Even though movies go through successive phases of editing before being distributed to the public, there appear to be glaring errors in practically any motion picture. However, if you don't spot every single inconsistency, some blunders are unmistakable and when we know what and how to look for them, we will never be able to forget them. Here are some movie flaws you won't believe you didn't catch before. Ranging from camera crews caught on video to timeframes that don't seem to add up at all. We bet what you are about to read is going to make you laugh.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
It is not just McMurphy and Martini's fight over the ball, in one of the basketball scenes in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, that is memorable. But you can see the crew and several spotlights just behind the chainlink fence during the scene, which almost seems deliberate as to how visible it is! They practically made almost no effort at all to hide them. A huge error in production.
What is mindblowing is that this gets processed through editing as well as spot checks for errors and an error this hectic made it through to the final finished product. But still a great film.
Bernie
Although it is not a huge error in production. Bernie, a 2011 biographical black comedy, directed by Richard Linklater, is based on the 1996 murder of wealthy Marjorie Nugent in Carthage, Texas. Whereas the majority of the plot is based on historical events, one aspect of the film that is incorrect is the use of iPhones throughout the film, given that the first iPhone had not been introduced until 2007.
If you aren't a complete tech enthusiast, it's easy to see why this mistake is often looked over. Tech enthusiast or not, it is a noticeable error on the timeline it’s based on.
Ocean's Eleven
The following movie contains a small error in continuity whereas, Rusty, played by Brad Pitt, is seen outside of the Bellagio drinking a shrimp cocktail in the film Ocean's Eleven. At one point, the perspective shifts, and Rusty is suddenly eating prawns off a plate. It's a simple error but it is hardly noticeable. Maybe he had enough of the shrimp cocktail and started to feel a little bit peckish.
We know if we had ten or eleven takes of a scene of us drinking a cocktail, we would eventually get sick of it. Maybe he just had enough of it.
John Wick
In the iconic movie John Wick, the main character, Wick is shown in a scene pumping his fuel and is greeted by three Russian men wanting to buy his antique Mustang. The laws of New Jersey, the area in which the gas station is depicted, laws do not allow a person to pump their gas. Therefore this scene is inaccurate and it should have been edited otherwise. It's simple law but is avoidable.
Simple and benign errors like this don't receive terrible reviews since they don't draw a lot of negative attention, but it's a fairly minor flaw in an otherwise fantastic film.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
A tiny error on the time it was based on, the Cohen brothers' criminal comedy “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” is set in 1937 and it was released in 2000. A lit exit sign from the present day is prominently shown in one scene set in a movie theater. Not so much of a blaring and head-turning error. It is a mistakenly small error that not much attention was paid to.
Another simple error that is not all that noticeable but could have easily been avoided with a bit of attention... All those movie experts can be tough crowds to please.
Harry Potter
When Severus Snape is on his deathbed and informs Harry that he has his mother's eyes, it is among the most unforgettable scenes in the Harry Potter series. However, his mother has brown eyes and Harry has blue eyes which do not add up as they are completely two different colors of eyes. This scene will be remembered since this will be the first time Snape discloses his deepest motivations and weaknesses.
This is a noticeable error as it was a really important and iconic scene. Why they added that line in the movie and not chosen something more accurate is unknown.
The Shining
The award-winning and terrifying film, The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick, takes place in a remote hotel, the facades of which have been first shown in the opening scene. The hedge labyrinth, which later mysteriously appears right next to the hotel and plays a key role in the film's storyline, is conspicuously absent in this first image. Another continuity error plays a key role in the structure of the film.
Continuity and also attention to prop placement seem to be a reoccurring issue in most movies. Understandably, something could slip past the editors, but this is a major error that they seemed to miss.
Spider-Man
In the iconic and award-winning movie Spider-Man, the one from 2002, there is a scene at the beginning of the film where Peter Parker is starting to learn his abilities and unintentionally destroys a light in his room while trying them out. When his aunt enters to check what's making all the commotion. Hilariously, the lamp has mysteriously repaired itself and is back where it belongs as if nothing had happened.
We remember picking up on this when it came out and it was quite apparent in the film. We’re not sure if this was deliberate or a continuity mistake but it attracted some eyes.
