Continuity mistake: As Will and Jack duel, the vertical wood beam, near the cart and stone steps, is seen in many shots. In several shots the rope secured to it is either tied differently to the beam or is not even there. 1st example, when Will says, "You're the one they're hunting," and 2nd example, the wide shot before Jack says, "You know what you're doing, I'll give you that," the rope is tied differently. After Jack says, "You need to find yourself a girl, mate," but just before Jack tosses the mallet at Jack, forcing him to duck, there is no rope. Then, when they duel on the cart, in some close-ups the rope is seen, but in some wide shots the rope isn't there. (00:22:35 - 00:25:15)
Continuity mistake: Will walks into the blacksmith shop, takes his jacket off and tosses it onto the stones near the fireplace. His jacket lays differently on the stones in some shots throughout this scene. These two shots are examples: when Jack says, "Crossing blades with a pirate," and when Jack jumps off the stones after spraying Will with the soot. (00:22:55 - 00:26:20)
Continuity mistake: When the barrels are being tossed off the Interceptor there is a shot of a crewman in an orange jacket holding a cannonball in his hands and passing it to someone on his left. As the shot pans to the side, behind that crewman that passed the cannonball, we see part of the head of someone and also see Will's shoulder and arm - he just climbed out from below deck. Yet in the very next shot, Will is just coming up from below deck. (Perhaps better in slow motion.) (01:22:40)
Continuity mistake: Elizabeth has a light tan and her hair has lighter streaks running through it, in the shots on the island with Jack. In the following scene, on the Dauntless, her tan is gone and her hair is normal again. Confirmed on commentary. (01:35:00 - 01:40:00)
Continuity mistake: Will runs down the stairs at the prison and says, "You! Sparrow!" and Jack responds, "Aye." In the following shots Jack's hair with red ties and the white shirt string, both on his left side, change position, arrangement, or even existence in the wide shots, and close-ups while the two talk. Earlier, after Jack saves drowning Elizabeth, the position of the red scarf around his head differs between shots - note the beads over his eyes. As a matter of fact, the positions of his red scarf ends, strings of beads, bone, etc., in Jack's hair, ALL change in consecutive shots many times throughout the film, from the moment he is first seen on the Jolly Mon, to the moment he makes his dramatic exit. (00:42:25)
Continuity mistake: When Jack and Will are under the bridge, and Jack says, "We're going to commandeer that ship. Nautical term," his right cheek is clean. When he turns to ask Will "One question about your business..." there is a broad black smudge running from his right cheek to the right side of his nose. As he turns around after Will's answer and says, "No worries..." his right cheek is again clean, without ever having touched his face. (00:44:35)
Continuity mistake: At the blacksmith shop, there is a wicker basket with rope lying at the top of it located near the steps and the cart. This rope is positioned differently in the basket throughout this scene. Some examples are: in the shot right after Will says, "You threatened Miss Swann," then when Jack tosses Will's red hot sword away, and in the close-up of the cart slipping off the broken bench. (00:23:00 - 00:25:10)
Continuity mistake: Aboard Interceptor, when Jack causes the boom to slam into Will, in that wide shot the belaying pin on the rail across from Will is seen. When Jack says, "But I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesy, savvy?" behind him to his left, the belaying pin is seen again. The lines hanging from that belaying pin differs in both shots. (00:49:35)
Continuity mistake: After the cutting of Elizabeth's hand, the knife's blade is shown six times. 1st- a wide shot from behind, the blade has no blood on it. 2nd- a close-up, as Elizabeth lets go of the medallion. 3rd- a front shot, as Barbossa lets go of her hand. 4th- when Barbossa puts the gun back into his belt. 5th- when he holds the blade up to his face, we see both sides. 6th- when he grabs the medallion out of the chest. In each of these shots the blood on the blade differs in amount and/or position on either side. This has nothing to do with the 'dripping' of the blood down the blade. (01:12:15)
Continuity mistake: When Jack is in the Fort Prison, he's trying to get the dog to bring him the keys. When he says, "Good boy. Come get the bone," the handle sticking out of the pail on the floor is leaning away from the cell. When the dog comes closer, and Jack says, "That's it, doggy," the handle in the pail is facing towards the cell door. (00:36:10)
Revealing mistake: In the scene where Elizabeth has fallen off the rampart into the water, Jack rescues her and Murtogg and Mullroy help lay her out on the dock. She is not wearing her breast 'enhancements', that she wears throughout the movie. Confirmed by Kiera Knightly on the DVD commentary. (00:16:30)
Factual error: When Norrington is "promoted" to Commodore (already addressed as an error in and of itself), the promotion ceremony held for him in Port Royal would have been meaningless. A commander-in-chief of a foreign station in the British Navy could indeed promote acting officers beneath him, but these commissions would be unofficial until confirmed by the Lords of the Admiralty in London. And as it appears that Norrington is the commander-in-chief at his station, there would be no one to promote him at all - a governor, such as Swann, did not have the authority to do so. The only actual, official ceremonies of promotion in the Royal Navy was for a captain to be given his commission, and to be "read in" aboard his ship, the formal act of taking command. There would be little cause for celebration until a commission was confirmed by the "Sea Lords," in any case.
