Other mistake: When Maitland shoots Axel in his house, he has a large calibre hand gun. The shot was in Axel's right arm, just below the shoulder, apparently straight on, as only one hole is seen. The hole was way too small for the size gun and should have easily penetrated into his lungs making it difficult for Axel to breathe. It also would have damaged the bone in his arm making it impossible for him to use it.
stiiggy
10th Jul 2022
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
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Suggested correction: Depends on the ammo being used. Maitland seems to be firing a .357 Magnum revolver.
18th Jun 2022
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Corrected entry: An enemy aircraft launches a sidewinder heat seeking missile, and that enemy aircraft is immediately destroyed by a US aircraft. What happened to the inflight sidewinder? It disappeared. Sidewinders have their own internal guidance system, it's a fire-and-forget weapon. Once launched, the launching aircraft can be destroyed but the sidewinder will continue flight to its target and destroy it. So the original plane that was saved should have actually been destroyed.
Correction: The missile was destroyed in the explosion of the launching aircraft as it was still next to it.
Correction: Why would an enemy aircraft have AIM 9L Sidewinders? Rather, they would have the own missile such as an AA-2 Atoll, of which we know little of its fire and forget capabilities.
18th Jun 2022
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Factual error: The left turn the Dark Star makes at Mach 9 is not possible. The G force stress would tear the aircraft apart. The turn radius is far too small at that speed.
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Suggested correction: Incorrect. Dark Star is a theoretical aircraft, so we have no idea of its capabilities. Also, race car drivers can pull 9G's and somehow live.
What is being said is not that it is subjected to 9G's, which is completely doable (Maverick gets to 10 during the mission sequence). What is being stated is that a turn with that radius at Mach 9 (not 9Gs) would generate a much higher G.
There is no scale given, so it is unknown how tight the turn radius is and, consequently, how many g's would be produced.
Again, as Dark Star is purely hypothetical, we have no idea of its capabilities or positive G capabilities. What's to say that it doesn't have a way of being able to execute such turns? You are comparing it to an actual aircraft, not a theoretical one.
Even being theoretical, such a turn in that speed is not just a matter of a slightly better technology, but a difference that would be almost science fiction at this point. Darkstar is based on the Lockheed Martin SR-72, which can theoretically get to Mach 6. Even at Mach 6, to make a U turn would take a turn radius of more than 200 miles. I understand your point, that being fictional it can do whatever the filmmakers want, but that would in no way meet reality.
Suggested correction: You are basing this opinion on the capabilities of conventional aircraft. Dark Star isn't real and doesn't have to be realistic.
Some very rough dead reckoning based on screen grabs of the turn show that if the plane had been similar in size to the SR-71 and had pulled that turn at mach 10 the pilot would be experiencing 970-990 G.
31st May 2022
Top Gun (1986)
Other mistake: When they go into the flat spin, Maverick is unable to pull the ejection handle due to high Gs. But in the F-14, there is an alternate ejection handle between the legs of the pilot.
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Suggested correction: He is pinned forward, which is a peculiarity of the F14 as the pilot sits more aft than say an F/A18. Doesn't matter where the ejection handle is, he physically can't reach it.
26th Nov 2011
M*A*S*H (1972)
Peace on Us - S7-E2
Corrected entry: During the "red party", Col. Potter can be seen holding a glass containing tomato juice or a mixture thereof. From the episode "The Price of Tomato Juice," we know Potter is allergic to it. Having so recently been reminded of the fact, why would he drink more? (00:42:30)
Correction: Just because it's red doesn't mean it's tomato juice. It could be anything, especially given it's a "red party".
Agreed. It would be something highly alcoholic, not tomato juice. Unless it was a Bloody Mary, which really isn't a military drink.
31st Aug 2020
The Great Escape (1963)
Stupidity: When the Hilts discover they're 20' short of the trees, why wouldn't he "dirty up" his white/light tan pants so the tower lights wouldn't expose him so easily?
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Suggested correction: Because he would look scruffy and dirty once he got out. He was the Cooler King and knew his way around after all.
I would suggest in the reality of the escape, light colored clothing would not have been worn so as to blend in to the night and the surrounding environment better. The light slacks were strictly for artistic reasons.