Jurassic Park
All Jurassic Park fans will recall the moment in which huge velociraptors chase Lex and Tim Murphy through the kitchen in Steven Spielberg's flick. Nevertheless, most people likely missed the fact that while the first dinosaur goes through the kitchen door, you can see one of the crew members' hands hanging onto the beast to keep it upright for a short moment. Quite apparent, and an eyesore for most directors.
An iconic scene with a major flaw in visual attention. But the movie brought in millions of viewers, and most of them didn't even pick up on the error in that scene!
Star Wars
This is quite the viral movie blooper shown in hundreds if not thousands of youtube videos which made everyone laugh. The field of view must not have been too great in those storm troopers' helmets because they didn't seem to see the oncoming ledge that almost knocked one of them out. It is extremely entertaining to watch this over and over. It has millions of views on some youtube videos.
Making thousands if not millions laugh, and those same millions are addicted to the franchise and its offerings in entertainment. That actor sure has a good story to tell at the local pub.
Back To The Future
Marty McFly joyously reunites his parents at the prom at the end of Back to the Future, and the youngster takes the stage and nails it on the guitar. Even though the film's whole premise is that Marty is from the future, the Gibson ES345 guitar he played at his parents' prom in 1955 wasn't released until 1958, which doesn't seem to fit the storyline and timeline of the film.
Gibson is an iconic guitar manufacturer and anyone that is remotely in the music business will easily spot out this minor timeline error. A simple mistake that is easily avoided.
Clueless
After striking parked automobiles and damaging her side-view mirror during her driver's test in Clueless, the character Cher Horowitz is dubbed "simply a virgin who can't drive." However, when she comes to a complete stop to complete her failed test, you can see that her previously missing mirror has returned in perfect condition. With this being a well-produced movie, it's hard to believe a small mishap like this was overlooked.
This is quite a huge continuity error. Simply put, it’s really easy to miss, but this needs some more attention to detail as it is an important scene in the movie.
Dallas Buyers Club
Also another completely amazing movie in all aspects. Surprisingly, something like this was missed in post-production editing. Although the film Dallas Buyers Club, released on the 28th of February 2014, is set in the 1980s, the main character Ron Woodroof (played by Matthew McConaughey) has a picture of a Lamborghini Aventador hanging on the wall behind his desk. That specific model of car was not produced until the early months of 2011.
There is quite a large gap between when the movie was based, as well as when the car was released. It’s a small background prop and it slipped through the editor's hands with ease.
Grease
Grease, an amazing musical-themed movie, which debuted in 1978, is still one of the most well-known movies of all time, especially during the 1980s to the 1990’s era. Even die-hard fans of the original film may not understand that in one of the milkshake store scenes, a waitress tries to turn off the lights with her elbow and utterly misses. Despite this, the lights magically switch off despite the obvious miss.
Almost every single movie has small and benign errors like these. Mistakes like these seem very common especially in large productions like this with a lot of moving extras around the scene.
American Sniper
This ludicrous blunder was widely picked up on by critics and moviegoers alike, and Cooper subsequently joked about it on Ellen, stating that he "couldn't believe we were dealing with a fake baby." Bradley, neither could anyone else. In the film, Bradley Cooper's character is meant to be holding a live infant, but because the "living" baby is a doll, he uses his thumb to move its arm and give it life.
A Lot of props nowadays are quite realistic and so was this one. The error came in the actions of the actor that was in this scene. It made it obvious.
The Goonies
Oftentimes audiences aren't made aware of the intentions and planned scenes to capture an authentic reaction. One of the youngsters tells a reporter at the end of 1985's, The Goonies that the scariest aspect of his crazy trip is "the octopus". The only problem with this response is that the octopus scene was cut from the original film, so audiences were more than likely unaware of what he was referring to.
But for a movie like this one, we will give it a pass. It's been 36 years after the movie came out and fans all over the world still can't stop talking about it.
Spotlight
The movie Spotlight investigates a shocking molestation claim made against a priest. Rachel McAdams' character Sacha sits in a coffee shop with one of the priest's victims to gather his account for the inquiry, scribbling down notes as they speak. What doesn't match up is that, even though Rachel/Sacha continues to take notes throughout the scenario, she manages to misplace them as the drama develops, with no consistency in the notebook.
The successful Oscar-nominated movie had grossed over an astounding 98 million dollars. They paid attention to detail and they did a great job in production despite this minor error that is barely noticeable.
