Windtalkers

Windtalkers (2002)

3 mistakes since 27 May '17, 00:00

(3 votes)

Factual error: Late in the film, Nicolas Cage throws a grenade to kill the Japanese who have captured Roger Willie. The resulting explosion is a prolonged pyrotechnic plume with petroleum flames bursting out of the ground. WWII grenades didn't produce flames of any kind, and they still don't.

Charles Austin Miller

Factual error: Throughout the film, Joe Enders is wearing an M1 Helmet. But his helmet looks like a non-WW2 type and possibly Vietnam era. From the side of the helmet, it is a higher cut along the sides. This is a usual indicator to the era of the helmet, as WW2 M1 helmets are lower along the ears for better protection.

Matdan97

Revealing mistake: When Christian Slater and Roger Willie play a mournful Indian tune in a recorder/harmonica duet, neither actor knows how to play his instrument, and it shows.

Sargeant Ryan 'Ox' Anderson: How! Just kidding.

More quotes from Windtalkers

Question: I can understand why they would use code when talking about positions, objectives, etc. but when they call in the air strike from the battleships, what's the point of using code? Also, later in the film, when the same situation arises, they don't use the code. Seemed like it was just a silly way to introduce the whole premise for the movie.

Answer: The point of using the Navajo code to call in air strikes was to encrypt what the Marines were requesting without the Japanese being able to decipher what was said. This is critical because during the Battle of Saipan, the Japanese made extensive use of caves and reinforced earthworks to support their artillery positions and machine gun nests. The delay between requesting artillery support and the act of carrying it out allowed the Japanese to withdraw their infantry to relative safety before the fire mission could commence. By using PVT Yahzee and PVT Whitehouse, they were able to circumvent this and request attacks without the Japanese knowing what was coming. The only time Yahzee does not use the code is when he uses the Japanese radio to call off the artillery strikes that were falling short and hitting Marines. This situation required immediate attention and it would not have been appropriate to use the code.

Invader_Gir

Answer: They used the code to call in the strike so the Germans couldn't get the U.S. to bomb their own troops. I don't know why it wasn't used in the other situation.

Grumpy Scot

More questions & answers from Windtalkers

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.