holding in both discs (one 4k UHD and one Blu-Ray) overlapped on the right side, flipping out on a cardboard fold in taht oholds the booklet. The exterior of the inner case is stylized images from the film. This slides into a cardboard case with the masked Elephant Man on the front.
Spine #1051
The Presentation
Criterion presented Elephant Man with a 4k digital restoration. Absolutely gorgeous. Filmed in black-and-white, Lynch creates a busy frame with the production design and the compact, complicated Victorian world, but nothing is lost. From the sheer detail of the titular character to the layered brickwork of the era, it’s crystal clear (when Lynch wants it to be). The stereo soundtrack is nicely presented.
The Features
The Elephant Man is a case where Criterion is upgrading a previous edition for the format. Thus, there are no new features, just what the 2020 version had, much of which came from the StudioCanal version, and a few of those from the Lime Green box. This was my previous edition. I missed all those in between. The features range from contemporary from the time to 2018. There is a mighty amount, hours upon hours.
The 4k UHD disc is just the film. All features are located on the Blu-Ray, which also includes the feature.
I’m very surprised to see Lynch himself over the features, a rare sight indeed. Usually, we have other folks quoting him (and doing a fun little impersonation of him, a favorite thing on Lynch work features).
Room to Dream (2018)
Lynch and Kristine McKenna read from the chapters of their book, Room to Dream, concerning the Elephant Man and Ronnie Rocket (prepare to hear just as much about that never-made film as Elephant Man across the disc). Absolutely fascinating, a great listen. (70m)
Interviews
John Hurt (2009)
Hurt gives an insightful interview about working with Lynch and all he had to deal with working under the make-up and how the film’s reception. (21m)
Frank Connor (2018)
The stills photographer talks about his career, this film specifically, and the eccentricities of working with Lynch (26m)
Jonathan Sanger (2018)
The film’s producer at a Q&A at the BFI. Plenty of amazing detail over the choices to create the film, working with Lynch, and the black & white photography. (25m)
David Lynch (2009)
And finally, from this section, directly from the horse’s mouth (outside of the book excerpt). Lynch gives his perspective on coming to Elephant Man, how different it was from Eraserhead, and his troubles in changing production style (doing more of it himself with a crew) and his big worries. Lynch is always captivating to hear. (25m)
Archival (although all is archival, this is how presented by Criterion, likely due to being archival at the last release)
David Lynch at the AFI
An audio recording of a Q&A from 1981 (so cool to hear Lynch talk then, without everything that came between then and the rest of his career. While some repeats from above, more incredible insight from a young Lynch. As it’s an audience Q&A, it’s a wide variety of discussion points. (50m)
The Terrible Elephant Man Revealed (2001)
A wonderful doc about the creation, from script idea to release. A great amount is spent on the effects of the makeup (30m)
Joseph Merrick: The Real Elephant Man (2005)
Another great documentary, this time focusing on the man himself. I loved hearing the real story and who he was. Wish we had more about the true story across the features. (31m)
Mike Figgis and David Lynch (2006)
Figgis interviews Lynch in a rather spooky hallway, looking like a still from his own movies. They get into the details of making the film. I’m surprised how much there is to mine; each of the features does have a few overlaps, but each brings in new perspectives. (20m)
Clapper Board: John Hurt (1980)
From a UK TV show, Hurt talks about the process of becoming Merrick and working with David Lynch. (12m)
Skintricks: Christopher Tucker and John Hurt (1988)
Moving into a Dutch TV show now, and with the addition of the make-up artist Tucker. (14m)
Radio Spots
4 short radio adverts (2m)
Booklet
A 37-page stapled booklet is included. The normal stills, production info, and the like, along with a few writings. “Some Weird Breeze of the Essence of This Beautiful Soul” by Chris Rodley is an excerpt from the book Lynch of Lynch. It takes what was said above and expands on a slightly different tack. “Some Fitting Place” is a letter from Francis Culling Gar Gomm, played by John Gielgud in the film. Originally published in The London Times on December 4, 1886, it’s seen in the film as well, giving humanity to Merrick and asking for help lodging him for his safety.
Final Thoughts
David Lynch’s The Elephant Man is his second masterpiece in unique cinema out of the gate, proving Lynch as a talent. He’s left us now, and this still makes me sad, but we have his films to revel in his mad genius. A wonderful film, with a great 4k transfer and hours of features digging into the hows of this sort coming through from so many methods of talent. If you have the previous Blu-ray from Criterion, there is nothing new, save the transfer, but well worth a pick up for those who have skipped various previous editions.