You would think that after hundreds of people editing, approving and just working on a movie, it is guaranteed that all mistakes would be caught. Turns out, it is quite the opposite and most of your favourite blockbuster movies are full of mistakes.
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From leftover camera equipment to historically inaccurate props and even crew members making appearances, Hollywood is nearly not as professional as they want us to think they are and here is the proof.
Pretty Woman
In Pretty Woman, hunky businessman Edward Lewis, played by Richard Gere, hires the services of the street walking call girl Vivian, played by Julia Roberts in her breakout role. In the Cinderella-like story, Roberts’ character is taken in and undergoes a transformation.
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In one scene, she eats breakfast at Richard Gere’s character’s hotel – and is seen eating a croissant – before it magically turns into a pancake. This could be a filming mistake, but her character is eating so quickly that it could be excused.
Clueless
During Cher’s driving test, she runs into another vehicle and destroys her side-view mirror, causing it to fly off, but it reappears in the next scene. This is one big goof, considering how prominently the scene was shown and emphasized to convey to the viewers about Cher’s driving skills.
Screenshot from “Clueless”
Clueless’ director, Amy Heckerling, studied real Beverly Hills high schools to get the feel for how real teens in the 1990s talked and acted – but the movie’s plot is actually based on a much, much older society: it is, in fact, a loose adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1815 novel, Emma.
The Matrix
In the first film in The Matrix trilogy, as Neo fights Agent Smith in the subway, you can see the breakaway section of the pillar before Smith punches through it. This is quite the shock, considering how visually attentive the Wachowski siblings.
Screenshot from “The Matrix”
The duo directed the film and had planned each frame in the original movie! The film was released in 1999 and was considered s a groundbreaking action movie thanks to both its pioneering visual effects as well as for its cerebral, mind-bending plot.
Star Wars: A New Hope
In the first Star Wars film ever released, Star Wars IV: A New Hope, there’s a scene in which Luke and Leia are attempting to escape the Death Star. As they make their way through the space station’s winding corridors, a unit of Stormtroopers come rushing in.
Screenshot From “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”
As the airlock opens, one Stormtrooper hits his head on the door, readjusts his helmet and keeps going. This is clearly an unintended mistake, but it has become legendary, and in re-releases, producers even added a “thud” sound effect!
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
In Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the chief villain’s head splits in two before Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character even fires his weapon. Terminator 2, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Edward Furlong, is the second instalment of the popular Terminator film franchise.
Screenshot From “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”
Written, produced and directed by James Cameron, the film was noted for its outstanding special effects and computerized graphics, as well as for Arnie’s famous one-liner, “Hasta la vista, baby.” It is considered one of the greatest action films ever made.
Pirates of the Caribbean #1
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End includes a voyage to Singapore, though the land would not be founded by British explorers until the following century from which the film takes place.
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The 2007 epic fantasy film directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush followed the crew of the ‘Black Pearl’ as they rescue Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) from Davy Jones’ (Rush) Locker, and then prepare to fight the East India Trading Company who controls Davy Jones and plans to extinguish piracy forever.
The Aviator
In The Aviator, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Howard Hughes character indulges in chocolate chip cookies, though the famous snack would not come into circulation until a few years following the film’s setting.
Screenshot From “The Aviator”
The 2004 film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by John Logan. The film depicts the life of Howard Hughes, an aviation pioneer and director of Hell’s Angels. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and ended up winning five awards.
La La Land
In the modern musical La La Land’s grand opening scene, drivers dance on car roofs on a Los Angeles freeway. Multiple takes of the scene show that some of those vehicles have dented roofs on account of the physical activity undertaken atop them.
Screenshot From “La La Land”
La La Land was released in 2016 and was an immediate hit. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, the film follows Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling) a jazz pianist, and Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) an aspiring actress who fall in love in Los Angeles.
Bird Box
In Bird Box, Sandra Bullock’s character, Malorie, is seen paddling downstream for almost 48 hours. Never mind that paddling downriver for that long, even with the power of sight, will probably result in getting turned around or getting grounded on the river bank at least once, we actually see her paddling upstream from time to time.
Screenshot From “Bird Box”
Released on Netflix in late 2018, Bird Box is a post-apocalyptic film in which the characters have to blindfold themselves when they’re outside in order to protect themselves from a mysterious entity.
The Mummy
When Cruise and Wallis are in the underground tunnel beneath London they are walking along the tracks before a Tube train blasts through. The third rail is missing, which carries the electricity for London Underground trains and would have electrocuted them both if it was there as it should be.
Screenshot From “The Mummy”
The Mummy was released in 2017. It was directed by Alex Kurtzman and written by David Koepp. The film stars Tom Cruise as a US soldier who unearths the ancient tomb of an entrapped Egyptian princess (Sofia Boutella).
