Best movie mistakes of 1984

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All of Me picture

Revealing mistake: When Roger is in the bathroom at the urinal, he can see Edwina's reflection in the mirror (as she is, supposedly, inhabiting his body). However, when Roger lets out a particularly big exhale, Edwina's bangs blow slightly upwards, showing that the "mirror" effect is achieved by simply having her stand behind a wall right in front of him. (00:29:45)

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Once Upon a Time in America picture

Continuity mistake: In the first 1968 section, where Noodles rents a car and drives back to his old neighbourhood, watch the background of the wide shot as he is stopping the car. In the close-up that follows when Noodles gets out, two girls have appeared, hanging around a doorway, who were not to be seen the moment before.

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Against All Odds picture

Continuity mistake: When Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward are on the beach in the grass hut on the video version you clearly see the overhead boom mike swinging back and forth to face the character who is speaking at the moment. This continues through the whole scene.

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Johnny Dangerously picture

Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the film, when Johnny is first climbing the stairway to his apartment, he climbs a flight, then there is a dissolve to imply that it's a very long stairway, and he's shown climbing another flight. You can see the ground floor only one flight below after the dissolve.

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Moscow on the Hudson picture

Continuity mistake: Early in the film, Vladimir and Anatoly are in Anatoly's car. The car has two dice hanging from the top of the windshield, but no rearview mirror. When Anatoly pulls up behind the gas truck, the dice are now hanging from a rearview mirror. (00:07:10)

William Yates

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The River picture

Continuity mistake: When Mae and Tom persuade little Beth to go and feed the chicken again because they want to make love, the way the towel is thrown over Tom's shoulder changes between shots. (00:39:15)

NancyFelix

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The Jigsaw Man picture

Continuity mistake: About 70 mins into the film, Michael Caine pulls into a petrol station. All in one shot: Michael Caine asks for the car to be filled up, the attendant puts the nozzle in the car and starts filling it (using the "hold-on" feature now disabled on most pumps), takes the £10 proffered, goes back towards the office, Michael Caine spots Robert Powel, gets in the car and starts the engine. The next shot shows Michael Caine driving away from the petrol station with nobody close enough to have disconnnected the fuel hose, but no apparent fuel hose, or spilt fuel, lying on the forecourt, and the attendant not too worried about a damaged fuel pump or spilt fuel. In the next scene as Michael Caine pulls off the road into a farmyard, the filler cap is visible on, with Robert Powel passing by seconds later; Not enough time, especially for a fugitive, to have stopped, got out of the car, hobbled round, put the cap back on, hobble back, got back in and continued his escape. (01:10:15)

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Ninja III: The Domination picture Ninja III: The Domination mistake picture Video

Continuity mistake: When Ninja Christie fights a cop in a graveyard, the cop smashes a headstone with his baton. The damage on the headstone changes between shots. (01:06:25)

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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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Wheels on Meals picture

Visible crew/equipment: During the car chase, when the taxi drives over the gas can and does the two wheel driving, you can see the ramp that flipped it up behind it. (01:01:25)

Mortug

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Frankenweenie picture

Plot hole: When we first see the reanimated Sparky, his head's sewed on. While that makes him look a bit like the traditional Frankenstein monster, it doesn't make a lot of sense - the original monster had stitches on its neck because it was made from multiple body parts, but it's not like they sawed the dog's head off after it died...

Jon Sandys

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Do we ever see how much damage the car did?

dizzyd

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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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The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension picture

Continuity mistake: At the beginning, Buckaroo tests his oscillation overthruster. Sitting in his test vehicle he's wearing a wrap-around mirrored visor that reflects a full panorama of the desert area in front of him. There is a thick black divider running down the center of the windshield that is missing from the reflection. Also, since it is a panorama seen on the visor, the edges of the front windshield should be reflected on the sides.

BocaDavie

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A Christmas Carol picture

Revealing mistake: When Bob Cratchit takes Tiny Tim by the town square to watch the boys play, you see many boys "sliding" on the ice. In the close-ups of the boys you can see the "ice" ripple beneath their feet, revealing it to be some sort of plastic.

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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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The Woman in Red picture

Continuity mistake: When Charlotte hastily makes the bed and shoves Ted out onto the window ledge, the bed covers rearrange themselves between shots: a purple sheet that she'd tucked in before is now peeking out over the bedspread. (00:15:05)

Jean G

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Savage Streets picture

Revealing mistake: When Jake is driving his car to run down Vince, there is a quick shot just before he hits him that is obviously a dummy placed in front of the car.

dewinela

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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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