18th Oct 2021
Top Gun (1986)
Continuity mistake: When Cougar is looking at the picture of his wife and child, it's a girl. When he is interviewed by the Captain, he says "I almost orphaned him..." (00:10:14 - 00:13:03)
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Suggested correction: He actually says "I almost orphaned 'em out there today" ie. Orphaned THEM not him.
Except he follows it up with "I've never even seen him." So he's talking about a boy. And before the orphan line he said "wife and kid", not "wife and kids", implying only one child.
And he couldn't have orphaned them anyway if their mother is still living. Dude was all shook up and couldn't think straight.
13th Oct 2021
Hogan's Heroes (1965)
Stupidity: A prisoner, Jack Williams, rats out Hogan and his team to the Germans, so they fake his death and smuggle him back to London for court-martial. What a stupid thing to do. They should just shoot him and be done with it. First, what if he escaped from captivity on the way through occupied Europe? Second, he has done nothing wrong. Being a grass isn't a crime. Third, Hogan and his men are the war criminals - they often engage in combat activities out of uniform. Williams is going to be acquitted.
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Suggested correction: Not true. The crime he committed was treason, a capital offence under both civil and military law at the time. Being a partisan is not an offence under the Geneva Convention, as these were mainly captured flyers, led by a small team of specialists. To execute a prisoner, as you suggest Hogan's men should do, is murder, also a capital offence at the time.
Nobody from Stalag 13 accompanies Williams back to London - so where is the evidence of his "crime"? Hogan and his men often take part in combat activities both out of uniform and even wearing German uniforms, which is itself a one way ticket to a firing squad.
22nd Oct 2019
Battle of Britain (1969)
Corrected entry: When Archie parachutes into the greenhouse he is wearing socks or runners.
Correction: Pilots often lost their boots or shoes due to the shock of the parachute opening.
He also didn't have his leather flying helmet on when he landed, which is strapped onto his head.
15th Aug 2021
M*A*S*H (1972)
Factual error: When the bird Charles lands on the land mine, you can see thing bounce on one side of the explosion. If the bird had really landed on the mine, it would have been obliterated.
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Suggested correction: Anti personnel mines are specifically designed to badly wound someone rather than kill them outright, as it takes more people to deal with a wounded casualty rather than if they were dead. Movies exaggerate the blast effect as anti-personnel mines don't actually blow anyone to pieces, even a large bird.
True, but in this instance, it was a small bird. The mine in question can severely maim or destroy limbs, therefore the bird shouldn't have been seen.
8th Apr 2021
Common mistakes
Factual error: When a police officer finds a suspicious powder he or she puts some on his or her tongue and knows straight away what drug it is, in reality the powder would need a lab test to analyse it.
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Suggested correction: Not true. Generally they are tasting it to see how pure the drug is. Hard drugs are often diluted with milk sugar, so they make a bigger profit. The higher the sweet taste, the less pure the drug is.
First, law enforcement officers don't ever taste drugs, it's a good way to die if you don't know what you're ingesting. But second, the mistake isn't saying they are tasting drugs to know it's strength or purity. The mistake is explicitly about a cop tasting a drug and positively identifying what it is based on taste, which happens a lot in cop movies. Such as when the cop says "that's cocaine", not "that's half pure cocaine."
25th Mar 2003
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Continuity mistake: When Waterslaw and Jefferson each shoot a soldier through a window, no glass seems to break until we see each soldier fall out through the glass.
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Suggested correction: Windows weren't then made of safety glass which shatters on impact. Plain old tempered glass doesn't shatter unless something heavy goes through it and definitely not with only 1 or 2 bullet holes.
17th Mar 2018
Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
Plot hole: This film is set in 2004. The thought that no search and rescue operations would be put in place after an aircraft disappeared from radar during a routine flight is absurd. The Chinese are paranoid about intrusion on their territory and the downed aircraft would have been located by a simple satellite search within hours of it crashing. Chinese military satellites crisscross the Gobi and they are equipped with optical cameras, microwave and infrared detectors and radar, so spotting a metal aircraft on the ground would be simple even if it was hundreds of kilometres off course. The crew would have been visited by Chinese military helicopters (and probably arrested!) as soon as the storm had died down.
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Suggested correction: The Chinese government, for whatever reason, may have denied there was any crash at all if it suited their purposes, and the oil company that owned the plane would have little recourse. The Chinese have done this before. For the purpose of the plot, the survivors decided that they had to save themselves rather than wait for rescue and that was completely plausible.
