Sleepless in Seattle (1993) - 12 mistakes

Visible crew/equipment: In one shot when Annie and Walter are speaking in front of a shop window, you can see the cameraman's reflection. You even see him pivot his torso to follow the actors as they walk offscreen.

Continuity: As Annie walks toward Sam and Jonah she is holding Howard the bear and Jonah's backpack. Annie returns only the bear to Jonah; as the trio walks to the elevator Jonah is seen carrying both the backpack and the bear. (There wasn't enough time lapse between shots for the backpack to be handed over, either.)

Revealing: In the final scene when Annie and Sam are exiting the observation deck coming towards the elevators, the New York skyline backdrop which should be visible behind them has already been taken down and the entire sound stage wall can be seen beyond the observation deck safety railings.

Continuity: In the dinner scene, when Sam is discussing the topic of movies with Suzy, notice the drink glasses. The amount of wine in the glasses change several times throughout the scene.

Continuity: When Jonah and Sam are seeing Victoria off at the airport, where does she go? During the scene other people are moving towards and around the door that Victoria seems pointed towards; however, in the shot that immediately follows her departure the doors are opened by the flight crew and passengers (including Annie) disembark.

Plot hole: When it's learned that Jonah has taken a flight to New York by himself, the panicked adults never think to contact United Airline, the New York Police Department, Port Authorities, Airport Security, or the Empire State Building staff to alert them that an unaccompanied minor child is heading their way. Instead, Sam hops on the next flight to NYC to find Jonah by himself. Considering the long hours Jonah waits on the Empire observation deck alone, it is apparent that none of the above knew he was there.

Factual error: Sam and Jonah go by boat from their houseboat on Lake Union to Alki Beach in West Seattle. Annie follows in her rental car, watching them from the vehicle 'the entire way.' This is impossible. To get from their houseboat by boat to Alki Beach (near where I live) involves going over the lake, through the Ballard locks, and across Elliot Bay (Puget Sound). The only road into West Seattle and to Alki Beach from the city does not follow their water route, and it is further south and goes over a high bridge - all far from the lake and too far away for her to be able to see them on the water. The boat ride to the beach would also take about an hour with the wait at the locks, although they appear to reach it much sooner.

Factual error: Jonah points to the LP record and tells Sam, "Paul is dead," can be heard when the record is played backwards. He is not holding a Beatles' record, however, as can be seen from the album's label.

Factual error: The Empire State Building observation deck closes at 12:00am, last elevator at 11:15pm. I know it took time in NYC for Meg Ryan to make it to the Empire State Building, but I really don't beleive that she got there that late to where she had to beg to go up.

Revealing: Meg Ryan listens to the radio broadcast while driving her car down a highway at night. In the head-on shots of her, you should be able to see in her windshield the reflections of the streetlights as her car passes under them.

Continuity: The bearded man sitting next to Jonah, on the flight to New York, is also seen sitting two seats away from Sam when he flies to New York chasing Jonah. The same guy is on two different planes at the same time.

Factual error: While Meg Ryan is typing her letter to "Sleepless and Son," Rosie is sitting on the couch watching "An Affair to Remember." Any true fan of AAtR can easily notice that the editing of AAtR has obviously been tainted by the director of Sleepless - the scene with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant leaning on the railing of the boat takes place towards the beginning of the movie, with the scene of them looking up at the Statue of Liberty taking about 4 days later. However, in Sleepless, the scenes shown of the continuously moving AAtR "movie" on Meg's TV are incorrect - the scene with Kerr and Grant leaning on the railing starts the sequence, it then jumps WAY ahead to them staring up at the Statue of Liberty (which then would have been about 4 days later), and ends with them standing at the railing of the boat again (4 days before).