Deliberate mistake: Joseph (John) Merrick's speech was never as audible as shown in the film, and several operations were needed before he could speak at all. Even after that, Frederick Treves often had to "translate" what Merrick said because the majority of people still had problems understanding him. [Probably changed to simplify the storytelling, but still inaccurate].
The Elephant Man (1980)
1 deliberate mistake
Directed by: David Lynch
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
Continuity mistake: The period of time this movie portrays about Merrick, was in real life a period of seven years. In real life, Merrick's deformations were not so 'big' at 21, and at the date of dying, they were larger than portrayed in the movie. In the movie his deformations never seem to enlarge.
John Merrick: No! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I. Am... A man!
Trivia: Director David Lynch has a cameo as a member of the angry mob who chases John Merrick when he returns to London.
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