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Title: The Elephant Man
Year: 1980
Director: David Lynch
Format: DVD
Label: Optimum Releasing
Notes:
David Lynch's biopic of the unfortunately deformed Joseph Merrick is a great film that shows some of the best and worst of humanity. It's not a horror film but uses some of the tonality of horror quite effectively. Although the titular character is not a monster, the scenes that introduce him to the viewer clearly frame him like a classic horror monster. The first screenshot I've used shows this allusion - we are teased a full view of the grotesque in typical horror mode. The monochrome photography is probably another allusion to horror.
That said, the film is mostly a fairly straightforward biopic with only a few Lynchian flourishes book-ending the main narrative. The script, acting and design are all textbook costume drama. The only really odd element is the persistent humming soundtrack from the director.
Watched to commemorate John Hurt's death.
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