Audio problem: At the end of the movie when Tom Hanks is in the lake house, and throughout the whole lake scene, the sound of the lake is not synchoronised to the movement of the waves. Must have added the sound of the waves after.
Continuity mistake: In keeping with the weather mistakes in this movie, which is set in the winter of 1931, long grass and wildflowers are clearly visible on the roadside as Tom Hanks and Jude law drive up to the diner (the same scene where crickets are heard).
Continuity mistake: Look carefully at the Lone Ranger book that Michael Jr. is reading at two points in the movie (once when he's reading in his bed as he and his brother are talking about their dad, and again in the car after his mother and brother are killed.) The picture and caption under it are identical, but the text on the facing page is different each time.
Audio problem: In the scene where Michael Sullivan robs his first bank before the montage and is in the manager's office, Michael offers him a little present. Sullivan says, "Call it a handling charge," and the camera is focused on the manager, but the words aren't matching what Michael Sullivan is mouthing.
Factual error: Near the end, when Sullivan finally catches up to Connor Rooney and shoots him several times, he does so with a clearly uncocked Colt .45 pistol. These are single-action firearms, they will not fire unless they're cocked first.
Other mistake: In the scene where Tom Hanks and his son are riding in the car and Hanks is telling about the aunt in Perdition, a shadow is casted onto the hood of the car. However, the reflection of the clouds in the windshield never get blocked out.
Factual error: When Tom Hanks first drives into Chicago among all the 1931 era cars, a giant, modern, swing-arm, stationary crane is reflected in his car window. Also, The reflection of the Sears (Willis) Tower is seen in the car window as they drive along during this same moment, which wasn't started until 1970.
Revealing mistake: Half the time the Colt 1911s in this movie are fake. In the scene where Tom Hanks is killing all the mobsters in the rain and it's in slow motion, if you watch all the guys with 1911s firing, there are muzzle flashes, but no slide movement and all the hammers are decocked. You can also see this in the scene where Hanks kills Paul Newman's son. It's interesting though, because the muzzle flashes aren't added in later - if you watch the making of it on the DVD, you can see Tom Hanks firing one of the guns - they're basically shooting smoke and a reddish, somewhat fire-crackery looking red flame.
Revealing mistake: When Peter and his mother are being shot, note that Mike Jr., standing outside the house, hears the sound of the shots just before seeing the flashes. The slight delay between the flash and sound is probably pretty close, but he should have seen the flash before hearing the sound of the shots.
Continuity mistake: When Michael is sent to go get Rooney's suitcoat, he isn't allowed to get it, and when he appears downstairs just after coming from the study, Rooney is speaking, with his suitcoat on. Rooney didn't have time to get it.
Suggested correction: Mr. Rooney had a jacket on when he asks the boys if they brought the dice. Then, the next scene, they are in the basement shooting the dice and there is a jacket hanging next to him. So, the one in his study may be a different one.
Suggested correction: The scene where Mr. Rooney has his jacket on isn't immediately after the scene where Michael goes for the jacket because Connor, who stayed in the study, is also in the crowd listening to his Dad. And it isn't even the same jacket because when Mr Rooney asks Michael if he brought the dice he has his jacket on. And when they are shooting dice, it is hanging on something right next to him.
Plot hole: When Sullivan shoots Connor Rooney at the end, he flicks the door and we see the dead body. However the wall and some of the floor have loads of dried blood on it when he was only shot seconds before.
Revealing mistake: In diner when Hanks And Law are talking there's no food or coffee on the table. The scene switches to Hanks face and in less than a second goes back to Jude Laws face, and he's pouring sugar into his coffee that wasn't there a second ago.
Other mistake: At the time Tom Hanks hides behind the chest when being shot at by Jude Law, it doesn't seem possible that at that close range, he could hold the chest lid up against multiple shotgun shots.
Factual error: In the country church where Tom Hanks says a prayer, there is a bible sitting in the middle of the altar instead of the tabernacle. Prior to Vatican II, Catholic churches always placed the tabernacle in the center of the altar with the bible off to the side.
Continuity mistake: At the end of the film, when Tom Hanks' character is dying, we see his eyes slowly close as his son cradles his head. Yet in the next cut, when Hanks' character is dead, his eyes are wide open.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Michael Jr. is riding home on his bicycle (before his mother and brother get shot) he drops his bike and runs to the house. A few minutes later when Tom Hanks is driving off with Michael Jr., it shows his bike. The bike has snow covered on it, but it is not snowing, the snow has stopped.
Suggested correction: It looks as though the bike is splattered with snow from the car's tyres.
Factual error: Some of the movie was filmed in the Conrad Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago. Only in 1931 this hotel was named "the Stevens". Conrad Hilton purchased this hotel in the 1950's. Look closely and you can read the name "Conrad Hilton" written in script lettering. The lettering is out of focus on the wall in the background so you have to know what to look for.
Audio problem: When Tom Hanks ecapes from the hotel and Jude Law is shooting at him out of the window, you can clearly see a flash from Jude Law's gun but no sound.
Continuity mistake: After the night scene of heavy rains, you would expect at least some of the snow to melt the next morning. But if you look closely, the snow mounds in front of the Sullivan home are identical to the shots in the first few scenes, before the heavy rain.
Revealing mistake: When Mike and Mike Jr are driving down the road after Mike shoots Rooney's messenger the lights of a commercial plane flash twice in the night sky.
