Factual error: When Chigurh is in the gas station and throws the wrapper on the counter, the "Nutrition Facts" are visible on the label. Set in 1980, the "Nutrition Facts" label wouldn't have been available for at least another fourteen years, as nutrition labels were started in 1994.
Factual error: During the final battle, Gordo the tank driver calls out, "Panzerfaust, four o'clock!", as he looks through his periscope. He could not have seen any targets at four o'clock, as the driver's periscope could barely rotate towards the eleven and one o'clock positions, close to the left and right front corners of the tank's hull. The four o'clock position would be near the right rear of the tank.
Factual error: After the successful Trinity test in 1945, people in a crowd are holding small US flags with 50 stars on them (offset rows). At the time there were only 48 states and the flag had 48 stars in even rows. The 50 star flag didn't exist until 1960, after Alaska and Hawaii were made states in 1959.
Factual error: Eazy-E sports a black Chicago White Sox hat with a white logo early in the movie in 1986, but the logo didn't officially rollout until 1991.
Factual error: The interior shots of the Gemini and Apollo Spacecraft show worn and dirty panels, knobs, switches and circuit breakers. The movie most likely used some original cockpit trainers, but in reality the astronauts were flying brand new spacecraft that were spotless.
Suggested correction: All spacecraft are extensively checked out by technicians before mating to the launch vehicle. Launch rehearsals are done over and over again by both prime and backup crews in the real vehicle in the weeks leading up to launch. Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee lost their lives in a fire aboard Apollo 1 during one such dress rehearsal. The switches and panels get worn from this use and activity. Crews also make minor modifications to their specific craft to suit the mission and tastes.
Factual error: Under US law neither Peter Lowenstein nor Oscar Grace would be allowed any level of participation in the investigation, arrest and prosecution of Ned Racine. Both have a highly visible social relationship with him, which disqualifies them from having anything to do with a criminal case against him. In fact as soon as he became a suspect in Edmund Walker's murder they would both be officially 'warned off' - told not to contact him again for any reason.
Factual error: The lake that Jack told Rose he went ice fishing on when she was threatening to jump is Lake Wissota, a man-made lake in Wisconsin near Chippewa Falls (where Jack grew up). The lake was only filled with water in 1918 when a power company built a dam on the Chippewa River, six years after the Titanic sank. (00:39:05)
Factual error: A force of Russian Tu-22 Backfire bombers attacks the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) by sneaking in under the ship's radar. This is all well and good except that carriers usually don't use their own radar, they have Airborne Early Warning aircraft (E-2 Hawkeye's) that can see much further and not give away the carrier's position (let alone the F-14s which would be patrolling too) not to mention the fleet of destroyers other ships guarding the carrier. The whole point is, the US Navy practiced and planned for such a "carrier versus Backfire" battle for years. I guess in the interest of furthering the plot Hollywood has to ignore the immense measures the USN takes to protect those multi-billion dollar assets, not to mention the 5000+ sailors that man them.
Factual error: In the film, the San Andreas fault produces the largest, most sensational earthquake in earth history that levels both Los Angeles and San Francisco, also creating a massive tsunami that also floods the latter. In reality, and according to many earthquake experts, the biggest quake that this fault could produce is an 8.3 and, being a land and not ocean fault, cannot cause a tsunami. Or as consultant to the film Tom Jordan, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center stated, "I gave (the filmmakers) free advice, some of which they took... But much of which they didn't - magnitude nines are too big for San Andreas, and it can't produce a big tsunami."
Factual error: In World War 2 London, Pink is shown playing with an aeroplane model - an Avro York. The earliest available plastic model kit of this aircraft was produced in 1967. Inaccurate model aside, it begs the question of what a kid of Pink's age would be doing with a plastic model kit during World War 2 anyway.
Factual error: A map in the office of Policeman Pierce Brosnan showing the "Hillside Lake" is Lake Constance (Bodensee) in the south of Germany. (01:11:00)
Factual error: When Glass saves the Indian girl from the Frenchmen the flintlock pistol he gets off the Frenchman fires multiple times without reload, as it does later while being chased by the Indians.
Factual error: The "brick mansions" are in Detroit, but when the surveillance satellite footage is shown, the initial, close-up skyline shown from above is of San Francisco. Then as it zooms out it's looking at Chicago. (01:04:00)
Factual error: In the scenes where Gardner is messaging his Earth based female friend Tulsa from his Mars home, their communication is shown as being in real time. In truth, there would be minimum of a 4 min lag between messages due to the distance. (00:24:00)
Suggested correction: The tech is supposed to be highly advanced. This is at least kept consistent throughout the film as all communication between planets is in real time.
