Best drama movie factual errors of 1988

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Bull Durham picture

Factual error: In the opening game of the movie the announcers at the ball park are referring to the visiting team as the Peninsula White Sox. The team shown on the field is the Hagerstown Suns. (00:07:00)

Sierra Oscar

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Everybody's All American picture

Factual error: During Gavin Grey's first NFL game in 1957, the helmets depicted for both the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers are historically inaccurate. The Redskins did not employ the burgundy helmets with the feather-stripe running along the center until 1958, and the Steelers didn't use black helmets with the Steelmark logo until 1963. In 1957, the Redskins used solid gold helmets while the Steelers used yellow helmets with a black stripe along the center and black numerals on either side.

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Hairspray picture

Factual error: Although the film is set in 1962, it uses the song "You Don't Own Me" which wasn't released until 1963 (and didn't become a big hit until 1964).

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Iron Eagle II picture

Factual error: The F-16 in the movie is wearing a desert camouflage, this is the standard camouflage of the Israel's air force F-16 while the USAF F-16 have two tonalities of grey.

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Young Guns picture

Factual error: When Billy The Kid is taking a bath and dictating a letter to Doc, intended for the governor, he says he is in the Mexican village of Juarez. This town was actually named "Paso del Norte" at the time, it wasn't until 10 years after the events depicted in the film that it was renamed "Ciudad Juarez."

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Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey picture

Factual error: In the movie Dian touches hands with the silverback Digit. In reality Digit was a young male and not a silverback. The gorilla she touched hands with was not Digit but one called Peanuts.

Asa Werner

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Bird picture

Factual error: Buster Franklin's bass player is playing a MusicMan StingRay bass, even though they didn't appear on the market until 1976. The guitar isn't from the fifties either, but I can't make out what it is. (02:12:30 - 02:14:50)

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Poltergeist III picture

Factual error: When Bruce and Patricia are in a lift after being chased by the cars in the garage, the lift rapidly descends but the two people in the lift are seen struggling on the floor when they should just about be on the ceiling due to the speed of the lift's descent.

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Mystic Pizza picture

Factual error: The pizza parlor's big break comes when the Fireside Gourmet features them on his TV show. Leaving aside the unbelievability of a gourmet restaurant critic visiting a pizza parlor, he appears as himself on his TV shows. Food critics always dine anonymously so that the restaurant can't give them any special treatment. (Movies love to mess this up.) In addition, when they watch his review, he's barely spat out the name of the restaurant when the phone already starts ringing. Barely enough time to dial the phone, let alone look the restaurant up in Information as most would have needed to do for this little-known place.

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Rain Man picture

Factual error: When Charlie is driving over a bridge into Cincinnati he is driving on the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge connecting Covington, KY to Cincinnati. It shows the bridge as a one way heading north. It is actually a two way bridge.

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The Great Escape II: The Untold Story picture

Factual error: MacKenzie is referred to as "Gunnery Sergeant". This is not a rank used by British and Commonwealth forces. He actually wears the rank insignia of a Flight Sergeant.

Necrothesp

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Eight Men Out picture

Factual error: The movie takes place during the year 1919. Yet before one of the World Series games the stadium announcer requests that everyone stand up to sing "the national anthem". The US did not have a national anthem until the 1930's when Frankin D. Rosevelt signed into law the Star Spangled Banner as the nation anthem.

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

Suggested correction: According to Ken Burn's "Baseball", Burns and Ward verify that "The Star Spangled Banner" was sung at a baseball game in 1918 to support the efforts of American Troops in WWI- in which players like Ty Cobb, George Sistler, and Christy Mathewson all fought.

The mistake is saying the announcer called it the national anthem, not that they sung "The Star Spangled Banner."

Bishop73

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Biloxi Blues picture

Factual error: During the scene where the platoon is stopped by the large lake on their 15 mile hike Sgt. Toomey says, "You must have been in the first World War." WWI and WWII were not referred to that way until years later.

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Scrooged picture

Factual error: The address on Claire's business card reads 514 West 43rd St. When Frank gets there, the street sign is for 3rd St./900 East block. The sign on the building reads "9th Street Temporary Shelter". Along with these discrepancies, taking into consideration that 3rd St. may be the cross street, WEST 43rd would not cross 3rd St. EAST, as they are on opposites sides of Manhattan. Even if the '4' on the sign for 43rd St. were somehow obliterated, 514 still would not be on the 900 East block. (00:53:10 - 00:54:15)

ChiChi

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Working Girl picture

Factual error: At the end of the movie Tess gets a job at Trask. Her secretary tells her that she can get her schedule on the PC by pressing shift + s. That would result in a capital S only - what she probably means is ctrl + s. (01:44:15)

NancyFelix

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The Presidio picture

Factual error: Sean Connery's character is the Provost Marshall for the Presidio, he would not be wearing the MP sleeve placard as he is in the scene at the Officer's Club. He also wouldn't be running around wearing a Field Jacket with the collar up and it unzipped. You wear the jacket correctly or not at all.

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Stand and Deliver picture

Factual error: "Kemo" is in the kitchen preparing food while everyone is studying. We see him putting raw meat (brains) in a pan, and then in real time we see him having a discussion with Pancho, and Pancho walks out. Kemo then says the food is done and asks if anyone wants some - but there's been no more than 60 seconds since he put it in.

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The Bourne Identity picture

Factual error: Shooting at a gas tank with buck shot at 50 meters distance will not make it explode (it likely won't even dent the surface), and lead pellets do not cause sparks when they hit.

Jacob La Cour

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The Accused picture

Factual error: Bob is in prison and he still has his gold ring on his right hand ring finger. Prisoners are not allowed to keep their personal property while in prison. (01:17:00)

Snag.1

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