Directed by David Lynch and starring John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins, The Elephant Man portrays the life of Joseph Merrick, a severely disfigured man living in Victorian London who is taken in by a compassionate surgeon. Based on historical accounts, the film explores dignity, exploitation, and human empathy within the social and medical environment of the late 19th century. Från IMDB: A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.