Character mistake: The Captain's medal ribbon bar is sewn onto his uniform back to front, with the 1939-45 Star on his left and the 1939-45 War Medal on his right.
Necrothesp
15th May 2022
Ghosts (2019)
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Suggested correction: This is explained in the final episode, as he took somebody else's medal ribbon bar in order to get into an event only open to "decorated" officers and hurriedly put it on the wrong way round. However, this is also a mistake. Although the Captain never left Britain, he would still be entitled to the War Medal and Defence Medal, so would legitimately have two of the ribbons he wears. And having campaign medals does not make one "decorated" in any case.
11th Apr 2022
Ghosts (2019)
Deliberate mistake: The ghosts often walk around furniture even though it was established that they can walk through solid objects.
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Suggested correction: Just because they can walk through solid objects doesn't mean they have to. They were used to walking around things in life so just carry on doing so as a reflex action. They often use open doors too, only walking through walls when it's more convenient for them to do so or the doors are closed.
11th Apr 2022
Ghosts (2019)
Revealing mistake: The ghosts often cast shadows.
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Suggested correction: You can also hear their footsteps. But I'm not sure this is a mistake, just their own perception. Within the ghostly world they appear and act just like they would in life.
The ghosts are manifestations of energy, therefore they have no physical body to block light. Even if in the ghostly world, physics are physics and there should be no shadows.
21st Oct 2021
Vigil (2021)
Factual error: None of the naval officers wear medal ribbons. Even if none of them have been in a war zone (unlikely) or received an honour (also unlikely, especially given one is an admiral), the more senior would still have jubilee medals and the long service medal.
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Suggested correction: Not all officers wear uniform with medal ribbons, so have a best and a work uniform. In fact most of the time at sea all crew and officers would be wearing working blue uniform, not a mix like on the show.
Obviously no ribbons are worn on working dress, but none of them are wearing medal ribbons on No.1 Dress, where they most certainly would. Wearing this without appropriate medal ribbons is wearing it incorrectly, which no military officer would do.
22nd Oct 2021
Vigil (2021)
Factual error: As the Royal Navy has its own police (including detectives), there would be no need for a civilian detective to be airlifted onto a submarine, especially to investigate a sudden death that was not originally believed to be a murder.
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Suggested correction: The Royal Navy police are not equipped to handle murder; local police are usually used for more serious offences so no claim of a cover up. There are no MoD police attached to a submarine either, so in theory somebody would have to go to the boat. (However they still wouldn't risk surfacing).
Initially there is no suspicion of murder, only an unexplained sudden death. There would be absolutely no need to airlift a civilian detective aboard a top-secret submarine. It wouldn't be the first time a sudden death had occurred aboard a Royal Navy vessel.
6th Nov 2021
Eternals (2021)
Factual error: Druig leads several warriors outside Tenochtitlan as it was sacked by the Spanish conquistadores, and they live peacefully in the nearby forest, for 500 years. The forest is of course the virgin Amazon forest, as captions say. Small problem; Tenochtitlan was in Central Mexico.
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Suggested correction: It never says that the people who live with Druig in the Amazon in the present day are descendants of the people from Tenochtitlan. Nor does it ever say that the forest outside Tenochtitlan is the Amazon. He's probably been moving around for the last five centuries just as the other Eternals have.
Never ever? He literally says "Do you remember this forest? Beautiful. It's the last place we all lived together. I've protected these people for 20 generations." They split after their argument during the sack of the town. If their base of operations exterminating the mutant space dogs in Mexico was in the Amazon forest, their logistic could use some work.
Just because the last time they fought together was in Tenochtitlan doesn't mean that was the last time they lived together. They may have spent some time living peacefully in the Amazon before moving north to do their business in Tenochtitlan. And just because he's protected the people for twenty generations doesn't mean they're descendants of the people from Tenochtitlan. He may have found them later. We don't know every detail of the Eternals' history. You're just making assumptions.
You are assuming the presence of a third party stranded for 500 years that the movie never showed before, different from the people that he led out of the city and that we have then to postulate he let go, in a location far off from the one of their last encounter. It's an assumption on entirely new details that you had to make up. My only assumption is to think that what is shown in the movie had purpose and fits, and someone just borked a caption.
