Time Bandits

Factual error: When the Titanic sinks all six dwarves and Kevin end up in the sea clutching a lifebelt. The water in which the Titanic sank was freezing - that is how most of the casualties died, by freezing, not drowning. In water like that you'd be lucky to stay conscious for more than a few minutes. Despite this none of them show the slightest effect of the cold. Maybe the dwarves have some 'magical' ability to withstand lethal cold, but Kevin doesn't even react to being plunged into freezing cold water. He'd be screaming in pain, but he doesn't even show the slightest sign of discomfort.

Factual error: When the roast ox is cut in half by the swordsman, fruits spill out which were totally unknown to the ancient Greeks - most notably pineapples, mangoes and papayas. None of these fruits were available to Europeans for another 3,500 years when they were discovered in South America and the South Pacific. (And Greek explorers did NOT discover them independently, nor did they trade with anyone who did.). (00:54:45)

Revealing mistake: When Wally is firing the laser at random from the small spaceship, we see Fidget running down some stone stairs, and there are violent laser impacts directly behind him that could only have hit where they did if they had passed right though his body. (01:41:55)

Visible crew/equipment: When Kevin remarks how they must have run into an invisible barrier, the reflection of something can be seen in the barrier. Might be a camera or some other kind of equipment. (01:17:00)

Continuity mistake: As Kevin and the Time Bandits make their way to the place that Napoleon has taken control of, five people are executed by a firing squad. A couple shots later, the same group of people are being executed again. (00:15:35)

Continuity mistake: When the dwarves find the invisible barrier, Wally takes the map from Randall and calls him crazy. Randall then picks up a skull and throws it, shattering the invisible barrier. At this point Randall takes the map back from Wally, then the camera angle changes and we see Randall taking the map off Wally again. (01:18:05)

Visible crew/equipment: After robbing Napoleon, as the camera moves along the table, the shadow of the camera is visible on the table. (00:24:50)

Mortug

Revealing mistake: Right after the party splits in the fortress of darkness and Kevin and his piggy friend are chased by the big horned creatures, one of them fires a ball of flame out of its eye. In the next shot when they run trough the pillars of stone, you can see wires on the ceiling, the burning ball is draged with through the set (in the white smoke). This is even better visible some seconds later when the fireball flies trough the door. (01:30:15)

Revealing mistake: When Kevin and the Time Bandits push the wall all the way out, support wires can be seen attached to the wall as it disappears from view. (00:11:00)

Audio problem: When Kevin and his crew of thieving little people land in the Middle Ages, Randall informs Kevin that they made all of what's surrounding them, trees, shrubs, bushes etc. Kevin's reply is "Phew, that's not bad" He says this without opening his mouth. This was looped into the film later on.

Continuity mistake: Near the end of the film, there's a scene where the bandits are trapped in a cage hanging from a huge rope. One of the bandits crawls up on top, and severs multiple strands about 4' in length from the rope, leaving the cage hanging from a tiny strand. A bit later, when the cage is being swung back and forth, the missing section of rope has shortened considerably. (01:24:55 - 01:26:10)

Visible crew/equipment: During the scene where Kevin and the Dwarves are pushing his bedroom wall through. When the wall finally reaches the end and falls into space, you can clearly see the Sticky tape protruding from the top of the corridor that was holding the wall there in the first place. (00:11:00)

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Sean Connery stands in front of the crowd and tosses the Minotaur's head down, all of a sudden after one of the cuts, he's fully dressed in a red robe that was not there before. (00:50:10)

Continuity mistake: When Wally has jumped off the bottom of the cage and caught the rope, the rope holding the bandits' original cage snaps. This original cage (which has Wally's rope firmly tied to it) falls into the abyss. When the other bandits pull Wally up, there is no sign of the cage, which should have also shown up. Also, Wally is hanging on at the end of the rope, but he was in the middle of it before the cage's rope snaps. (01:28:10)

Revealing mistake: When Kevin walks towards the ashes of his parents after the toaster oven explosion, smoke can be seen going back towards the ashes, revealing that it is reversed footage.

Revealing mistake: When the party is falling in the gate found in the bedroom, they can be seen bouncing on what seems to be a mattress in the shadow. Yet, in the following shot, they are still falling. (00:10:55)

Dr Wilson

Continuity mistake: In the "hanging cages" scene, when the rope holding the first cage finally breaks and the cage drops, the only thing holding the other end is one of the characters, who was shown earlier with the rope around his chest and holding on by his fingers. He should have been pulled into the abyss when all the slack was gone.

stevewaclo

Revealing mistake: When the party is falling from the gate for the first time, their shadows are visible on the sky. (00:11:10)

Dr Wilson

Randall: People who are always right make me sick.
Fidgit: That's why you get along with yourself so well.

More quotes from Time Bandits

Trivia: Throughout the film there are several references to a character named Horseflesh, (such as "Horseflesh would never get us into this mess"). Despite the character being credited at the end of the movie he's never properly shown onscreen. There's a paragraph devoted to him in the published "Time Bandits" screenplay: "The trouble is quite frankly that if Horseflesh had been in it he would have made seven dwarves, and we'd have libel suits from Disney and all sorts of things. But we liked the name, so he remains the mystery dwarf." According to the interview with Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam on the extras DVD (produced in 2002), Terry Gilliam states that Horseflesh is the dwarf seen with Evil, though it isn't mentioned who he is; in the original script he had quite a few lines, but they were cut, eg "The map! Evil one, the very map I promised you, is yours" (from script excerpt shown on DVD).

More trivia for Time Bandits

Question: What was Vincent's personal problem, and when he had it, why did he ask for fruit?

Answer: Probably diarrhoea, and he needs fruit for fibre. The "special..." he says he doesn't need to wear anymore might be diapers.

Answer: Most likely a sexual dysfunction, asking for fruit was a ploy to avoid answering any more personal questions.

More questions & answers from Time Bandits

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