Beginning Of Elephant Man

[RayWilliamJohansen]

did the mom have sex with the elephant ??????

[BlackMita]

0:55

[1958boomergirl]

Merrick's mother had a nightmare in which she encountered two angry elephants.

[striker1984]

For God's sake, the woman was raped by the elephant. It's as plain as day.

...and apparently one was not enough.

[TheJosephCurwen]

The picture is "the fabulous". The movement of the elephants is the transition to the horror.

The persistence of the movement of the mother is the reconstruction of the disaster. The background sound is the voice of the heart.

[143Lupe]

is dis some kind of funny joke?? cuz i dont find sence

[RowanTolley02]

Philistine.

[Gina69]

well, just AMAZING.

You can't really know what the hell happened to that poor woman... was she raped? was she pushed? was she... something?

But you can actually GET the feeling, you can go into the darkness...

Only a genious can do something like that in a movie.

[usergreg1498]

If I recall correctly, Merrick's mother was involved in some sort of accident/incident in which she was knocked down and almost trampled by an elephant. As recently as the Victorian Era-- that being the time during which the events of the movie occurred-- it was believed that a if woman sustained severe emotional/psychological trauma while pregnant, it could profoundly affect fetal development, sometimes in a way reminiscent of the incident (see also: PT Barnum's "Jojo the Dog-Faced Boy")

[lostlenore]

This is a representation of the myth that was built to promote Joseph Merrick as a sideshow attraction. There are many theories as to what his actual condition was, including neurofibromatosis and Proteus syndrome. And Jojo (whose real name was Fedor Jeftichew) lived with hypertrichosis, which he inherited from his father, Adrian.

[usergreg1498]

Could you maybe clarify? I can't tell for sure if you are seconding my post, or if you are under the impression that I actually believe Merrick's condition was the direct result of his mother getting bum-rushed and seriously freaked out who he was in her womb. 'Cuz that's just silly. ;)

[nanorie]

What is the name of the tune in the beginning?

[hhSFAhh]

well whats cool about this movie is that was josephs actual face. they used the murder masks from the museum to cast the prosthetics for the actors makeup. whats gross is when the recieved the murder mask it still had remaining bits a pieces of his hair and skin.

[McqueenKid5]

i watched this movie for the second time yesterday. It's been named my favorite movie of all time. :)

[sheltiepaws1]

What nonsense, people and their nonsense

[ninja10153]

Why are people so mean to elephant man? HE HAD NOT COMMITED ANY CRIMES

[hatersfate2]

you got to watch the whole movie to find that out, its the fear of the unknown that humans have.

[CMKetchum]

Syncronizations; I have an incredible discovery. Smashing Pumpkins 1998 album "Ava Adore" is perfectly syncronized to this Elephant Man movie. The main theme revolving around the loss of his mother and references to it match up identically. Start the album during the song "Once Upon a Time." You have to start right in the middle of the song during the first chorus of "Once upon a time in my life." Start the movie at the exact same time. The last song Blank Page syncs with last scene too.

[junglb1]

David Lynch said in an interview that the reason he had the smoke billowing in this scene was that Joseph's facial deformities reminded him of clouds of smoke...

[EmilyGreene1984]

Also, another little unknown detail about Joseph was that around the time he was 3-4 years old (his deformities already fairly well prominent) - he suffered a fall (I can't remember which from - either stairs or he stumbled or something) and as a result of both the fall and the deformities already on his leg and body, his left leg became lame and after that he had great trouble walking.

[EmilyGreene1984]

And Joseph said that, while his mother was pregnant with him, she had attended a nearby fair with her husband and an elephant got loose and almost trampled her. (Which is true) But he said that caused him to become deformed (which it wasn't) The ironic truth was that Joseph Merrick was born normal (without a single deformity) - his deformities didn't manifest themselves till he was around 2 years old when his mother noticed a swelling around his upper lip.

[shortyg53]

It's sooooooo scary in the beginning. Those elephants walking around. I would be afraid to go near a single one.

They'd attack me like Dumbo's mother.

[Baltimora1957]

Hun if you're replying to my comment, I'm a woman not a man. Get it?

[celaya4ever]

"What do you prefer, Raging Bull or The Elephant Man? Both movies were showed in 1980. They competed in the Academy Awards. Finally, they are similar in the kind of story (a biopic) and the b/w cinematography."

[celaya4ever]

"What do you prefer, Raging Bull or The Elephant Man?"

[themoonlit]

indeed this world is but a place of trials and test, to see who are kind and best in deeds. and many evil people in the times of Sir John Merrick, and now are failing miserably the tests of God! such as the evil video of 'snake baby..' for God Sake, people are people not animals! The animals, monsters are those who pick on the week! Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) was sent as a mercy to the whole universe by God, and he used to protect and keep company of the poor and the week.

