David Lynch transforms the story of the horribly deformed John Merrick (a latex-coated John Hurt) into an emotion-tweaking drama of friendship and compassion. The playing is finely judged, the black-and-white cinematography is effective and the whole thing manages to be truly moving in a way that overcomes all the "I am not an animal!" schmaltz.
DVD Extras:
64-page companion book, trailer, photo gallery.The companion booklet is entertaining enough (a mix of stuff on Lynch, the making of the film and the real John Merrick), but with no commentary, documentary or even filmographies on the disc, you can't help feeling disappointed by this entrant in Momentum's Director's Chair collection. Sure, the cinematography benefits from digital sharpness, but there's always that nagging sense that buying a separate video and book about the film might be better value for money.
