MovieChat Forums > The Elephant Man (1980) Discussion > Such horrible menial occupations in Vict...

Such horrible menial occupations in Victorian times


You notice a couple of times in the movie shots of workmen doing what can only be described as mind-numbing toil, like the men dropping those heavy weights to the ground repeatedly with the random pounding sound, or the topless men pushing some machine back and forth repeatedly in a regular rhythm. I can only imagine those were prisoners doing that, because I can't imagine anyone choosing to do that kind of horrible, repetitive numbing work voluntarily.

reply

You realize, of course, that those probably weren't real 19th century jobs, but something the director threw in to make Victorian London look bleak and dystopian?

reply

I don't think so.

reply

Betcha ten bucks!

reply

That would be David Lynch's style.

reply