Visible crew/equipment: When Brad Pitt is taken prisoner by the English, he tries to escape and is thrown in prison. As the camera turns back to the door, the shadow of a microphone is visible left to the door.
Factual error: One of the members of the orchestra is reading off sheet music held together by sticky tape, which is an anachronism.
Factual error: When the agent searches for Abu Ahmed in Peshawar, Pakistan, in one scene he gets out of his car, and a shop named Bhatia sons appear in the background, a company based in Delhi, India. In the next scene he is walking down a market, where a sign board of Jaggi sweets, (existing in Punjab, India) is seen, with words written in Hindi (only to be found in India).
Factual error: Secretary of State John Hay is depicted issuing the order to "initiate hostilities" against Spain. Unfortunately, at the time we actually went to war with Spain, John Hay was not the Secretary of State. That position was held by William. R. Day. Hay did not become SofS until September of 1898, after most hostilities had ended.
Revealing mistake: While Noro, a member of a shoeless society, is doing his uphill training you get a glimpse of his shoes, in spite of all efforts to hide his feet in the grass. (00:53:30)
Factual error: In the scene towards the end, where Johnny Depp is making his speech in the House of Lords, he refers to 'due process of law', but uses the American pronunciation of the word 'process' (prah-sess) whereas the English would say 'proe-sess'.
Factual error: Many palace scenes in the mini-series are set in the Forbidden City. This is incorrect, as the Forbidden City was built under the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and not completed until about 1420, almost 100 years after Marco Polo's death.
Factual error: When the ship is being launched a champagne bottle is smashed against the hull. Harland & Wolff, like many shipbuilders, did not smash champagne bottles against the hull.
Factual error: In an early scene, a character suggests that a man might be awarded an OBE honor if he wins the 1913 US Open. The OBE wasn't established until 1917.
Continuity mistake: The actress loads her 35mm Praktica camera with Kodak film. That's not really strange, but the film is situated in 1968 around the invasion of the Russians in Prague. The film cassette is clearly visible as having DX coding on one side for setting the film speed automatically. This feature had yet to be invented in 1968, because it was released in the early 80's.
Continuity mistake: The book Geronimo steals from the wagon train is red. When he gives it to his wife it is black.
Other mistake: When Anne and Peter are looking at the stars, Anne points to a star and Peter knows what star she's pointing to. It is impossible to point to a star and have someone else know exactly what star you're pointing to. Try it.
Continuity mistake: During entire scene with dancing king Herod and his men, shadows on the floor are at different angles from one shot to another. (01:16:15 - 01:19:30)
Factual error: The movie is supposed to be in the 15th century. In a scene we see a priest, wearing a Jesuit robe. But the Jesuit order was founded in the 16th century. So it's impossible that a priest wearing a Jesuit robe appears there.
Factual error: In order to make Polyphem drunk, Ulysses and his men produce 'wine' by treading on grapes. Only thing is: without fermenting the stuff for a few months, all you get is grape juice, which is not even remotely intoxicating.
Other mistake: As Anne is about to be executed for adultery she begins recalling the important events of her life since meeting Henry VIII. She counts each of the wooden stakes numbered "100 Days" and recalls various events involving she and Henry. There should be 10 to account for the 1000 days but there are only nine. (02:13:00)
Continuity mistake: When the priest is waving the handkerchief, the fabric changes from covered in blood to spotless.
Factual error: Big Ben is heard to strike in 1804, fifty years before it was built.
Continuity mistake: As Michael leaves after being fired and Chuck returns to the office, the clocks in the newsroom read drastically different times in each shot, even going backward through time at one point.
Factual error: In the ambush-on-the-prison scene, one of the Boers is equipped with a Lee-Enfield CLLE Charger-Loading Rifle. Although the Boers used many captured Lee-Enfield and Lee-Metford rifles, the CLLE's weren't even developed until the Boer War had ended.