The Elephant Man (film) Hurt) and Best Production Design, and was nominated for four others: Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography and Editing. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: There have been many releases of the film on VHS, Betamax, CED, LaserDisc, and DVD. The version released as part of the David Lynch "Lime Green Box" includes several interviews with John Hurt and David Lynch and a Joseph Merrick documentary. This material is also available on the exclusive treatment on the European market as part of Optimum Releasing’s "StudioCanal Collection". The film has only been released on Blu-ray Disc in the UK;
The Elephant Man (film) for its make-up effects when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominations at the time. A letter of protest was sent to the Academy's Board of Governors to requesting to give the film an honorary award. The Academy refused, but in response to the outcry, they decided to give the make-up artists their own category. A year later, the Academy Award for Best Makeup category was introduced with "An American Werewolf in London" as its first recipient. It did win the BAFTA Award for Best Film, as well as other BAFTA Awards for Best Actor (John