Factual error: During the scene where everyone runs outside, the Statue of Liberty head crashes into the street. The head is scaled too small and its size can be compared to the people taking pictures. In real life the statue head is large enough for people to walk into (17' from chin to cranium).
Factual error: There is no possible way to cause a power line to drop from its support pylons and hit a person on target. These wires are fastened extremely securely, designed to withstand extremely high tension through all kinds of weather, and they are not equipped with some sort of explosive charges to release them.
Factual error: Filbert is in the southwest corner of PA. It is very far out of the way of Harrisburg and completely off the route from Philadelphia to Harrisburg.
Factual error: Benjamin leaves his family at some point after his daughter's first birthday (1970), and definitely before her second birthday. But a 1973-1977 El Camino is parked in front of their house as he rides away on his motorcycle. (02:24:15)
Factual error: When Meryl Streep is walking outside and talking to Mrs. Miller about the potential abuses of her son, you can see a basketball court in the background and on the court is a 3-point line. The movie is supposed to take place in 1964 and the 3 point line wasn't introduced until 1979/1980. (01:10:20)
Factual error: The dying colonel opens the bomb bay doors, and drops the "little man" atomic weapon on the island, destroying the flying reptiles. In fact, the bomb and the fusing assemblies were transported to Tinian by separate methods. No one in his right mind would have loaded a FUSED atomic bomb into a B-29 to transport it to Tinian.
Factual error: A woman is shown receiving electroshock treatment ("ECT") in a hospital scene which took place in 1928. Although chemicals were used to induce seizures in psychiatric treatments at the time, the use of electricity for the purpose was not discovered until 1937 and not used in the United States until 1940.
Factual error: At the end of the film, Wyatt and McQuarry each take a briefcase containing $5 million dollars. $1 million dollars in $100 dollar bills (highest denomination in circulation) weighs approximately 22lbs = 110lbs for $5 million. $5 million in $100 dollar bills is also approximately 3445 cu. in. in volume. This would not likely fit in the cases they are carrying, and would not be as easy to carry as they are.
Factual error: Near the end of the movie, a front view of the overdosing/overdosed twins shows Robert putting the dying twin's head on his lap. A close-up of the dead twin shows blood covering most of the left side of her face and a blue tinge on most of the right side, apparently meant to indicate developing livor mortis (bluish color after death). This twin just died, so it is too early for livor mortis to be visible. Livor mortis is not visible to humans until about two hours after death, but the process does begin sooner (about 20-30 minutes after death). Moreover, the writer failed to show the first stage of death - pallor mortis. The twins were Caucasians with blonde hair, so the dead twin would first turn pale (from blood draining from veins in the skin) about 15 minutes after death. The sudden oozing of blood from the dead twin's forehead was also not an accurate portrayal - she was dead, so her heart no longer pumped blood (so gravity takes over, draining blood). (01:39:58)
Factual error: When Mulder avoids hitting the truck, in the shot from the inside of the car he turns the wheel full left which means that the car should start to spin anticlockwise. However, in the next outside shot the car spins clockwise. (01:16:25)
Factual error: Spider's club is shown on 125th Street in Harlem, but whenever the officers radio in the location, they say 184th & St. Nicholas, which is in Washington Heights over 3 miles north.