Black Hawk Down (2001) - 50 mistakes

Factual error: In the first 15 minutes of the movie, a Delta Force operative is seen wearing a pair of Oakley X-Metal Juliets. The events portrayed in the movie took place in 1993. Oakley didn't make the Juliets until 1999.

Continuity: When Mr. Atto offers the General a cigar, the cigars in his cigar holder switch places.

Deliberate "mistake": When Blackburn reports for duty, he is asked his "Serial Number" and reels off some 7 digit number. However, in '93 and earlier, the Army was already using the Social Security Number (9 digits) for your Service Number (it's not called a Serial Number).

Revealing: At the shooting range just after Blackburn has reported to duty, a Humvee pulls up and the barrel of the .50 on top is wobbling - it's a rubber prop.

Continuity: When the original leader for Chalk Four runs and sits down in front of the TV back at the base to watch the Steve Martin movie, the Jerk, he has a remote control in his right hand. As he has his seizure and falls with the remote control in his hand, subsequent scenes show it is not in his hand, then it is.

Factual error: In the first few scenes of the movie, Muslims are shown praying towards the east, proven by the sunrise they are facing. But the holy city of Mecca would be to the north, northwest of Somalia, not to the east as it is from in North America.

Factual error: The scene where a soldier is calling to his wife and the machine answers is impossible, because there is a time difference of about 9 or 10 hours between Somalia and USA, it should be dark and everybody sleeping.

Factual error: The Somali on the cell phone phoning the militia was not possible. US army intelligence was jamming all non US radio and cell phone signals. This information is taken from the "Blackhawk Down" book.

Continuity: When all units are heading into town, there is a shot from the roadside of the convoy heading in. The camera cuts to the Black Hawks and all the gunners in the Hummvee's have changed position instantly.

Visible crew/equipment: Near the beginning as the helicopters fly in formation to invade Mogadishu, you can see the tail control surface of the film helicopter providing the shot for said scene.

Continuity: When the soldiers first go into the town in the helicopters, one of the helicopters lands on a roof. The camera cuts away for a split second, but when it comes back to the helicopter that landed on the roof, the blades have stopped moving completely within that one second.

Continuity: When they call for a stretcher for Blackburn, the stretcher is half folded up. The camera cuts and it is now fully open.

Continuity: When the Hummvee's are heading back to base with the casualty, there is one shot of an RPG missing the convoy and hitting a person. It is obvious that this person is substituted for a dummy.

Factual error: The first downed Blackhawk exhibits miraculous rotor behavior as it comes to earth. It does a slow roll onto its left side, and the main rotor continues to rotate. The blades are seen straight and undamaged, as if they are passing through the earth beneath the chopper without touching anything, and each emerges full length and straight to go around again and again. This is most obvious in the shot from inside a corner building when looking directly at the top of the chopper's rotor hub.

Continuity: In the scene where the 3 Humvee column is making there way back to the base with the injured Blackburn, Dominick Pilla is killed whilst operating the .50 cal. Shortly after, Eric Bana (Hoot) takes over the gun and begins to return fire on Somalis on the rooftops. In the first shots of him shooting, he is wearing gloves. However in the next shot of his hands on the weapon, they are bare with no gloves.

Visible crew/equipment: In the scene where the armored convoy jeeps fire at the roofs as the they drive down the street, when they show the two kids firing guns then getting shot down, look to the right at the pile of rocks that "explode" and you can see the wire used to knock them out of place.

Other: In one scene a pair of soldiers cut off from the main body of troops are trying to link up with some of their comrades. When the camera zooms in for a close-up of the soldier carrying an M-60 machine gun, the weapon appears to be loaded with a belt of blank rounds.

Continuity: When Chalk 4 are walking up to the crash and about 50 Somalians are walking parallel east of them and they get shot at with a RPG, the wall that gets hit has no mark on it.

Visible crew/equipment: After the first black Hawk has crashed, a lone US soldier guarding the wreckage comes under attack by Somalis with RPGs. In a side shot of one of the missiles flying past the wreck, you can see a wire in the air along the trajectory.

Continuity: When Dan Busch, one of the Delta operators on board Super Six One, is defending himself after the crash he has no goggles over his helmet. Then on longer shots he has goggles over his helmet, then there are a couple more cuts to close shots of him where he again does not have the goggles.