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Award Snub: At the time, Best Makeup at the Oscars was a "Special Citation" award that was given out twice [1] So, this film's failure to get the citation was seen as a snub. The resulting controversy was the instigator for the establishment of the Best Makeup Oscar the following year.
Not to mention receiving 7 nominations in other categories, but winning none of them.
Complete Monster - "Sunny" Jim Renshaw, the Night Porter. Terrible a person as Mr. Bytes is, at least he had the delusion that keeping the deformed Jon Merrick in a freakshow was for his own good. Jim, however, has absolutely no qualms with assaulting, harassing, humiliating, and psychologically torturing him (and even using his ugliness to scare others) For the Evulz, all because he is convinced that it's how "a freak" is meant to live and how he can make good, quick money off of him. He is also shown to be very knowledgeable in exploiting the drunk and ignorant people in town for the sake of racking up good business. When confronted about his behavior, he insists that he's "proud of what he done" and feels justified in collecting the money people pay to see Merrick's deformity. In a film that centers on human morality, Jim embodies the lowest end of the spectrum: the worst kind of scum humanity has to offer. Dr. Treves lampshades his status in their confrontation: "YOU'RE the monster! YOU'RE the freak!"
Crowning Moment of Heartwarming - Most notably when Merrick is put back into Bytes' freakshow and the other freaks help him escape, showcasing that, despite appearances, they are some of the most humane characters in the film.
Also the night at the Opera, where Merrick is introduced to the crowd as a person of note... and receives a standing ovation.
Merrick being told that the hospital is his home now and his reaction.
Merrick decides to go to bed with just one pillow, even knowing it would mean his death. Doubles as Tear Jerker and Dying Moment of Awesome.
Moral Event Horizon: Sunny Jim letting drunken citizens in to see and harass Merrick for both money and For the Evulz is rightfully deemed unforgivable by Dr. Treves when he learns of it. In the film novelization, Treves even tries to kill Jim in his outrage over it.
Nightmare Fuel: Though Merrick is the "freak", what the "normal" people do to him is a mix of Tear Jerker with pure horror.
Not to mention the surreal, Lynchian beginning and Merrick's dream.
Deserving mention, though, is the final scene of the movie. Merrick had just had the best day of his life after being invited to an Opera by a beautiful woman who seemed to care about him, and given a standing ovation by the audience when pointed to as a member of note. He goes to his bed and discards the huge amount of pillows that he needs to use to keep from dying in his sleep, gets down to the last one, looks at a painting of a man sleeping "normally" in his room, and... just watch the damn thing, it's too moving to convey right in print.
Treves confirming that Merrick's condition is incurable, which he'd held off from asking from fear that this would be the case.
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