The Elephant Man Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

Set in the late 19th century, David Lynch’s The Elephant Man tells the tragic tale of John Merrick (John Hurt) whose body deformities are so severe he is considered a monster yet it is those society deems “normal looking” who are shown to be the actual monsters in this captivating film, which earned eight Oscar nominations.

After a montage of a woman being attacked by an elephant leads to a baby crying, the film cuts to Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) attending a freak show at a carnival. His book, The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences (1923), along with Ashley Montagu’s The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity (1971), is the basis for the screenplay by Lynch, Christopher De Vore, and Eric Bergren. Frederick pays Merrick’s caretaker, Mr. Bytes (Freddie Jones), to study him and present him at a medical conference. Merrick’s body has a number of deformities, including his skull whose condition causes him to sleep sitting up so he doesn’t choke, and his mental capabilities are limited.

Frederick discovers the brutal conditions Merrick experiences under Bytes and wants to keep him at the hospital. Mr. Francis Carr Gomm (John Gielgud), the hospital’s Governor, disapproves keeping those deemed “incurable.” Frederick rehearses what to say with Merrick to impress Gomm, but he sees through it. That is until Merrick reveals his intelligence, altering the way everyone sees him.

Merrick then reveals his heart in a touching sequence when Frederick brings him home to have tea with his wife. Merrick is moved by their kindness and shares a picture of his mother. Actress Madge Kendal (Anne Bancroft) meets with Merrick and is very impressed with the man within, reading Romeo and Juliet with him and giving him a kiss. Other members of high society soon follow. Merrick very much enjoys meeting people, but Frederick questions if he is no different than Bytes.

Someone who is no different than Bytes is Jim (Michael Elphick), a guard who works the night shift. He charges people at the bar for looks at Merrick, One night, Jim’s tour gets out of hand when they enter Merrick’s room with alcohol and women. Even more troubling, Bytes joins the tour and kidnaps Merrick, returning him to his freak-show lifestyle. Lucky for Merrick, Bytes’s brutality is trumped by the kindness of strangers, strangers who are also considered freaks. The story concludes with Merrick back at the hospital, at peace, seeing himself no different from those around him.

John Hurt gives an inspired performance, finding the humanity of a man so mistreated by humanity. And he does from within the makeup designed by Christopher Tucker and applied by his team. There was such an uproar within the industry after the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences refused to honor the landmark work with a special award that the next year’s ceremony added a Best Make-up Award category.

The video is given a 1080/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The following text appears in the liner notes: “This new 4K restoration was undertaken by StudioCanal from scans of the 35mm original camera negative made at Silver Salt Restoration in London. The restoration was carried out at L’Immatine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. Director David Lynch worked closely on the new color correction with George Koran at FotoKem in Burbank, California.” The blacks are very inky and don’t crush. Bright whites and the variety of grays contribute to a strong contrast. The image is clean, free from dirt or defect, and presents a consistent film grain.

Also from the liner notes, “The audio presented is the original Stereo mix of the film. A brand new ingest of the film’s original magnetic printmaster was done in 2019 by StudioCanal. Digital restoration of the track was done repair punch-in and clipping artifacts as unbalanced channel signal and dropouts. The entire soundtrack was the reviewed by Lynch at his Asymmetrical Studio, where equalization choices were made to extend bass frequencies in certain sequences and ensure that the soundtrack was as close in spirit as possible to its original presentation. The effort to honor the film’s original mix came after revisiting a 5.1 decode of the soundtrack and the realization that something had in fact been lost, not gained, in the conversion process. Careful consideration and review ultimately led Lynch to make the decision to present this version of the soundtrack, with its original mix and format, and without additional channel information. The original magnetic stock mix is itself a notable achievement of the period, and it is presented here in the best reproduction to date. Mastering of the soundtrack was executed by Lynch, Ron Eng, Dean Hurley, and Ryan Hullings.” Dialogue is clear. Composer John Morris’s score has good fidelity. Bass is strong within the music and the effects, augmenting the moods of scenes.

The special features are:

• Room to Dream (audio, 70 min) – Lynch and coauthor Kristine McKenna read from their 2018 book Room to Dream, a biography/memoir about the filmmaker.
• Interviews
  • John Hurt, 2009 (20 min) – Talks about playing the role and working on the production.
  • Frank Connor, 2019 (HD, 25 min) – Stills photographer on The Elephant Man.
  • Jonathan Sanger at the BFI, 2018 (HD, 24 min) – Sangers is interviewed by Ian Haydn-Smith while promoting Making The Elephant Man: A Producer’s Memoir at BFI Southbank on January 18^th, 2018.
  • David Lynch, 2009 (24 min) – Talks about how he hiring and his working on The Elephant Man.
• Archival
  • David Lynch at the AFI, 1981 (audio, 51 min) – An interview at his alma mater
  • The Terrible Elephant Man Revealed (HD, 30 min) – A 2001 documentary about the film, which includes executive producer Mel Brooks
  • Joseph Merrick: The Real Elephant Man (20 min) – A historical documentary that looks at Merrick, Treves, and the hospital.
  • Mike Figgis and David Lynch, 2006 (20 min) – Lynch talks about ideas and inspirations.
  • Clapperboard: John Hurt (12 min) – An interview by program host Chris Kelly with the actor.
  • Skintricks: Christopher Tucker and John Hurt (HD, 14 min) – The makeup artist and actor are interviewed for Dutch TV, which aired June 5, 1988, and speak about working together.
• Trailer (3 min)
• Radio spots (2 min)

David Lynch’s The Elephant Man is one of the filmmaker’s most accessible works. In fact, the sequences that most exhibit his trademark audio/visual style are the least successful here as they don’t blend well. Yet as a whole, the film succeeds in telling a moving story well executed by the talented cast and crew assembled. The Criterion Blu-ray presents a quality high-def presentation and a lot of extras for fans to explore.