These Big Budget Films Skipped The Editing Room: Mistakes In Major Blockbusters
When you watch a movie, what you see on screen is the product of thousands of hours of work from hundreds of people. All of these people, the directors, actors, producers, editors, and costume designers all work together to create a flawless finished product. At least, it's supposed to be flawless. Every now and then, a few flaws slip through the cracks.
You can even find mistakes in some of the most well-regarded classic films in history. Keep reading to learn about the greatest continuity errors, slip-ups, flubs, and editing gaffes of all time.
The Lake Jack Mentions In Titanic Didn't Exist Yet
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jack Dawson in Titanic, James Cameron’s mega-hit film about the supposedly unsinkable ship that now lies at the bottom of the ocean. In the movie, Leo's character, Jack reminisces about fishing on Lake Wissota when he was a boy living in Wisconsin.
The problem: Lake Wissota didn't exist when Jack was a child. The lake was created in 1917 as a result of the construction of a dam. Jack died when the Titanic sank in 1912.
Dorothy's Ruby Slippers Are Missing In The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz is a little movie about a girl who winds up in a far away land. She tries everything she can think of to find her way home, only to learn that the ruby slippers she had been wearing on her feet the whole time were the key to getting to Kansas. Those ruby slippers are super important to the plot of the movie, but in one shot, if you look very closely, you can see that Dorothy isn't actually wearing her slippers.
She's wearing a pair of black shoes, probably because this was supposed to be a medium shot.
A Hilarious Mistake In Teen Wolf
Michael J. Fox makes another appearance on the list! In the 1985 comedy Teen Wolf, there are plenty of scenes featuring crowds of fans watching Fox’s character Scott and his basketball team the Dragons. In one memorable scene, however, a young woman stands up to cheer with her pants clearly unbuttoned.
No comment about the banner being waved in front of her…how is it possible that both she and the crew didn't notice this? She had to have done it for a prank!
Visible Battery Packs In Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was the first and only film in the Harry Potter franchise to be directed by Alfonso Cuarón. While we appreciate Cuarón's unique direction, there was one thing that he and his team overlooked.
All of the actors in the movie wear microphones, and the battery packs that power those microphones are clearly visible in several scenes. Maybe production should have used a boom instead. Or maybe the actors should have worn thicker, baggier clothes.
That Car Isn't From Middle Earth In The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship Of The Ring
Peter Jackson did everything he could to totally immerse viewers in the world of Middle Earth. Unfortunately, some details evaded his grasp. In this scene from the 2001 film, you can see a modern car driving by the cornfield. Maybe this shot should have just been a closeup on Frodo and Sam.
Whoever was driving that car was just looking for a quiet ride through the countryside They weren't expecting to get caught up in an epic quest.
The Wrong Date In The Incredibles
The Incredibles is set in the 1960s, however, if you look at this issue of the Newtropolis Tribue, it's dated September 16, 2002. Perhaps this is an intentional easter egg. We can't imagine that the animators of this highly sophisticated project let something like a date slip past them.
Maybe September 16, 2002, is the birthdate of the child of one of the film’s producers? Anything is possible with Pixar. The film came out it 2004, so it's not the movie's release date.
The Dark Knight Rises Had An Obvious Spelling Mistake
Looks like The Gotham Times newspaper should probably be looking for a new editor. In The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne picks up a copy of the paper to read about the jewel thief. There’s a pretty glaring typo in the top headline. It says “hiest” instead of “heist.”
It appears that someone in the props department slipped up with this spelling error. While it doesn't make a difference in the film's plot, it makes us wonder what else slipped through the cracks.
Gone With The Wind Looked Pretty Modern
The 1939 classic historical film about the Civil War and subsequent Reconstruction measures a whopping four hours long! So there are bound to be some goof-ups in there somewhere. In one scene, Scarlett O'Hara's sister-in-law Melanie carries a lamp that’s supposedly fueled by gas. But you can clearly see an electrical cord hanging from it.
The prop department dropped the ball on this one. It's the Civil War, for Pete's sake. At least she didn't trip over the cord and attract more eyes to the problem.
