A doctor pays a freak show proprietor for the right to show severely disfigured man to his students. When the doctor, Anthony Hopkins, finds out the proprietor beats the disabled man, he takes him into the hospital to help him heal.
We found through the course of events, the man isn't mentally disabled, just trapped in a misshapened body. He quotes the bible and begins to read and the doctor helps him dress and care for himself. His docotr published a newspaper article on his efforts to help his friend and a local actress wishes to meet him.
We're struck by the change in circumstances, yet the disabled man still appears as a freak show specimen. Only now the class of gawkers rises to the level of high society.
Things go very wrong when a scoundrel inside the hospital invades the man's room with a bunch of ruffians from a local pub. Among them the former freak show proprietor who kidnaps his former charge. There's more but I don't want to spoil the ending.
Director David Lynch makes good use of black and white filmography creating the illusion that this film came from a long time ago. Though it is 30 years old, we had plenty of color back then. Certainly this floats right on the edge to being a gem. I found a few sections just a bit slow for my taste. Please feel free to leave a comment with your feelings. It certainly garnered lots of nominations and awards.
Well worth your time to watch. I hope you learn more about compassion for people different from ourselves. SWOCC has the DVD but look in Coos Bay and Powers for the VHS.
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080678/
Buy this fine DVD from Amazon: The Elephant Man
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