_**The ultimate outcast**_ In 1884 London, a doctor (Anthony Hopkins) meets Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man (wrongly called John Merrick in the film) who was being exploited as a freak show attraction. Treves (Hopkins) tries to help Merrick (John Hurt) for the last six years of the latter’s life wherein he becomes cultured, but he inevitabl…

Saw this, recently up-converted to 4K at the London Film Festival and, apart from the clear improvements to the quality and detail of the image, I was reminded of just how good it is. Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft play their roles with engaging sincerity - very ably supported by Sir John Gielgud and Dame Wendy Hiller. Prosthetics aside, John Hu…