Gladiator
In Ridley Scott’s 2000 epic drama on Ancient Rome, Gladiator, Russell Crowe’s character is referred to as “the Spaniard,” though that term would not come into popular use until the 14th century whereas the film takes place some 1,200 years prior.
Screenshot from “Gladiator”
This 2000 epic historical drama film was directed by Ridley Scott and had an impressive cast that included, among others, Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Connie Nielsen. The film received favourable reviews from critics and was a box office success being the second highest-grossing film of 2000.
The Shawshank Redemption
The poster in The Shawshank Redemption hiding the main character’s escape route is of Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C., though the film would not have been released by the time of the film’s setting.
Screenshot From “The Shawshank Redemption”
The Shawshank Redemption is considered to be one of the best films of all time. Directed by Frank Darabont, the film was released in 1994 and followed banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who was sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murder of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence.
Top Gun
The aerial acrobatics of Maverick and Goose’s planes in Top Gun would have actually crashed together if the stunt had been undertaken in real life. This theory has been proved by many real-life, Pilots and aerial acrobat performers.
Screenshot from “Top Gun”
This 1986 action drama film told the story of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise), a young naval aviator and his Radar Intercept Officer, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards). The two are given the chance to train at the US Navy’s Fighter Weapons School.
Braveheart
In Braveheart, Mel Gibson’s character dons a Scottish kilt, though the apparel would not come into wide use until centuries after the setting in which the film takes place. This is probably done since American audiences connect kilts with Scottish culture though that still doesn’t make it any less historically inaccurate.
Braveheart is a 1995 war epic about William Wallace’s 13th-century rebellion against the British occupation of Scotland, inspired by Blind Harry’s epic poem, The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campion Schir William Wallace. Directed and starring Mel Gibson, the film also stars Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan and Catherine McCormack.
Mel Gibson in “Braveheart”
Cast Away
In Cast Away, starring the inimitable Tom Hanks, the FedEx boxes that wash ashore aren’t waterproof, though not a single item he discovers is damaged from the South Pacific waters.
Screenshot from “Cast Away”
The film tells the story of a man who crash-landed on a desert island, and who had to forage and hunt to learn how to survive. Cast Away was directed by Robert Zemeckis, who had previously worked with Tom Hanks on Forrest Gump and was filmed between 1998 and 2000.
The Avengers
In 2012’s The Avengers, Captain America’s suit is ripped near the waist, though the film continues inconsistently without the tear in the costume. Marvel movies usually are very particular about continuity errors, so this one was a big mistake.
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The Avengers is the 6th film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and brings together the characters of Tony Stark, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor to fight the Norse god Loki from taking over the world.
Independence Day
The ’90s blockbuster Independence Day shows NYC’s Empire State Building getting blown up, though it incorrectly depicts it as being located on 53rd rather than 34th Street. This isn’t really that bad for a 90s movie.
Independence Day was released in 1996. Directed by Roland Emmerich, an acclaimed “disaster movie” director, it depicts an alien takeover of planet earth – and the wanton destruction of many American landmarks. It stars Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell and Judd Hirsch in memorable and iconic roles, and is considered a cult classic today.
“Independence Day” (1996)
300
In the war film 300, one army fights with the help of bombs, though the mechanisms behind bombs wouldn’t be discovered until over a millennium after the events depicted in the movie.
Screenshot from “300”
300 is Zack Snyder’s second film. Based on the 300 graphic novels by Frank Miller, the film’s highly stylized visuals, which match up to the original graphic novel almost perfectly, have garnered widespread critical acclaim. The film stars Gerard Butler, David Wenham, Lena Headey and Michael Fassbender.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
In the famous carbonite freezing scene in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, moments before Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford, is lowered into the preserving material and transported to Jabba the Hut, he is seen wearing a jacket – when in a shot before that he was clearly in his shirtsleeves.
Screenshot from “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)
The film – the second one ever released in the ever-growing Star Wars saga – grossed over $800,000,000 in its various theatre releases, but, perhaps more importantly, gave us the line “No, I am your father.”
Troy
In the film Troy, based on Homer’s epics, Orlando Bloom’s character uses a pink parasol to cover his chariot, though they hadn’t been invented until centuries after the story took place.
Screenshot from “Troy”
The epic war film, released to theatres in 2004, depicts the Trojan war with its various heroes and feats of bravery. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and stars Orlando Bloom as Paris, Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector and Diane Kruger as Helen.
Spiderman 3
We could fill this entire list with Spiderman 3 mistakes but the most glaring one happened when one-shot, shows the Chicago L train and the Cleveland Terminal Tower in the cityscape. Doesn’t sound like a big deal? Well, the movie is iconically based in New York City.
