Deformed at birth by a rare disease, penniless John Merrick is forced to become the star attraction in a travelling freak-show. Treves, a compassionate surgeon, rescues him from the fairground taunts, coaxing out of the terrified, disabled man a touchingly unembittered personality. This multi-award winning film stars Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, John Gielgud and Anne Bancroft. Based on “The Elephant man and other reminiscences” by Sir Frederick Treves and in part on “The Elephant man: a study in human dignity” by Ashley Montagu. Cast includes John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller
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How to watch
Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
317739
Languages
English
English
Audience classification
M (15+)
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Biographical films
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Motion picture trailers
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Exploitation - Psychological aspects
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Exploitation - Psychological aspects
Feature films → Feature films - Great Britain
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Physically handicapped
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
DVD; Access Print (Section 1)