The Elephant Man (1980)

The Elephant Man is a 1980 biographical drama film loosely based on the life of Joseph Merrick (referred to as "John" in the film), a severely deformed man who lived in London in the late 19th century. The film was directed by David Lynch, produced by Jonathan Sanger, and executive produced by Mel Brooks (who was uncredited, to avoid audiences anticipating the film being in the vein of his comedic works, although his company Brooksfilms is in the opening credits). It stars John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Michael Elphick, Hannah Gordon, and Freddie Jones. The Elephant Man is generally regarded as one of Lynch's more accessible and mainstream works, alongside The Straight Story (1999).