Best movie continuity mistakes of all time

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Mr. Peabody & Sherman picture

Continuity mistake: When the WABAC machine is going through the time vortex, trying to escape from the black hole, some tiles get sucked off the WABAC, but in the next shot they are back on.

TheLemmy Corp

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Patriots Day picture

Continuity mistake: When the police are moving in to arrest Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the shot shows an FBI SWAT officer grabbing him. But in the next cut, the officer changes to a Boston Police Officer while changing back to a FBI Officer in the following shot.

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Beauty and the Beast picture Beauty and the Beast mistake picture

Continuity mistake: After Belle says good morning to Jean Potts, when she feeds the apple to the donkey note the rope (crosstie) is tied off at the donkey's throat, but in the next closeup the rope is tied off directly to the halter knot at its cheek.

Super Grover

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Men in Black 3 picture Men in Black 3 mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As the hand creature busts the shackles off Boris' legs in Lunar Max, you can see the bottoms of his pants over his metal prison boots. There are only a few folds and wrinkles over his left foot, and the pants over right foot are hardly wrinkled at all, or affected as the creature climbs up his right leg. But only a couple of seconds later, we see another shot of Boris' feet as the creature breaks off the metal sleeve of his arm, and suddenly his pants legs are very wrinkled. Boris was standing perfectly still the entire time. Boris' legs are also suddenly closer together. (00:03:35)

Quantom X

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Alien: Covenant picture

Continuity mistake: Daniels' face gets splattered with blood, in a following shot there's slightly less blood, then when she uses the radio to call back the others, her face on the screen shows no blood at all. In the other shots after it's there again.

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American Pie 2 picture American Pie 2 mistake picture

Continuity mistake: In the scene where John is peeing off Stifler's balcony, he knocks over a plant and knocks out Christy. In the next shot the plant is back, and in the one after that it is gone again. (00:17:15)

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Top Gun: Maverick picture

Continuity mistake: In the first scene when Maverick enters the airbase on his motorcycle it is mid-morning based on the sun and shadows. When he takes off in the test jet it is pre-dawn.

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Suggested correction: The movie sequencing/reveal is shoddy for this. Prior to him uncovering the motorcycle and heading out he slaps the calendar on the wall where it says, If I recall, "Mach 8." the day before on the calendar says something like "training" or "physical test" or something (I honestly forgot). That happens the first day ("afternoon") as shown with him on the treadmill; he sleeps on-base to get up "pre-dawn" and that's when the admiral arrives and he takes off.

kayelbe

This shot is likely referring to the fact that at Mach 10 he's travelling so fast towards the west that the sun (which only just set) appears to be rising again, as he outraces the darkness.

Travelling that far west would bring aircraft and pilot well over the pacific. No chance to find a lift back there.

I've watched this movie many more times since my comment. The runway assigned is "21", which has a heading of 210°, roughly southwest. This puts him facing the setting sun, but at his speed he's covering such a distance that he's actually seeing it "set" again. Even with the turn, the POV of the breakup appears still heading west. Somehow he ends up in rural (Northern?) California, walking all night to arrive at the diner for breakfast.

kayelbe

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Pretty Woman picture Pretty Woman mistake picture

Continuity mistake: The morning after Vivian's first night at the hotel, room service brings breakfast. When she's eating a croissant it cuts to a shot of Edward, and when it cuts back to Vivian she's eating a pancake which goes from being half done, to being a whole pancake again. (00:30:55)

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The Transporter picture

Continuity mistake: When surrounded by police and a garbage truck, Frank drives his car from the overpass onto the passing transport trailer below, then lands behind a hatchback and in front of two cars - a white compact with a sunroof and a grey hatchback. In one specific shot from atop the trailer, as Frank rolls his window down (before he requests the gun) the only vehicle behind Frank's car is the white compact, which is at the trailer's rear. Note things such as the trailer's safety bars, and the view through the compact's windshield for starters. That grey hatchback is back when the ramp is lowered, for the ensuing crashes. (00:08:20)

