Visible crew/equipment: As Hector and Achilles duel, Achilles slices Hector's spear with his shield. Two shots later, just as Hector throws the remaining spear to the ground, the large distinctive shadow of equipment, which leans or stands beside the wall, is visible on the gate behind Hector. (01:59:15)
Factual error: More than once the sun is seen rising over the sea. But that would be impossible, since the sun rises in the east and the sea around Troy is in the north and west, not in the east.
Continuity mistake: When Paris finds Briseis with Achilles, Paris lets loose his first arrow, with four left in the quiver, then when he runs up the step he pulls his second and there are three left. He then releases the third and fourth arrows, which should leave him only one in his quiver, for his final shot. Just after Briseis shouts, "Paris! Don't!" before he lets loose his fifth arrow, there are still three arrows actually visible behind him. However, when he runs down the stairs his quiver is empty. Perhaps some Legolas elf magic is at work here. (02:28:10)
Revealing mistake: When Paris and Hector ride back into Troy with Helen (in the chariot), Paris's cloak is held on the armor with blue laces complete with little plastic ends. Similar laces, in various colors, on others' cloaks are also visible in the film. Plastic was not invented until the 20th century. (00:28:00)
Continuity mistake: Just before Hector fights Achilles, he hugs his wife, and son. The boy is rather big in his wife's arms. A moment later, we see a wider shot of the family looking on, and the wife hands the boy to someone to hold for her. The bundle we see in her hands is very tiny compared to the baby she'd just had in the previous scene. (01:55:35 - 01:57:30)
Visible crew/equipment: While Hector and Achilles duel, there is a wide shot just before Hector breaks Achilles' spear. At the start of this shot, as Achilles begins to thrust the spear towards Hector, an equipment shadow (an upside down V) is visible on the ground behind Hector's feet. (The equipment that casts this shadow is seen on DVD 2, it glides above the camera on a suspended wire.) (01:59:20)
Revealing mistake: As the vast army of Greeks approach the shores of Troy, there is a close-up of Eudorus' legs as he makes his way to Achilles at the bow of the ship. As he walks, the very thick rubber soles with lovely, intricate, modern treads are perfectly visible on his old fashioned sandals with each step that he takes. Countless times the treads are actually identical on different character's sandal's soles. (00:35:55)
Revealing mistake: When Paris hits Achilles with the fifth arrow, as Achilles raises his right arm, the two round yellow stickers on both sides of his armor beside the studs, near the arm holes, are perfectly visible in this and the following two extreme close-ups. They are used to mark the bottom edge of the shot. Obviously they are gone in the previous and following shots. (02:28:50)
Continuity mistake: After Hector stabs Ajax blood dribbles from Ajax's mouth and lands on the sand. However, once Ajax breaks the spear in his stomach and continues fighting, this area has no blood on it.
Continuity mistake: After Ajax's death, when Agamemnon shouts, "Forward!" as they charge, Agamemnon's two horses have very distinctive white markings on their faces. Then when Agamemnon and Odysseus (on the same chariot) retreat, after the cheering of Trojan royalty, in the close-up as Odysseus shouts, "Back to the ships!" the white markings are entirely different, and now both horses are actually wearing blinkers on their bridles to cover their eyes. (01:20:50 - 01:21:55)
Revealing mistake: Achilles is hit with the final arrow that Paris lets loose, and he drops down to his knees. As he kneels on the grass his left ankle and foot are perfectly visible, and the arrow in his ankle/foot is unequivocally gone! (Visible on VHS.)
Revealing mistake: Just before Priam and Hector speak about Paris and Helen, the camera pans the exterior of the palace at the start of the shot. Later, when the camera pans up after Achilles dies, the same structures are visible, yet part of the stone buildings (beyond the statues that stand beside the grass) and a piece of the wall around the palace, are completely different. (This has nothing to do with camera angles.) (00:30:15 - 02:31:10)
Continuity mistake: When Paris and Menelaus duel, the distance between them and each of the two armies changes drastically in different consecutive shots, even when there is minimal movement by the two men. For example, when Menelaus takes Paris' shield away and Paris trips forward in two consecutive shots. (01:14:45)
Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, just after Achilles has arrived, he begins to walk off from Agamemnon, and as the shot faces Agamemnon talking to the gentleman beside him with the white hair and beard, this man's position differs between shots. (00:07:25)
Continuity mistake: When Priam sees the city on fire, in the shot facing his back, he walks to the edge of the balcony. In the next close-up facing him, the large statue (the seated statue opposite the throne) and a particular white statue are a certain distance behind him. In earlier shots, including when Priam and Hector stand on the balcony, the distance between the balcony and the seated statue at the opposite end of the room is far greater. The statues are deliberately much closer, for the close-up on Priam's devastated expression. (02:22:50)
Continuity mistake: When Achilles goes to see his mother, Thetis, as they speak the position of her long hair differs repeatedly, e.g., behind her shoulder then in front, depending on the camera angle. (00:25:30)
Revealing mistake: After the Greeks break into the palace throne room, there is a close-up and consecutive wide shot of a particular white statue being pulled down with two ropes, then smashes apart on the floor and water. However, in the next shot of Priam, he turns around and as the camera pans out, the very same statue is being pulled down yet again, albeit with very noticeable differences in this take of the same shot. (Each of the unique statues in the throne room is visible in earlier shots.) (02:26:15)
Revealing mistake: Throughout the entire film, when soldiers are stabbing others it is blatantly obvious in numerous shots that the swords' blades or spear tips don't come anywhere near the armor or skin of the stabbing victim, and the 'victim' usually has either a delayed reaction to their wounds, or react before the weapons ever 'touch' them. (02:20:50)
Revealing mistake: After Hector pulls his sword from his shield, Achilles spins around and pulls his own from the underside of his shield. The sword is unsecured above his hand, not where it should have been, below his left hand on the handle of the shield, which was obviously done deliberately to ready the sword for the shot. (01:59:25)
Continuity mistake: In the first shot that pans Ajax's ship, as he walks towards the bow, Ajax's weapon leans on the rail at the prow and to HIS left there is a green shield, blanket and other items lying on deck, as well as the seated men rowing. The first seat is empty, on the second seat sits a dark-haired man and a bald man sits on the fourth seat. However, when he yells, "Row you lazy whores..." in the close-up, he yanks a man sitting in the first seat that was previously empty, the man on the second seat has gone grey (from stress?) and the (bald) man on the fourth seat has grown a full head of hair. Ajax's weapon, the green shield and the other items are gone too. (00:41:30)
Answer: He was warning the other soldiers that Achilles was coming.