Revealing mistake: In the scene near the beginning it shows a big guy converting a 7-10 split and celebrating. If you watch it closely you will realise that the 7 pin is lined up too far to the left and the ball is already in the gutter when it hits the pin. The movie makers could have at least bothered to repaint the pin placement lane markings so it would not be so obvious that the pin had been moved.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
1 revealing mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Joel Coen
Starring: John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Turturro, Tara Reid, Peter Stormare
Continuity mistake: When the Dude first looks at the Nihilist in the pool the liquor bottle is way off to the side. In the next shot a few seconds later, (the close up) it is tucked right under his arm. (00:15:30)
Walter Sobchak: Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.
Trivia: This isn't really a mistake, just something to note - throughout the whole movie the Dude is not seen bowling once. Also, every time you see Donnie (Steve Buscemi) bowl, he gets a strike, except for the last bowling scene, he does not get a strike, and he dies of a heart attack a few minutes after this.
Question: At the very end of the scene in which Walter and the Dude are spreading Donnie's ashes at the coast, a dark and unidentifiable figure appears for a few seconds in the upper right screen, apparently hiking a trail along the cliff. Was this an accidental walk-on by an actual hiker, or was it written into the script? With all the star-power in this film, I thought every bit of background action was supposed to be meticulously crafted.
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Chosen answer: There's no way of knowing. If the hiker was that far away, it could have been someone who happened to stray into the scene by accident. The filmmakers may or may not have noticed, but if they did, may have felt it added to the realism. I did this myself during the filming of a street scene for the TV show, "Northern Exposure." Filming was underway before I realised I was in the midst of it. I just kept walking like I was supposed to be there.
raywest ★