I feel like nothing I say will be worthy of this film. The was some kind of amazing confluence of talent and circumstance that made this movie greater than the sum of its parts. It’s stunning.
I’ll risk one bit of commentary. The circus freak is a fundamental human archetype. To use it cheaply or ineptly would be a travesty, but in the right hands it makes for a story of unusual power. Such a story shows us both the circus freak in ourselves, and the humanity in the circus freak.
3 responses to “Movie: The Elephant Man”
i saw this so long ago, as a kid. not a kid movie at all, though i am not sure i want to endure this movie [again].
i’ve seen pics of ‘his’ skeleton. think God i was born healthy enough.
No, definitely NOT a kid movie. But it’s not a movie I feel must be ‘endured’ as an adult. It does take a hard look at suffering, but it’s also about transcending suffering.
Great movie. Kelly and I seen it in the Theater and then we let our kids see it some time in the 80’s on HBO, I think. They were just kids (8 or so?) but they didn’t have any nightmares from it. We wanted them to see that people with deformites and/or handicaps are human and I think this movie does an excellent job of doing that. It’s not scary, it’s not a monster movie, it’s a story about human digity!