MovieChat Forums > The Elephant Man (1980) Discussion > Which scene moved you most?

Which scene moved you most?


For me it would have to be the part where he meets the actress and they are reciting an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet- when she says, "Oh, you're not an Elephant Man at all, Mr. Merrick... you're a Romeo." And then John Merrick shed a tear. At this part I bawled.

Any one who got through watching the elephant man without being moved, is not someone I'd want to know!

What about you?

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When he meets the wife. "I've never been treated this way by a beautiful woman before" or a line close to that. There were many other scenes, but that one was probably the most.

\O/
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/...\ Da-na na-na na-na na-na, na-na na-na na-na na-na STICK MAN!!!

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for me, its was when the other "circus freaks" got him out of the cell and set him free, that moved me alot.

all time favorite is the train station scene though.


1/18/08 - More than meets the eye

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My favourite is when john said to doctor that he want to sleep like normal man. It made me think about his mental condition...his hopes.. and his positive attitude toward his cruel life.... and the end scene where john decided to sleep like a normal man is really breath taking...

This is the first movie that made me cry….

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The whole movie was so moving... But specially the end... God, this picture is trully a life lesson.

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When Treves asks his wife: "Am I a good man, or am I a bad man?"

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The Romeo and Juliet scene between Bancroft and Hurt and the final scene are exquisite, timeless slices of cinema.

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I absolutely love the part when he is attending the opera. It seemed to be the moment that he was offically accepted into Victorian British society. Compared to how people reacted to him earlier in the film, it was extremely moving.

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when he was introduced to hopkins wife. Her having to leave the room to discretely shed a tear. Then him talking about his mother after looking at the pictures.

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Soon as Adagio for Strings began in the end. I knew he was going to end his life, that was the most moving part, and as soon as he signed his church model and said "It's......finished", i knew he was definitely going to.

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The most moving scene for me was when Treves first sees Merrick at the beginning of the film and begins to cry... his response is immediately one of compassion.

I knew right away that it was going to be a special movie.

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The scenes that moved me the most were when he wishes he could sleep like normal people and asks if he could be cured and his death scene at the end when he eventually does sleep like a normal person.

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the "I'm trying so hard to be good" really did it for me...





"If I were you I'd run."
"If you were me, you'd be good looking."

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For me, there's two scenes that stand out the most. First, the moment where Merrick askes Treves if he can be "cured" and the other being the last scene where Merrick goes to sleep.

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So far (I haven't finished the movie yet, but I already know how John Merrick really died), the scene that made me cry was when he breaks down in front of Mrs. Treves and says something like, "Forgive me, but I have never been treated so kindly by such a beautiful woman."


I love only what a person has written with his own blood.
--Nietzsche

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The absolute kicker for me is the end. As soon as that music starts I just go. I know whats coming but it doesn't lessen it at all.

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There are so many, but one that gets me is when Merrick is working on his model of the cathedral and spills some paint and says to himself, "I must be more careful." It's just such a quiet little voice, and it shows (for me anyway) how gentle and innocent he was. It saddens me that such a beautiful person had to suffer so much.

(BTW, it's sad when ANYONE suffers, but especially innocents.)

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For me, it's the scene where John recites the 23rd Psalm to the astonishmnent of Treves and Carr-Gomm. It becomes clear that John is an intelligent and sensitive individual who has endured unimaginable suffering. The sound of John reciting the 'Lord is My Shepherd' drifting down the staircase as the pair are leaving and Treves' subsequent joyous disbelief is a very powerful moment in the film for me.

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Just saw this movie on TMC and I was pretty much moved throughout the whole movie. So many powerful and tragic scenes that made me very emotional. What I thought was most tragic of all was how John Merrick was such a nice a good person and how despicable he was treated by nothing but ignorant people. The most powerfully moving scenes for me had to be when John is reciting "Romeo and Juliet" with Mrs. Kendal and her last line, "you are not an elephant man, you are Romeo." or something to that extent. Another heart-breaking scene is how John cries his eyes out when Anthony Hopkin's wife is so nice to her and how she ends up choking up because of how nice a man he was and because of his tragic situation. Of course whenever he exclaims "I am not an animal! I am a HUMAN BEING!! Is another heart-breakingly powerful scene. I loved this movie.

"The movies I love in a way define me"

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The scene where the night porter and co come and abuse him.
The railway station scene.
The end, Barbers Adagio is certainly a fitting accompaniment.

"It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man"

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