Best war movie continuity mistakes of all time

Continuity mistake: When the team are about to jump from the cable car into the river, the view from ground level shows a bare road with no snow on it on the right and a line of trees on the left with German trucks parked next to them, but the view from the cable car shows a snow-covered road and no trucks beside the trees.

02:06:00

Continuity mistake: During the enactment of the Battle of Zama, Maximus rides his horse around a bend with his sword in his left hand. When we cut to close up, it's back in his right. Looking at the left-handed shot in freeze-frame, you can see the frame has been flipped, left-to-right (check the armor). This was probably for continuity reasons. Similarly, Maximus jumps on the horse and his shoulder protector is clearly on his injured left shoulder. However, a few frames later, the protector is on his right shoulder, then it moves yet again back the correct spot, the left shoulder.

01:24:45

Continuity mistake: John's staff sergeant military shoulder epaulet markings become upside down in the scene when he and Savannah are having dinner at her house when he comes to see her after his dad died. In a later shot shortly after, they are correct.

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Continuity mistake: A group of Marines approaches a minefield and one of them falls with his back on a mine. The explosion throws him in the air and you can see his uninjured back. Not even his shirt got a scratch.

01:46:50

Continuity mistake: In the scene taking place at the fountain, Danilov's rifle has a round receiver. When he hands the rifle over to Zaitsev, the rifle has a hex receiver. When Zaitsev hands the rifle back, the rifle has a round receiver again.

00:17:30

Continuity mistake: When David Niven climbs the ladder to place explosives on the gun he is fully clothed. In the next second, showing him at work on the gun, he has no tunic and no officer's cap.

02:09:30

Continuity mistake: During the early part of the movie, there are a number of references to the Blackhawk crew, yet the wreckage is that of a Huey.

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Continuity mistake: When the Nazi SS guard puts a pistol to Rutger Hauer's head, it's a Luger, but when the guard turns around, he's holding a Walther P38.

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Continuity mistake: While Ajax and Hector fight, Hector head butts Ajax, and three shots later in a wide shot, half of the hammer end of his unusual spear actually breaks and falls to the ground behind him to his left. But lo and behold, in the next close-up the bloody hammer end (bloodier than the previous shot) of his spear is whole and intact.

01:20:00

Super Grover

Continuity mistake: In all of the aircraft scenes, almost every time they showed his aircraft, he has different types of weapons on it.

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Continuity mistake: When Corporal Allen pulls Private Hitch off the ramparts when Hitch is shooting at Zulu's in the hills with his pith helmet on backwards, Hitch gets shot in the leg, and Allen pulls him in. Allen is shot in the chest, he clutches his chest, falls inside ramparts with blood underneath his clutching hand. When you see him after camera cut he is clutching the OTHER side of his chest.

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Continuity mistake: In a major fight scene two soldiers on opposite sides are jumping and spinning and tapping each other on the head with their swords.

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Continuity mistake: In the scene where Rafe is fighting for Britain his plane gets hit. As it goes down into the water, it is day. Later when they show him swimming out of the plane and to the surface, it is night.

00:41:30 - 01:10:10

Continuity mistake: Luca and his friend are chasing a bus and come down an old dirt road, Luca in a side car with a dog in his lap. The next shot, there's no dog, then the next shot the dog is back in his arms again.

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Continuity mistake: In the final battle scene, day turns to night in a moment.

01:43:55

Continuity mistake: When Tom Selleck rolls his plane upside down to dump the Afghan at several thousand feet altitude, you plainly see stationary tree tops at the bottom of the frame.

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Continuity mistake: When they go to find Private Ryan there are eight of them, when they go to a French town and a solider picks up the little girl and he gets killed there are seven, right? Wrong. A few scenes later, the camera shows all eight of them marching on to the next town, only in a far away camera shot so it's hard to see.

01:23:11

Continuity mistake: After seeing his pilot get shot, Owen Wilson's character starts running uphill while being shot at. Of course you know he's being shot at because you can see the tracers. However, after cresting the hill, and starting down the other side, you STILL see rounds going past him. How did they get smart bullets?

00:31:55

Continuity mistake: During the scene when Torpedo Eight squadron is slaughtered during its attack on Nagumo's carriers, Ensign George Gay's aircraft changes appearance several times. This is due to the different snippets of wartime footage being cobbled together. When the squadron commences its attack, his plane is a Vindicator. When his plane is the last one left, it has changed into an SBD Dauntless. When Gay's plane has been hit and is diving towards the sea, it has become an Avenger. Finally, when his aircraft hits the water, it has become a Hellcat.

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Continuity mistake: In one scene, some of Saddam's troops pour oil all over Mark Whalberg's face (while forcing him to bite down on a CD so it runs into his mouth) in an attempt to torture him. The next scene, when he is rescued, he has nothing but the requisite smudges and "movie dirt" on his face. Apparently the Iraqis decided to clean the oil slick off of his face before he got rescued.

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Continuity mistake: The Bismarck is sighted by a British agent in southern Norway, sailing out of the Baltic into the North Sea - east to west. But the view through the agent's binoculars shows the ship sailing from right to left on the screen - which would be sailing west to east from the point of view of an observer on the Norwegian coast.

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Continuity mistake: During the middle of the film, a butler comes in and out of the Dictator's office several times repeatedly. The door is open and shows the corridor outside the office, casting the shadow of a window off-screen. The shadow changes from small to big bewteen shots.

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Sacha

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Scarlett is talking to Ashley about owing the carpet bagger 300 dollars right before Ashley kisses her you can see a definite change. Ashley has different dirt on his face and Scarlett's dress looks lighter. Her hair is also loose in different places.

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Continuity mistake: James is described on the cast list as a Staff Sergeant, but he wears the rank insignia of a Sergeant First Class.

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Continuity mistake: In the scene before Patton hears the news of getting relieved of command, he is walking with his NCO aide George, who is wearing E6 rank on his shirt. In the following scene while getting ready for bed, the same sergeant is now wearing E5 rank.

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Continuity mistake: In the scene where the sniper is shot, You can see blood on her face (especially on her upper lip) when she falls down after being hit, but when she lies on the floor afterwards, there is no blood on her face anymore.

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Continuity mistake: When Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Ujio, is riding his horse and charging the howitzers, he gets shot by the gatling gun and falls down dead. In the next scene he can be seen in the upper left corner still riding, wearing his distinctive gold circle armor.

02:04:40

Continuity mistake: In one extended scene, Chris O'Donnell is talking with someone. Almost every time the camera comes back to him, the ties on his shirt are first crossed, then uncrossed, etc.

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Continuity mistake: In the playboy bunny scene, the helicopter's main rotor keeps on starting and stopping.

01:06:39

Continuity mistake: In the final scenes at the airport, when Rick is talking to Major Strasser, the epaulettes on Strasser's shoulders alternately appear and disappear.

01:40:05