Factual error: When John Cusack puts Springsteen on his LP-player, he places the needle at the start of the record. The song that plays is the studio version of "The River." Therefore, the album has to be "The River," which is a double album, but "The River" is not at the start of either of the two LPs, but is the last song on LP #1. (00:18:10)
Factual error: Robin and Azeem land at the white cliffs and Robin says something like, 'Tonight we will dine with my father'. Those white cliffs are the Seven Sisters in East Sussex, about 200 miles from Nottingham. It would probably take about two weeks to walk it. They also reach Hadrian's Wall in the next scene, which is 200 miles further north than Nottingham.
Factual error: The suits worn by dangerous disease researchers would definitely never tear if the hose was pulled.
Factual error: When Gantz fires Nolte's gun at Nolte, he fires 8 bullets out of a six shooter. (00:18:45)
Factual error: In the final race, they are able to slow down and stop two extremely powerful machines, travelling at well over 100 miles per hour, on a dirt road, in a very short distance. In reality, they would have gone through the wooden arch over the road, through the white fence, and ended up halfway up the hill in the background, amongst the horses.
Factual error: They hold a huge dance in the hangar at night, and Dennis leaves to walk to the Memphis Belle through the hangar doors, which are wide open. The whole flight line, tarmac and hangar are bathed with light - on a US Air Force base in East Anglia during the blackout. Blackout restrictions were rigidly enforced and were not eased until September 1944. The last mission of the Memphis Belle was in May 1943.
Factual error: The very first shot of the movie takes place in Chandler, Arizona. However, the mountains seen in the distance, over the hills, are the Sandia Mountains which are in New Mexico, near Albuquerque. (00:01:00)
Factual error: The solar panels (or mirrors) are facing away from the sun. The sun's position can be estimated from ground shadows and object highlights and the panels are facing in completely the wrong direction. (01:11:40)
Factual error: A plastic bucket is seen. Plastic buckets were invented in the 60s. (00:50:05)
Suggested correction: There's no plastic bucket seen. If you're referring to the bucket cops are using at the crime, there's a shot of the bucket on its side and you can tell there's a metal bottom.
Factual error: When Ana is talking to Christian on her cell at the bar and he hangs up on her, you hear a dial tone. A dial tone wouldn't be heard once a cellular call disconnects. Dial tones are only heard on land line phones. Both were on their cells.
Factual error: In the beginning of the movie William supposedly boards the train in Lincoln, Nebraska. All the vehicles in the train are from Europe and never rolled in the United States. (00:03:35)
Factual error: At the end we see a soldier replacing the canister that the Zyklon B is kept in. However, he is not wearing an SS badge as all SS soldiers did. Zyklon B was only handled by members of the SS, as no other unit had authorisation to carry the sensitive stuff. (01:28:00)
Factual error: The actual Tsavo lions responsible for the killings had no manes - see for yourself; they are on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. [The filmmakers employed artistic license in using maned lions. They were also certain to include - at the very end of the movie - footage of the real Tsavo man eaters, as they appear in the Field Museum.]
Factual error: Near the end of the film Butch is complaining about the living conditions they have to endure - jungles, swamps, snakes, night work - and Sundance sarcastically retorts "Bitch, bitch, bitch!" In 1908 the term meant just what it literally means: "Female dog." It did not adopt its current meaning of "complain" until much later. At the time the film is set - outside the context of "female dog" - it was considered to be a serious obscenity, and it would not have been used to describe something as ordinary as someone moaning about his living conditions.
Factual error: In the penitentiary, the guards should be wearing a United States flag patch since it is a federal penitentiary, not the Texas flag patch. (00:08:45)
Suggested correction: Paul Crewe was arrested by local police and not charged with a Federal crime, therefore he would have been incarcerated in a State Prison, not a Federal Penitentiary.
But the prison is named Allenville Federal Penitentiary so they should be wearing American flag patches and not state patches.
If he was arrested in California by local cops, why would he be incarcerated in a Texas State Prison and not a California State Prison?
He was arrested by locals but under Federal probation for shaving points. He went to Federal prison for probation violation.
He violated his federal probation. He would have been initially charged by the local district attorney, but the feds would also charge him due to the probation violation, and the local charges would be dropped.
Factual error: After the first victim they claim to have found a shell with 'Megan Turner' on it. That's not possible as we see Ron Silver fire at the victim and immediatley run away. If it had been an automatic then the gun would eject the shell, but it's a revolver, which doesn't eject shells.
Factual error: During the custody hearing, the Maryland flag in the courtroom is upside down. The rule for a Maryland flag is "black and gold, top of the pole," this flag has the red symbol at the top.
Factual error: In one scene a parked car is sitting along the street - it is a '68 Chevy, it has sidelights. Yet the film is set in 1962.
Factual error: The portrayal of the firing MLRS before Denzel's unit moves off is ludicrously inadequate. The rockets launched from the MLRS resemble a space shuttle lift-off, but in the movie it was more like a sparkler thrown into the air.
Factual error: Towards the end of the movie when Ally is in her hallway looking at Jack's old concert tour posters hanging on the wall, the poster closest to the camera says "Washington State Fair" and a 2011 date. Unfortunately, that fair did not get that name until 2013. Before that, it was called "The Puyallup Fair" (officially named the "Western Washington Fair"). Locals still call it "The Puyallup Fair" to this day.