A Modern Classic🎥 The Elephant Man is a 1980 biographical drama film based on the life of Joseph Merrick (referred to as "John" in the film), a severely deformed man who lived in London in the late 19th century. The film was directed by David Lynch, produced by Mel Brooks (who was uncredited, to avoid audiences anticipating the film being in the vein of his comedic works, although his company Brooksfilms is in the opening credits) and Jonathan Sanger, and starred John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Ann