The Elephant Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Elephant Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 15, 2020

David Lynch's "The Elephant Man" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include archival promotional materials for the film; vintage interviews with the director and cast members; recent video interviews with stills photographer Frank Connor and producer Jonathan Sanger; and a lot more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The strange man

Before Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins, The World’s Fastest Indian) meets John Merrick a.k.a. the Elephant Man (John Hurt, Scandal) we see that he is forced to work as a 'circus freak'. Merrick is 'owned' by a feisty man by the name of Blytes (Freddie Jones, The Last Butterfly), who makes a living showing his possession to the curious in exchange for a small fee. Blytes introduces Merrick to Dr. Treves, who then offers to pay him handsomely if he allows him to examine the man in his hospital. Blytes immediately agrees.

Merrick arrives at the hospital with a big bag covering his face and a large gown covering his body. Dr. Treves introduces him to his colleagues -- who are just as shocked and amused by his deformed body as are those who have attended Blytes' 'shows' -- and places him in one of the hospital’s private rooms.

Slowly but surely, Merrick earns the hearts of the hospital staff. Wealthy Londoners and dignitaries also take an interest in him; a few even visit him in the hospital. Eventually, his story reaches Queen Victoria, and she sends a letter to congratulate Dr. Treves and the hospital staff for helping Merrick.

Angered that other people have started benefiting from his precious possession, Blytes takes Merrick away from Dr. Treves. The two end up in France where Merrick is once again forced to work as a 'circus freak'. He suffers enormously. Eventually, he manages to escape from Blytes with the help of a few circus players.

Like a lot of critics before me who have written about David Lynch's The Elephant Man, I have mixed feelings about it. Part of me likes the film a lot -- its story is disturbing yet beautiful. I think that there is a strong message of hope and compassion in it that anyone could appreciate. Part of me, however, would always question its bitter-sweet sentimentality -- dangerously close to introducing a religious sentiment to the story -- which becomes almost impossible to tolerate immediately after Merrick arrives at the hospital.

Films about such extreme human suffering are most effective when they leave one struggling to rationalize its existence, not when they let one feel good about enduring it. There is no grace in the pain Merrick must cope with, and this is why he has such a profound impact on everyone that meets him. Unsurprisingly, The Elephant Man is most convincing when Lynch's camera studies the faces of the main protagonists, not when they confess in front of it what torments their souls.

Shot in glorious black and white, The Elephant Man has that unique intensely dark aura all Lynch films have. Though not as immersive (Lost Highway), and certainly not as manipulative (Mulholland Drive) as it is in his later films, it is still notably effective.

The acting is very strong. The sequence where Hopkins meets the Elephant Man for the first time is incredible. Hurt is also fantastic, though almost impossible to recognize under the heavy makeup. Jones delivers an unforgettable performance as well.

The Elephant Man also benefits from an outstanding music score courtesy of John Morris (Dirty Dancing whose simple but elegant melodies enhance the dark aura of the film very well. The string motives, in particular, are tremendous.

In 1981, The Elephant Man was nominated for eight Oscar awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, and Best Original Score.

The Elephant Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Elephant Man arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"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 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."

This release introduces the recent 4K restoration of the film which StudioCanal began promoting earlier this year in other territories. (We have reviews of the European 4K Blu-ray release here and Blu-ray release and here). The 4K master was supervised by director David Lynch. Predictably, the technical presentation of the film is identical. This is good news because now the film has a much better balanced organic appearance boasting different improvements that ensure a a more satisfying viewing experience. Delineation, clarity, and density are superior, though the latter is even more impressive in native 4K. In our review of the 4K Blu-ray release I pointed out that the grading job is excellent but in the transition from 4K to 1080p some finer nuances begin to struggle. This is still the case here, but you really need to have the 4K Blu-ray release to be able to recolonize the discrepancies. In other words, the overall quality of the presentation is still very impressive. Image stability is fantastic. There are absolutely no debris, scratches, marks, or other similar age-related imperfections. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Elephant Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio was almost certainly redone because the overall dynamic balance is better. If you have the first Blu-ray release of the film and wish to perform direct comparisons, I suggest you test the stage footage around 01:51:53. The dialog is very clean, clear, stable, and easy to follow. There are no encoding anomalies to report.

