"A true story of courage and human dignity."

1980

2h 4m

8.1(3688 votes)

Drama

History

Overview

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.

Where to Watch

Rent

Links & Resources

IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

Videos & Trailers

10 videos

Cast & Crew

83 members

Acting

Anthony Hopkins

Frederick Treves

Acting

John Hurt

John Merrick

Acting

Anne Bancroft

Mrs Kendal

Acting

John Gielgud

Carr Gomm

Acting

Wendy Hiller

Mothershead

Acting

Freddie Jones

Bytes

Acting

Michael Elphick

Night Porter

Acting

Hannah Gordon

Mrs Treves

Acting

Helen Ryan

Princess Alex

Acting

John Standing

Fox

Acting

Dexter Fletcher

Bytes' Boy

Acting

Lesley Dunlop

Nora

Acting

Phoebe Nicholls

Merrick's Mother

Acting

Pat Gorman

Fairground Bobby

Acting

Claire Davenport

Fat Lady

No Image

Acting

Orla Pederson

Skeleton Man

No Image

Acting

Patsy Smart

Distraught Woman

No Image

Acting

Frederick Treves

Alderman

No Image

Acting

Stromboli

Fire Eater

No Image

Acting

Richard Hunter

Hodges

No Image

Acting

James Cormack

Pierce

No Image

Acting

Robert Lewis Bush

Messenger

No Image

Acting

Roy Evans

Cabman

No Image

Acting

Joan Rhodes

Cook

No Image

Acting

Nula Conwell

Nurse Kathleen

Acting

Tony London

Young Porter

No Image

Acting

Alfie Curtis

Milkman

Acting

Bernadette Milnes

1st Fighting Woman

No Image

Acting

Brenda Kempner

2nd Fighting Woman

No Image

Acting

Carol Harrison

Tart

No Image

Acting

Hugh Manning

Broadneck

Acting

Dennis Burgess

1st Committee Man

No Image

Acting

Fanny Carby

Mrs Kendal's Dresser

No Image

Acting

William Morgan Sheppard

Man in Pub

Acting

Kathleen Byron

Lady Waddington

Acting

Gerald Case

Lord Waddington

No Image

Acting

David Ryall

Man With Whores

Acting

Deirdre Costello

1st Whore

No Image

Acting

Pauline Quirke

2nd Whore

Acting

Kenny Baker

Plumed Dwarf

Acting

Chris Greener

Giant

No Image

Acting

Marcus Powell

Midget

No Image

Acting

Gilda Cohen

Midget

Acting

Lesley Scoble

Siamese Twin

Acting

Teri Scoble

Siamese Twin

No Image

Acting

Eiji Kusuhara

Japanese Bleeder

Acting

Robert Day

Little Jim

No Image

Acting

Patricia Hodge

Screaming Mum

Acting

Tommy Wright

First Bobby

No Image

Acting

Peter Davidson

Second Bobby

Acting

John Rapley

King In Panto

No Image

Acting

Hugh Spight

Puss In Panto

No Image

Acting

Teresa Codling

Princess In Panto

No Image

Acting

Marion Betzold

Principal Boy

No Image

Acting

Caroline Haigh

Tree

No Image

Acting

Florenzio Morgado

Tree

No Image

Acting

Victor Kravchenko

Lion / Coachman

No Image

Acting

Beryl Hicks

Fairy

No Image

Acting

Michele Amas

Horse

No Image

Acting

Lucie Alford

Horse

No Image

Acting

Penny Wright

Horse

No Image

Acting

Janie Kells

Horse

No Image

Acting

Lydia Lisle

Merrick's Mother

No Image

Directing

David Lynch

Man in the Bowler Hat in the Mob Chasing Merrick (uncredited)

Acting

Harry Fielder

Policeman (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Jack Armstrong

Man at Lecture (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Ralph G. Morse

Young Aristocrat (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Fred Wood

Injured Man (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Adam Caine

Kid at Train Station (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Tony Clarkin

Thug from Pub (uncredited)

Acting

Dave Cooper

Man in crowd (uncredited)

Acting

Chick Fowles

Man in Pub (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Juba Kennerley

Committee Member (uncredited)

No Image

Writing

Eric Bergren

Lyra Box Player #1 (uncredited)

No Image

Writing

Christopher De Vore

Lyra Box Player #2 (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Jay McGrath

Man at Lecture (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Henry Roberts

Man at Lecture (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Kevin Schumm

Kid at Train Station #2 (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Ian Selby

Courtier (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Guy Standeven

Committee Member (uncredited)

Acting

Reg Thomason

Lecture Assistant (uncredited)

No Image

Acting

Jill Goldston

Nurse (uncredited)

Acting

Norman Gay

Doctor (uncredited)

No Image

Similar Movies

5.4

1943

The Lamp Still Burns

A tribute to the important work of female nurses during World War II.

Movie

6.9

1967

The Second Wife

A story in the Egyptian countryside about an unjust mayor who controls everything in the village with his power.

Movie

6.8

1952

Rayya and Sekina

In Alexandria a terrifying phenomenon of the disappearance of women, spreads terror in the city. Police work to unravel its secrets. Officer Ahmed is preparing a plan to uncover who's behind it and it turns out to be the gang of Raya and Sakina, who were targeting women to steal their jewelry.

Movie

7.5

1967

Mouchette

A young girl living in the French countryside suffers constant indignities at the hand of alcoholism and her fellow man.

