John Hurts finest role has him completely covered up in a chameleon-esque role as John Merrick, a man who suffered from severe deformities on his head, dubbed the Elephant Man. It took 7 to 8 hours to apply the immaculate makeup on David Lynchs film, but John Hurt brought out the man inside even with a bag over his head. Its a film about human kindness, but also human brutality. The most heart-breaking scene, among many other unsettling ones of a similar nature, is when Merrick is traveling through a train station and grows steadily anxious as a young boy draws attention to him and hes ganged up on until he accidentally knocks down a child. They chase him all the way to a dead end until Merrick finally screams; I am not an animal! I am a human being! Its a moment of such tender desperation that its utterly overwhelming. Hurt simply breaks down, and leaves the crowd stunned in self-reflection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF19L00KbAI He was nominated for an Oscar for the role but with tough competition with Robert De Niro in Raging Bull, he lost. However, because of the films incredible makeup work, the Academy invented a whole extra category. There are a plethora of powerful performances and stunning scenes, but which have we missed that deserve to be on this list? Let us know in the comments section and show us the clips that we need to see.
Recently graduated from University of Hertfordshire with a Film & Television Production degree. Usually found watching films, listening to music, writing for whatculture and writing reviews for awardscircuit.com and my blog.
