The Elephant Man occupies a slightly strange place in David Lynch's legendary filmography. His second full-length feature, following 1977's Eraserhead, is universally regarded as a masterpiece and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including the coveted Best Picture and Best Director awards. Even so, it's not always talked about in the same way as some of his later, more obviously "Lynchian" works: Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and more.
Perhaps that's because it is – by his standards at least – a relatively conventional work. It has a linear story and even fits neatly into a specific genre: it's a biopic, telling the story of Joseph Merrick (in the film renamed John), a man born with severe physical differences, who spent some time as an exhibit in so-called "freak shows."
