Factual error: During Howard's "Thank You" speech to New York he gives NYC the gift of a live performance by AC/DC. The year was 1985. As the band takes the stage and launches into "You Shook Me All Night" we see Phil Rudd on drums. Rudd had quit AC/DC two years earlier and was replaced by Simon Wright. (Rudd returned in 1994, hence being part of the band when the scene was filmed).
Factual error: When Vincent and Jerome are at the Gattaca building at night, they watch a rocket launch. The exhaust from a such a rocket would have lit the area around them or at least the nearby mountains bright as day.
Factual error: Secretary of State John Hay is depicted issuing the order to "initiate hostilities" against Spain. Unfortunately, at the time we actually went to war with Spain, John Hay was not the Secretary of State. That position was held by William. R. Day. Hay did not become SofS until September of 1898, after most hostilities had ended.
Factual error: During the scene where Charlie's thug, Lo, is in the street with the homeless man and his "busket", Lo gets angry at him, pulls his Glock out and rakes the slide to chamber a round. However, in the next shots of Lo we see his Glock with the slide still back even though it should have returned to the closed position.
Factual error: Insurance companies are not allowed to file bankruptcy. The government would bail them out.
Factual error: When Buddy's owner chases Buddy and Josh, you can clearly see his car is in park.
Factual error: At one point late in the film, Terry says she called in a favor to the "District Attorney" after Lim was arrested. In Chicago, where the film is set and where the arrest took place, there are State's Attorneys, not District Attorneys. Terry, a lawyer practicing in Chicago, would most definitely have known that.
Factual error: Near the end of the trial, Gere is trying to remember what the murdered girl was saying over the phone and only gets out a few words in Chinese, "Wo Men De" which means "Our". His lawyer fills in the entire rest of the sentence with, "Wo Men De Guan Xi Wan Le," which means "Our relationship is over." How could she know exactly what the girl said on the phone, and how could the judge allow her to put words in Richard Gere's mouth?
Factual error: The women have been starving in a Japanese prisoner of war camp for 3 years but seem to have suffered no physical ill-effects other than a healthy suntan and a fetching crop-style haircut. In the fight-in-the-shower scene (yes boys, this is nearly as good as it sounds) you get to see an array of perfect bodies with no sores, bruises, blisters, sunburn or any other signs that they have been doing hard labour under the blazing sun and seriously deprived of vitamins. At the end when they keep dying of starvation they're all just as plump and healthy as ever.
Factual error: Crusoe's adventure begins in the early part of the 18th Century, yet the ship he takes flight on carries a gaff-rigged spanker on its mizzen. In reality, the earlier lateen-rig wasn't replaced by the gaff spanker until close to the end of the 18th Century.
Factual error: Martha Cable is shown describing to a customer the process for converting a cap-and-ball Army Colt revolver to accept cartridges. While it is entirely possible that a gunsmith in Texas might perform such actions, the burning question is, "Why?" The only cartridges available were for a .32 caliber Smith & Wesson, or those for a .44 Henry repeating rifle, and such cartridges were virtually impossible to obtain in the South during the Civil War.
Factual error: When the police lieutenant is stabbed to death by the jewellery thief, the case would then fall under homicide, not hostage negotiation. So, the detective nor Murphy would have no authorisation whatsoever to work a homicide case, which is not their unit. Total fiction.
Factual error: Tom lays down on the couch and turns on the (off-camera) TV, only for his wife to immediately tell him they're out of milk. The audio from the TV is someone talking about a NY Rangers hockey game, as they mention (Jeff) Beukeboom and (Mike) Richter. The film is set in 1992, but the TV says Beukeboom has just scored his 7th goal of the season. The problem is Beukeboom only scored 7 goals once: in 1994 (two years after the movie takes place). And the TV says the goal was unassisted; but the lone time Beukeboom scored his 7th goal of a season, it was assisted by Mark Messier and Mike Gartner. (00:32:20)
Factual error: During the battle in the throne room, a soldier is seen hiding behind a pillar. Then Telemachus comes and swings his sword clockwise. However, we see the soldier getting hit by the sword, hitting the pillar, and then falling to the ground. This only could have happened if Telemachus had swung his sword counter-clockwise.
Factual error: At the Spanish restaurant, the TV newsletter broadcasts a senator speaking, and the title "Sénador" below. The word has no accent mark.