Factual error: Morgan says that french fries are one of the seven items on McDonalds menu that doesn't contain sugar. French fries, in fact, do contain dextrose - a form of sugar. This is mentioned on DVD commentary.
Factual error: In the scene where they all meet up for Christmas dinner, later they drive to the park and there are green leaves on the trees.
Factual error: Early in the movie, you see Largeman arrive at work and the hose from the gas station is still hanging out of the gas tank. The hose wouldn't have been frayed like it was shown. All pumps, at least in the U.S., have a breakaway point that allows the hose to break cleanly and reseal.
Factual error: When the pilots are over the Gulf of Mexico right before the oil rig is destroyed, one of them reports that the surface pressure is 93 millibars. That's the wrong order of magnitude for a surface pressure reading. Standard atmospheric pressure is 1000 millibars, or 1 bar. During the very worst hurricanes, surface pressure can drop slightly below 900 millibars. So the pressure reading here probably should have been 930 millibars, not 93.
Factual error: When the pills are being recovered in the mock police raid, we see, several times, an observer watching through binoculars. We see his eye enlarged, despite our looking the wrong way down the lens.
Factual error: This film shows Sellers faking a broken leg in order to get out of playing the pilot in Dr. Strangelove. Sellers fell off a ladder on the set of the film, and director Stanley Kubrick was there to see it happen. He broke his leg and was replaced by Slim Pickens as a result.
Factual error: After Samuel shoots himself he is lying on the floor next to the Glock he used. The slide is locked back even though he had only one round and no empty magazine in the gun. The slide will not lock back in this configuration.
Factual error: When Joseph Sedley presents Becky Sharp with the parrot, he says it is because she loves all things that come from India. The Blue and Gold Macaw, however, is native to South America. (The director's commentary makes it clear that she is aware of this. (She could hardly not be, coming from India.) It was a bit of "poetic license.")
Factual error: When Trevor is struck by the VW Beetle, not only is he not thrown forward along the Beetle's path, he actually lands well behind the point of impact - more than half the length of the parked van. He doesn't bounce off another object that changes his direction. He's just thrown up, then falls rearward above the car. (01:08:35)
Factual error: (SPOILER ALERT) Aviva is supposed to have had a hysterectomy done on her secretly when she went in to have an abortion. She is shown waking up in the clinic, and her parents elect not to tell her, and as the movie progresses we see that she never finds out. But there are several reasons why this is impossible: 1) A hysterectomy is major surgery - the little storefront clinic Aviva is in would never have been able to perform it. She would have been transfered to a hospital. 2) Similarly, the recovery period for a hysterectomy is weeks long - Aviva would have been hospitalized for weeks, and there's no way she would not have noticed the pain she was in, or the surgical scar, or the fact that she was in a hospital. Yet in the movie she is shown walking out of the clinic the same day. 3) Even if you discount the first two reasons, Aviva would have noticed in the weeks and months afterwards that she was not getting her period, and therefore was incapable of getting pregnant. Yet we see her gamely trying to get pregnant with the trucker guy.
Factual error: Before 1949, when the part of the film set in Hollywood takes place, the famous sign on the mountain read "Hollywoodland", not "Hollywood". The sign had been allowed to deteriorate and during that year, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce offered to remove the last four letters and repair the rest.
Factual error: In the scene towards the end, where Johnny Depp is making his speech in the House of Lords, he refers to 'due process of law', but uses the American pronunciation of the word 'process' (prah-sess) whereas the English would say 'proe-sess'.
Factual error: A murder investigation would not be handled by a Detective Constable (he says he's in charge). Detective Chief Inspector is the usual minimum rank for a senior investigating officer, and such a high profile murder investigation is likely to be under a higher ranking senior officer.
Factual error: In the final credits, the song "Brazil" is credited to "Aro Barrosa". The composer's real name is Ary Barroso.
Factual error: In the scene where Mei is bathing in that small pool, you can see on her arm a the scar from her vaccination. As you might expect, they didn't have these vaccinations in the 1800s.
Factual error: During a panoramic shot while moving down the street in New York City, a modern-looking Starbucks was shown. It was 1973 at this point in the movie. There were no Starbucks stores in 1973 except one in Seattle. See http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/timeline.asp.
Factual error: The main plot of the film takes place between the draw for, and playing of, the FA Cup Third Round tie between Millwall and Chelsea. In reality the Third Round is drawn in early December and played in early January, however the film makes no reference to this time of year, ie. no signs of Christmas, in fact much of it appears to take place during summer time.
Factual error: In the submarine scene, the crew is sitting in a well illuminated cabin and the surrounding ocean is pitch black. They couldn't possibly have seen the shark outside because of the window's mirror effect.
Factual error: There is a mistake regarding the El (elevated train) stop sequence portrayed. When Richard Gere jumps off the train to check out Miss Mitzie's Dance Studio, the announcer says "next stop Sedgwick". However, we see that the train is at a stop that has three lines including the orange (as noted by the colors on the column on the left of the screen). The two stops that are before and after Sedgwick don't have the orange line so it's not possible for the next stop to be Sedgwick. (00:07:25)
Factual error: In the scene of reaching Machu Pichu, the asthmatic Che Guevara is practically running up (6.000 meters high), and his friend, who doesn't suffer from any respiratory illness, is gasping for air. In other scenes, the asthma plays an important role in the film.