When we sit down to watch a movie, whether in the cinema or at home, what we want is to be transported away from our daily lives and into a new and captivating world. This is perhaps why many film fanatics are so quick to spot mistakes – they break the illusion, dragging you back out into reality and robbing you of the sense of escape you wanted.
Some of the movie mistakes you’re about to see are so massive and so obvious that you’ll wonder how the filmmakers missed them. Others are so subtle that you’ll wonder why viewers were so upset about them. Either way, you’re in for a fascinating ride through some of the biggest films of the last few decades. Some of these put thing like the Game of Thrones scandal to shame.
Lord Of The Rings: Do You Have The Time?
Gandalf was an all-powerful wizard, but Tolkien never gave him the ability to conjure timepieces from another dimension. However, if you look closely in one of the battle scenes, you can clearly see a watch on his wrist. Perhaps they’re hinting at a “Lord of the Watches” follow-up franchise.
Though most people were distracted by the intensity of the action during this scene, many attentive fans spotted the out-of-place accessory when they were sitting in the cinema. News of the subtle mistake soon spread, and now it’s found its way to you!
Gladiator: What Spaniard?
At the turn of the century, we were all treated to some Roman Empire fun with the release of The Gladiator. Some grammar extremists took issue with the fact that Russel Crowe’s character, Maximus, was referred to as “The Spaniard” throughout the film.
Their problem is that the word “Spaniard” is a 14th-century French word, so no one would have been using it in 180 AD. True though this may be, none of the characters would have been speaking English either, and they certainly wouldn’t have looked like Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, or Derek Jacobi. So, this criticism seems a bit short-sighted.
Titanic: The Lake That Never Was
Before the Avengers franchise came along, Titanic was the top-grossing film of all time, and it seemed nothing would ever steal its title. However, just like the infamous ship itself, the film’s days on top were numbered. Of course, it will always be a classic. However, there’s one hideously inaccurate line that makes many people flinch.
Jack (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) tells Rose (Kate Winslet) that he used to go fishing with his father at a place called Lake Wissota. However, this man-made lake was formed in 1917 – a full five years after the Titanic sank. Once again, the only plausible explanation would be time travel!
Spy Kids: Smile for the Camera
This 2001 kid’s classic won fans of all ages. The main characters, the Cortez siblings, learn that their parents are spies when they are captured. It’s up to the kids to come to the rescue.
In one scene, Carla Gugino is sitting with three mirrors in front of her. This is a tricky shot for camera operators to capture, and they have a very understandable slip-up. For a moment, you can see a cameraman in the shot.
Django Unchained: Misplaced Sunglasses
This flaw is up for debate. As you can see in the image below, the character of Django from the 2012 film Django Unchained wore some pretty chic-looking sunglasses. Jamie Foxx rocked the look exquisitely, but some people were annoyed because sunglasses were rarely worn at the time the film is set in.
Of course, this was a revisionist history helmed by Quentin Tarantino, so the whole point was for it to deviate from history. Yes, sunglasses were only worn occasionally back then, and only when prescribed by doctors, but when you’re already taking liberties with history, a detail like this only adds to the charm.
Forrest Gump: An Apple a Day
Forrest Gump is another timeless classic that received many award nominations. It too played with history, weaving its fictional story around real events in a unique way that was well ahead of its time. Unfortunately, the inclusion of the tech brand Apple was a bit too much ahead of its time.
Forrest Gump spans many years, but even with all this time at their disposal, the writers messed up some key dates with Apple. Forrest’s friend buys him stocks in “some kind of fruit company,” but the purchase was made in the 70s, whereas Apple wasn’t a publicly-traded company until 1981.
Back to the Future: Time Traveling Guitar
Back to the Future is so iconic that everyone probably recognizes the scene in the picture below. The main character, Marty McFly, has traveled back in time to 1955 in a bid to ensure his parents still meet and fall in love. At the high school dance, he sends the 50s kids wild with a Gibson ES-345 guitar.
The only problem is, the ES-345 didn’t go into production until 1958. Since it’s a film about time travel, we’ll give it a pass. Perhaps the DeLorean dropped into 1958 so Doc Brown and Marty could pick one up on their way to 1955. Or perhaps another character in the film figured out how to time travel.
Straight Outta Compton: Wrong Logo
Straight Outta Compton is another one of our favorites. The film tells the turbulent history of the infamous rap group NWA. Although it was a massive box office hit, many super fans noticed a small error in the strangest of places.
Eazy-E was known to be a big fan of the Chicago White Sox, so giving him a White Sox hat was a good idea. The only problem is, they didn’t double-check which logo to use. The one you see in the image above wasn’t around back in 1986.
The Aviator: What’s with the Cookies?
Released in 2004, The Aviator was hailed a success, even by the pickiest film critics. Audiences loved it, and it performed exceptionally well at the box office. However, there’s a major flaw in the film that many people missed. The flaw in question appeared in a scene where Howard Hughes (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio) picks up some chocolate-chip cookies.
How on Earth could this be a flaw? As it turns out, chocolate-chip cookies were invented in 1930 – two years after the moment depicted in the film. There’s no way Hughes could have eaten the baked treats at that time. Unless, of course, he was a time traveler.
Dirty Dancing: Real Frustration
The iconic film, Dirty Dancing may be a cult classic, but it’s not without its movie mistakes. For example, when the dynamic duo of Johnny and Baby are practicing their dance moves and Johnny runs his hands down her arm, Baby won’t stop laughing.
This direction actually wasn’t in the script. Jennifer Grey kept laughing much to Patrick Swayze’s disapproval. The actor was actually getting annoyed that Jennifer was acting silly, but this unwritten frustration worked well on the screen and the director left it in.
Braveheart: You’ve Got to Be Kilting Me
This fictionalized historical film was a major blockbuster in the 90s. It received ten Academy Award nominations and won half of them, which was a testament to the quality of the work the cast and crew did on the movie. There was just one issue, and it was with the strangest thing.
Though we’re all used to the idea of Scots wearing kilts, they didn’t come about until the 1600s. Since the film’s action takes place in the 1300s, the timeline is completely off. Since it was a fictionalized history, we can give Braveheart a little leniency.
