Behind The Scenes: David Lynch Directs John Hurt On The Set Of THE ELEPHANT MAN
Director David Lynch‘s The Elephant Man is a fascinating piece of cinema. Starring Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft and John Gielgud, the film (based on a true story) sees Hopkin’s Victorian surgeon rescuing Hurt’s John Merrick from his life as a side-show freak.
Lynch’s film is loaded with great performances – Hopkins, Hurt, Bancroft and Gielgud are all excellent and so is Michael Elphick as a mocking night porter and Freddie Jones as Merrick’s brutal ringmaster.
John Morris’ haunting circus-style score is phenomenal and and cinematographer Freddie Francis‘ black and white cinematography is stunning. There’s an abstract style used by Lynch for The Elephant Man to create a a dark and oppressive dream-like Victorian world.
Released in 1980, The Elephant Man grossed $26 million at the US box office.