Deliberate mistake: The actual Lazlo Almasy died in the 1950's after voluntarily serving with the German Army and SS during WWII.
The English Patient (1996)
1 deliberate mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Anthony Minghella
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Naveen Andrews
Factual error: After Hardy dies and they're going through his possessions, a football scarf is pulled from his kit bag. The scarf has a Sunderland AFC badge. The film is set in World War II. The badge on the scarf was introduced in the 1970s.
Almásy: This... this, the hollow at the base of a woman's throat, does it have an official name?
Madox: Good God, man, pull yourself together.
Trivia: When Almasy returns to the cave, he is wearing a German Wehrmacht issue tunic. From a distance, his outfit looks like German Army. However, looking closer, it is completely without insignia (other than plain privates's shoulder insignia). Makes perfect sense that the German Army would most likely not give him a piece of regulation uniform. If this is intentional, it shows perfect sense for detail.