Best drama movie factual errors of 1984

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Amadeus picture

Factual error: During the scene where Mozart is being carried away in his coffin by horse and cart there is a brief shot where he is being taken down a muddy path and a farmer is seen with his cows. If you look closely to the left side of the screen you can see a large overhead power line. If you look even more closely you can even see the wires coming out of the pylon. The movie is set in the 18th century and obviously it should not be there. (02:50:50)

ItsGav

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The Natural picture

Factual error: In the coffee shop when Roy Hobbs is having coffee, there is a Coca-Cola sign in the window featuring the "fishtail" logo used between roughly 1957 and 1961, not the time period portrayed in the movie.

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Red Dawn picture

Factual error: The Russians use a beeping "radio direction finder" to find the partisans by detecting a bug swallowed by the Mayor's son. In closeups the "direction finder" is seen to be an impedance meter (used for measuring AC resistance) - it's labeled "X=(down arrow) x (up arrow)(omega)". X is the standard abbreviation for impedance, omega means "ohms" (the unit of impedance/resistance), so the label says "impedance is lower dial times upper dial, in ohms". There is a piece of spiral twisted wire across the terminals of the impedance meter which would be useless for radio direction finding. (01:19:15)

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Beverly Hills Cop picture

Factual error: When Axel and Taggart are taken under fire by the gunner with the dark glasses (who is shot by Billy), notice that the gunner stands perpendicular (i.e. at a 90° angle) to the stairs where Axel and Taggart take cover. Yet, two of the bullet holes appear in a column at the base of the stairs which would have come from a different trajectory, namely in line with the stairway and thus from Axel and Taggart's flank.

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Starman picture

Factual error: When Jenny Hayden and Starman accidentally overshoot their destination and arrive in Las Vegas, Jenny discovers that her wallet is missing. She has no cash, no credit cards, and no identification whatsoever. The only money she has is a single quarter. Starman uses the quarter to hit the jackpot on a 25-cent slot machine, then uses the prize money to play the Horseshoe $500,000 slot machine, which he also wins. They then use the giant jackpot money to purchase a brand new Cadillac and drive it off the lot. Huge problem: In 1984 (and today), you could never collect a giant Las Vegas jackpot without several pieces of personal identification, for tax purposes. Likewise, you could never purchase and drive a brand new Cadillac off the lot without multiple pieces of identification and a financial disclosure statement (if paying cash).

Charles Austin Miller

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Once Upon a Time in America picture

Factual error: Noodles visits the mausoleum containing the caskets of his friends who were killed in 1933. He finds a key hanging on the wall from a plaque that says Noodles built it in 1967. Earlier, he tells Fat Moe he had not been in town for 35 years, since 1933, so the action was taking place in 1968. The key is to a locker at a bus terminal. Inside the locker is a suitcase full of money, stacks of twenties. The bills have the signature of Secretary of the Treasury William Blumenthal, but he was appointed by President Carter in 1977.

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Purple Rain picture

Factual error: Right after The Kid's father shoots himself, The Kid is seen in the basement being interviewed by two police officers in uniform and one detective. One of the police officers is asking the questions while the detective is writing in his notepad. Standard procedure is for a "Lead Detective" to be assigned to the case and he conducts all interviews. (01:18:49)

MCKD

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Footloose picture

Factual error: When Ariel is playing a tape in her boyfriend's boombox in the parking lot of the diner, when her dad comes over he pushes a button once and the tape ejects. However, on this type of boombox, the stop and eject button are the same button. So in order to eject the tape, he would have had to push the button twice.

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The First Olympics: Athens 1896 picture

Factual error: During their transatlantic boat trip, on their way to Athens, the American athletes are having fun naming various foods from back home that they already miss. One of them claims he misses chocolate chip cookies. Oops. That particular cookie didn't exist until Ruth Wakefield invented it in 1930.

Jon Nicholas

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Tank picture

Factual error: When the crowd and sheriff are waiting at the GA/TN state line we see a road sign that says GA. Hwy 16. GA. Hwy 16 runs east to west (Tennesee is north of Georgia) and is approximately 150 miles south of the state line. (01:34:45)

Mister Ed

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Oxford Blues picture

Factual error: When Rob Lowe first arrives in Oxford he is driving down a street taking in the sights. Most of the sights he views are actually scattered throughout the town and not on any one street. This is especially true for Radcliffe Camera (part of the Bodlean Library) as it is in a cobblestone courtyard completely surrounded by buildings and cannot be viewed from any street.

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The Cotton Club picture

Factual error: The scene during Lonette Mckee's rendition of Ill Wind, where coins are poured onto a glass table, appear to be from a later time period. (01:16:00)

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Swing Shift picture

Factual error: Throughout the entire movie, the SBD Dauntlesses they are working on have the national insignia with the red ball in the center. This was discontinued in May 1942.

goofyfoot

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The Philadelphia Experiment picture

Factual error: In the scene where the convoy is on the way to the Eldridge, the trucks used are M35 deuce and a half dating from 1949, the jeeps used are M151 mutt dating from 1959 (horizontal grills) . (00:05:55)

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