Special Report

Sloppy Mistakes in 28 of America's Most Famous Movies

Making movies is a complicated business. Logistics concerns, rewriting scripts, massaging stars’ egos, and avoiding cost overruns are just some of the issues confronting producers and directors. Mistakes happen and filmmakers pray the miscues don’t show up on screen. But sometimes they do.

24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of infamous mistakes in movies by culling information from websites such as moviemistakes.com, IMDb, and BestLife. There are mistakes in thousands of movies, including some of the greatest films of all time. IMDb divides movie missteps into several categories: continuity mistakes, plot holes, presence of film crews, and factual errors (like historical and/or geographic inaccuracies). Because the overwhelming majority of movie missteps are continuity mistakes, our list focuses primarily on the other, more glaring, categories.

Click here to learn about sloppy mistakes in 28 of America’s most famous movies

Continuity errors are by far the most common stumbles found in motion pictures – for instance, differing levels of beverages in the same scene or hair parted on different sides. These types of slips can be found in even the greatest films – “Casablanca,” “Citizen Kane,” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” to name just a few. (For some lesser-known cinematic treasures, consider some of the best movie classics you;’ve never seen available to stream right now.)

Catching a film crew in the reflection of a window is another common movie fumble as is a telltale peek at cables, dolly tracks, or other cinematic equipment..

Stanley Kubrick was a famously scrupulous director, but nevertheless is represented by two movies on this list. Though he was nominated for an Academy Award on a number of occasions, he never won one. Joining his films on this list, however, are examples from such Oscar-winning directors as Billy Wilder, Roman Polanski, Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes, and Miloš Forman. (Here are 25 great directors with the most box office bombs.)

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
> Starring: Brad Pitt, Angelino Jolie, Vince Vaughn
> Directed by: Doug Liman

The movie is supposed to take place in and around New York City. During a car chase in which Jolie’s and Pitt’s characters are fighting off three BMWs, a shot shows a street sign reading “Los Angeles.”

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Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution

Catch Me If You Can (2002)
> Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken
> Directed by: Stephen Spielberg

While con man Frank W. Abagnale Jr. is being led away by FBI agents, he sees New York’s LaGuardia Airport and says, “There it is, LaGuardia Airport, runway 44.” Runway numbers extend only up to 36, as they correspond to points on a compass with the last number cut.

Courtesy of Lionsgate

John Wick (2014)
> Starring: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen Ji-Dan, Bill Skarsgård
> Directed by: Chad Staheski

In one scene, John Wick is gassing up his car at a filling station in New Jersey. New Jersey does not have self-service gas stations.

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
> Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

When the astronaut Dave gets his supper, the order of food from right to left is yellow, light brown, light brown, dark brown. Later when he’s eating, the order is yellow, orange brown, dark brown, light brown.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Titanic (1997)
> Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winsket, Billy Zane
> Directed by: James Cameron

The lake that Jack told Rose he went ice fishing on when she was threatening to jump is Lake Wissota, a man-made lake in Wisconsin near Chippewa Falls, where Jack grew up. The lake was filled with water in 1918 when a power company built a dam on the Chippewa River, six years after the Titanic sank.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Braveheart (1995)
> Starring: Mel Gibson, Patrick McGoohan, Sophie Marceau
> Directed by: Mel Gibson

Many Scots are shown wearing kilts in the movie set in the 12th century. In fact, before battle, they lift their kilts up and expose their backsides. But kilts were not common fashion in Scotland until the 17th century. “Braveheart” is notorious for many historical inaccuracies.

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Dead Poets Society (1989)
> Starring: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke
> Directed by: Peter Weir

The film takes place in a private boarding school in the 1950s. Astute filmgoers will note that one of the students is studying from a chemistry textbook from the 1980s. The spine of one book shows HBJ as the publisher. The J stands for Jovanovich, which was not added to Harcourt Brace until the 1970s.

Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution

Gladiator (2000)
> Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed
> Directed by: Ridley Scott

In the “Battle of Carthage” at the Roman Colosseum, one of the chariots is turned over. After the dust passes, a gas cylinder can be seen in the back of the vehicle.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
> Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy
> Directed by: Christopher Nolan

As Bruce Wayne is gathering information on a jewel thief, the word “Heist” is spelled “Hiest” in a newspaper headline.

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Courtesy of Mister Smith Entertainment

1917 (2020)
> Starring: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Daniel Mays
> Directed by: Sam Mendes

The current of the river that the main character Will Schofield falls into on his way to telling the British to call off an assault against the Germans during World War I carries him to a waterfall. There is not a river of that kind in Flanders Fields, let alone a waterfall. The geography of the region is flat.

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Gone With the Wind (1939)
> Starring: Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Olivia de Haviland
> Directed by: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood

In the scene in which Ashley is brought back wounded from the raid where Scarlett’s husband was killed, Melanie grabs an oil lamp to follow the men carrying her husband Ashley to the bedroom. You can see an electrical cord hanging down from it. Electricity in the home was still decades off.

