Making a movie is a monumental undertaking filled with time-consuming detail and meticulous planning. We can forgive movie makers for making mistakes every now and then, but that's why editors, post-production, and continuity specialists exist. And those people? Well, they have no excuse. Here are 21 movie mistakes that slipped past everyone, and made it all the way to the big screen.
Ridley Scott's 2001 movie Black Hawk Down has often been praised for its strong visuals and technical movie-making skills. But one scene that shows soldiers running from the cover of a building has a glaring error. Despite a budget of $92 million, it appears they couldn't be bothered to run the scene more than once. Beginning with the view from a shakey cam behind the soldiers, the shot cuts to a wide snapshot of the action from above. In that wide view, the camera and boom operators can clearly be seen running behind the soldiers, getting the shot we just saw. I guess Scott just assumed we wouldn't notice.
See that, and 20 other movie mistakes that stayed in the final cut.
1
“Oppenheimer” shows a young Oppenheimer listening to a recording of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring some time around the 1920s, performed by the San Francisco Symphony and conducted by Pierre Monteux. This recording did not exist until 1945.
2
“A Series of Unfortunate Events,” 2004, a hand disappears for one frame.
3
They misspelled 'Schwarzenegger' in Journey to China (Iron Mask).
4
In “Aliens,” (1986), the hole for Bishop's body can be seen as he grabs Newt.
5
In “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” the shelf in the library can clearly be seen as a prop with fake books.
6
In “Cyborg” (1989) the bad guy in the background can be seen waiting for his cue to start running.
7
In “Elf,” a crew member or apartment resident accidentally walks into frame.
8
In “Unbreakable,” (2000), near the end of the movie, there is this shot of some newspaper clippings with the typo "Mudslide in Mexico Kills All Expect Newborn."
9
In “Home Alone,” (1990), Kevin can be seen sitting down for a dinner of Mac and Cheese. Minutes later, when Harry is in the dining room, the Mac and Cheese has been replaced with a generic TV dinner.
11
Ace Ventura’s shirt slightly changes patterns.
13
In “The Hurt Locker,” Eldridge's name is spelled wrong on his helmet.
14
In “Burn!” (1969), Marlon Brando clearly has his lines written on a piece of paper in his hat.
15
Although it makes the scene even better, this man in season six of “The Sopranos” actually had his foot run over.
16
In “Dune,” Sardaukar's blade goes partially invisible when seen against the background.
17
Buzz Light-year doesn't actually press on his Lazer button while using it.
18
A crew member’s hand is visible in “Ghostbusters,” directing the ghosts.
19
In “Speed,” this crew member is visible in a door reflection.
20
In “Alien: Covenant,” 2017, a container is closed and then handed - open - to another team member who promptly closes it again.
22
“The Holdovers” is set in 1970, but one scene includes modern cars.
23
In “Black Hawk Down,” 2001, camera men with a boom can clearly be seen running behind and below the soldiers with a boom when they cut to this wide angle.
24
In “The Bear,” this letter goes from vertical to horizontal.
