Best action movie factual errors of 1981

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Raiders of the Lost Ark picture

Factual error: The film starts in the year 1936, and just like the RPG Indy uses to threaten Belloq with, the MP40s (or at the earliest, MP38s) are an arms-historical anachronism in this movie. As the numbers in their names imply, the MP38 was first produced in 1938. The weapons in the movie are not the similar-looking ERMA MP-36, you can see the ribbed, vertically angled magazine holders typical for the MP40 - its predecessors had either a 30°-canted, smooth magazine holder (MP36) or a round viewing port for checking the ammo (MP38). (01:31:45)

Daniel4646

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For Your Eyes Only picture

Factual error: In the pre-credit sequence with Bond and Blofeld, the helicopter makes a steep dive. However, the sound it makes is for a fixed-wing airplane, similar to dive bombers in WW2. Helicopters make no such sound.

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Escape to Victory picture

Factual error: In the final football game scenes ( from about three-quarters of the way through the film or so) all the spectators are wearing 1970's clothes and have 1970's hairstyles.

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The Cannonball Run picture

Factual error: Looking at the dimensions of the low-loader and the dimensions of the ambulance, Victor is laying at 90 degrees to the ambulance as we see a shot from the front of the vehicle (over the lower wishbone). There's no way that he could mend the transmission without his legs sticking out the tarpaulin and not being seen.

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Escape From New York picture

Factual error: The wrestler is killed by Snake stabbing the back of his head with a spiked bat, having rather long and thick spikes on it. As the Wrestler falls against the net, the back of his head is shown as he is slumped over the net. There is no wound on his head, nor any trace of blood, despite having one or more large spikes just jammed into it. (01:16:55)

Quantom X

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The Last Chase picture

Factual error: Franklyn Hart keeps his car running by pumping out the gas from the bottom of abandoned gas pumps which the pumps themselves couldn't reach. In reality, as this gas is on the bottom, it would be full of sludge and garbage, and since it has been sitting there for 20 years, it would barely be usable and would probably damage the engine. He certainly wouldn't be able to do high speeds with it.

Gavin Jackson

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Race for the Yankee Zephyr picture

Factual error: There could never be an aircraft of World War 2 vintage with the call sign "Yankee Zephyr". If it was a US aircraft (it appears to be) it would have the call sign "Yankee Zulu". If it was an RAF aircraft it would be "Yoke Zephyr". This all changed when the phonetic alphabets were standardised by NATO in the Fifties, but the DC3 in this film is supposed to have crashed before the end of World War 2 in 1945.

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Mad Max 2 picture

Factual error: There's no way the gyro helicopter could carry 2 men and four jerrycans of petrol across a desert. It is only built for one person and would never lift off. And where would they put the second person and petrol anyway?

Gavin Jackson

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Legend of the Lone Ranger picture

Factual error: In the film during the opening credits, John Reed is traveling by stage coach from Boston to Texas. So what is his stage coach doing driving through Monument Valley that is in the northern part of Arizona? That stage coach is truly lost.

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Clash of the Titans picture

Factual error: During most of the close action shots of Perseus flying on Pegasus, you should see some wing expansion, but do not - only during the wide pan claymation shots.

oprlvr33

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Death Hunt picture

Factual error: The spotter pilot is Captain Tucker of the Royal Canadian Air Force. But the RCAF of the 1930s used RAF ranks. He would actually be a Flight Lieutenant.

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