Full Metal Jacket
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Revealing mistake: When the Marines are jogging through the training camp complex, singing "I don't know but I've been told..." you can see the British road junction markings on the tarmac underneath them. There is little evidence to suggest that there was any attempt to disguise or remove them.

Full Metal Jacket mistake picture

Revealing mistake: When Private Pyle shoots himself you can see that the blood splatters from the side of the screen instead of going straight back from the back of his head.

Revealing mistake: In the early latrine scene when Privates Cowboy and Joker are mopping the floor, the mops they are using are dry. As they dip each mop into the bucket, there is no water dripping. When they move the bucket, the sound indicates it is empty, as anyone who has ever used a mop & metal bucket could validate.

Revealing mistake: We find out at the end of the movie that the sniper is a young girl, but earlier when the first shot is taken at Eightball, you can see the sniper's fingers on the fore end of the rifle - they appear to be an adult male's fingers. (01:31:27)

Revealing mistake: When Joker and Raptor are in the helo heading for the front, there is a view of Vietnamese being fired at by the door gunner with an M-60 machine gun. Several seconds pass in the scene while bullets should be tearing into the ground around them, but there are no indications of bullet strikes, even as the line of fire passes over a small creek.

stevewaclo

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Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, Gunnery Sgt. Hartman is making his speech and passes by Privates Cowboy and Joker on his way to the other side of the barracks. On his way he passes Private Pyle standing to the right of Private Joker. Later in the scene, when he rushes over to confront Private Joker and then moves on to Private Cowboy and then Private Pyle, Private Pyle is on the left of Private Joker. (00:02:00)

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Trivia: Not really a mistake, given the need to maintain the story arc in the first half of the film, but in real life, Pyle would have been discharged from the Marine Corps within days of his starting basic training - for his own good. It happens all the time - dropout rate of boot camp recruits varies but is generally around 10%.

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Question: Private Joker asks the gunner on the chopper about how he is able to shoot women and children, and the gunner replies by saying 'it's easy, you just don't lead them so much'. Does anyone know what that means?

Answer: To lead means to aim ahead of a moving target. His statement means that women and children don't run as fast as men, so you don't need to aim as far in front of them to hit them.

jle

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