Who says they're stranded? He just said he had protected them for twenty generations. They'd probably always lived there. You're making the assumption that they must be the same people because nobody said they weren't. But nobody said they were either. Nobody in the film ever made a connection between the people in Tenochtitlan and the people in the Amazon. No mistake has therefore been made in either the dialogue or the captions.
I noticed the same problem, the scene indicates the location as "Amazon" (it could be any of the Spanish speaking countries that have part of this forest), but then, Druig comes with the affirmation you pointed. It's obviously a geographical inaccuracy.
They don't speak Spanish in the Amazons.
28th May 2019
Line of Duty (2012)
Factual error: Deputy Chief Constable Dryden wears two rows of silver oakleaves on the peak of his cap. Deputy Chief Constables only wear a single row of oakleaves.
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Suggested correction: However, DCCs in the British Transport Police and Metropolitan Police (Deputy Assistant Commissioner) have two rows of this insignia.
Indeed, but this is not the DCC of the BTP or a DAC in the Met.
29th Jan 2015
The X-Files (1993)
Corrected entry: Surprisingly, it takes the well-educated Scully quite a long time to realize that the tattoo on the victim's forearm is in Cyrillic lettering. (00:24:00)
Correction: Cyrillic bears similarities to Greek, Slavic, Russian, and some Middle-Eastern lettering. Considering the tattoo was on the decomposing skin of a body that had been submerged in water, it's reasonable to assume it would be difficult for anyone to recognise. Also, nothing is ever mentioned about Scully's education to suggest she should have any particular knowledge about multi-cultural writing styles, the most we know is that she had a decent grasp of German.
I agree with the original post. It is inconceivable that someone with Scully's education wouldn't recognise Cyrillic (which is the script in which Russian is written, incidentally, and looks nothing like any Middle-Eastern alphabet, although it is certainly similar to Greek). Any good general education would give you that knowledge.
2nd Sep 2003
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Corrected entry: In the film, Hal Moore repeatedly fires his weapon at NVA soldiers near the command post. In actuality no NVA soldiers got into the command post area, and Hal Moore never fired his weapon.
Correction: Artistic license, not a mistake.
This is still a factual error. Any factual error could be said to be "artistic licence." That doesn't mean it's not a factual error.
I don't think you really know the definition of "artistic licence" or "factual error." This movie is a dramatization, not a documentary. As such, film makers are free to use artistic licence to further the action and make the story more intense. Having Moore, for instance, use a gun that was made after the Vietnam War, would be a factual (historic) error.
It becomes a gray area and I agree the term "artistic license" is too much of a blanket statement that can be used to wipe away factual errors. Generally artistic or dramatic license can allow a film, show, or book based on a true store to have composite characters, fictional characters, or real characters doing things in dramatic fashion. But having NVA soldiers in an area they historically never were should be a mistake just like if a dramatization of Apollo 11 mission had a crew of 4.
20th Sep 2018
Happy Face Killer (2014)
Character mistake: When Jesperson imagines himself as a Mountie his uniform is completely wrong and is not even the right colour. As it was his ambition to join the force and he has photos of RCMP officers in his cab, it seems unlikely that he would imagine himself in a completely incorrect uniform.
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Suggested correction: It's not a character mistake, for the reasons stated; it's a clear factual error from the filmmakers.
It's a character mistake since it's his imagination and, as you stated, it's not something the character would get wrong.
21st Jan 2018
John Carter (2012)
Factual error: Carter's war record says he won the Southern Cross of Honor during the American Civil War. While this medal was authorised, it was never actually awarded.
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Suggested correction: John Carter isn't a real person either. This is science fiction, not a historical documentary.
It's still a valid point that he has a decoration that was never awarded. It's mostly science fiction, but the parts that take place in the real world are supposed to take place in the real world.
I think you're missing the point. The medal could have been awarded during that time, but no real person actually was awarded it. There's nothing preventing someone from being awarded it, and John Carter, as a fictional character, was awarded the medal. It would only be a mistake if they showed a real person who actually existed be awarded the medal or if the medal was never commissioned at that time.
