The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) - 20 mistakes

Factual error: The imprisoned Count is crawling through a tunnel with his neighbour prisoner leading the way. His neighbour prisoner has a lit candle showing the way, but when he breathes out, the candle goes out but the 'light' remains. You can clearly see smoke rising from the candle before the scene cuts away.

Revealing: In the scene at Fernand's house where Edmond discovers that Fernand betrayed him and the two engage in a swordfight, Edmond falls backwards over a chair or ottoman. The camera follows Edmond, but Fernand is still in the shot enough for the audience to see him drop his sword and quickly scramble to retrieve it.

Continuity: In the scene where Edmond is running from Fernand, he knocks over a bust. In the next shot of the floor, the shattered pieces are gone, but the unbroken head is still on the floor.

Continuity: That must be some damn good string that Mercedes wraps around her finger - 16 years and it's not even dirty or frayed.

Visible crew/equipment: Very near the end, when they are doing a pan-out of the deserted building, there are three of the five characters standing in plain view. The other two are in the building, one is helping the other cope with a wound. When they do the pan-out, look through the bottom right "window hole." There is someone standing there, and it can't be any of the five people mentioned.

Other: In the climactic fight scene, Dantes and Fernand are fighting in a vast wheat field. The wheat changes periodically from new ( green ) to mature ( harvest-ready beige.).

Other: During the final scene on the cliffs of Chateau d'If, the Count, Mercedes, and Albert are standing on the edge of the cliffs and you can clearly see aeroplane contrails cutting through one of the clouds. When they cut back to the sky, they are gone.

Revealing: About seven seconds after Mercedes screams, "No!" at the climax of the movie, there is a shot of all the characters involved in that scene. If you look out the door you can see a white car drive by.

Continuity: In the scene where Mercedes confronts Edmond for the second time and he finally admits who he is, she makes a point of showing him the string still tied to her ring finger. Two scenes later, it is also visible when she is still asleep in bed. However, in the scene after she has been shot and everyone is tending to her, her left hand is shown several times and there is no string. Considering her statement that it would, "never leave my finger," and her later reiteration of that in addition to, "and it never has," for the 16 years she was separated from Edmond, it is strange that it has suddenly disappeared.

Factual error: When Edmund Dantes is promoted to Captain, we clearly see a brass diving helmet on a shelf in the office. Augustus Siebe's hard hat diving dress wasn't invented until 1819, and didn't appear as in the movie until at least 1837.

Visible crew/equipment: In the scene on the beach after Dante's imprisonment in Château d'If, as he looks off-screen to the left, behind his head in the upper right hand corner of the screen you can see what appears to be a large blue tarp and someone walking - apparently crew.

Continuity: Shortly after the knife fight with Jacopo, the main character Edmond jabs his knife in the sand beside Jacopo. In the wide shot immediately afterward, the knife is missing from the sand.

Continuity: When Edmond goes to Fernand for help, they end up fighting in something similar to the living room (it's quite a big room). After the police take Edmond away, he throws his sword, but it hits the fake wall that is supposed to be the living room behind him and it's easy enough to tell that the room behind him is not real.

Continuity: After Mercedes gets shot a handkerchief is put on her shoulder but there is quite a bit of blood still visible. In the next shot the blood is gone, but reappears later. This happens several more times throughout the scene.

Revealing: Very near the end of the movie, when Edmond and Fernand are about to start fighting, a power line is visible in the background as the camera pans over from Edmond to Fernand's back.

Factual error: Napoleon continually addresses the British officer on Elba as 'Lieutenant' Graypool despite his displayed sergeant's stripes. Napoleon is a professional soldier who has fought the British and lived with them for some time - he is unlikely to be confused by British rank insignia.

Deliberate "mistake": Edmond is illiterate before he meets Abbé Faria. Ship's officers, let alone captains, could not be illiterate - they had to be able to read charts and almanacs, make navigation calculations, read inventories and complete ships' logs. In any case, as the son of a clerk he is very unlikely not to have been taught to read and write. (Though based on the book, this is still a mistake.)

Other: In the dancing scene that takes place toward the end of the film at the home of Fern and Mercedes . When the Count of Monte Cristo asked Mercedes to dance with him, there is a close up of Mercedes' face where you can see that she is wearing contact lenses. There a few more scenes with her where it is very noticeable.

Continuity: The Count of Monte Cristo asks Mercedes to dance a waltz. What they then dance is nothing like a waltz.

Other: In the first scene at Marseilles, the shipping company's sign reads "Morell & Co. Shipping", but the owner's name is spelled "Morrel". French spelling didn't vary at the time, since the French Academy had by then been in place for some 200 years. And even if a businessman might not spell everything correctly every time, he would at least know how to spell his own name right and would make sure it is so on such a commercial sign.