Suggested correction: It's now 2021, and we still can't find Malaysian Airlines MH370. So this suggestion of planes always being found is laughable.
MH370 crashed into the ocean, and in fact some wreckage has been found. The Chinese military does not have the south Indian Ocean under satellite surveillance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, unlike the Gobi desert where a crashed plane would be spotted within hours of it going missing.
15th Nov 2020
Hogan's Heroes (1965)
Klink for the Defense - S6-E19
Factual error: About 8 minutes into show, Major Hochstetter asks Schultz how long Colonel Hogan (an American) has been running the camp, and Schultz says 3 years last November. This is impossible. The US didn't get into the war until December, 1941, He would have to have been captured November '42 or earlier but the war was over by November 1945.
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Suggested correction: Not necessarily. Quite a few Americans served with the RAF before America declared war. The Eagle Squadron American volunteers fought at the Battle of Britain in 1940 for example.
22nd Jan 2021
The Naked Gun (1988)
Continuity mistake: The aircraft landing at the beginning of movie is a United DC 10. The aircraft taxiing to the parking area is an L1011.
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Suggested correction: This has already been addressed earlier. There is nothing to suggest the 2 jets are related in any way. They just show a jet landing and a jet taxiing.
29th Jan 2021
G.I. Jane (1997)
Other mistake: When Moore graduates from training, she is handed a nonexistent silver trident by Mortensen. She should have been handed a gold SEAL trident as they themselves conducting the training were wearing.
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Suggested correction: Because they weren't training to be SEALs (BUDS/UDT). They were training to graduate the fictional "U.S. Navy Combined Reconnaissance Team" course. Fake unit, fake trident. No mistake here.
16th Mar 2006
Apollo 13 (1995)
Factual error: On several occasions the astronauts address the Capcom as "Andy." None of the Apollo 13 Capcoms were named Andy. Their names were Jack Lousma, Joe Kerwin, John Young and Vance Brand.
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Suggested correction: While that is technically correct, many characters were condensed or changed to suit the movie. It's not a documentary, after all, it's a movie based on true events.
No, it's not a documentary, but all of the other characters have their "real life" names. Why change this one?
"Andy" was used to avoid viewer confusion between Jack Swigert and CAPCOM Jack Lousma.
They changed and condensed many items in the movie. "I vunder where Gunther Vent" quote was from Apollo 7, not 13. The EECOM John Aaron was given another name, and the "steely eyed missile man" quote was from Apollo 12. Marilyn Lovell didn't lose her wedding ring in the shower, she found it.
No, they used John Aaron's real first name, which did clash with John Young (played by Ben Marley) when they were in the simulator scene together.
15th Dec 2002
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Corrected entry: After Blackburn fell from the chopper, Matt quickly puts on his goggles to prepare to rope down. You can see he wore gloves on both hands. After Matt roped down, he attended to Blackburn. Watch his right hand placed on Blackburn's chest - he's not wearing his glove.
Correction: This mistake is just a result of poor examining of the movie. Matt ropes down and attends Blackburn. He is still wearing both gloves. Then we see the chopper leaving, then we see Matt again, now with only one glove. He had plenty of time to remove it for being able to examine Blackburn. You can't feel a pulse through a leather glove.
No one has ever fast roped without wearing gloves. You are relying on friction to slow you descent, and this would absolutely tear a hand without gloves to bits.
13th Oct 2020
Hogan's Heroes (1965)
Other mistake: Hogan is disarming a booby trap briefcase. The bomb expert tells him over the radio he has to decide to turn the handle clockwise or counterclockwise. The expert doesn't know which way to turn it. Hogan turns the handle counterclockwise and disarms the booby trap, and the expert says counterclockwise. There's no way the expert would have known which way Hogan turned the handle. (00:21:50 - 00:22:26)
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Suggested correction: He didn't know, which is why he asked it as a question. He said "counter-clockwise?"
Suggested correction: Umm probably because he didn't hear a loud explosion.
5th Feb 2006
Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Saga of a Star World (1) - S1-E1
Plot hole: Apollo takes Adama down to the surface of Caprica aboard his Viper, yet the Viper is a single-seat fighter. This is the only time the single-seat craft is used to carry two people (though there is no shot of the two aboard - it is simply shown landed with the two characters nearby).
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Suggested correction: It was 2 seater Viper training aircraft.
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