A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.
The Elephant Man has generally received very positive reviews.
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Cinafilm features reviews from top contributing critics and users.
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
By Peter Bradshaw (3,667) for The Guardian (2,969) on 11 Aug 1997
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
By David Thomson (77) for Movieline (883) on 06 Nov 2001
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
By Scott G. Mignola (31) for Common Sense Media (4,943) on 02 Jan 2011
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
By John M (4,356) on 30 Aug 2009
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
By Chris S (3,490) on 22 Mar 2014
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
By James C (2,975) on 01 Dec 2010
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
By Andrew B (2,971) on 12 Jul 2013
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
By Chris D (2,215) on 12 Dec 2008
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
Review of The Elephant Man (1980)
By Brian B (2,161) on 03 Apr 2017
More About This Page
The Elephant Man was released in 1980 and has generally received very positive reviews.
Online reviewers have written 658 reviews, giving The Elephant Man (1980) an average rating of 83%.
Overall, cinema-goers marginally prefer the movie, giving it an average score of 89%, compared to film critics, who gave it a slightly lower average score of 85%.
With a score of 83%, The Elephant Man is above the average Cinafilm score for movies made in 1980, which stands at 57%.
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