Best movie character mistakes of 1985

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The Color Purple picture

Character mistake: In the scene where Sophia confronts Celie in the cornfield, she starts by saying, "You told Harpo to beat me". Later she tells Celie, "If you want a dead son-in-law Miss Celie, you keep on advising him like you do". Harpo is actually Celie's stepson, NOT her son-in-law.

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Witness picture

Character mistake: When Schaeffer, McFee, and Fergie walk down the dusty road to Amish village, Western gunslinger style, they make a silly mistake no cop would make - they assume that Amish villages are unarmed and undefended. No so. The Amish have no prohibition on guns and almost every house would have at least one hunting rifle or shotgun. The three bad guys are risking being shot to bits before they get halfway down that hill; they don't even make an attempt at concealment. (Wouldn't they also at least think John - a police officer - would still have his gun or might have got hold of a firearm from the Amish?)

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Commando picture

Character mistake: The police are marching Matrix out of the gun shop, they didn't even put hand-cuffs on him! I think I would put hand-cuffs on a guy who just smashed open a gun shop and was stealing all the guns he could get into his hands. (00:55:50)

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Rocky IV picture

Character mistake: When Rocky makes his speech after his fight with Drago, he says that it's better that one person fights another instead of a million fighting a million (a US USSR war). The Russian translator misinterprets his speech and says that this is better than a million dollars. You don't have to understand Russian (although I do) to hear the translator says million dollars to confirm this blunder of a mistake. (01:22:25)

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Runaway Train picture

Character mistake: When the front door of the old F-unit is refusing to open the guys put their shoulder to it. The door they are trying to bash outward actually swings into the area where they are standing. If they really wanted to go out that door they should have unlatched it and pulled.

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Rambo: First Blood Part II picture

Character mistake: In the showdown scene between the Vietnamese officer and Rambo, the Vietnamese officer empties an entire magazine at Rambo from only about 20 metres away but only manages to hit the ground around Rambo's feet. What was he doing, aiming at his feet? He deserved to get blown up to bits for that effort.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: The range of his weapon limited his ability to hit Rambo from that distance.

Effective firing range of an AK-47 is about 350 meters. He was firing from the hip, highly inaccurate at that range.

lionhead

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Clue picture

Character mistake: During the conversation in the study about who is blackmailing who, Mrs. White mentions two of her five husbands: An illusionist who disappeared and never reappeared and a nuclear physicist who was found dead at home. During the last ending, Mrs. White says "So this has nothing to do with the disappearance of my nuclear physicist husband or Colonel Mustard's work on the new top secret fusion bomb?". However, during the conversation in the study, Mrs. White says her illusionist husband had disappeared and her nuclear physicist husband was found dead at home. So the correct term would be "So this has nothing to do with the disappearance of my ILLUSIONIST husband or Colonel Mustard's work on the new top secret fusion bomb?". (00:21:05 - 01:27:35)

Casual Person

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Ms. White's nuclear physicist husband disappeared too, so the line is right.

Daniel Offerman

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Better Off Dead picture

Character mistake: After the dance when Monique and Lane meet for the first time, Lane says to Monique, "Hi, you're that French kid staying with the Dorkheads...uh...Smiths next door." But the Smiths live across the street, not next door, as evidenced by several scenes in the movie (i.e. Monique looking out her window upon arrival, Monique throwing fruit at the street sign, etc.). (00:47:40)

wheezer34

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A View to a Kill picture A View to a Kill mistake picture

Character mistake: When Bond and Stacey are in the file room in San Francisco City Hall, Bond pulls out the Division of Mines Paperwork on Zorin's wells and it has "HAYWOOD" written across it. The actual fault is spelled "HAYWARD." (01:21:40)

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Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment picture

Character mistake: When asking for the address of the Blue Oyster club Proctor states it is 621, but when Mahoney arrives it states 655 on the door.

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Back to the Future picture Back to the Future mistake picture

Character mistake: At the beginning of the movie Marty is turning on a huge guitar amplifier. The two switches for the filaments are misspelled. They are shown as "filiment." (00:03:25)

toroscan

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The Goonies picture

Character mistake: When looking at the newspaper about Chester Copperpot, the caption under his picture reads, "Reclusive scavenger claims, 'I have they key.'" It should read "I have the key."

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Re-Animator picture

Character mistake: When Cain is attempting CPR on the flatlined patient at the beginning of the film, he tells the other doctor, "She just needs a little more time for the drugs to circulate." Circulation stops at the moment of flatlining. (00:05:25)

Captain Defenestrator

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Trancers picture

Character mistake: In the opening credits, the actor Art LaFleur, correctly credited as such in the end credits, appears as "Art Le Fleur" (00:01:00 - 01:15:50)

Sammo

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Tuff Turf picture

Character mistake: Morgan Hiller's father is named Stewart (according to the story as well as credits). But in one scene when Morgan and his parents are having dinner, Mrs. Hiller calls him (her husband) "David" one time (instead of Stewart).

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Thirteen at Dinner picture

Character mistake: When David Frost interviews the fictional actor Bryan Martin, he adds a last question to the interview saying "before you go" and acts as if the guest is not gonna stay (as it often happens in talk shows, when some guests, especially the more famous ones, leave after their bit is over). However Martin is staying and in fact there is a special mystery guest a bit later that makes sense only if he is in fact staying. (00:02:00)

Sammo

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The Return of the Living Dead picture

Character mistake: When Burt, Ernie and Spider go into the hall after questioning the zombie Burt says his own name instead of Ernie or Spider.

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Brewster's Millions picture

Character mistake: Baxter and Granville complain about Brewster getting airtime on TV during prime time and running TV spots in all 52 states "just in case any New Yorkers are on vacation!" (01:08:00)

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