Hard Times

Hard Times (1975)

36 continuity mistakes - chronological order

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Continuity mistake: During the bar fight, the balls change position on the billiard table multiple times depending on the camera angle. (00:00:37)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: At the 'champagne breakfast', Lucy asks Chaney how does he "make money." Her purse's handle is up, then down. It happens again in the same scene when Chaney makes the joke about him "feeling better" than the other guy when he is not the one getting KOd. (00:00:42)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Look at Charles Bronson's sideburns in his close-ups on the moving train at the beginning of the beginning of the movie. The hair grows longer when it gets closer to the hat and to the top of his ear. When he hops off the train, his hair appears to have a much closer shave, evened well above the ear. (00:01:35)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: The not-so-friendly waitress tells Chaney he has to pay a nickel for his third refill of coffee. During this bit, the newspaper on the counter keeps changing position between shots; open, folded one way, folded facing the opposite direction. (00:03:45)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When Chuck is taking a beating after failing to corner his opponent, look at the guy in a red tie cheering by them; out of nowhere has a cigarette pops in his mouth, he chews it with a De Niro-esque underbite, and it disappears suddenly at the cut. (00:06:35)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Speed is having oysters after the losing effort with his first combatant. He glances back at his table and spots a smiling Charles Bronson suddenly there. Notice the position of the towel; when he gets back to the table with his refill of mussels a moment later, the towel changed position. (00:08:05)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When Chaney says momentarily goodbye to Speed Weed and Gayleen Schoonover at the New Orleans station, the passengers walking off the train and behind Bronson change with no consistency between shot and reverse angle. (00:12:25)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When Chaney gets his cup of coffee at the diner where he spots Lucy Simpson for the first time, the cup turns on its own between shots, as shown by the position of its handle The cup faces away from him again at the end of the sequence when he decides to go be a manly man and molest her. (00:14:50)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: In a hint to his gambling habits, we see Speed at home marking on the newspaper some of the races. He is wearing a shirt. Cut, and he's sitting in his tank top, the shirt is on the back of the chair. (00:17:00)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Speed is on the balcony when he hears someone ringing downstairs. You can see on the table a packet of smokes and matches. Speed then tosses the newspaper on the table, gets the door, and when he returns to the balcony with Chaney those objects change position. (00:17:05)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: In the fight at the dock where Robert Tessier makes his first appearance, he repeatedly hurts his young opponent letting him hurt his hands punching his bald dome. He parries a kick and knocks the youngster down with a cross. Pay attention to the guys by the donut on the boat; the guy in the mustard coat has his hands on/off the railing between shots. The group of four by that life preserver changes position even more noticeably a few seconds after when Henry gives a proper beating and yells "Somebody help this kid up." (00:21:30)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When Jim Henry mockingly urges the resident samaritans of the dock to 'help the kid up', said kid gets up on his own sporting a bloody lip and nose. Just in that close-up though; he steps in to keep fighting and gets whooped, but his face is clean throughout it. He only gets bloodied again when the dude begins to swing his head at him with the strangest headbutting ever. (00:21:50)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Speed goes fetch his friend Poe in the Pentecostal church, and the two walk down the road of the cemetery. Time certainly passed between takes, as shown by the shadows of the tombs, which change greatly in the length. (00:24:20)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Speed arranges on the phone Chaney's first fight in New Orleans against Mr. Pettibon's man. The people you see walking through the doors of the barbershop never carry over from one shot to the next. (00:30:00)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Chaney and Speed and his girlfriend drive to the country festival where the fight with Pettibon's guy will take place. When they come out of the car, you can see it's exceptionally dusty. Practically covered. However, when they drive away after being effectively robbed of the fight purse, the car is clean - you can spot the contrast looking at the back of the car when they drive away; it's all grimy when the gangsters are laughing them off, and it cuts to a spotless trunk. (00:32:00 - 00:36:00)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Pettibon's fighter tries to cheapshot Chaney at the very beginning, but Chaney has none of it and counters. Cut to a longshot, and you can see that Gayleen who was clinging to Speed's arm is nowhere near, and Speed himself holds the coat and hat in a much different way. (00:33:55)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When Pettibon angrily throws his hat seeing his man got KO'd, the reactions and positions of the people around him change noticeably between shots - look for instance at the lanky aide who walks towards the fallen fighter and how he begins to walk at different times, being in different positions. (00:35:25)

Sammo

Audio problem: The very first punch we see thrown in the movie happens when Spencer 'Speed' Weed 's man, 'Chuck Boy', swings at the opponent. It is a wide shot, and even from that distance you can see a lot of light between the haymaker and the opponent's face, but of course there's a thunderous sound as if the guy got socked hard in the mush. (00:05:45)

Sammo

More mistakes in Hard Times

Speed: Well, you know Chick, like old momma said, next best thing to playing and winning is playing and losing.

More quotes from Hard Times

Trivia: By open admission of one of the original artwork designer Akira "Akiman" Yasuda, the movie (known in Japan as "The Street Fighter") inspired at least 2 of the most iconic backgrounds of the game Street Fighter 2: it is really obvious when you watch the fight between Jim Henry and "the kid", on the docks with a boat in the background much like in Ken 's stage. The cage fight against Henry inspired also Zangief's stage. (00:19:30 - 00:47:50)

Sammo

More trivia for Hard Times

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