One of the most beautiful films, ever.

If you are like me and you are tired of the onslaught of mindless films that Hollywood has been recylcling over and over again over the past few years, then maybe it's time for a change. Often times it only takes a truly great film to recharge your hope again in cinema and what better way than a beautiful film like David Finch's 1980 film THE ELEPHANT MAN. Most people will quickly write this film off as just a bio on the true story of John Merrick AKA The Elephant Man, who was stricken with a most unfortunate disease and was paraded around like a circus freak for years, then from the help of a great doctor (played wonderfully by Anthony Hopkins) he was taken into good care where he finally became treated as a human being.

The film was shot in 1979/1980 under the careful care of director David Lynch, who is typically known for making more obscure artsy films, but for anyone who doubts his ability to make straight-forward films that involve human emotion and depth, look no further than this film, which he truly put everyone on the line. This is by far a no-holds-barred examination into the human condition and perhaps one of the finest examples of such ever pressed into celluloid. It's tactful, honest, compassionate, heartfelt, deep, and profound.

Perhaps the greatest decision that Lynch would make was getting cinematographer Freddie Francis to lens this film, which happens to be one of the last 35mm films to be released in true Black and White (SCHINDLER'S LIST was not shot in B&W, it was converted in post-production) and also using Panavision lenses, which give the film an amazing characteristic all on it's own with Francis opting for a high contrast style that harkens back to the glory days of cinema when deep focus B&W films were common. Francis would later go on to work on some other magnificient films with Martin Scorsese and also work with Lynch again, his 1999 collaboration put forth another great film simply titled THE STRAIGHT STORY and is another must-see.

The casting is also quite excellent with Hopkin's in prime form and John Hurt (who plays Merrick) is simply stunning (it took 7 hours alone for him to get into makeup for the part). Anne Bancroft also co-stars giving the film its credibility with highly talented actors and actresses to pull off the legitimacy of the film and its content. Material of this nature needs to be handled with great care and the acting is essential to making it all work, here it is mastered.

So the next time you're uncertain about which film to put on your Netflix cue after scrolling throught the uninteresting latest releases, put this film on your list and thank me later!