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Courtesy of Universal Pictures

The Sting (1973)
> Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw
> Directed by: George Roy Hill

When Hooker comes out of a diner there is a billboard advertisement for Ezra Brooks bourbon. That brand wasn’t created until 1957. “The Sting” takes place in the 1930s.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Chinatown (1974)
> Starring:Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston
> Directed by: Roman Polanski

When private detective Jake Gittes visits an orange grove and crashes into a tree, a steel plate can be seen placed around the tree to protect it.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Gran Torino (2009)
> Starring: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her
> Directed by: Clint Eastwood

The left side of the folder containing Walt’s medical records lists his address as “Detroit, CA.” It’s correctly rendered as “Detroit, MI” on the right side.

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Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Ford v. Ferrari (2019)
> Starring: Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Calitriona Balfe
> Directed by: James Mangold

During Ford executive Lee Iacocca’s slide presentation to Henry Ford II in 1963, there are two slides that reference James Bond. One shows him standing next to the Aston Martin DB5, made famous in the Bond film “Goldfinger” in 1964, and another displays a still image from “Thunderball,” released in 1965.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Ten Commandments (1956)
> Starring: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Edward G. Robinson
> Directed by: Cecil B. De Mille

After ascending the Egyptian throne, the pharaoh Rameses accepts tribute from many nations. One of the visiting dignitaries is announced as “King Priam of Troy.” Priam died at the end of the Trojan War, circa 1184 B.C.; Rameses ascended the throne of Egypt circa.1290 B.C.

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Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Ben-Hur (1959)
> Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet
> Directed by: William Wyler

During the chariot race, where the riders are approaching the screen, tire tracks from the camera vehicle are seen imprinted in the sand.

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

North by Northwest (1959)
> Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
> Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

In the shooting scene in the Mount Rushmore café involving the characters played by Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant, a boy in the background puts his fingers in his ears in anticipation of the gunshot.

Courtesy of Orion Pictures

Amadeus (1984)
> Starring: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Jeffrey Jones
> Directed by: Miloš Forman

During the scene where Mozart is being wheeled away in his coffin by horse and cart, a large overhead power line is visible to the left of the screen. The movie is set in the 18th century.

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Courtesy of New Line Cinema

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
> Starring: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Andrew Bryniarski
> Directed by: Marcus Nispel

This movie states that it is during the year 1973 when events took place, yet when the eventual victims are driving in the van they are listening to “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, which was not released publicly until a year later.

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Die Hard (1988)
> Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia
> Directed by: John McTiernan

After he climbs out of the air duct, John McClane’s shirt goes from white to green.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Double Indemnity (1944)
> Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson
> Directed by: Billy Wilder

There’s a scene during which Phyllis hides behind an open door to avoid being seen by Barton Keyes leaving Walter Neff`s apartment. The apartment door opens into the hallway – something apartment doors don’t do in real life.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

White Christmas (1954)
> Starring: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney
> Directed by: Michael Curtiz

In this beloved holiday classic, the train that transports the Haynes sisters and Wallace and Davis to Vermont from Florida is shown as the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in one sequence and the Southern Pacific Railroad in another. Neither railway ran on the East Coast.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Barry Lyndon (1975)
> Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

“Barry Lyndon” is set in the 18th century and is about an Irish opportunist trying to climb the social ladder. In one scene, there is a drawing of a steam train on a period map. Trains didn’t appear until the 19th century.

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Courtesy of United Artists

The Final Countdown (1980)
> Starring: Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross
> Directed by: Don Taylor

In this time-travel film, the crew of a U.S. aircraft carrier is listening to a live radio broadcast of a boxing match involving heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis – supposedly taking place on Dec. 6, 1941, the day before the Pearl Harbor attack. Louis’s last fight of 1941 was in September.

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
> Starring: Kenneth Branagh
> Directed by: Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe

Before arriving at Brod station the train goes through high mountains. Between Belgrade (Serbia) and Brod (Bosnia and Herzegovina) there are no mountains.

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Courtesy of STX Entertainment

The Space Between Us (2017)
> Starring: Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino
> Directed by: Peter Chelsom

In the scenes where Gardner is messaging his Earth-based female friend Tulsa from his Mars home, their communication is shown as being in real time. In actuality, there would be at least a four-minute delay between transmissions.

Courtesy of IFC Films

The Catcher Was a Spy (2018)
> Starring: Paul Rudd, Mark Strong, Guy Pearce
> Directed by: Ben Lewin

A recreated newsreel of a trip to Japan by catcher and U.S. spy Moe Berg before the Pearl Harbor attack shows a copyright date of MCMXLIV (1944) in the lower left corner, three years after the attack. Berg in fact visited Japan with a group of American baseball players in 1934, which in Roman numerals is MCMXXXIV.

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