US (1980): Drama
You could only see his eyes behind the layers of makeup, but those expressive orbs earned John Hurt a well-deserved Oscar® nomination for his moving portrayal of John Merrick, the grotesquely deformed Victorian-era man better known as "The Elephant Man." Inarticulate and abused, Merrick is the virtual slave of a carnival barker (Freddie Jones) until dedicated London doctor Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins in a powerfully understated performance) rescues him from the life and offers him an existence with dignity. Anne Bancroft costars as the actress whose visit to Merrick makes him a social curiosity, with John Gielgud and Wendy Hiller as dubious hospital staffers won over by Merrick.
The writers based this film on the memoirs of Dr. Treves and other true accounts, and avoided the play by Bernard Pomerance and the novel by Christine Sparks. David Lynch earned Oscar nominations as director and co-writer of this somber drama, which he shot in a rich black-and-white palette, a sometimes stark, sometimes dreamy visual style that at times recalls the offbeat expressionism of his first film, Eraserhead (1977). It remains a perfect marriage between traditional Hollywood historical drama and Lynch's unique cinematic eye, a compassionate human tale delivered in a gothic vein. The film earned eight Oscar nominations in all, and though it left the Oscar® race empty-handed, its dramatic power and handsome yet haunting imagery remain just as strong today. Mel Brooks was an uncredited executive producer. (Brooksfilms Ltd./Paramount) (Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com)
(The true name of the "Elephant Man" was not John Merrick as most people have known, but Joseph Carey Merrick. Merrick was born in Leicester, England on August 5, 1862, and died in the Royal London Hospital on April 11, 1890, at the age of 27.)
8 nominations
· Best Picture 1980: Jonathan Sanger - Producer (Brooksfilms, Paramount)
· Actor 1980: John Hurt
· Directing 1980: David Lynch
· Writing (Best Screenplay based on material from another medium) 1980: Christopher DeVore, Eric Bergren, David Lynch
· Art Direction/Set Decoration 1980: Stuart Craig & Bob Cartwright - Art Direction, Hugh Scaife - Set Decoration
· Costume Design 1980: Patricia Norris
· Film Editing 1980: Anne V. Coates
· Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score) 1980: John Morris
