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Quick Links What Is 'The Elephant Man' About? Lynch Deconstructed Disability Narratives With 'The Elephant Man' 'The Elephant Man' Is Pure David Lynch

One of the all-time greats has left us. David Lynch, a master of surrealist and abstract cinema, sadly passed away this week at the age of 78. To put it simply, he had a style all his own, defined by dream logic and a deft mix of psychological terror with dark humor, and he was arguably one of the only contemporary filmmakers who could genuinely be called a “visionary.” On top of directing some of the greatest movies of all time, namely Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr., he was also the genius behind Twin Peaks, one of the most influential TV shows in history.

Yet maybe Lynch’s most underrated work of all was one of his first and one of his most straightforward.

This article contains brief mention of self-harm and suicide.

Storytelling is considered the most powerful way to convey specific events and emotions. In cinema, the story is written to be combined with all the other components of a movie to fully express the filmmakers' take on the story. Cinematography, sound, editing and other areas certainly have their role in evoking the emotion wanted. Still, people have the main emotional reactions and remember a particular movie because of its plot and dialogue.

Throughout the history of cinema, and across all genres, the writing of a compelling story with memorable quotes is what eternalized the most heartbreaking movies. In parallel, some lesser known films became widely considered some of the saddest of all time for the same reason. The most heartbreaking movie quotes of all time are not necessarily the most famous, but the ones that fully capture their movie's saddest point.

Ahmed El-Shenawi, the Egyptian-born actor whose character delightfully announces that a slithering helping of “snake surprise” is about to be served in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, has died. He was 75.

El-Shenawi died Feb. 1 in Chelsea, London, his daughter, Eman El-Shenawi, told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been in the hospital for an operation to repair a fracture and developed an infection that led to sepsis, she said.

El-Shenawi also portrayed a prisoner who inherits a radio in Alan Parker’s harrowing Midnight Express (1978), starring Brad Davis, and he had the pivotal role of the therapist who hypnotizes the detective (Michael Elphick) in The Element of Crime (1984) — Lars von Trier’s first feature and the first in his Europa trilogy. Both movies played at Cannes.

“I believe his brief but impactful moments of fame resonated so much among many,” his daughter said.

In Steven Spielberg’s Temple of Doom (1984), the extremely large El-Shenawi,...

Clockwise from top left: This Is Me... Now: A Love Story (Prime Video), Red Rocket (A24), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount)Image: The A.V. Club

Amazon’s Prime Video kicks off February with a summer blockbuster, a new “narrative-driven cinematic odyssey” from Jennifer Lopez, and a bunch of...

Why is it that, when a horror film achieves something special, both the critics and the public tend to elevate it above and beyond the ‘lowly’ horror genre? David Lynch’s most humane and sympathetic film still makes our heads spin, and this new 4K remaster renders Freddie Francis’s great cinematography at its best. Lynch extends and develops the visual nightmares of his experimental Eraserhead for this true-life classic. Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller and Freddie Jones all give indelible, emotionally-moving performances. How many horror pictures hold up hope for social decency and personal dignity?

The Elephant Man

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1051

1980 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 123 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 29, 2020 / 39.95

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones, Michael Elphick, Hannah Gordon, Helen Ryan, John Standing, Dexter Fletcher, Lesley Dunlop, Phoebe Nicholls, Lydia Lisle,...

Shout Factory opens the crypt once more, for the last remaining UA and Aip fright movies starring our favorite gentleman of horror. The label lays on the extras, with Steve Haberman commentaries and episodes of Science Fiction Theater. Now where are the Vincent Price cooking shows? The Vincent Price Collection III Master of the World, The Tower of London, Diary of a Madman, An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, Cry of the Banshee Blu-ray Scream (Shout!) Factory 1961-72 / B&W + Color / 1:85 & 1:66 widescreen / 420 min. / Street Date February 16, 2016 / 69.97 Starring Vincent Price Directed by William Witney, Roger Corman, Reginald Le Borg, Kenneth Johnson, Gordon Hessler.

