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The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) - 19 mistakes

Directed by Anthony Minghella, starring Cate Blanchett, Jude Law, Matt Damon, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman (add more)

Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller

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Factual error: A copy of Miles Davis' album "Tutu" is sitting on a counter. Odd since the recording wasn't made until 1986.

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Continuity: When Marge gets out of the water and climbs the stairs on the sailboat her swimsuit is blue. But when she is on board and we get a close up it is red.

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Visible crew/equipment: When Dickie and Ripley are scootering down a little Italian hillside, you can see the shadow of the whole film crew against the hill.

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Factual error: When Dickie and Ripley go to the first jazzclub together and Dickie and the Italian singer invites Ripley to join them on stage, the microphone they're using is entirely misplaced. That type of microphone wasn't even on the market yet.

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Factual error: In the scene in Venice where Marge is leaving on the boat with Dickie's father, there is a shot from Tom's point of view looking out onto the water. In the distance a modern crane can be seen on the left - something that the director Mingella himself points out on the DVD commentary.

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Continuity: When Freddie is driving the boat, the direction keeps changing from shots to shots. Dickie told him to keep the same direction.

Edit Submitted by Dr Wilson
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Revealing: When Ripley is leaving New York, there is the shot of the ship sailing out of the harbour. Check out the water - one layer has been 'cloned' on top of another.

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Revealing: During the scene on the boat while Ripley is reading the book, Paltrow gets out of the water and walks to where he is leaving a trail of wet footprints. If you notice there is already one set of footprints that have not dried from an earlier take.

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Continuity: During the opera intermission scene, when Tom first meets up with Marge and Peter, Peter's hair is neatly slicked back. In the next shot, his hair is hanging in his face a little. The next time he's shown, his hair is neat once more, and a moment later it's messy again.

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Revealing: In the scene in the club when Jude Law is playing the saxophone, you never actually see his fingers move while he's playing.

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Continuity: When Tom and Dickie enter the jazz club in Naples, Dickie's hat keeps appearing and disappearing from his head. (Within the film this is a matter of continuity and thus a mistake, regardless if there is an explanation on the music video.)

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Factual error: The scene where they are in the cockpit of the sailboat shows StayLock rigging, which was not invented until the 80s.

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Factual error: The ship on which Tom sails from Venice to Athens is shown from above at sunset. The sun is to the front left of the ship. That means that the ship must have been sailing West, which is hard (and weird) to do on that route.

Edit Submitted by Jacob La Cour
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Visible crew/equipment: When Dickie, Tom and Marge are coming out of a hotel via some glass doors, the cameraman is visible when it closes.

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Continuity: A far ways into the film, when Gweneth Paltrow is leaving on the boat, Matt Damon is standing on the dock watching her leave. At one point, it cuts to a far shot showing him pulling his hair back with his hand, but then it shows a shot from behind, and his hands are down at his sides. It's not very likely he could move his hands that fast.

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Continuity: In the scene where Tom is analysing Dickie's handwriting, Tom is smoking a cigarette and is shown taking a puff. The camera suddenly cuts to behind Tom's head where he has moved his arm & the cigarette - there is not enough time for him to do so.

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Revealing: The letter which is typed on the Olivetti portable typewriter (certainly an accurate model for this period) is obviously a modern laser-printed letter, not from a manual typewriter.

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Factual error: The opening scene is shot on a rooftop on Central Park West in New York City. The movie takes place in the 40s or 50s, but there are several modern buildings in the background.

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Continuity: When Sylvana's body is found during the "Festival of the Madonna," her body floats up on its stomach; there are no waves and she is in fact dead, so how then does her body get from her floating on its stomach to floating on its back in one shot?

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