The Usual Suspects Uses Two Different Planes
In the 1995 mystery thriller The Usual Suspects (Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, and Benicio del Toro), a Boeing 747 plane (which has four engines) is shown landing. But a shot from behind the plane reveals it to have only two engines and less landing gear than a 747.
While viewers are probably focusing on the concept, rather than the details, it shows that someone working on the film wasn't paying quite enough attention.
Gladiator Was Turbo-Charged
In 2000’s Gladiator, during the battle of Carthage in the Colosseum, one of the chariots is overturned. If you look carefully, you are able to see a gas cylinder. Pretty sure they didn’t have those in Ancient Rome, and if they did, we were long overdue for motorized vehicles when they finally arrived to the masses.
Movie-goers prefer to maintain the magic of the film, and not see the props and behind the scenes secrets like this as they're mentally trying to stay in Ancient Roman times.
An Extra Ruined North By Northwest
Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant star in this classic action thriller movie about a case of mistaken identity. While at the Mount Rushmore Visitors Center, Eva’s character, Eve, shoots Thornhill (Grant) with blanks and then rushes out.
The mistake happens in the background on the right side, where the boy at the table prematurely covers his ears. It's bad when the extra ruins the shot! He should be kicked out... you had one job.
The Matrix Made A Clever Shot Work
We have several repeat offenders on this list. In this case, it’s The Matrix at fault again. This time, there’s a shot where a shiny doorknob clearly reflects the camera that’s shooting the scene.
But hey, at least the actors are fully clothed in the reflection! No surprise flashing here. This shot is painfully obvious, however, and you have to think that someone got a little lazy on the job, both the day of shooting and post-production.
Palm Trees In Halloween
John Carpenter's 1978 slasher classic Halloween was supposedly set in Haddonfield, Illinois -- about as deep into the Midwest as you can get. However, there are some shots that show palm trees in the background. Not exactly the kind of foliage you’d expect in that part of the country, is it?
it's pretty strange to think they'd pick such an unbelievable neighborhood to shoot the scene. Anyone who has been to the Midwest knows this can't be real!
Where Is Taylor's Tattoo?
In the 1999 teen comedy She's All That, starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, and Rachael Leigh Cook, there's a pretty glaring continuity error. Character Taylor gets a tattoo on her upper back in one scene. But later in the movie, she goes to prom in a strapless dress, and her new tat is nowhere to be seen.
The actress playing Taylor probably should have remembered that her character was supposed to have the tattoo. Oops.
The Goonies Couldn't Have Found That Baseball Card
In The Goonies, Mikey finds a 1973 Topps baseball card of Lou Gehrig in Chester Copperpot’s wallet. While that’s a great find, Chester’s body had been there since the 1930s, about 40 years before that card existed. Perhaps that card is worth even more since it apparently required magic to get into the scene.
Aspects like this are a little more important than other blunders on this list. You have to make sure the continuity is there for viewers to fully dive into the film.
Cowboys of the Caribbean
So, did you ever wonder what a movie about pirates and cowboys would be like? Well, we are a little closer to knowing with this mistake from the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl movie.
Evidently, someone (ahem, the crew member wearing the cowboy hat) forgot to make sure that he wasn’t in the shot. This is one of the most famous goofs in modern film-making. I mean... c'mon.
A Dating Error In Forrest Gump
Even though Forrest Gump is considered one of the greatest movies of all time, it still contains a few mistakes. If you watch carefully when Forrest talks about Jenny's death, he says that she died on a Saturday morning. Then, when he goes an visits her gravestone, the date of death actually turns out to be a Monday!
Clearly, the prop department wasn't communicating enough with the writing department!
Ocean’s Eleven
There are multiple mistakes in the film Ocean’s Eleven, one of which is shown in the screenshot above. For example, when Linus and Rusty are talking in the gardens of the Bellagio, Rusty has a glass with cocktail shrimp in it during the first shot, but when the camera cuts back it’s a plate.
During the third shot, he’s holding a glass again. You'll never be able to unsee this mistake.
Stormtrooper vs. Door Frame
When the stormtroopers are breaking into the control room in Star Wars, one of them is just a little too tall and didn’t quite prepare himself for going through the door frame. He hits his head on the top of the frame. In the new DVD release, instead of cutting it out, they’ve actually added a noise for when he hits his helmet. Way to make the best of a situation!
