@@robag555 I agree. Once you tell kids 'the adults in this story are wrong', then you can get a child to side with almost every sympathetic character. I think kids totally get the story of a man who is at odds with society.
Watching this I keep thinking that the machinery/industrial imagery represents spreading corruption, or cancer in society. Merrick himself is deformed by tumours and growths, yet is an intelligent, talented and cultured man. Perhaps the message is that beneath the surface corruption there is still humanity, beauty and decency to be found in the world. As a side note, it reminds me a bit of the Chief character from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (more the book version than the film), where he has hallucinations of machinery and his belief in "The Combine", representing the industrial, mechanised world.
Ah yes, the Chief character was great in the Cuckoo's Nest book. Read it last year and was thinking a film version that included the machinery hallucinations could be amazing. Seems like Lynch was on a similar page.
Yeah definitively. I remember reading somewhere that David Lynch said that he thought the industrial world of Erasehead was beautiful. Also, that the Venus statue in Twin Peaks was supposed to be about how you can be beautiful despite deformity (Venus is armless) Episode 8 of Twin Peaks seems to be about this too. It's all this insane ugly industrial stuff, but then the beauty of a woman. I think he thinks the beauty of people persevering is beautiful or something.
@@jocaerbannog9052 Whatever happened to that game series? Second one sets up clearly for a third and then ... nothing. I thought the games were overrated personally, but pretty decent.
@@robag555 I suspect Valve decided to instead prioritise making Portal 2, which is a nice game but not one I would replay within a 3 year gap considering its linear gameplay. They went quiet on Half Life until recently with their upcoming VR game, but I don't think this would blow me away, and VR games tend to make me feel too dizzy anyway. They seem to rely on the nostalgia value of the original games, they even gave permission to an indie studio to remake and update the first game as Black Mesa, but big personal gripe is that the alien environments dropped the decaying organic look for beauty.
As much as I love the nightmarish surrealism of Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks: The Return, it’s The Elephant Man and The Straight Story that really affirm Lynch’s genius for me. That’s not to say they’re better or anything, but the fact that he can make such wildly different films while still maintaining his directorial identity is the mark of an incredible artist.
Is there a better living filmmaker than David Lynch? The only rival to Kubrick for making works of art as dense and imaginative as it gets. We need more geniuses making movies
In terms of living American filmmakers, I would place Scorsese, Malick and Woody Allen just a bit above Lynch (Kubrick, Welles and Cassavetes are out of discussion for living directors). Scorsese and Allen are past their creative primes most definitely, but they have more great films than Lynch though mostly out of being more prolific. Malick is even less prolific than Lynch and it's debatable between them, but both have their misses and failed experiments. That's just my take. Definitely debatable.
“Who knows?! It’s David Lynch!” A line that comes up in EVERY analysis of a David Lynch film, no doubt. Hilarious! Also, brilliant work once again; such a heartbreaking film.
handsomebrick I have TOTALLY witnessed that and must admit that I LOVE that about him! He is a true artist and auteur! Let the work speak for itself and keep the mystery!
I like thinking that the clouds represent Elephant Man's genes, it reminds me of that Midsummer's Night Dream line "and as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet's pen turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name."
Making The Elephant Man in black and white was not Lynch’s decision. Even Freddie Francis wanted to shoot it in Colour. Freddie said that it was purely a financial decision. It’s beautiful as it is but Freddie said he could have made it just as atmospheric in colour.
I did a fine arts project about the life and history of joseph Merrick back in 7th grade. I didnt get a high score because they thought it was too graphic. But I felt people needed to hear about his life and tragic death. He was one of the kindest, humble, and grateful people that ever walked this earth
Birth defects are common due to pollution and toxic exposure from a number of sources. I wonder if his mother was raped by a factory boss; unfortunately this was common as the bosses said they would fire the woman if she did not sleep with him. His birth would have then be very violent as it was the byproduct of rape.