Continuity mistake: In the blacksmith shop, next to the fireplace and anvil, there is a table with a variety of tools and other objects. The variety and placement of the items on that table changes when the table is shown. Some examples are, as Jack puts his hat down, then when Will notices Jack's hat, and later when Jack says, "Ta." (00:21:00)
Continuity mistake: In the blacksmith shop there's a table with asst tools. In all these shots a few of the tools are arranged differently and in some shots they're completely different tools. 1 - when Jack notices Mr Brown. 2 - behind Jack when Will starts to come into the shop. 3 - when Will says, "Right where I left you." 4 - behind Will, when he and Jack duel. 5 - behind Will, when Jack holds the gun on him. (00:21:55 - 00:26:30)
Revealing mistake: After Will slams the gold bowl down over the pirate's head, this pirate spends time trying to pry the bowl off his head with great difficulty. When Jacoby tosses the bomb, Will dives, then lands and seen in the background is the gold bowl pirate. The bowl actually starts to FALL OFF his head, so the actor reaches up with his left hand to keep it on his head for the shot. However after Elizabeth asks, "Whose side is Jack on?" the pirate is very pleased with himself when he is finally able to pry the bowl off, just before Elizabeth whacks him. (01:59:35)
Continuity mistake: Aboard the Black Pearl while watching Interceptor explode, Elizabeth runs over to Barbossa and yells, "You've got to stop it." While Barbossa holds Elizabeth, in the first shot behind her, the left shoulder of her burgundy dress is on her shoulder. In the next front close-up shot, her dress is off her left shoulder, then in the next shot behind her, her dress is on her shoulder again. (01:30:55)
Continuity mistake: As Will stands on top of the rail of the Black Pearl, holding the gun, in the close-up and in the wide shots of Elizabeth, her appearance - the neckline of her dress and slip, differs. (01:31:30)
Continuity mistake: When Mr Gibbs shouts what sounds like, "Do it you gobs, or it's you we'll load into the cannons!" while the Region 2 DVD subtitles read "Do it you gobs!" which matches his mouth movements, the Region 1 subtitles say "do it you dogs..." yet his lips clearly form a B not a G. A bizarre difference between versions. (01:24:10)
Continuity mistake: Near the beginning of the film, after Jack rescues Elizabeth and her father gives her a jacket, she stuffs the medallion down her shirt, Jack then takes her hostage, where the Medallion is visible around her neck. (00:17:00 - 00:19:00)
Audio problem: At the blacksmith shop, just after Jack says, "You need to find yourself a girl mate," Jack pulls an all wood mallet from the wood ledge above and it actually makes a long metallic rasping sound, which is completely out of sync with the action. In a previous shot Will does a somersault and he grabs a sword hanging from the wood post. When he pulls it off the all wood ledge, it too makes a sharp metallic rasping sound. This is obviously done for dramatic effect. (00:24:25)
Chosen answer: Because they'd have to find it. The gold may "call to them", but it obviously doesn't function as a millimetre perfect homing beacon or they'd never have missed the medallion years earlier when they attacked the ship carrying the young Will. Elizabeth drops it into the sea and they're going to have to spend what could be months trying to locate it - currents could take it well away from the dropping point. They've found the final missing piece; they're potentially just hours away from finally being cured. The last thing they want is to see it thrown into the sea.
Tailkinker ★
Well, if the crew was anxious to get the medallion then why did they act like they weren't interested in it before Elizabeth pretended to drop it?
Reverse psychology.
Ssiscool ★
What do you mean by reverse psychology?
By showing they are not interested in the medallion they are hoping Elizabeth will just drop it on the floor or chuck it to them as it's of no real value. However when she releases a bit of chain and the medallion drops, and the pirates lurch forward revealing that they really want the medallion and as such Elizabeth now has the upper hand in negotiations.
Ssiscool ★
I'm guessing Elizabeth wasn't fooled when the pirates showed disinterest in the medallion.
That's not called reverse psychology, which is used to encourage someone to change his or her mind. Doesn't work with a threat. They are feigning indifference to hide the importance of the object.
lionhead