8th Jul 2009
Torchwood (2006)
Captain Jack Harkness - S1-E12
Factual error: "Captain" Jack Harkness actually wears the rank insignia of a group captain, equivalent to an army colonel and never abbreviated to "captain". In fact, the RAF does not have a rank of captain (the equivalent rank is flight lieutenant). Neither does it have the position of "squadron captain", as he is described - a squadron commander in World War II usually held the rank of squadron leader (equivalent to an army major).
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Suggested correction: "Captain" Jack Harkness actually wears the rank insignia of a group captain, equivalent to an army Brigadier. The equivalent rank of Captain in the RAF is Flying Officer.
Nope. Group Captain = Colonel (Air Commodore = Brigadier). Flight Lieutenant = Captain (Flying Officer = Lieutenant).
Group Captain in the RAF does in fact equate to Captain in the Royal Navy. The Army equivalent being, as stated, Colonel.
6th Aug 2017
Dunkirk (2017)
Corrected entry: Generally the clothes are not 100% of WWII. We see a lot of hats and head protection which didn't exist at that time. Also the holsters for the side guns were all closed and not open like in the movie.
Correction: I didn't notice any headgear that was inaccurate. In fact, many servicemen did use open holsters, especially vehicle and aircraft crews.
8th Mar 2008
The Battle of the River Plate (1956)
Corrected entry: Near the end of the film, the crew of the Sheffield are ordered to stand at attention, salute and "face to starboard!" They are all facing to port, including the captain, who gave the order.
Correction: The crew do face to starboard. They face left on the screen, but that's because the camera is filming from the bow.
15th Jan 2013
Django Unchained (2012)
Corrected entry: In the scene where Django is shooting up everybody inside Calvin Candie's estate and they have him outgunned and outmanned and they are demanding he give himself up in exchange for Broomhilda's life, one of the corpses on the floor breathes a few times.
Correction: Not all the men who fall are dead. This is made perfectly obvious by the screams of the man who is continually hit by his comrades.
26th Jan 2013
Django Unchained (2012)
Corrected entry: Throughout the movie, Greenville, Mississippi is said to be in Chickasaw county. It is in Washington county.
Correction: It's Candieland plantation that's referred to as being in Chickasaw County, not Greenville. The plantation is obviously some distance from Greenville, so could quite easily be in another county.
8th Feb 2012
The Red Baron (2008)
Corrected entry: In the scene where the Baron is attacking the British bombers over the Western Front, one of the HP 0/400 bombers has the name "Royal Mail" painted on the side of the cockpit. The Royal Mail wasn't in existence during the First World War; it was the General Post Office up until 1981.
Correction: The Royal Mail was the GPO's actual mail arm, as opposed to its retail, administrative and telecommunications arms, since long before the First World War. It certainly appeared on the sides of their vans back then, so there's no reason a pilot shouldn't have ironically painted it on the side of an aeroplane that "delivered" bombs to the enemy.
17th Mar 2012
Sherlock (2010)
The Hounds of Baskerville - S2-E2
Corrected entry: Dr Frankland refers to his "cell number. No British person refers to a mobile phone as a cellphone.
Correction: It's actually a plot point, revealing that Frankland had spent a long time in America.
20th Oct 2007
Deathwatch (2002)
Corrected entry: When Quinn has just killed Sgt. Tate there are several close-up shots of Friedrich tied to a pole. He appears to have his head up and watching what's going on. When we see Quinn and Shakespeare arguing, he's in the background with his head to one side and looks completely lifeless.
Correction: He's a supernatural being. He's neither dead nor alive, just pretending to be at various times.
14th Aug 2005
Deathwatch (2002)
Corrected entry: The rifles the soldiers carry towards the end of the film are not really the Lee Enfield rifles that the British army carried. The rifles they carry have long muzzles, instead of the stubby one on the Enfield.
Correction: The rifles seen at the end of the film are German Mausers, not Lee-Enfields. The soldiers presumably found them in the trench.
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