Factual error: When Frank talks to Booth the first time on the phone and realizes he's at the phone outside, he runs to find him, only to find the handset swinging and the phone emitting the periodic screech that is heard after 1 minute of leaving a phone off hook. Seeing as how the apartment is three stories max, there's no way that sound would be playing by time he got there even if Booth somehow hung up first. Furthermore, even if it did take that long, the handset wouldn't still be swinging. (00:14:45)
Factual error: After its trip over the ocean on which it got soaked with moisture the piano is amazingly well in tune, only later, at Baines' place, it sounds a little bit off. (00:07:30 - 00:32:20)
Factual error: In the opening sequence, the range for the shot is confirmed as 650 yards. Moments before the shot, AFTER he had his target centered in his scope, Berenger swings the muzzle of the rifle at least 10 degrees. At 650 yards a change of only a single degree in the angle of the muzzle to the target would mean that the target would have to move 11.34 yards laterally in order for the shot to hit. If Berenger actually had to swing his rifle ten degrees in the span of a second in order to keep his target in view, that would mean the target was sprinting at a speed of 340.32 feet per second, or about 232 miles per hour, and had covered 113.44 yards during that time. Absolutely impossible.
Factual error: At the end of the film, Amos is shown turning onto I-95 south. However, he does so from an intersection, not an on-ramp. Since interstates are limited-access highways, in reality he would have needed to use an on-ramp to enter I-95.
Factual error: While Meg Ryan is typing her letter to "Sleepless and Son," Rosie O'Donnell is sitting on the couch watching "An Affair to Remember." Any true AAtR fan can easily notice that the film's editing has obviously been altered by the Sleepless director - the scene with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant leaning on the boat railing actually takes place towards the beginning of the movie, while the scene of them looking up at the Statue of Liberty takes place about four days later. However, in Sleepless, the order of the AAtR scenes shown on Meg's TV are incorrect - Kerr and Grant are leaning on the railing as the sequence starts, then jumps WAY ahead to them staring up at the Statue of Liberty (which then would have been about four days later), and ends with them standing next to the boat's railing again (four days before).
Factual error: When the convictions are overturned, the defendants' solicitor, Gareth Pearce (played by Emma Thompson) is shown arguing their case in court. In England solicitors cannot appear in the higher courts, and in fact a barrister presented the case. However, the film is 'dramatically correct' because it was Gareth Pearce who got them freed, and the barrister in question is far too full of herself without having the honour of being portrayed by Emma T.
Factual error: When the robbers are breaking through the vault door, they look to be using an oxygen lance which in reality would cause that entire room to be filled with smoke and fumes in seconds.
Factual error: At the George Inn you can see double-dash road markings at a junction. This of course didn't exist at the time the film was set.
Factual error: One character refers to the mobile command post in the Airstream trailer as "high-tech", a phrase that wasn't around in 1963; "space-age" would have been more correct for the period.
Factual error: During the car chase that leads to the tunnel, there are several freeway signs pointing to Murphy, North Carolina, and the film is set in Chicago.
Factual error: When Sharon is being driven by her Dad to the hospital to give birth to her baby ('Snapper'), they drive over a bridge on the River Liffey in Dublin to the south side of the city. However, the Rotunda Hospital, where she gives birth is on the North side of the city, quite a distance away from where they seemed to be headed.
Factual error: When the President is in the hospital getting his physical, after the first female naval officer (Lt.) leaves, the President salutes the the second female officer, a Commander, and she then salutes back. There are two things wrong with this. 1) The junior grade officer ALWAYS salutes the senior officer first and the President, as Commander in Chief, is the highest military officer. He would never salute first. 2) The salute the Commander gives is absurd. It is some strange windmill wave over her head thing. No naval officer would EVER salute so sloppy or bizarre and especially not to the President of the United States. (00:31:15)
Factual error: When they tour the UK with The Rolling Stones the film states 1968, when in reality it was 1966. They then perform "Proud Mary", which Creedence Clearwater Revival did not release originally until 1969, and wasn't covered and didn't become a hit for Ike and Tina Turner until 1971.
