History Film / TheElephantMan

** The speech impediment caused by Merrick's facial deformities was even worse than in the film. Visitors generally could not understand him, although Treves and the hospital staff learned to understand Merrick's speech. This didn't stop Merrick from sitting at his hospital window, as he became less shy, and hailing passersby and engaging them in conversation.

** The cruel porter is an invention, and the kidnapping of Merrick never happened. In RealLife the unfortunate Belgian tour (which was bad, with Merrick being robbed and abandoned, but not locked in a cage with baboons) happened before Merrick was permanetly admitted to Treves' hospital.
** The speech impediment caused by Merrick's facial deformities was even worse than in the film. Visitors generally could not understand him, although Treves and the hospital staff learned to understand Merrick's speech.

Basically, one of the saddest films ever, and one of Creator/DavidLynch's few non-"[[MindScrew omgwhaththehellisthisaaaaaaaaaI'mscared]]" movies, depicting Joseph (here called John, and played by JohnHurt) Merrick's struggle to leave an abusive circus sideshow, while meeting Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), who takes him out of that place and gets him into the London Hospital, where he--being an educated and kind person but still with the outward appearance of a freak--becomes the focus of London's attention, raising the question: is Merrick just moving from one circus to another?

Basically, one of the saddest films ever, and one of Creator/DavidLynch's few non-"[[MindScrew omgwhaththehellisthisaaaaaaaaaI'mscared]]" movies, depicting Joseph (here called John, and played by John Hurt) Merrick's struggle to leave an abusive circus sideshow, while meeting Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), who takes him out of that place and gets him into the London Hospital, where he--being an educated and kind person but still with the outward appearance of a freak--becomes the focus of London's attention, raising the question: is Merrick just moving from one circus to another?

* CutHiimselfShaving: When Treves is summoned to treat Merrick, Bytes claims that Merrick's injuries came from falling down. Treves sees Bytes's heavy walking stick, and is not fooled.

* ShoutOutToShakesepeare: Mrs. Kendall and John togeter read a scene from ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Merrick dies. But he dies on the happiest day of his life, and dies doing what he wants to do: to sleep like he's normal.]] It does not count as a DownerEnding.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Bytes is a CompositeCharacter, with evidence indicating that Merrick was actually well-treated in the British sideshow. The Belgian one was probably about as bad as the movie suggests.

* CircusOfFear
* ComeToGawk

* DeliberatelyMonochrome

* IJustWantToBeNormal

* LittlePeopleAreSurreal: Invoked but averted, with a pair of little people working at the Belgian circus who help John escape. They're portrayed as very normal, good people. Lynch would later play this one [[TwinPeaks famously]] [[MulhollandDrive straight]], though.

* OscarBait: A downplayed version. It was a tragic biopic about a physically disabled man shot in black and white, which certainly covers several typical OscarBait traits, and was nominated for seven different Oscars. However, [[AwardSnub it won none of them.]] The big winner was [[RagingBull a different biopic shot in black and white]].
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "'''I'''! AM NOT! AN '''ELEPHANT! I''' AM NOT! AN '''ANIMAL!''' I! AM A '''HUMAN! BEING!''' I! AM! ...a man." [[spoiler: This exclamation works; the mob immediately becomes more sympathetic.]]

* SuicideIsPainless

* TheDanza: John Hurt as John Merrick
** Although in RealLife Merrick's first name was Joseph.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Averted, with the big mean baboons at the circus.

Basically, one of the saddest films ever, and one of DavidLynch's few non-"[[MindScrew omgwhaththehellisthisaaaaaaaaaI'mscared]]" movies, depicting Joseph (here called John, and played by John Hurt) Merrick's struggle to leave an abusive circus sideshow, while meeting Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), who takes him out of that place and gets him into the London Hospital, where he - being an educated and kind person but still with the outward appearance of a freak - becomes the focus of London's attention, raising the question: is Merrick just moving from one circus to another?

* OscarBait: A partial aversion. It was a tragic biopic about a physically disabled man shot in black and white, which certainly covers several typical OscarBait traits, and was nominated for seven different Oscars. However, [[AwardSnub it won none of them.]] The big winner was [[RagingBull a different biopic shot in black and white]].

* DeliberatelyMonochrome

* InspirationallyDisadvantaged: An UnbuiltTrope here, and it could easily be read as a deconstruction, since a big part of the movie's point is that he's still being exploited.

* BodyHorror - Sort of. Merrick's physical anomalies become ever less-repellent as his kindly personality is revealed.

* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer - Executive producer Creator/MelBrooks deliberately kept his name off the film, for fear people would expect it to be a comedy. He did the same with ''TheFly'', among other films in the '80s.

* CreepyCircusMusic - The soundtrack (in places), and it's heartbreaking.

* DreamSequence: Provides the surreal, since most of the film avoids the MindScrew Lynch is known for.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys - Averted, with the big mean baboons at the circus.