Super Grover

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Back to the Future picture Back to the Future mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Marty chases after Biff on the borrowed 'skateboard', Marty is wearing a dark grey belt and a red/blue print shirt under his red/beige jacket. However, when Marty is hanging on to the front of Biff's car as they turn a corner (and in another shot), Marty (stunt double) is wearing a light brown belt and solid tan shirt. (01:07:00)

Super Grover

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Thor: Ragnarok picture

Continuity mistake: When Karl Urban is defending the Asgardians, the dust covers on his rifles vary between being open and closed several times. M16 dust covers are sprung loaded - they open on the first shot and have to be manually closed afterwards.

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The Untouchables picture

Continuity mistake: When Eliot Ness is at Jim Malone's house for the first time, Malone's collar is opened, then buttoned, then open again.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 picture Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 mistake picture Video

Continuity mistake: When Xenophilius draws the Deathly Hallows symbol, he draws it so that the bottom of the line touches the bottom of the circle. The shot cuts away and back again when he draws the triangle, but the line is no longer touching the bottom of the circle. (01:49:40)

virtual-toast

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Training Day picture

Continuity mistake: Towards the end, Denzel drives his car into 2 cars trying to get Ethan off the hood. After that scene ends you see Denzel driving the same car and the front and rear of the car look nothing like they did when he was crashing into the cars.

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Joker picture

Continuity mistake: When Joker is dancing on the stairs he throws his cigarette. Then when the cops arrive at the top of the stairs we see him blowing smoke from the same cigarette. Then the cigarette is gone again. (01:30:40)

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Suggested correction: They purposely stuck the images in a way that it repeats itself over and over again. It's intentionally made in a way of not flowing straightforward.

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone picture Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone mistake picture

Continuity mistake: At the snake exhibit, while Harry speaks with the Python the snake's body lies curled over a long wood log and a large rock. In the shot from outside the Python's exhibit, after the glass pane disappears Dudley falls over the rail and the snake is gone, not positioned differently or blocked from view, but altogether gone. In the next overhead shot inside the Python's exhibit, while Dudley falls the snake is back lying on the log and rock, in the very same position as in the previous shots. (00:07:10)

Super Grover

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Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade picture Video

Continuity mistake: In the library scene Indy discovers the "X" high up on the balcony. The X is green with a grey background. When he breaks the tile to find the tomb the X has become a faint outline on the floor. (00:27:40 - 00:28:45)

Allanmceneaney

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Suggested correction: You still can see one "leg" of the X on the floor, it's only darker than viewed from above because the camera angle and illumination set used.

I think it is meant to be an optical illusion.

The "X" is first shown as a dark green "X" on a beige background. Next, we are shown the same dark green "X" that is barely visible over a green background. I think we are meant to understand that the beige square tiles were lifted away in a cut scene.

I see no reason why they would replace the floor just for the higher shot, it's the same floor throughout the scene. When they enter it's the same floor we see later as they are going into the hole. It's probably not a real marble floor, so they can use a styrofoam or plywood tile that Harrison can lift, one that matches the surrounding tiles. They don't shine as much as the rest of the floor. In the shot up high there is different lighting, so that could explain it. It just appears to be different. Of course, sudden different light can be seen as a revealing mistake.

lionhead

Suggested correction: Not a mistake, just a different viewing angle.

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Atlantis: The Lost Empire picture

Continuity mistake: In the beginning scenes, where Milo Thatch is practising his proposal, he slides over (face forward, chest against the board) a chalk drawing of a map detailing the location of Atlantis. When he realises he wiped off the drawing, and sees it on his clothes, he stands in front of the blank part of the chalkboard, "filling in" the space with the map that rubbed off on his shirt - the only problem is, that the image should have rubbed off backwards as he was facing the board when it transferred to his clothes. He could not simply stand in the place of the missing map face forward and have it read properly.

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