Movie Time! Finding Humanity in the Cinematic Macabre: Freaks (1932) and The Elephant Man (1980)

It’s Popzara’s Movie Time! Podcast!, where our own movie nerds Ethan Brehm and Nate Evans take you on an unscripted journey yakking and chatting about some of their favorite movie moments and cinematic scenes, from past and present, presented without snark and snobbery for your listening pleasure.

On tap in this episode are two black ‘n white classics from very different eras in Hollywood that, in their own way, help affirm that humanity comes in many shapes and sizes, and often the real monsters are right in front of us.

The first is 1932’s Freaks. Directed by Tod Browning (Dracula), the film was both incredibly controversial and a box-office disaster upon release until it found an audience decades later on VHS. The second is 1980’s The Elephant Man, directed by David Lynch, produced by Mel Brooks, and featuring one of the finest casts that included John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, and Anne Bancroft, ever assembled in one film.