Inglourious Bastrrds
Throughout the movie Inglourious Basterds, some scenes showed German Sergeant Werner Rachtman with the badge on his left pocket and then in others with the badge on his right side. Considering that this is a continuity error, the dressing of the actor should have been done as accurately as possible to avoid these major errors. Continuity in clothing is an important role in movies and this was a simple mistake.
Even though these errors were completely missed, the sheer realism and attention to detail were pretty much on point throughout the movie. An amazing movie nonetheless with great actors playing great roles.
Braveheart
Mel Gibson's character, William Wallace is pelted with food as he is taken to his death in Braveheart, and many of the crumbs adhere to his hair and face. Wallace, on the other hand, is suddenly totally clean, with not a scrap of food on him when he is ready to be executed just minutes later. Of course, it is not nice to be completely covered in food but you are making a movie!
We could just imagine how uncomfortable this probably made him feel while being in that specific scene. He must have felt extremely disgusted while having to act through all of that.
The Dark Knight Rises
Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman in this movie, is shown reading a newspaper item about a "cat" burglar wreaking havoc on the city at the start of The Dark Knight Rises. The only issue? The Gotham Times doesn't appear to know how to spell the word “Heist” on the newspaper shown in the scene. This grabbed a lot of eyes as this is where the viewer's attention was shifted during that scene.
Attention to spelling is crucial in situations like these, and most definitely in this scene, as you, the viewer read what the newspaper says. This was a major slip-up in production.
Forrest Gump
In another iconic movie, Forrest Gump does a lot of insane and unbelievable things, but buying into Apple in 1975 is arguably the wildest. Why? Well because Apple didn't go public until 1980, there's no way he and anybody else could have acquired shares in the firm at the time depicted. This was a small timeline error and not much attention was drawn to this specific scene in the movie.
The popular movie that outperformed projections and had an insane domestic Box Office gross record. It really is a memorable movie to watch so it's forgivable that there are errors like these.
Bad Boys
In the action extravaganza movie, Bad Boys, in the background, you can very clearly see one of the cameramen filming the fight close up. There was absolutely no effort to reshoot the scene and we don't even know if it was considered. But this couldn't be more obvious as the cameraman in the background occupies quite a bit of your screen. Whether the post-production editing crew was asleep is unknown.
If this was deliberate, well done for drawing attention to it but there is absolutely no way to not see this obvious mistake. This is an absolute blunder in our opinion.
The Hurt Locker
Two soldiers are overheard discussing an Iraqi who is planning to post a video to YouTube in one of The Hurt Locker's sequences. However, because the film is set in 2004, the troops should be unaware of what YouTube is, as the video site did not exist until 2005. Another minor timeline error as the website was released just a year later, but this is nonetheless a mistake in inaccuracy.
Amazing roles played by William James, Owen Eldridge, and JT Sanborn in this great movie. Journalist Mark Boal based his book The Hurt Locker on his experiences as a member of an Iraqi bomb squad.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Another not-so-obvious error was slipped into a scene. Rocking a cowboy hat and dark sunglasses, one of the Pirates of the Caribbean crew members unintentionally made it into the closing sequence of the first film, forever giving the famous ship, Black Pearl a touch of Southern flair as if it is part of the genre as well as the style of dressing on pirate ships. Maybe an intentional slip-up or minor addition?
A fun fact about this mistake is that it was noticed during the editing process. The producers decided to keep in the movie since it was just a second and would have taken a big sum out of an already tight budget.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Even though numerous movies use planes taking off and landing to signal a character's arrival or change of location, The Usual Suspects did it uniquely. The movie's airplane has four Boeing 747 engines as it takes off, but in the next scene, the same plane has just two engines. Which may baffle airplane fanatics. But to the average viewer that doesn't have extensive airplane knowledge and isn't paying attention, not so much.
Although this is quite a hard scene to follow continuity guidelines as they don't have Boeings just lying around for them to shoot scenes with. It is mostly unnoticeable to the eye.
The Wizard of Oz
One of the main characters, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz is famous for a variety of things, the most famous of which is her ruby red shoes. During the scene in the movie where Alice and Scarecrow struggle with the apple trees, her well-known signature slippers become black for a brief moment before quickly reverting to red as Scarecrow falls in the scene. A quick change of outfit mid-scene.
