Factual error: At the end of the film Rainwood has established his innocence of the drug charges and is happily back at work as a senior mechanic for a large airline. However, part of the sentencing and plea bargain protocols at his arraignment is his previous conviction on a lesser drug charge years before. It goes without saying that he did not advise his employers of this when he started work for them - no airline in the world (even pre 9/11) would hire someone with a drug conviction on their record! Now this is out in the open the airline knows that Rainwood is a convicted drug user (on the lesser, legitimate charge) and that he lied on his original job application. They wouldn't hire him again to sweep the floors.
Revealing mistake: When Louis gives Gage the lethal injection, because the syringe is transparent you can actually see the prop needle retract in and out of the syringe as he supposedly injects Gage.
Continuity mistake: In the bowling alley, 'Pal' comes over to speak to Tia. During their conversation, the camera pans to Maisie throwing a bowling ball; however Tia is now sitting alone. Pal has disappeared. (00:40:10)
Factual error: The film takes place in a private boarding school the 1950's, however one of the students is studying from a 1980's chemistry textbook. The obvious giveaway is that the spine of one book shows HBJ as the publisher. Jovanovich was not added to Harcourt Brace until the 1970s.
Factual error: Joe Jackson batted left-handed in real life, not right-handed as Ray Liotta portrayed. He also threw right-handed and not left-handed like it shows when Kevin Costner is hitting him fly balls to left field.
Revealing mistake: When the 54th Mass. marches past a liberated plantation some black children wave them on. One of them is wearing a digital wristwatch.
Continuity mistake: During the first car ride scene Harry is spitting the seeds out the window. One of the shots shown of the car from the outside shows the window still up after he has rolled it down.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Ouiser sits and lets out a belch, if you look in the mirror, you can catch her laughing.
Continuity mistake: In Ellen Barkin's apartment, Al Pacino accidently knocks a postcard off of the fridge. A few seconds later, it's back where it was, though nobody picked it up.
Continuity mistake: Early in the film Bud throws his wedding ring down the latrine and then retrieves it with his right hand so it is covered with the blue disinfectant. In a (much) later scene, Bud has a blue right hand, despite not having had one in the intervening period. (01:44:48)
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.
Other mistake: Sergeant Johnny Gallagher (Gene Hackman) and Lieutenant Milon Delich (Dennis Franz) are in a supposedly deserted building searching for a group of conspirators who plan to assassinate both the USA and USSR presidents. Delich finds a police colleague of his in the building, and Delich kills his colleague. When he fires his revolver, the sound of the blanks can be heard, slightly out of synch with the gun blasts on the sound track.
Continuity mistake: When Beck meets Webly on Christmas Day, Webly takes his glasses off and throws them on the desk, but in the next shot (from behind) he is still wearing them. (00:16:50)
Revealing mistake: During the first shot of Larry being pushed out of the car, it's blatantly a stunt double who is taller, thinner and has shorter hair than the actor.
Continuity mistake: When Lloyd calls Diane's house for the first time to ask her out, he gives her father his phone number as 555-1342 (several times), but later when Diane is reading her list of messages, Lloyd's number is listed as 555-2342. (00:12:40 - 00:15:50)
Continuity mistake: When Eddie tells Homer about the Wady robbery while they're driving along, there's a change from broad daylight to late dusk in mid-sentence. (00:33:05)
Visible crew/equipment: Towards the end of the film, Beau and Jeff Bridges are getting into a fighting match in an alley. As Jeff shoves Beau into a chain-link fence, you get a full and un-obstructed view of the boom holder and his microphone on the other side of the fence; just inches from Beau.
Revealing mistake: In the scene after the battle of Agincort, where Henry and his retainers are walking meditatively among the heaps of the fallen, if you look carefully, you will see one of the fallen with his head raised watching the procession. He then realizes that he is on camera and puts his head back down. It's near the edge of the screen so may occasionally be cropped.
Revealing mistake: On the way to the party, near the end, they are supposed to be in Alabama when the car gets pulled over, but the officer's badge, shoulder patch, and car all say Georgia State Police. (00:51:45)
Visible crew/equipment: After Rick is introduced to Lew Eisen, when Eddie/Joe sees Lew he tries to evade him. When Rick catches up with Eddie, there are at least five actors' T-marks visible on the ground. (01:29:20)
Suggested correction: Even today in 2023 felony convictions might not show up on a background check. Not all information has been uploaded to the internet yet. It was extremely easy in the 1980's for a conviction to be missed by a background check especially if there was no prison time served or it occurred in a rural county or town.
He just got out of prison and establishing his innocence involved the violent deaths of at least two people. Do you not think that his employers just might have followed his story? He'd be all over the news media. The idea that not one person would have followed up on his criminal history is beyond absurd - we are talking about a safety critical job that involves the safety of hundreds of people.