Factual error: In the grocery store where Gilbert works, loaves of Mrs. Baird's bread are seen on the shelves; Mrs. Baird's is a Texas-based bakery whose products would not be available as far away as Iowa.
Suggested correction: You are right - the product should not be on the shelves of a store in a state that does not receive the product. I was just questioning your assertion that distance from Texas is a determining factor - states further away (e.g, Oregon, California. Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania) do sell Mrs. Baird's bread. I wasn't familiar with this brand, but I found out it is sold locally in Pennsylvania. When I was on-line, I also found out that Allen Baird, 97, recently died of COVID-19.
I'm curious what cities/stores sell Mrs. Baird's breads in PA (or OR, CA, MA).
You can go on-line, like I did. I just did a search for Mrs. Baird's bread, and that website is set up to enable you to look for locations where it is sold - by state and/or zip code.
Sorry... I didn't want to reveal the city I'm in... but I can at least tell you the bread is sold at a Walmart store.
I specifically looked on their website and no PA stores popped up, not even Walmart. Of course, the mistake is still valid since this was 27 years ago and in Iowa.
My point exactly; this mistake merely gave away the fact that this film was made in Texas rather than Iowa where it was set. Since "Errors In Geography" is not a separate category here as it is on IMDb, I submitted it as a factual error; while I'm unaware whether Mrs. Baird's products are available now in Iowa, I know that wasn't the case in the early 90s when this film was made and released.
If it's not incorporated into the plot, generally these mistakes should be considered "revealing" mistakes, it's revealing it's not really filmed where it's set.
I just searched again, and Mrs. Baird's bread is also sold at Target and Sam's Club. I was surprised to see there is a "Bimbo Bakery" less than 12 miles away. I wasn't familiar with this brand, and now I suspect the products were recently made available; I surely would have noticed the products or the bakery before now. If I Google "Where can I buy Mrs. Baird's bread?" a map showing local stores comes up. But if I go to mrsbairds.com and put my zip code under "store locater", "no stores available in this zip code" shows up.
In California, it can be found at any grocery store that sells Bimbo products. Specifically, Ralph's, Albertson's, Von's, Walmart, Smart and Final, Aldi, Superior Grocers and Jon's.
It should be noted that Bimbo Bakeries didn't buy Mrs. Baird's until 1998. But is this because you've bought it in CA or because you used google and have no personal knowledge? My aunt and Grandparents have never heard of Mrs Baird's and they've lived in CA their whole lives.
Factual error: When Max goes to the bait shop with John and they are talking to Chuck about him going over to Ariel's house for Thanksgiving, they ask him if he saw the Blackhawks game, saying that it went into double overtime. NHL games only have one overtime unless it is a playoff game.
Factual error: At the end of the movie they say that Bill Kraus died on January 26th, 1986 but he actually died on January 11th, 1986.
Factual error: The footage of the garden blooming in the spring includes a shot of a monarch butterfly emerging from a cocoon. The monarch is very rare in England, usually found in the southwest; so this footage is more likely from North or Central America where the insects are commonplace.
Factual error: The beginning of the movie takes place in Las Vegas, but during a tracking shot of the main villain, Bracus, leaving his helicopter, the Los Angeles skyline is visible from the helipad at the top of the building. (00:03:55)
Factual error: The final scene shows the sun setting over the ocean. They settle in Cancun, Mexico. Cancun is on the east coast. The sun sets in the west.
Suggested correction: We know that they wanted to settle in Cancun, but that doesn't mean that Cancun is where they ended up.
Factual error: There's no way that that mail truck would be driven along Highway 1. Choosing that route more than doubles the drive time, turning a six-hour drive into 12-15 hours. They'd take Highway 5, which is fastest but boring for filming purposes.