Factual error: So the Civil War ends, and the colonel heads for Texas. It must have taken close to a decade to arrive there, for when he rides into Blackthorne, Texas, he's packing a Model 1873 Colt, and a Model 1873 Winchester.
Factual error: When the real German soldiers are playing 20 questions in the bar, one of the cards shows the name of Genghis Khan. This is an English-language word; as Germans, they would have written Dschingis Khan instead. As the whole scene deals with exposing the British/American spies and subtle differences in their language or behaviour, this is especially unfavorable here.
Visible crew/equipment: On the beach there's a battle charge, and in the foreground you can clearly see a set of tyre tracks from the camera vehicle preceding the charge.
Visible crew/equipment: On the widescreen version of the film, near the beginning, Sean Penn is talking to a young G.I. that's worried. They are in the latrine area on the ship. While they talk, look in the mirror to the left. This is the most visible camera-on-film shot to date.
Revealing mistake: Near the end of the movie, after Jude Law has been shot, he is lying on his back with Nicole Kidman leaning over his face. In the shot looking up at Kidman past Law's left ear, you can see the webbing for Law's wig on his left temple.
Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, Gunnery Sgt. Hartman is making his speech and passes by Privates Cowboy and Joker on his way to the other side of the barracks. On his way he passes Private Pyle standing to the right of Private Joker. Later in the scene, when he rushes over to confront Private Joker and then moves on to Private Cowboy and then Private Pyle, Private Pyle is on the left of Private Joker. (00:02:00)
Factual error: The boys go deer hunting somewhere in the Appalachians, but the geology is all wrong. That scene is in North Cascades National Park in Washington State. In addition, the "deer" they are hunting is a Red Stag. Not typically found in the Appalachians.
Factual error: As the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry lifts off from LZ X-Ray at the end of the battle, it can be seen that there are no more American troops left at the battlefield. However, by the time 1/7 CAV left LZ X-Ray, it had been relieved by two full battalions (2/7 CAV and 1/5 CAV). There were around 700 American soldiers occupying LZ X-Ray by the time 1/7 CAV lifted off.
Continuity mistake: When the Japanese ship is about to be torpedoed, there are no numbers or letters on its side. In the next shot, when the ship explodes, a large white "265" is visible on the port side of the ship.
Other mistake: During the ending scene, when Samuel L. Jackson is walking away from the camera across the lawn, he passes directly between the platoon on the right practicing rifle drill, and the platoon leader giving them orders. Marines are taught to NEVER do this. It is called "breaking ranks", and a Colonel in the Marine Corps would have known this.
Factual error: Sergeant Major Dickerson wears his blue infantry cord on his left shoulder. The cord is correctly worn on the right.
Revealing mistake: In one of Pickett's charge scene the bayonets are obviously rubber.
Factual error: In the scene at Lord Cornwallis' outdoor party celebration, right after Benjamin Martin and his Continental Army blows up a British Ship, one of Lord Cornwallis' Captains throws back a big gulp of his drink from his Martini glass in grief and disbelief - the problem is this movie takes place in the mid 1700s and the Martini Glass wasn't invented until the 1920s, during the Roaring Jazz days.
Factual error: They hold a huge dance in the hangar at night, and Dennis leaves to walk to the Memphis Belle through the hangar doors, which are wide open. The whole flight line, tarmac and hangar are bathed with light - on a US Air Force base in East Anglia during the blackout. Blackout restrictions were rigidly enforced and were not eased until September 1944. The last mission of the Memphis Belle was in May 1943.
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)
Factual error: In the final scene there is a shot which shows a Land Rover in the distance. Land Rovers were not built until after World War 2.
Plot hole: Radl and Steiner discuss the entire scheme to kidnap Churchill on the Alderney docks - in full view and hearing of a number of civilians (who shouldn't be there, pace another posting), including local fishermen. Though the Germans banned all fishing activities in the Channel islands including Alderney in 1941, they were well aware that there was a flow of information from the island to military authorities in the mainland. Why would they be so stupid as to discuss a top secret military mission in public? In reality, they wouldn't even discuss it in front of their own men.
Revealing mistake: Near the end of the film, there is a football game played between the rival MASH units. Although the game is supposed to be taking place in a remote location of Korea in 1951, late model 1960's automobiles can be seen driving on a nearby highway as the game progresses. This gave away the fact that the football scenes were shot at a university in Southern California.
Factual error: At the end we see a soldier replacing the canister that the Zyklon B is kept in. However, he is not wearing an SS badge as all SS soldiers did. Zyklon B was only handled by members of the SS, as no other unit had authorisation to carry the sensitive stuff. (01:28:00)
Factual error: Toshiro Mifune's character, Kikuchiyo, travels to the bandits' camp and steals one of their two remaining fuselock muskets. Shortly afterward, the bandits fire twice at the samurai within five seconds with their last firearm. A fuselock takes as much as two minutes to reload, prime, and fire.