The Elephant Man [1980]
You could only see his eyes behind the layers of makeup in The Elephant Man but those
... more
expressive orbs earned John Hurt a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of John Merrick, the grotesquely deformed Victorian man. Inarticulate and abused, Merrick is the virtual slave of a carnival barker (Freddie Jones) until dedicated London doctor Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins in a powerfully understated performance) rescues him and offers him an existence with dignity. Anne Bancroft co-stars as the actress whose visit to Merrick makes him a social curiosity, with John Gielgud and Wendy Hiller as dubious hospital staffers won over by Merrick. David Lynch earned his only Oscar nominations as director and co-writer of this sombre drama, which he shot in a rich black-and-white palette, a sometimes stark, sometimes dreamy visual style that at times recalls the offbeat expressionism of his first film, Eraserhead. It remains a perfect marriage between traditional Hollywood historical drama and Lynch's unique cinematic eye, a compassionate human tale delivered in a gothic vein. The film earned eight Oscar nominations in all and though it left the Oscar ceremony empty-handed, its dramatic power and handsome yet haunting imagery remain just as strong today. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com On the DVD: Being black and white, it's easier to judge the digital transfer in terms of shade and thankfully this print looks just fine. There's a little confusion over the sound, however, which is advertised as Stereo on the box but says Mono on the Audio Menu. It certainly seems to be a basic Dolby stereo but it's a shame Lynch hasn't given it the personal touch since he's obsessed with mixing his films' sound himself. From the nicely thought-out animated menus there's a gallery of 20 photos and a misguiding, dramatic theatrical trailer. The only other extra is a 64-page book of which only 10 pages relate directly to the film (the rest re-tell Lynch's career and the real Elephant Man's life). --Paul Tonks
The Elephant Man [1980]
You could only see his eyes behind the layers of makeup in The Elephant Man but those
... more
expressive orbs earned John Hurt a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of John Merrick, the grotesquely deformed Victorian man. Inarticulate and abused, Merrick is the virtual slave of a carnival barker (Freddie Jones) until dedicated London doctor Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins in a powerfully understated performance) rescues him and offers him an existence with dignity. Anne Bancroft co-stars as the actress whose visit to Merrick makes him a social curiosity, with John Gielgud and Wendy Hiller as dubious hospital staffers won over by Merrick. David Lynch earned his only Oscar nominations as director and co-writer of this sombre drama, which he shot in a rich black-and-white palette, a sometimes stark, sometimes dreamy visual style that at times recalls the offbeat expressionism of his first film, Eraserhead. It remains a perfect marriage between traditional Hollywood historical drama and Lynch's unique cinematic eye, a compassionate human tale delivered in a gothic vein. The film earned eight Oscar nominations in all and though it left the Oscar ceremony empty-handed, its dramatic power and handsome yet haunting imagery remain just as strong today. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com On the DVD: Being black and white, it's easier to judge the digital transfer in terms of shade and thankfully this print looks just fine. There's a little confusion over the sound, however, which is advertised as Stereo on the box but says Mono on the Audio Menu. It certainly seems to be a basic Dolby stereo but it's a shame Lynch hasn't given it the personal touch since he's obsessed with mixing his films' sound himself. From the nicely thought-out animated menus there's a gallery of 20 photos and a misguiding, dramatic theatrical trailer. The only other extra is a 64-page book of which only 10 pages relate directly to the film (the rest re-tell Lynch's career and the real Elephant Man's life). --Paul Tonks
Advantages: Brilliant experience Disadvantages: None that I could think of
...of the orphanage - the bathing of the elephants in a river. Slowly the horde started moving out of their home and towards the river. We got hold up on the way by two sales man, telling us that there will be plenty of time to see the elephants bathing and that we shall wait until the main crowd is gone to get a better view. So we went with them to have a look in their garden of health. We were shown around the various plants that are supposed to make you slim, help you with your sex life, give you better skin and so on. We then got a demonstration of the products, including cacao milk with real cacao (obviously), head massage and good-looking guide. We all bought something, as a woman can never walk by a product that promises her slimness and beauty and went down to the river.
For about an hour we watched the elephants wash themselves, saw two little...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Not as many tourists as other parks, good facilities in the Hotel. Disadvantages: No big cats, the Masai have "removed" them !
...! I was gobsmacked.... this was it, this was the real thrill for me :-)
I slowly picked up a few phrases, and started to join in on the choruses, but, as I sing counter-tenor in my local choir (very high voice for a man, up around Kate Bush level !), the women just burst out laughing and called me "Mwimbaji" which, as far as Charles could tell us, means something like "Castrati" (look it up !).
Forget the bloody elephants, this was Africa !
Cost : free, paid for by my company.
Value for money : dont make me laugh :-) YES !!
Go again ? : If I could afford it, yes.
Rating : Only given "average" - based on overall feel. If I rated it on the Masai village experience alone it would have been five stars, but the lack of big cats was a real let down. A bit like the curates egg, good in parts.
Shopping & nightlife : non existant in the park, so...
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...I have been to The Mistry several times in the past and have always managd to get by. However i am not a serious clubber so it was not realy my scene. The culture is to dress to the max, enjoy the music and do drugs. Drugs can be found inside but are not recommended as they are probably very dodgy. The music is good, 3 main rooms cater for a variety of taste, check out the billing before you go. Prices are high as expected but might be worth it. All the best DJ's have played here and Boy George is the man behind most of the albums. On that line the club is very pretentious and even has its own clothing label.
There is a playstation room and a bar upstairs that you can hire out. There is also a chill out room that is very comfy, perhaps too comfy.
To get there go to Elephant and Castle and walk down the hill, its on the left - just...
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This 2-disk DVD is great value for money as it is the complete 2002-2003 series,it comes with all the goals,games and glory you would expect from it such a quality product like this. This season is when Manchester United won the Premiership and beat the... more
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