[themoonlit]

Sir John Merrick was an exceptional intelligent and brilliant man, one of his powerful poems that i remember vaguely being read in a documentary was.."to blame me is to blaspheme and to blame God! for it is God who created me!" (or something to that affesct but with beautiful ryme)

[iamalienru2]

this scene is very clever because when it pauses at about 54 seconds the elephants walking in front of the mother's face slightly resembles the face of joseph merrick if you imagine the picture merged it into one

[shortyg53]

The scary part of the scene is when you see those big elephants in the dark walking around. I am afraid to even go near one. They'd beat me like they beat her.

[jayjayjigsby2]

she's not being raped by elephants, i think it's suppose to show the emotional and phyiscal pain of having given birth to merrick. when she is screaming? laying down as if giving birth, and then the baby crying. i think its obvious

[shortyg53]

What is John's mother doing in a circus full of elephants? Was that the reason was born with a disability / deformity? The attack on his mother? Or did she suffer a miscarriage after an animal attack?

[jayjayjigsby2]

no!

[EmilyGreene1984]

Originally, when Joseph Merrick had decided to exhibit himself as a "freak" (as back then, there was no alternative for people who were grievously deformed or wounded) - his manager, I think, insisted he'd write an "autobiography" (but doctored up to make it "juicy") detailing where he came from and why he was what he looked like.

[junglb1]

It's what his 'owner' told the crowd when he exhibited him

[jayjayjigsby2]

Is that suppose to resemble her giving birth to merrick? i somehow remember that scene being interesting but now it seems...i dont know.

[MAU007ANGEL]

"What do you prefer, Raging Bull or The Elephant Man?"

[Rachel225566]

yea i agree it made it seem like she was raped by an elephant and thus creating the elephant man...wtf???

[InSaNiTy86]

Pure poetry.

[TulseLuper]

David Lynch sucks you into his films better than any filmmaker I can think of. This is my second favorite opening to a Lynch movie, next to Wild at Heart.

[tracyterry]

The woman at the end was his main squeeze.

[Baltimora1957]

The actress who played his mother.

[SapphireLight]

his mother

[Baltimora1957]

The actress who played his mother.

[buckleygeneration]

Only Lynch could make elephants look scary.

[SapphireLight]

no, his mother died in childbirth...his STEPmother was mean

[BaudeLaire78]

So who is the woman on the picture at the end of the movie? His step mother or his mother?

[Baltimora1957]

The actress who played his mother.

[Baltimora1957]

His mother Mary Jane did not die in child birth. She died of bronchial pneumonia when he was 11. She loved him, was good to him & constantly worried about him. He stated in his autobiography that her death was his greatest misfortune. His step mother was cruel. She had made his father Joseph Rockley choose-Joseph or me.  His father threw him out, & bring him home. At 15 he left home for good never to see his father again. Strangly his father died of bronchitis 7 years after him.

[tracyterry]

Merrick's mother was hot, but she was basically a worthless person. Merrick kept her picture as some kind of link to love - but the truth was that his mother was not nice, but a mean, cold, person.

[Baltimora1957]

You fool Mary Jane Merrick was crippled as was Joseph Merrick's sister Marion Eliza!! His brother William Arthur died of scarlet fever when he was 4. Get the facts straight. In the movie it was an actress who played Merrick's mother. No photo of her was said to survive the passage of time. So in turn no one knows what she may have looked like. She died of bronchial pneumonia when he was 11. Read his autobiography & you'll see he said she had been a good mother to him.

[tracyterry]

She was supposed to have been 'scared' badly by a rampaging elephant. But that had nothing to do with all of this. Merrick was diseased and its true that he was a saintly man. His mother was purported to have been a very mean woman.

[tracyterry]

Merrick's mom was hot. What did she do, suck off a mastadon?

[s4ujcd]

No, an elephant.  The mastadons were indigenous to North America & had gone extinct 9000 years ago.

Wait a minute????!!!!!!!!!

[lowenklee]

While I love this film and am deeply sympathetic to senseless human suffering that comment had me in stitches...lol a mastadon?

[04111]

Thank you to "s4ujcd" as I neede to write an essay on the opening by tommorow and you uploaded it. Thank you soooo much!

[golaie226]

yea

[twanny7]

Is she supposed to be fucked by an elephant? that's growse!

[xcdemon05]

uhh no. she was stepped on my an elephant man, crushing johns body while she was pregnant with him. when he was born, his disease was obvious.

[xcdemon05]

by an elephant******

[04111]

Actually she isn't really Merrick's mother. Check it out on Wikipedia, but type in Joshua Merrick ,that was his real name.

[twanny7]

ty, I already knew it was a disease and of course the disease is not caused because of a elephant man stapping your's mother body while you in it... Respect for Mister Merrick.

Tube you soon.

[MAU007ANGEL]

My Favorite opening sequence.

[MAU007ANGEL]

The Merrick´s mind into the David Lynch´s eyes.