* HeyItsThatGuy: A very young Dexter Fletcher (Soap from ''LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'') plays Bytes' assistant
** There's a filmed-for-tv version of the [[{{Theater}} Original Broadway Cast]] of the stage play version, starring Philip Anglim in the title role. Franchise/StarTrek fans may recognize him as [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Major Kira's boyfriend Vedek Bareil]].
** Wha...? No, Merrick! That's [[TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]], don't go near him! Wait, he's nice now...?
** [[{{Alien}} And Kane's face is all messed up now]]. Must be the result of that chestburster.

* NotSoDifferent: Bytes accuses Treves of being just as exploitive of John.
* OscarBait: A partial aversion. It was a tragic biopic about a physically disabled man shot in black and white, which certainly covers several typical OscarBait traits, and was nominated for seven different Oscars. However, [[AwardSnub it won none of them.]]
** Also averted in that most people agree a [[RagingBull different tragic biopic shot in black and white]] should have won most of the Oscars that year (and indeed, it did win two).

* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer - Executive producer Creator/MelBrooks deliberately kept his name off the film, for fear people would expect it to be a comedy. He did the same with ''TheFly'', among other films in the early 80s.

* TakeOurWordForIt - For the first chunk of the movie, we never get a good look at John.
** It helps build the suspense as we only see the reactions of others to poor Merrick's [[BodyHorror physical deformities]].
** To make it even more effective, the film averts TrailersAlwaysSpoil- both the posters and the trailer only show Merrick with his head covered or in a position where you can't clearly see him. You have to watch the movie in full to find out what the main character actually looks like.

* BodyHorror - Sort of. Merrick's physical anomalies become ever less-repellent as his agreeable personality is revealed.

Tropes present in the film:

* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer - Executive producer [[spoiler: Creator/MelBrooks]] deliberately kept his name off the film, for fear people would expect it to be a comedy. He did the same with ''TheFly'', among other films in the early 80s.
* [[spoiler:SuicideIsPainless]]: See BittersweetEnding.

Basically, one of the saddest films ever, and one of DavidLynch's few non-"omgwhaththehellisthisaaaaaaaaaI'mscared" movies, depicting Joseph (here called John, and played by John Hurt) Merrick's struggle to leave an abusive circus sideshow, while meeting Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), who takes him out of that place and gets him into the London Hospital, where he - being an educated and kind person but still with the outward appearance of a freak - becomes the focus of London's attention, raising the question: is Merrick just moving from one circus to another?

* HeroicBSOD: Merrick in the train station. See below for ThisIsSparta.

* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer - Executive producer [[spoiler: Creator/MelBrooks]] deliberately kept his name off the film, for fear people would expect it to be a comedy. He did the same with ''TheFly'', among other films in the early 80s.
* [[spoiler:SuicideIsPainless]]: See BittersweetEnding.
* ThisIsSparta: "'''I'''! AM NOT! AN '''ELEPHANT! I''' AM NOT! AN '''ANIMAL!''' I! AM A '''HUMAN! BEING!''' I! AM! ...a man." [[spoiler: This exclamation works; the mob immediately becomes more sympathetic.]]
** "Where - ''is'' - he?"

** There's a filmed-for-tv version of the [[{{Theater}} Original Broadway Cast]] of the stage play version, starring Philip Anglim in the title role. StarTrek fans may recognize him as [[DeepSpaceNine Major Kira's boyfriend Vedek Bareil]].

-->'''Mrs. Kendel:''' Why, Mr. Merrick, you're not an elephant man at all.

-->'''Mrs. Kendel:''' Oh no... no... you're a Romeo.

* DreamSequence: Provides the surreal, since most of the film avoids the {{Mind Screw}} Lynch is known for.
* {{Deliberately Monochrome}}

* HeelRealization: Dr. Treves is shaken by the Head Nurse's observation that the arrangement he set up for John Merrick, which include receiving respectable callers, means he is still being treated as a freak on display, albeit in a high class cushy style.
-->"Why did I do it? Am I a good man or a bad man?"

* {{Monstrosity Equals Weakness}}: {{Truth In Television}} for the real Merrick, sadly.
* {{Not So Different}}: Bytes accuses Treves of being just as exploitive of John.

* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer - Executive producer [[spoiler: MelBrooks]] deliberately kept his name off the film, for fear people would expect it to be a comedy. He did the same with ''TheFly'', among other films in the early 80s.

* {{Very Loosely Based On A True Story}}: Bytes is a CompositeCharacter, with evidence indicating that Merrick was actually well-treated in the British sideshow. The Belgian one was probably about as bad as the movie suggests.
* {{Victorian London}}: The setting for most of the film.

* ThisIsSparta: "'''I'''! AM NOT! AN '''ELEPHANT! I''' AM NOT! AN '''ANIMAL!''' I! AM A '''HUMAN! BEING!''' I! AM! ...a man."

*** In the men's room of a London train station, where he's just been cornered by an angry mob. [[spoiler: This exclamation works; the mob immediately becomes more sympathetic.]]