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The final instalment in the Sam Raimi Spiderman trilogy, this film stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson and an all-star cast which includes James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rosemary Harris, Cliff Robertson, J. K. Simmons, and James Cromwell. While receiving mixed reviews, it is still the highest-grossing Spiderman film ever made.
Grease
There’s a scene in Grease where a waitress attempts to turn off a light switch with her elbow because her hands aren’t free, but she misses the light switch by 6 inches and of course, the light switches off nonetheless.
Screenshot from “Grease”
Directed by Randal Kleiser and starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, Grease was released in 1978 and is considered to be one of the best films to come out that year. Its soundtrack broke records and was the second-best-selling album of the year in the United States.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Throughout the book series, Harry Potter was always told he had green eyes like his mother’s. But in the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 the actor who portrayed Lily Potter had brown eyes.
Screenshot from “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
Considering the painstaking attention to detail and the lengths the films’ creators went to in order to recreate J.K Rowling’s Wizarding World, this oversight is quite a big one! Still, it didn’t do much harm to the film, which was nominated for multiple awards.
Dirty Dancing
In the car scene in 1987’s Dirty Dancing, Johnny is supposedly driving – but it appears that the car is in the “park” position. While audiences do know that actors aren’t really driving the cars, shifting the gear to “drive” would be an easy fix to help build the illusion.
Screenshot from “Dirty Dancing”
Directed by Emile Ardolino and starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing tells the story of the rich Frances “Baby” Houseman, who enters the dirty dancing scene frequented by the staff at the resort in which she’s staying with her family. There, she meets Johnny, with whom she develops a forbidden romance.
Dallas Buyers Club
Dallas Buyers Club is set in 1985. It’s a big period film and painstaking attention has been given to make it period-accurate – but if you look behind Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey’s character) in his office, you can see a poster of a Lamborghini Aventador – a car that hasn’t been manufactured until 2011.
Screenshot from “Dallas Buyers Club”
Dallas Buyers Club was released in 2013. It is a biographical story about Ron Woodroof, an LGBTQ activist and AIDS carrier operating in the ’80. It received universal acclaim, and it is only the fifth film ever to win both the Academy Award for Best Actor and for Best Supporting Actor.
10 Things I Hate About You
When Kat and Patrick play paintball, they’re both barely covered in paint shortly before they kiss. When they do finally kiss, however, they are completely covered with colourful stains.
Screenshot from “10 Things I Hate About You”
The classic teen comedy was released in 1999, introducing the late Heath Ledger to the American audience. The film followed his Patrick as he is paid to take Kat (Julia Stiles) to prom and falls in love with her in the process.
Back to the Future
In Back to the Future, Marty McFly strums on a Gibson ES-345 guitar in the Enchantment Under the Sea high school dance where his parents first kiss – though the model hadn’t been brought to market until three years following the film’s 1955 setting.
Screenshot from “Back to the Future”
Still, in a film where time travel is an option – anything is possible… right? Back to the Future, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Dr Emmett “Doc” Brown, is considered one of the 1980s’ best-loved films.
Pirates of the Caribbean #3
Pirates of the Caribbean producers failed to recognize that the Granny Smith apple, which Captain Barbossa snacks on, hadn’t been around until 1868, nearly a century and a half after the film’s setting.
Screenshot from “Pirates of the Caribbean 3”
Still, ghost zombie pirates were likely not around either, and the apple’s poison-green hue does make a statement, and Geoffrey Rush is an absolute pleasure to watch as Captain Hector Barbossa – so the species of apple is something we’re more than willing to overlook… this time.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman was a huge hit in 2017, is the first super-hero film directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins. The film followed Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), an Amazonian princess, who learns about WWI and ventures into the world of men to stop Ares, the god of war, from destroying mankind.
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The film takes place in 1918 yet somehow, in the scene in which Wonder woman liberates a village in Belgium, the song played in the background is one of Edith Piaf’s classics. Piaf was only born in 1915, making her 3-years-old at the time. Oops!
Forrest Gump
In the classic retrospective film Forrest Gump, the titular character receives a letter from Apple with a logo that would not be used in real life until years after that particular scene’s setting.
Screenshot from “Forrest Gump”
The Tom Hanks led film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth and released in 1994. The film followed Gump as he takes part in defining historical events in the 20th century in the United States.
Once Upon a Time In… Hollywood
The film takes please in 1969 and follows has-been Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he struggles to find meaningful work in a Hollywood that he doesn’t recognize anymore. In one of the scenes, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) is talking to a girl in front of a movie theatre. Behind them is a Starbucks sign—a company that did not exist until 1971.
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The Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon a Time In… Hollywood was released in 2019 to critical acclaim. The film depicted the Manson Murders in a new light, wining both critical praise as well as from worldwide audiences.