Movie

7.5

1959

The Bridge

A group of German boys are ordered to protect a small bridge in their home village during the waning months of the second world war. Truckloads of defeated, cynical Wehrmacht soldiers flee the approaching American troops, but the boys, full of enthusiasm for the "blood and honor" Nazi ideology, stay to defend the useless bridge. The film is based on a West German anti-war novel of the same name, written by Gregor Dorfmeister.

Movie

7.9

1980

Raging Bull

The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.

Movie

8.3

1946

It's a Wonderful Life

A holiday favourite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

Movie

6.4

2006

Copying Beethoven

A fictionalised exploration of Beethoven's life in his final days working on his Ninth Symphony. It is 1824. Beethoven is racing to finish his new symphony. However, it has been years since his last success and he is plagued by deafness, loneliness and personal trauma. A copyist is urgently needed to help the composer. A fictional character is introduced in the form of a young conservatory student and aspiring composer named Anna Holtz. The mercurial Beethoven is skeptical that a woman might become involved in his masterpiece but slowly comes to trust in Anna's assistance and in the end becomes quite fond of her. By the time the piece is performed, her presence in his life is an absolute necessity. Her deep understanding of his work is such that she even corrects mistakes he has made, while her passionate personality opens a door into his private world.

Movie

7.5

1991

The Double Life of Véronique

Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer; Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. The film follows both women as they contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with Alexandre Fabbri, a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues.

Movie

7.1

1980

Brubaker

The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.

Movie

7.7

1962

Vivre Sa Vie

Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.

Movie

7.7

1988

Mississippi Burning

Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his partner, a former sheriff.

Movie

7.9

2007

Freedom Writers

A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

Movie

2013

The Guerilla is a Poet

The tale of an activist’s journey during the turbulent years of Martial Law, until his capture in the mountains and the dark, nine years of imprisonment that followed, leading to his birth as a poet.

Movie

6.5

2015

Black Mass

The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

Movie

5.6

2017

Most Beautiful Island

Chronicling one harrowing day in the life of Luciana, a young woman struggling to make ends meet while striving to escape her past. As Luciana’s day unfolds, she is whisked, physically and emotionally, through a series of troublesome, unforeseeable extremes.

Movie

6.8

2017

Lane 1974

At 13 years old and the eldest of three kids, Lane struggles to keep her family together as her iconoclast mother moves without warning through the communes and dusty back woods of Northern California.

Movie

7.1

2005

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days

In 1943, as Hitler continues to wage war across Europe, a group of college students mount an underground resistance movement in Munich. Dedicated expressly to the downfall of the monolithic Third Reich war machine, they call themselves the White Rose. One of its few female members, Sophie Scholl is captured during a dangerous mission to distribute pamphlets on campus with her brother Hans. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to the White Rose, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility.

Movie

6.5

2000

The Perfect Storm

In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail.

Movie

6.8

2001

James Dean

The man behind the legend and a knowing look at the 1950's Hollywood are revealed in this dynamic bioepic of the meteoric star whose troubled life echoed his gut-grabbing performances in East of Eden, Rebel Without A Cause and Giant.

Movie

Recommended Movies

7.6

1986

Blue Velvet

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.

Movie

7.4

1977

Eraserhead

First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

Movie

7.5

1997

Lost Highway

A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.

Movie

6.2

1984

Dune

In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.

Movie

7.4

1992

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.

Movie

7.8

1980

The King and the Mockingbird

A young shepherdess and a chimneysweep plan to get married and escape the clutches of a tyrannical king in love with her, assisted by the guile of a cheeky mockingbird, the king's archenemy.

Movie

7.8

2001

Mulholland Drive

Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.

Movie

7.0

1990

Wild at Heart

Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.

Movie

7.8

1979

Life of Brian

Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.

Movie

6.1

2003

A Man Apart

When Vetter's wife is killed in a botched hit organized by Diablo, he seeks revenge against those responsible. But in the process, Vetter and Hicks have to fight their way up the chain to get to Diablo but it's easier said than done when all Vetter can focus on is revenge.

Movie

7.7

1999

The Straight Story

A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.

Movie

6.1

1980

The Mirror Crack'd

Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.

Movie

6.9

1976

The Toy

When Francois, a journalist, tours a big store for an article, he is chosen by the son of the newspaper's owner, Rambal-Cochet, as his new toy. Needing money and unwilling to quit his job, Francois agrees to this ridiculous assignment. Gradually befriending the spoiled boy, he induces him to play at making a newspaper, unveiling publicly the tyrannical way of life of the father. The powerful emotional climax we experience with the child astonishes both men.

Movie

7.2

1980

The Last Metro

In occupied Paris, an actress married to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Nazis while doing both of their jobs.

Movie

7.0

2006

Inland Empire

An actress’s perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted as she finds herself falling for her co-star in a remake of an unfinished Polish production that was supposedly cursed.

Movie

7.0

2021

Nightmare Alley

An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.

Movie

7.8

1932

Freaks

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.

Movie

8.0

1991

Paris Is Burning

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

Movie

7.8

1973

Papillon

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

Movie

7.1

2003

I'm Not Scared

In a tiny community enclosed by wheat fields, the adults shelter indoors, while six children venture out on their bikes across the scorched, deserted countryside. Exploring a dilapidated and uninhabited farmhouse, nine-year-old Michele discovers a secret so momentous, so terrible, that he dares not tell anyone about it …

Movie