Stars Wars fans seem to be pretty passionate when it comes to the characters in the film. Either you love stormtroopers or you hate them, but this is pretty funny for both
Pocahontas Isn't True To History
Pocahontas is a lovely animated movie from Walt Disney Studios that portrays Pocahontas as a beautiful young woman who falls in love with the settler John Smith. In reality, Pocahontas was just ten years old when an adult John Smith came to her village.
She never had romantic feelings for John, but she did marry another colonist named John Rolfe. Rolfe kidnapped her, brought her back to England, and changed her name to Rebecca. It's not exactly a fairytale.
Futuristic Bullet Holes In Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction catapulted his career into legend territory. This movie did a lot of things right, but one thing it did wrong has to do with the scene in which Vincent and Jule's pay a visit to Brett. In that scene, one of Brett’s friends comes out of the bathroom and unloads a revolver on the hitmen but fails to hit either of them.
In this photo, however, you can clearly see bullet holes in the wall before the shooter even enters the room.
Terminator’s Troubles
You’ve really got to be paying attention when you’re watching Terminator 3. The plane number changes not once, not twice, but three times! First, it’s N3035C, then it’s N3973F, and then it changes back to N3035C. Someone in the continuity department really dropped the ball on this one.
You'd think that they would try to make sure that they rented out the same airplane every day. While it doesn't change the storyline at all, it makes you think what else slipped through the cracks!
Braveheart
This mistake happens a couple of times throughout the movie of Braveheart, though you have to be really looking hard to realize the goof. In the background, white cars can be seen at two different points in the movie Braveheart.
In this photo, you can see the white cars in the background on the left. The movie was filmed just off an actual street... which apparently wasn't closed off for filming. People probably pulled over to watch the action, too!
10 Things I Hate About You
In this funny mistake, Joey is talking to Bianca in gym class while she’s holding a bow with an arrow and trying to concentrate. She finally gives up and turns to him, letting go and flinging the arrow into the air.
The arrow hits a gym teacher and the students crowd around. One student runs away to get help. Unbeknownst to the helpful student, she’s still in the shot when she stops running and looks behind her, thinking she’s in the clear.
Sparkle and Shine
You all know how the character of Edward Cullen is supposed to glitter and sparkle in the sunlight, right? In the third installment of the Twilight saga, Eclipse, Edward is out with Bella in a sunny field and Edward isn’t sparkling. What?
It was a huge oversight that most people on the crew probably missed as they were ogling over the young stars' romance. Talk about getting distracted on the job. With so many eyes on the film in the creation process, it's odd that it was missed by so many people.
The Case Of The Disappearing Ring
In this continuity mistake, Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show usually wears three rings. However, when he’s playing the saxophone, you can see his hand and that he only has two rings on it. Mysteriously, the pinky finger ring disappears. These type of errors often occur when re-shoots are required a long time after shooting the original scene.
They often need the help of the wardrobe and make-up teams, as well as assistance from the actor, in remembering every last detail.
“Bad Camera Boys”
This is a shameful mistake. In the 1983 movie Bad Boys, one of the camera operators is just squatting and filming where all the action is. They didn't even bother to cut out this huge mistake and it has gone down as one of the biggest Hollywood blunders of all time. How did nobody catch this?
You'd think that the director would have noticed it as it was happening, and called cut. This guy should be given another credit at the end of the film: "Videographer/Oblivious Guy."
When Nature Calls
There are several errors and continuity issues in the 1995 hit movie, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. The scene shown above shows one of the most obvious: at the climax of the movie, when Ace is solving the case, he walks up to the man who hired him, Vincent Cadby.
Ventura then moves one of the chess pieces on the table in front of him. But when the camera cuts back, there are no chess pieces out at all. Knowing Jim Carey, he probably took multiple takes and in one scene, threw all of the pieces on the ground.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
In the second wizarding film installment, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, there is a cameraman clearly visible to the left of the screen in one of the scenes. You’d think they could have at least used an invisibility cloak for him!