I read in an interview that Lynch thought of Merrick’s cauliflower like tumours as being frozen eruptions of corrupted meat, analogous to the plumes of industrial smoke and steam frozen in time. So to speak.
Lovely and well-wrought work, as always. Even when our interpretations differ, the blindingly lovely nature of your presentation always leaves open and intellectually honest space to breathe, thence to differ, which itself (my interpretation here!) is a most welcome and much needed variation of how discourse between well-intentioned folk can take place. Would LOVE more Lynch pieces from you, personally, but part of the joy and exploration of your sites (for me) is watching pieces even on films I haven't seen yet. The Thing and Death WIsh 2 for instance I only watched after being intrigued from your pieces. Sorry to be long-winded! In short, thank you. :)
8:36 John's situation here reminds me of a shot during Luke's battle against the Rancor in 'Return of the Jedi', which Lynch was once attached to direct. Luke also watches the space battle occurring as though it was merely an opera.
I've read almost all accounts that exist of Joseph Merrick,including getting hold of a copy of Tom Normans book, of which there were only 12 ever published. I have to say, that although the film's script is mainly fictional in plot, it is the best depiction of the debase ,Whitechapel Victorian London you imagine when reading the accounts. The screenplay is fantastic , and Lynch really pulled toward his talent of monochromatic imagery. Lynch actually became so involved within the story, that he put himself forward to build up the latex mask that John Hurt would wear in the film. He made it in the garage of the house in London he rented... however it never looked exactly how he wanted it to therefore , no pictures were ever taken, and the piece was burned. Lynch , as you know is massively secretive about the pieces he creates. Chris Tucker ended up with the role of make up artist on set, and his creation is what we see on screen.
Damn Rob, just watched the elephant man two days ago and thought you should make a video on it, how convenient. Thanks, why no videos on other David Lynch films however?
There are vids on Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive on my site. After i do the full analysis on Elephant Man at some point I intend to do Blue Velvet and Eraserhead.
Please review the following films: Heat (1995) Dead Man (1995) There Will Be Blood (2007) Black Rain (1989) Mulholland Drive (2001) If you do Liverpool will win the Premier League and Champions League (assuming you’re from Merseyside)
1:30 is Hippocampus overlapping over eraserhead head, Hippocampus primarily responsible for memory, name of the movie Eraserhead, Jack Nance head is made to look like pencil rubber head :)
Just so you know, Rob, the real Elephant Man (Joseph Merrick), was told by his mother that she was frightened or injured by an elephant when she was pregnant with him, causing his early age deformities. Whether or not she actually believed this is uncertain. This, of course, was not the reason for his deformity, but Merrick was always haunted the story from childhood, hence his recurring dreams depicted in the film. Excellent film to analyse. Any Lynch film is worthy. This one is particularly beautiful in technique.
Is that actual family history of his? As far as I could tell from the accounts I've read the elephant thing was made up for his stage appearances and Merrick (who reportedly received 50% of profits) would act like an elephant on stage.
@@robag555 According to a biography of Merrick by Howell & Ford, his family believed that his deformities were due to an incident at a fairground when his mother was knocked over and frightened by an elephant. 'The concept of maternal impression-that the emotional experiences of pregnant women could have lasting physical effect on their unborn children-was still common in 19th-century Britain. Merrick held this belief about the cause of his affliction for his entire life'
@@robag555 - I won't say it's fact, but it's what I've read and seen from documentaries in years past. His mother was a subscriber of the idea that the elephant scare was what caused his abnormalities. It was said that this impression from his mother, brought him comfort and he believed it for his entire life. Fact or not, it's where the dreams in Lynch's film come from. Sorry I can't be more specific.
