20 Mistakes in mainstream movies filmmakers missed
Hundreds of people work on big-budget movies and it's expected that those people are thorough enough to make sure that nothing gets through during filming that would be considered a mistake or a blunder. Admittedly, it does take a very careful eye and someone paying very close attention to catch mistakes. So, alas, things get missed.
Here are the most ridiculous errors that made it through to the big screen. (Warning: These may affect the way you watch these movies… forever.)
The Fellowship Of The Ring And A Modern Car
This 2001 fantasy classic directed by Peter Jackson shows a modern car driving by in a cornfield. Look at the top right corner of the video and you’ll see it, with a trail of dust following behind. Frodo and Sam are having a discussion in the foreground of the shot.
Whoever was on a casual drive through the countryside that day has no idea that they're in the popular film. Or that they reuined the vibe of the scene for everyone.
Pocahontas Is Not Historically Accurate
When John Smith meets Pocahontas in the Disney version of the early American story, it’s portrayed as a beautiful love story. However, there are quite a few mistakes that affect the whole retelling. For example, in real life, Pocahontas was only about 10 years old when she met John Smith.
There was never a whirlwind romance between the colonist and free-spirited Native American, though she did marry a colonist named John Rolfe. But that wasn’t a romantic affair, either. She was actually kidnapped and brought back to live with Rolfe, who changed her name to Rebecca.
Terminator 3 And An Airplane That Changes Numbers
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!
Rocky Horror Picture Show Goes From 3 To 2 Rings
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.
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
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 10 Things I Hate About You Extra Thought She Was Out Of The Frame
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.
Edward Isn't Sparkling In Eclipse
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.
Wonder Woman's Armpits
Some fans became enraged after seeing the trailer for the 2017 Wonder Woman film, specifically for how leading actor Gal Gadot's armpits looked. Warner Bros. was accused of putting aesthetics ahead of feminism when the superhero was seen with bare underarms.
"It's really hard to believe that Wonder Woman, who has been on an island filled with strong women her entire life, is worried about waxing and then bleaching her pits," read a Refinery29 review. Making matters worse is the fact that the stubble cover-up was such a bad and obvious Photoshop job.
Ocean’s Eleven -- A Glass To A Plate Of Shrimp
There are multiple mistakes in the film Ocean’s Eleven, however, some stand out more than others.
For example, one of the most obvious is 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.
“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."
Braveheart Has A Few Modern Cars Throughout The Film
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.
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! This could have easily been prevented!
Bullet Holes Appear Before The Hitman In Pulp Fiction
After hitmen Vincent and Jules kill Brett, 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 scene, you can see the bullet holes that prompt Jules’s spiritual awakening before the shooter even enters the room.
Apparently, there are no bounds to space and time when divine intervention is involved. Now we all know that this wasn't the first take!
Dates Don't Add Up In Forrest Gump
One of the most iconic films of the 1990s, the Robert Zemeckis-directed Forrest Gump received rave reviews and has won many awards. But that doesn’t make it exempt from the blooper club. In one scene, Jenny shows Forrest a newspaper clipping from September 1982.
However, Jenny’s gravestone clearly indicates that she died earlier that year, on March 22. This detail had die-hard fans pretty upset and it isn't the only flub in the film.
When Nature Calls And A Chess Piece Vanishes
There are several errors and continuity issues in the 1995 hit movie, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. One scene shown is 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.
An Extra Prematurally Covering His Ears In 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 a scene when a boy at a table prematurely covers his ears. It's bad when the extra ruins the shot! He should be kicked out... you had one job.
Elsa's Hair Goes Right Through Her Shoulder In Frozen
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 it if you watch closely during the movie, and seeing slip-ups like this in animation is rarer than in live film, but they still happen!
The Matrix Had a Prop Issue
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.
A Gas Cylinder In Gladiator
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.
A Futuristic Baseball Card In The Goonies
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.
Devin Duke