He's not even far off to the side, he's pretty much in the crowd of people who are actually supposed to be in the shot. Should have been a hint right there.
Frozen Magic
In the animated film Frozen, Elsa runs away from her home and sister, ready to go somewhere where she can be herself. This mistake happens at the climax of the movie’s incredibly popular song after she tosses her tiara and lets her hair down. Her braided hair is brought right through her shoulder.
You can see the mistake in the above takes. Seeing slip-ups like this in animation is more rare than live film, but they still happen!
Matrix
During the fight between Neo and Agent Smith in the subway station, the section of the cement pillar that is ready for a punch is obviously visible. For all the special effects that went off wonderfully in this movie, a simple prop ended up being one of the most obvious goofs. Oops.
Maybe the prop was ruined in an earlier take and the crew decided to roll with the punches. Hardy-har.
Jurassic Park
This is a great one. Right as the raptor enters the kitchen, a crew member’s hand is seen reaching out to keep the dinosaur steady. Sometimes it's not the special effects created by computers that leave us scratching our head.
In this case, a rather simple animatronic animal that just needed a little help remaining steady until it was ready to enter the scene. How Steven Spielberg, of all people, didn't catch this is beyond us.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is drinking heavily in one scene as he mourns after Marion’s supposed death in Raiders of the Lost Ark. And of course, he’s also hanging out with a monkey for good measure. In the background, you can see a man dressed in modern clothes: jeans and a t-shirt.
Who's this guy? Why was he on the set? Harrison Ford is trying to act here, people. Get out of the shot and take your seat, pal.
Back to the Future
The '80s cult classic film has a rather amusing problem in a scene featuring the odometer in Dr. Emmett Brown’s DeLorean time machine. As Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) uses the car to escape from the Libyans, the odometer reading and trip counter fluctuate wildly.
Clearly it's not hooked up to work properly, but seeing as the DeLorean time machine is the main focus of the film, you would think they would put some extra effort into making it was realistic as possible.
Bambi
In Disney’s animated (and sad) children’s movie Bambi, there’s a scene with a family of raccoons near a lake. One raccoon baby mysteriously appears off to the left, then disappears. The glitch was fixed for the DVD version of the film but you can still see it in VHS editions.
Kids are smarter than you think, and while some might think things like this get by them, parents know you'll always be surprised by what kids pick up on.
Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film about World War II, Inglourious Basterds features a few mistakes. In one scene, a German soldier (who is later brutally killed with a baseball bat) wears a uniform that keeps changing from shot to shot.
Specifically, the insignia over his pocket disappears and reappears in his scenes. That must have been a helluva post-production clipping job to take so many different pieces of different takes. The lesson: Keep it simple.
Alien
The people who find some of these mistakes must have eagle eyes! In 1979’s Alien, character Kane is pictured wearing a fabric cap under his helmet. But after a facehugger attacks him and he’s brought to the sick bay where his helmet is cut off, there’s no cap visible.
There are also other places throughout the movie where the reflections don’t match the scenes they should be showing. Not a huge blunder, but someone caught it!
Jaws
The 1975 blockbuster Jaws left many a movie-goer afraid to enter the water. One of the most intense scenes in the film is when character Quint is being attacked and eaten by the monster shark.
But look closer, and you can see that he’s actually got a pillow under his back, most likely to keep Jaws’ teeth from cutting with him during the fight. We're sure that between the mechanical shark and the water everywhere, this wasn't the most comfortable scene to film!
Reservoir Dogs
Here’s a different Quentin Tarantino film, this time from 1992. In it, there’s a scene where character Marvin Nash is being tortured. In one clip, his hands are cuffed behind his back. In the next, he’s cuffed in front, before yet another cut showing his hands back behind his back.
Either they did two entirely different takes were they decided one position would be better, or someone really slipped up and forgot the hands were tied the other way.
A Fallen Iron In Forrest Gump
Most movies contain more than one blooper or error, and Forrest Gump is no exception. When Forrest goes to visit Jenny (and meet his son), there's an ironing board in the scene. The iron can’t seem to decide whether to sit up or stay down, as it changes positions a couple of times.
Someone on the set must have been moving things around, which is a huge no-no in the film industry.