There is no tech that can alter the laws of physics that we know of. The near future setting of the film limits the scope of what's feasible.
Factual error: During the scene where Mozart is being carried away in his coffin by horse and cart there is a brief shot where he is being taken down a muddy path and a farmer is seen with his cows. If you look closely to the left side of the screen you can see a large overhead power line. If you look even more closely you can even see the wires coming out of the pylon. The movie is set in the 18th century and obviously it should not be there. (02:50:50)
Factual error: No actor is going to secure a recurring speaking role in a soap opera unless a comprehensive insurance policy has been secured. (This applies to feature films, too.) This will inevitably involve a medical examination. Mr Dorsey's plans are going to become dreadfully unstuck the minute he drops his y-fronts in the doctor's surgery. (No, he can't find a compliant or bribeable doctor - the insurance company will always use their own people.)
Factual error: The serum is transported by blood. Hair has no blood traveling to it, only the root. So, unless Bacon shaved his body clean, his hair wouldn't have become invisible, likewise all of the fur on the gorilla.
Suggested correction: The serum could have been absorbed by the roots and made its way to the tip of the hair strands (similar to colored water going up a piece of celery, changing the color of the celery).
Mammal hair is not porous and is not subject to capillary action.
Factual error: Ashley Judd is convicted of murdering her husband for the insurance money and that would make it a first degree murder charge (first degree meaning she planned the murder). Because of that there is no way she would have been eligible for parole after just 6 or 7 years.
Suggested correction: It's never stated that she was charged with 1st degree murder, nor that she killed her husband for the insurance money. It was only brought up in trial as motive. Nick's accident was ruled "wrongful death" and the fact she did get paroled further show she was never convicted of 1st degree murder.
And what about the phone call from prison the Libby makes to Angie, and Angie says she "was just about to call her" or she tried calling her like how the heck can you call someone in prison!?
Factual error: During the 31st year of the Avalon's voyage, the ship passes close to the star Arcturus, which is about 37 light years from Earth. Later in the movie, it was stated that the Avalon was moving at around 50% of the speed of light. The ship would not have reached Arcturus in the time allotted.
Factual error: In the yard scene when Dewey tries to change the switch, the throttle lever slips from idle to full power. This would not have been possible. Throttle levers are notched, and require significant force to move.
Suggested correction: While this is correct, an argument can be made that since the colour scenes are meant to be subjective and the black and white scenes are meant to be objective, Oppenheimer could have been unintentionally mapping the modern US flag onto this scene.
THGhost
That's a ridiculous stretch with zero evidence, not least as 48 star flags are seen in colour in other scenes. Sometimes a mistake is simply a mistake.
There is evidence, though. Nolan said so himself. Look it up. As for the mistake itself, I'm merely repeating what I've read on Twitter, and this correction was merely a suggestion. Seeing the 48 star flags in other colour scenes still doesn't disprove this theory. It is just a theory though, so no need to shoot it down so hard.
THGhost
He's said subjective in terms of the colour scenes being "first person", and maybe not strictly factual in terms of creating moments between characters and conveying emotion, but nowhere does that stretch to "one random scene happens to feature 50 star flags because Oppenheimer is mapping the modern flag onto it, when nothing like that happens anywhere else in the film."
Meh, take it up with Twitter. I just thought it was interesting, so I posted it here for a different point of view/perspective for others to read. It is most likely bull**** though.
THGhost
The fact that a director realized they had made a mistake and retroactively made up a deus ex machina explanation for it in no way invalidates the mistake. Nice try, Mr. Nolan but this posting is absolutely valid.
While Christopher Nolan's talked about the subjective/objective colour/black and white thing, which is entirely fair and no doubt exactly his intention, I don't think he's actually tried to "excuse" this by using that explanation, that's just other people trying to connect the two things. I'm not sure Nolan has commented on the flag issue in interviews at all.
Precisely, and I was in no way trying to invalidate the original mistake. I just found the whole theory interesting and posted it here. It is rather hilarious that a director with such attention to detail like Nolan would have missed something like this. We shall see if he gets it fixed for the streaming/physical release.
THGhost
It's not fixed in the home video version. However, the behind-the-scenes materials provide a reason for the mistake, in that putting a crowd in the scene was apparently a spur-of-the-moment decision. It's like that in their haste to bring in the crowd, the set decorators bought some modern miniature flags and put them into the scene without anyone realizing the 48/50 discrepancy.
Vader47000