ROB, YOU'LL HAVE TO WATCH THIS! (Maybe a suggestion for a mini-analysis...). On RU-vid you can find David Lynch's "PREMONITIONS FOLLOWING AN EVIL DEED". It's a 1995 b/w short movie (only 55 seconds!) directed for a project that celebrated the 100th birthday of Cinema. It's shot with a replica of the original Lumiere Brothers camera, with a series of rules to follow: a single shot with no cuts, no artificial lights and no synchronized sound. Well, the result is just...UNBELIEVABLE! With a series of sets built next to each other, some brilliant (fake)editing tricks and even the typical industrial sound design, he pulled out a genuine miniature version of "Eraserhead" or "Muholland Dr.", a complex multilayered drama embedded with dream sequences, a dive in the subconcious of an anguished mother. It would be very interesting to hear your take on this. Dan from Italy.
Great video as always Rob :)! I've been reading your analysis of 2001: A Space Odyssey and I made a connection with the Wizard of Oz, specifically when Bowman enters the monolith and exits the world of lies he is in. Couldn't the whole Stargate scene with those flashy colours be a nod to the concept of going 'over the rainbow', with the rainbow being the Technicolor?
I'm excited to hear that this is only part of a bigger project, because even this excerpt contains the most intelligent insights into this great film that I've ever encountered. Thank you for sharing your work.
DUDE i just rewatched this and then i see you uploaded a video of it Damn, That made me happy. Always Love your content man! one these days i'm gonna muster up and purchase a few things from your site!
I saw this film as a kid, and found it quite disturbing. This was not a unique experience among kids I know, and we formed a sort of fan club around it while in high school.
Thank you for this. I really enjoy your work. I would, however, really like to see a video of some of your guilty pleasures. Movies that are either light or maybe even bad but that you found funny, poignant or that reached you one way or another. We all have some.
Hey, guy from Canada here. I remember coming across your videos in 2017, and they gave me a love for filmmaking. This one especially. Thanks so much for what you do, crack on, old boy!
You have to be right about people being industrial objects. In Twin Peaks The Return (spoilers) David Bowie had passed away, so his character became literally a giant alchemy tool that looked like a teapot spewing mist. (Incidentally In the last episode we see a teapot spewing vapour too)I had no idea this concept was from Elephant man!
I haven't seen this movie for at least 20 years. This video showing the connection between industrial sounds and action in the film has made me realise why David Lynch has chosen Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails to be involved in the music scores for so many of his movies. My favourite is the intro for Se7en.
Just been googling "deformed people" and even the real Joseph Merrick actually looks better than many of the poor souls. One Indian woman was so unlucky to hardly have any sort of facial structure, her head looks melted. :(
Agreed, I saw her too. Terrifying. There's some really interesting stuff going on regarding the specific deformities of Merrick though, which I think have helped "shape" public perception of him in a unique way.
Because several years ago my main channel got blocked for a week while I was resolving a copyright dispute. Got the channel restored, but decided to run more than one channel as a safety measure in case one goes down. Collative Learning is the main channel, but i add lot of content on this channel from time to time to make sue a lot of my subscribers are following both channels.
I kept hearing people saying that the new Star Wars films should've gone in new directions instead of repeating the previous films. Might be worth doing a video of new ideas for the series.
@@peterjoyfilms I think The Last Jedi is kinda good to be honest..yeah, I said it! I liked that it tried to do something different and I bought the acting performances way more that TFA. I was expecting a real turkey after reading all the negative hype, but I can't lie, I didn't find it that bad at all! It's not a patch on the originals, but that's almost every re make or retelling nowadays.
@@davidlean1060 I thought the acting was quite bad at times although that might've been more the dialogue, which I found very clunky. The characters are very inconsistent and the plot is basically devoid of logic if you actually break it down. The tone is very strange and confused too. I didn't think it was that bad initially but the more I think about the writing the worse it gets. Yeah I agree it is more original and interesting than the Force Awakens but it still relies on old scenarios and imagery too much for my liking.
This movie in black and white scared the shit out of me as a child. I couldn't sleep for weeks. Because it was a true story plus the elephant man was from Leicester my home town. It creeped me out!
