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: Marie discovers that letters in a 9th century ornament are actually Arabic numerals. Those were not introduced into Europe until the 13th century and although the numbering system was already in use in Arabia, it used different glyphs than the ones she identified.
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: On Air Force One going to Prague, Anna puts down the word "zygote," using a triple-word score square on the Scrabble board. This results in a 60 point score, but she totals it up as 40. (00:12:50)
Factual error: In the final credits, the song "Brazil" is credited to "Aro Barrosa". The composer's real name is Ary Barroso.
Factual error: Although the film is set in the 1970s, the San Diego Convention Center can be seen in several skyline shots of the city of San Diego throughout the film. It was built during the mid 1980s.
Factual error: When the President's jet is on final approach, they pass a helicopter carrying a donkey. The helicopter is able to maintain position alongside for some time. In fact, when it peels away it still doesn't fall back, but just gets farther away.
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: Selena, the Goddess of the Moon, sets the next "earthset" as Zenon's deadline. One shot shows the Earth slowly sinking towards the lunar horizon while Zenon and Dasha watch. However, the moon takes exactly as long to rotate on its own axis as it does to orbit the Earth. As a result, the Earth does not rise and set as seen from any one location on the moon. It only rises and sets as you move across the surface of the moon.
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: When Mrs. Krank tries to snatch the Christmas ham in the parking lot of the grocery store, you can see trees with green foliage in the distance. Chicago never has green foliage on trees in the month of December.
Factual error: When the family is driving from New York to New Jersey, you see a highway sign for the exit for New Jersey. In the background is a Dofasco building which is in Hamilton, Ontario, very far from New York or New Jersey.
Factual error: When Kelly's head gets chopped off from her P.O.V. the killer slices her neck from left to right, and her head spins anti-clockwise, If it was from Left to Right her head should spin in the opposite direction. (00:06:45)
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: When Team America (minus Gary) go and fight the Koreans in their planes, there is a shot where rain is dripping down the front of the cockpit. If they were flying, the water should be streaming backwards off the plane because of the wind, not dribbling down.
Factual error: When Steve the Pirate is walking down the street in Vegas and gets hit with a drink, behind the truck you see Binions Horseshoe Casino. Binions is on Fremont street, and that is closed to traffic. (01:02:35)