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09/10/1980 Drama, History 2h 4m
80
User score

A true story of courage and human dignity.

Overview

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

  1. David Lynch

    Director

Top billed cast

  1. Anthony Hopkins

    Frederick Treves

  2. John Hurt

    John Merrick

  3. Anne Bancroft

    Mrs Kendal

  4. John Gielgud

    Carr Gomm

  5. Wendy Hiller

    Mothershead

  6. Freddie Jones

    Bytes

  7. Michael Elphick

    Night Porter

  8. Hannah Gordon

    Mrs Treves

  9. Helen Ryan

    Princess Alex

  10. View more

Full Cast & Crew

Reviews

A review by CinemaSerf
Written by CinemaSerf on 2023-06-07
Saw this, recently up-converted to 4K at the London Film Festival and, apart from the clear improvements to the quality and detail of the image, I was reminded of just how good it is. Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft play their roles with engaging sincerity - very ably supported by Sir John Gielgud and Dame Wendy Hiller. Prosthetics aside, John Hurt captures both the despair and optimism of Merrick with empathetic style; and Freddie Jones is just downright evil as "Bytes". His son Toby was at the screening and I couldn't help but wonder when he watched this portrayal by his father whether the...read the rest
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Status
Released

Original Language
English

Budget
$5,000,000.00

Revenue
$26,000,000.00

Keywords