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Scream Factory now brings us Part Three of its Vincent Price collection, pretty much emptying the closet over at MGM. Not counting his twilight feature The Whales of August every Vincent Price film under the MGM banner will soon be out on Blu-ray.

Stars: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown, Michael Elphick | Written and Directed by Bruce Robinson

I have a list of films inside my head that are ones that I haven’t seen yet, and each time I watch one of them I can tick them off. Some of these sit there for years but deserve to be seen, and some I consider as a crime against my geekhood that I’ve not seen them yet. One these is Withnail and I but the good news is that now that Arrow Video have released their limited edition of the film I’ve finally managed to see it, and it has become one of my favourite films.

Seen as a cult favourite popular with students, it tells the tale of Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and Marwood (the “and I” of the title, portrayed by Paul McGann). Two unemployed actors...

Cumbrian arts group to screen 1980s cult film at real-life location of Uncle Monty's house, with all proceeds going to charity

To Withnail and I fans, it will always be Uncle Monty's country bolthole, where alcoholic luvvie Withnail and his uptight best friend Marwood go on holiday "by mistake"; the ramshackle Lake District cottage where a rampant Monty tells Paul McGann's character he must have him, "even if it must be burglary".

But this summer the real-life Crow Crag – Sleddale Hall, near Shap in Cumbria – becomes the ultimate open-air cinema where fans like me get to endlessly parrot lines from perhaps the most quotable of quotable cult films (though The Big Lebowski might give it a run for its money).

This calls for a drink! Maybe two large gins, two pints of cider. Ice in the cider.

And perhaps the best thing about it all – in addition to the...

Interview Simon Brew 25 Mar 2013 - 06:59

The co-star and co-writer of Sightseers chats to us about the film, as well as the Midlands, women and Michael Elphick in cinema...

Sightseers arrives on disc in the UK today, off the back of well-deserved awards and acclaim. It was quite a journey for its co-star and co-writer, Alice Lowe, to get the film made. And she spared us a bit of time to talk about it all...

It almost seems folly to say congratulations on the film now, given that it's been quite the journey it has. I'm a Midlander first and foremost, so to see a movie open with a map of Halesowen gave me real glee. It did get me thinking that the cinema of the West Midlands has been sadly lacking on the big screen. The best I could do was Michael Elphick in I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle.

Few filmmakers have had as profound an effect on me as director David Lynch. When I was exposed to Twin Peaks during its initial run back in late 1990 my mind was blown out the back of my head by the possibilities of what film and television could be.

For many it was first seeing Star Wars and for other more recent generations it will be their first viewing of Fellowship of the Ring but for me it was the scene where an older Kyle Maclachlan speaks to a backwards talking dwarf in a red room and my life was changed forever.

As a result I have eagerly watched all of David Lynch’s directorial work many times over the years and await each new project eagerly. Sadly he seems to have slowed down somewhat from the productive decades of the 80’s and 90’s and has only directed two movies in the last ten years.

As part of our Enchanted 80s week, we look back at the action family epic, Krull…

How can you remain objective about a film you enjoyed so much as a youngster? The answer, of course, is that you can't. And it's true that, when viewed in 2011, the influences of 80s fantasy film, Krull, are more apparent than ever. It borrows freely from Greek and Arthurian myths, Tolkien, and most noticeably, a certain sci-fi blockbuster directed by George Lucas.

And yet, at the same time, it's impossible for me to view Krull without a sense of genuine affection. This is made easier by the fact that, while it's showing its age in places, Krull is a well-made film, and an entire galaxy away from other cheap, quickly made knock-offs that showed up in the wake of Star Wars. This is probably thanks in large part to the experience of Peter Yates,...

British actor Phil Daniels is wary of starring in a Quadrophenia remake - because he's convinced film bosses should focus on making new movies.

The star played hero Jimmy Cooper in the 1979 film set in 1960s England, but he's anxious about plans for a big screen revamp.

He tells Britain's The Sun, "I think they've got a script and are seriously thinking about a remake. If there was a sequel I could play Michael Elphick's part, the drunken dad.

"But I don't think there should be a remake. They should move on, do something else, make another cult youth movie."...