Dunkirk

Other mistake: In the scene at the end where Farrier gazes upon his burning Spitfire on the beach, the propeller appears to be supported at the end of a simple rod. In fact the propeller would have been attached to a rather solid engine. There's also no internal structure - the entire spitfire was reduced to ashes which was impossible as this was a metal aircraft. Unlike the Wellington, Mosquito or Hurricane which were partly timber and canvas.

andyK

Other mistake: When the pilot of the Spitfire is shown ditching into the water, his engine is windmilling at high RPM as he impacts the water. This would have resulted in all of the prop blade tips being bent backwards; however, as it shows him trying to escape the sinking airplane, the prop blades are perfectly straight.

Other mistake: In a scene where the commanding marine officer stands on the mole in a close-up shot, black smoke is rising from sky out of nowhere. Looks like the FX guys forgot to delete the particle effect after deciding to not show a boat with its exhausts in the background.

Other mistake: When Tommy walks down the stairs on the boat to be bombed, one of the soldiers in the top middle of the left side of the screen can be seen pretending to eat a sandwich by repeatedly snapping his teeth near the edge of the crust. (00:31:15)

Dunkirk mistake picture Video

Deliberate mistake: The Messerschmitts have painted yellow fronts, this wasn't done by the Germans until after Dunkirk. Christopher Nolan has admitted doing this deliberately so the audience could tell the difference between the Spitfire and the Messerschmitt during the combat scenes.

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Lance-Corporal: The tide's turning now.
Colonel Winnant: How can you tell?
Lance-Corporal: The bodies are coming back.

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Trivia: In reality, Adolf Hitler ordered his commanders and troops to stand down and allow Allied forces to escape at Dunkirk. The German General von Blumentritt is quoted as saying "He (Hitler) then astonished us by speaking with admiration of the British Empire, of the necessity for its existence, and of the civilisation that Britain had brought into the world...He said that all he wanted from Britain was that she should acknowledge Germany's position on the Continent." But the exact reason for the order remains unknown.

Charles Austin Miller

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

Suggested correction: Hitler's controversial 'halt' order at Dunkirk had nothing to do with chivalry. The most widely accepted reason for the order is that the Wehrmacht Panzer units had been fighting continuously for two weeks, and badly needed some rest in preparation for Fall rot, phase two of the invasion of France. Infantry and air power continued to attack the Dunkirk pocket throughout the evacuation while the armoured units rested.

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Question: A few minutes into the movie you see English troops all lined-up on the beach with no obvious means of evacuation. That leaves them very exposed to German gunfire and aerial attack. It would seem that the English soldiers would stay off the beach until actually called-up for evacuation. Not to mention the obvious requirement that some troops would have to stay off the beach to defend the evacuation area. How realistic are those scenes?

Answer: That's exactly how it was. If you search for images of the evacuation, the troops were stood in lines, waiting to be evacuated. The Germans were held at bay, and the air raids were periodic, so there was little risk on the beaches.

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