Shutter Island

Factual error: In the flashback, when Teddy was among the soldiers liberating Dachau, there is a semi-circular sign above the gate that says "Arbeit Macht Frei". Dachau had a sign with those words on it, but its sign was oblong. The sign at Auschwitz was that shape.

Factual error: When U.S. troops arrive at the concentration camp, they are wearing M1941 Field Packs. These were developed by the United States Marine Corps and were only used by Marines, not the Army. The standard pack systems used by the Army would've been the M1928 Haversack or M1936 "Musette" Bag.

Matdan97

Factual error: The movie is set in 1954, but the pinball machine named 'Seven Seas' in the staff rec area was not actually released until 1959 - even the metal legs on Gottlieb machines would not be introduced until 1957.

Factual error: Two characters discuss a recording of Mahler's quartet for piano and strings in a minor. The manuscript for this adolescent piece was discovered by his widow, Alma, in the 1960s. Difficult to accept that there was a recording available in 1954 when the movie was set.

sreich

Other mistake: During the flashback of the soldiers executing the Dachau guards, the soldiers are in a line opposite the guards who are in a line against a fence. The soldiers all start shooting at the same time, but we are shown the guards being mown down by gunfire in succession, like dominoes, rather than simultaneously.

MovieFan612

More mistakes in Shutter Island

Dr. John Cawley: We don't know how she got out of her room. It's as if she evaporated, straight through the walls.

More quotes from Shutter Island

Trivia: During the ferry approach at the start, we are shown Shutter Island. In actuality this is a combination of Peddocks Island (the decaying brick buildings), Maine's Acadia National Park, Massachusetts' Medfield State Hospital, and Turner Hill Country Club's Rice Estate (located in Ipswich, MA), which were combined via CGI. Additionally, the mountainous region of the island (shown as the ferry approaches) was also CGI, and added in post-production.

MovieFan612

More trivia for Shutter Island

Question: The children in Teddy's hallucinations were bloody but they died by drowning. Is this just an inference to Andrew's guilt that his children's "blood is on his hands" because he didn't seek treatment for Dolores' mental illness? Or is it Scorsese being overly dramatic and adding a lot of blood where it doesn't belong? Also, how exactly did Andrew kill Dolores? Did he use his service revolver, even though we don't hear the shot?

MovieFan612

Chosen answer: I think the recurring blood comes from the blood of his wife when he killed her. there was a lot of blood you see, in his psychosis that means a lot and has taken over a large part of his hallucinations, just like Dachau camp. Yes, he did shoot his wife Dolores, in the belly. You can see it in the end of the movie.

lionhead

More questions & answers from Shutter Island

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.