The Elephant Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for The Elephant Man. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Room to Dream - director David Lynch and coauthor Krisine McKenna read from their 2018 book Room to Dream. Audio only with images. In English, not subtitled. (70 min, 1080p).

• Interviews -
  
  1. John Hurt - in this archival interview, John Hurt discusses his collaboration with David Lynch on The Elephant Man and the film's production process. There are also some very interesting comments about the film's international reception. The interview was conducted in 2009. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080i).
  
  2. Frank Connor - in this recent video program, Frank Connor, stills photographer on The Elephant Man, discusses his work on the film as well as the evolution of his career, with some very interesting comments about the 'old days' and David Lynch's working methods. The program was produced in 2019. In English, not subtitled. (26 min, 1080p).
  
  3. Jonathan Sanger at the BFI - presented here is a Q&A session with producer Jonathan Sanger, which is hosted by Ian Haydn-Smith. The bulk of the information addresses the production of The Elephant Man, from script to screen, the film's visual style (with great comments about the decision to shoot in black-and-white), and David Lynch's creative efforts. The session was filmed at BFI Southbank on January 18, 2018. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080p).
  
  4. David Lynch - in this archival video interview, David Lynch recalls how The Elephant Man came to exist. The interview was conducted in 2009. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080i).

• Archival -
  
  1. David Lynch at the AFI - presented here is an archival audio recording of a seminar with David Lynch. A wide range of topics are discussed, from the director's preparation and shooting methods, the unique qualities of his films (with some very interesting comments about Eraserhead and its critical reception), the importance of scouting, the production of The Elephant Man, etc. The seminar was recorded in 1981.
  
  2. The Terrible Elephant Man Revealed - this archival featurette chronicles the production history of The Elephant Man. It features clips from interviews with producer producer Jonathan Sanger, executive producer Mel Brooks, John Hurt, and cinematographer Freddie Francis, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).
  
  3. Joseph Merrick: The Real Elephant Man - a look at the tragic history of the man whose story inspired David Lynch's film. In English, not subtitled. (31 min, 1080i).
  
  4. Mike Figgis and David Lynch - another long and very informative interview. David Lynch's comments on the process of transforming an idea into film are fascinating. The interview was conducted in 2006. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080i).
  
  5. Clapper Board: John Hurt - presented here is an archival interview with John Hurt which was conducted by Chris Kelly and aired on Granada Television in the UK on November 3, 1980. The actor discusses his collaboration with David Lynch on The Elephant Man. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080i).
  
  6. Skintricks: Christopher Tucker and John Hurt - presented here are excerpts from a Dutch television film broadcast on June 5, 1988, that feature an interview with makeup artist Christopher Tucker and actor John Hurt. The interviewees discuss the creation of the Elephant Man. Also, there photos of the real Elephant Man. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).

• Radio Spots - four vintage radio spots for The Elephant Man. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring excerpts from an interview with Lynch from the 2005 edition of filmmaker and writer Chris Rodley's book Lynch on Lynch, and an 1886 letter to the editor of the London Times concerning Joseph Merrick, the "elephant man," by Francis Culling Carr Gomm, chairman of the London Hospital at the time.

The Elephant Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The recent 4K restoration of David Lynch's The Elephant Man is very beautiful, so you should not hesitate to upgrade. On the other hand, I have to say that I have also seen the restoration in native 4K and in my opinion the 4K Blu-ray release is even more impressive. Criterion's Blu-ray release still offers a gorgeous technical presentation of the restoration and features an excellent mix of recent and archival bonus features, some previously unseen, which is why it is extremely easy to recommend. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.