With your attention being taken elsewhere, this change in slipper color is almost unnoticeable. Alice either found the shoes uncomfortable or she was trying to spruce things up a bit with black being her choice.
Pulp Fiction
Even Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction that is hailed as one of the finest movies of the twentieth century, is not without flaws. Take, for example, the classic adrenaline shot scene. The characters make a great fuss about marking Mia's chest with a red marker at the start of the frantic scene. But as the scene progresses further on the mark is miraculously gone by the time Uma Thurman's character is "awakened" from her overdose.
Still popular today, this movie was an absolute hit throughout the ’90s and 2000’s. And winning over 10 awards, this movie deserves a round of applause besides the small errors.
Transformers
In the most recent edition of the Transformers franchise, a mysterious guy emerges behind Mark Walhberg during one of the many explosive clashes and then vanishes! The only logical explanation we can find for this error is that it's probably a stunt guy who was supposed to chirograph an explosion and accidentally got into a scene. And that's ok, but how did they not see that in the editing room!?
An appearance like this makes us wonder what other mistakes this editing crew made on other movies that they worked on... Perhaps they are responsible for all of the movies on this list.
Quantum Of Solace
This one is quite a humorous error if you ask us. If you take a close look at this still from Quantum of Solace. Behind Daniel Craig, you'll see that a maintenance worker who should be cleaning the ground is miming sweeping gestures in the air. It's natural not to want dust clouds in the image, but how the filmmaker Marc Forster believed no one would notice is beyond us.
Practicing his miming or honing down on his future dancing skills with a domesticated approach, this one sure would make you laugh. It is hilarious to watch, we at least found it funny...
Titanic
This whole timeline error based on when the movie is set seems to be more of a trend as it is so common in movies based quite a few years back. As in the following movie, Leonardo DiCaprio's character, Jack Dawson, mentions Lake Wissota, a man-made lake in Wisconsin, at one point in the film Titanic. The problem is that the lake wasn't created until 1917, yet the picture is set in 1912.
Once again unless you have all the information on the quick recall, you won't realize that they made a mistake in this scene. It’s very subtle and not that noticeable.
Avatar
The iconic movie Avatar, released in 2009, was an absolute box office hit. In one of the scenes, there is no trace of the wheelchair when Jake opens the capsule. It emerges out of thin air next to him a split second later. We never knew that besides changing into a completely new character when using the capsule, magical powers to summon objects came as one of the added perks.
Magician or not, this scene may confuse a few of the viewers if they caught along with it. We sure wish that we could get our hands on one of those bad boys.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Arnold Schwarzenegger AKA The Terminator is capable of a lot of things. Early in Terminator 2, he uses his own "body" to protect John Connor from the T-1000's gunfire, getting a whole cartridge in his back. His clothing is riddled with bullets. But, after a few seconds, it appears as good as new. We knew he was practically invincible but we had no idea of his impressively quick sewing skills!
So next time you see Arnie on TV remember he is not just a big metal machine. He is a domestic robot capable of performing different house tasks. Like sewing.
Thor
All in all the movie Thor is pretty well put together. But this mistake must have just slipped past the editors and made it to the final cut of the movie. The bumper of one car is magically restored to excellent condition during the scene in which Thor smashes everything around him. Thor is a human tank, well a god even, that can withstand and destroy everything, everything but that car's bumper.
Whatever that car manufacturer is making those seemingly indestructible bumpers out of, we hope they start making self-fixing phones. That would be the next biggest hit in the tech scene.
Alien
The movie Alien, released in 1979, is an amazingly scary and entertaining movie that is a classic. But it has one quite visible mistake. When the crew discovers the alien ship, we observe Kane sporting a unique headgear inside his spacesuit. When we see him later in the hospital, the helmet of his suit has been removed, revealing the alien thing connected to his face but his cap has vanished!
Magicians have once again made it back onto our screens with yet another disappearing act with the above-mentioned mishap. We sure are amazed as to what the actors may or may not have up their sleeve.
Gladiator
The movie Gladiator released in the year 2000 holds quite the collection of errors itself. Some of them are much more visible than others. One of the major visible errors being that it shows that the ancient Romans had gas canisters in their chariots. And another boasting an advanced shift in technological times showing that there are airplanes visible in the movie that we are sure that they did not exist in that era.
How that made it through the hands of the editors as well as the producer, which should have some knowledge as to what existed back in those days, confuses us.