Best war movie continuity mistakes of all time

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No Man's Land picture

Continuity mistake: After Ciki gets out of the trench to get a lighter from his pal's bag he lights a cigarette while he is still squatting outside the trench. In the next shot you hear the lighter snap shut, and Ciki is leaning against the wall of the trench. (00:12:30)

NancyFelix

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Flying Tigers picture

Continuity mistake: When Woody has the landing gear lowered on the burning airliner, only the right main gear comes down. When Pappy warns him that the other gear isn't down, he pulls up and goes around. As the camera pans over the plane, it shows the left gear down, and the right up. Then when Woody retracts the gear, once again the right one is down.

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The Four Feathers picture

Continuity mistake: When Harry's guide is captured by the British troops, they flog him. In the very next scene his back shows no evidence of him ever being whipped.

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Michael Collins picture Michael Collins mistake picture

Continuity mistake: Early in the film, Michael talks to Harry Boland on a boat. During this scene, a cigarette appears in Boland's mouth that was not in the previous shot. (00:40:40)

Cubs Fan

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Cold Mountain picture

Continuity mistake: Inman is watching Ada through her window while there is a party going on. When there is a shot of Inman's face, you can see a reflection in the window of Ada putting her hand on her father's shoulder. Then it cuts to Ada's father who is standing alone.

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The Hill picture

Continuity mistake: When they are all lined up for their medical inspection at the beginning of the film, the sun is coming up behind the hut casting a shadow in the front. When the Sargeant Major is then shown shouting from the hut, "I want this one (Bartlet) scrubbed with a yard broom." You can now see by the shadows that the sun is shinning directly at the hut. This would be impossible as there is only a few seconds between shots for this change to happen.

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Empire of the Sun picture

Continuity mistake: When James is eating at home alone, he flips his spoon into his water glass. In some shots it's leaning against the right side of the glass, and in other shots it's against the left side.

Krista

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Das Boot picture

Continuity mistake: At the end of the first attack by the destroyer - where she misses the U-boat and throws her bombs further away - the boatswain makes 22, then 23 strokes on the slate of the Control Centre,thus counting the number of depth charges used against the boat. A few seconds later, in a shot from another angle, with the slate in full view, we see only 22 strokes. (01:03:30)

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Darling Lili picture

Continuity mistake: In one scene when Hudson and Andrews enter the vestibule of her house, Rock can clearly be seen to have "mutton chop" sideburns. However, once inside the house, they're gone. When he goes back outside, they're back.

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The Dirty Dozen picture

Continuity mistake: When Charles Bronson steps out on the balcony of the nazi villa a second time (after having to hide), he drops his rope (to get on the roof), and when we see him from another angle, he drops it again.

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The Final Countdown picture The Final Countdown mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Lasky heads toward the conning tower, an A-7 Corsair is shown at left (and the helicopter nose has a number "3" on it). As he is led inside the tower, the camera pans up, and now the Corsair is gone, replaced by an E-2 Hawkeye (and the number "3" on the heli is gone, too). (00:06:45)

johnrosa

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Cromwell picture

Continuity mistake: At the battle of Edgehill when Crowell's cavalry and Prince Rupert's cavalry are in the middle of a melee and you can see a wound on Crowell's left arm, the same wound he receives at Naseby. It is clear that the scene was meant to be used for the battle of Naseby but was cut and used at Edgehill.

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Zombie Lake picture

Continuity mistake: When Katya and the Mayor enter his study and sit down, in one shot Katya puts her hand up to under her mouth. In the next closeup it is down. (00:18:50)

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1941 picture

Continuity mistake: As the two look-outs get on the big wheel the thin guy with the ventriloquist's dummy sits on the right. But later in the film he is on the left.

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Hero picture

Continuity mistake: In the third rendition of the story of what happened at Zhao, Nameless shows that his attack could have immense precision by throwing all the additional sticks in the air along with the white one. Not only does the white stick change trajectory during the scene changes, but at the end the additional sticks all seem to fly in from a barrel just out of sight instead of falling all around Nameless' sword.

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Legionnaire picture

Continuity mistake: During the ambush at the waterhole, the Arabs steal the Legionnaires' supplies by leading away the donkeys upon which the supplies were mounted. Why didn't the Legionnaires shoot the donkeys? Without them to carry the supplies the Arabs wouldn't have been able to take all before they withdrew.

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Hanover Street picture

Continuity mistake: When Halloran sets the barn on fire to distract the Germans he lights up some straw with a match. All of a sudden you see flames flickering up at various places which could not be caused by the fire he made. (01:32:45)

NancyFelix

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Mister Roberts picture

Continuity mistake: In the scene where the Reluctant is in the port of Elysium and the men are on shore leave, a truck load of MPs show up. Ttheir patrol leader tells Mr. Roberts that his men will be stationed along the starboard side of Mr. Roberts ship for the remainder of its stay in port because of the problems various members of the ship had been causing while on shore leave. No sooner do the MPs line up along the side of the ship do you see one of the ships crew flying down the dock on a motorcycle. When the motorcycle passes the ship the MPs who just 10 seconds before were lined up along the ships starboard side are now nowhere to be seen.

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Valiant picture

Continuity mistake: When Valiant flies down the gun barrel, he takes off his backpack and helmet, and he lays them down in the barrel before squeezing through the back of the gun. When he comes back out through the gun with the other birds, the backpack and helmet are not there.

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