Continuity mistake: When Briseis runs to Paris and shouts, "Paris! Don't!" in the wide shot, Achilles limps near the dead soldier on the grass. When Achilles is hit with the final arrow he drops to his knees and behind him an arrow lies on the ground (it is the 2nd arrow that hit him, which he pulled out and threw), opposite the dead soldier, which was much farther back in the previous wideshot of the grass. (02:28:45)
Continuity mistake: When Glaucus, Paris and other Trojans stand at the ready, the Greeks break through the palace gates, stream into the room and begin to fight. However, after Paris runs up the stairs, pulls and releases the arrow to hit the soldier's neck, in this shot Glaucus and the Trojans stand on the opposite side facing the Greeks, they have not yet even begun to fight. (02:25:25)
Continuity mistake: When Hector grabs the sword from the ground, prior to stabbing Ajax, the blade is covered in blood. But when the blade tip touches Ajax's armor, before it pierces him, the amount of blood on the blade is significantly decreased. (01:20:25)
Continuity mistake: The cuts on Hector's face change and the one over Hector's left eyebrow actually changes direction, as well as other characteristics in many shots. When he shows his wife the tunnel, the top of the cut points towards the left side of his face, but when he stands at the gate and glances back at Helen, the top of the cut points up towards his right. (01:48:05 - 01:56:40)
Continuity mistake: Close to the end of the film when we see Priam in Achilles' tent talking to him, in one shot you see Achilles looking down at his feet or away from him, in the following shot, he is looking directly at Priam. (02:02:25)
Continuity mistake: At the start of the first battle when we see Achilles' soldiers penetrate the sands of Troy, Achilles throws a spear through a guys head. But if you look closely at the previous shot, the soldier's body is side-on, obviously so he can shoot the arrow, yet when it cuts to the spear going through the head, the soldier is completely facing Achilles. (00:39:25)
Continuity mistake: After Agamemnon's death, Achilles kills the two soldiers to rescue Briseis and in the close-up as he starts to lift her, the soldier's helmet lies near his head by the steps and the sword's grip at his fingertips. In the following shots the body, sword and helmet all change positions, the helmet moves at least a foot and the sword moves a few feet. (02:28:10)
Continuity mistake: When Priam, Paris, Glaucus, et al, arrive at the beach to see the Greek's 'Trojan' horse, the men who lie dead all over the sand change position. Particularly, in the first shot as it pans towards the horse, the two dead men in red lie on the sand in front of Priam a good distance away from the horse. In the next two close-ups of these men (the same two bodies), their positions are completely different. Then in the next wide shot, those two bodies are much closer to the huge 'Trojan' horse now. (02:16:00)
Continuity mistake: After Menelaus dies, during the Greek charge Hector spots Ajax doing his thing and the rolled white tourniquet around Ajax's leg wounds is clearly visible. When Hector rides toward Ajax, he promptly knocks Hector off his horse and the tourniquet is once again visible, only now it's wider and tied differently, and changes again within the following shots. (01:19:25)
Continuity mistake: As Helen says, "They're coming for me. The wind is bringing them closer..." she leans on the large pillar, even as Paris walks over she stands beside it when they embrace. In the following wide shot, as Paris lets go of her, they are not standing in the same location as the previous close-ups. (00:32:00)
Continuity mistake: When Menelaus bursts into Helen's room, as he confronts the handmaiden about her whereabouts, Menelaus' hair curl is in front of his shoulder when the shot faces the woman, but not when the shot faces Menelaus. The same thing happens with Paris when he is with Helen, with Glaucus when he says goodbye to Hector, when Hector speaks with Lysander at the armory and so forth. Throughout the film all the men's hair in front and back - its position, neat or not, curls or not, etc., noticeably changes between shots. (00:15:50 - 01:54:45)
Continuity mistake: While still in Sparta, when Helen stands up after Paris rubs her neck, the strap of her dress on her right shoulder is closer to her neck when she removes the dress, than in the previous shot. (00:12:15)
Continuity mistake: After the Trojan rider finds the hidden Greek fleet, he is hit with three arrows in his torso. In the close-up there are two arrows above and one just below them, but in the wide shot the three arrows are aligned in a straight row. (02:18:35)
Continuity mistake: In the middle of the film just after Hector has killed Menelaus, they run away, and on the far away shot, you can see they are some distance from Menelaus body, yet when it cuts to a close-up shot of them running they have barely passed the body. (01:14:25)
Continuity mistake: After Achilles stabs Hector with the spear, as Hector falls to his knees in the close-up, his greaves and shoes are entirely dusty/dirty - causing the dark sandals to be very light. However, as Achilles ties the rope around Hector's ankles in the close-up, Hector's greaves and sandals are now relatively clean and note the interesting pin-dot tread on the rubber soles of Hector's sandals. (02:01:20 - 02:02:00)
Continuity mistake: In the scene near the start of the film where Achilles ship has just arrived on the sands of Troy, the ship gets fired upon by flaming arrows. The camera cuts to a shot aboard the ship where you can see a soldier jump over the side, his shield and spear on his right arm. Yet when he lands the shield and spear have switched to his left arm. (00:36:15)
Continuity mistake: When Hector says goodbye to Paris and kisses his forehead, the small decorative gold clasps and the very large clasp at the bottom of his hair are visible. Then when Hector says goodbye to Andromache and Scamandrius, the large clasp is a completely different one and the small clasps' positions differ. The clasps in Hector's, Paris', and others, hair change position in consecutive shots throughout the film. (01:55:00)
Continuity mistake: When Helen is standing behind Hector before he goes out the gates to fight Achilles, she's very much on his left side (he turns and looks over his left shoulder at her.) But when he starts walking out and she's seen behind him, she's suddenly on his right. (01:56:30)
Continuity mistake: Menelaus' head rotates between shots of him saying "May the gods keep the wolves in the hills and the women in our beds" when at Sparta.
Continuity mistake: After Paris is given the sword of Troy, it cuts to Hector speaking to Andromache. In this wide shot the cloth draped small bed between the two large columns is turned at a slant. Yet when Hector leaves their room (before encountering Helen), the bed is now parallel to the short wall (which faces the sea). (01:00:20 - 01:01:30)
Answer: They didn't know the Greeks weren't bringing cavalry. The Greeks did use them and sometimes brought them by sea. It was there to stop a cavalry charge and to break up fighting formations.
LorgSkyegon