Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Corrected entry: In the machine gunning of the train carriage scene the weapon would not have been available to the soldiers in 1891. While an order by the British army is said to have been placed in late 1888 for 120 Maxim guns it first saw only limited use during the First Matabele War of 1893. It officially entered British Service only in 1896, seeing action during the First Boer War.

Correction: The implication is that these men were not British soldiers but agents of Moriarty.

Corrected entry: When Sherlock and Watson go to Paris, you see a oversight with the Sacre Coeur being constructed. The movie is taking place in 1891, the building of the Sacre Coeur started in 1895.

xotox

Correction: This entry is wrong, construction did not start in 1895. Groundbreaking occurred in 1875, with the foundation stone being placed the same year, and the foundation was completed in 1884. In fact, historical photographs from 1891 that shows construction of the Sacre Coeur similar to what is seen in the movie.

Bishop73

Corrected entry: In the final confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty it is revealed that Holmes switched Moriarty's notebook with a copy. Moriarty opens the copy to find a small page by page cartoon referencing dialogue between the two characters during the same scene when the notebooks were switched. It is impossible for Sherlock to have drawn the cartoon between the moment that Moriarty says the line and the moment when the notebooks are switched.

Correction: Sherlock is a deductive genius who wins fights by predicting exactly what his opponent is going to do next, even subtly guiding them to do it. It wouldn't have taken much effort at all for him to have directed the conversation to more or less match the cartoon he'd drawn ahead of time.

Phixius

Correction: Holmes knows that Moriarty is a fan of Schubert, having heard him listening to one of his songs when meeting him at the college. He probably drew the cartoon afterwards based on that knowledge to rub salt in the wound, even if he didn't know that Moriarty would specifically reference The Trout when they encountered each other.

MrMovieBuff

Corrected entry: The film starts in 1891. The first fight scene, in an alleyway, the cops walk by and one thug warns the other by yelling "Peelers". A "Peeler" was slang for a police officer, derived from the name of Sir Robert Peel, who developed the Metropolitan Police Act in 1928.

Michael Fishweicher

Correction: Robert Peel established the Metropolitan Police Force in 1829. By 1928 he'd already been dead for over 70 years.

Corrected entry: Irene Adler died of a type of tuberculosis that was so lethal that she coughed up blood and died within minutes. Moriarty picks up the blood stained handkerchief and later gives it to Sherlock who is seen sniffing it sentimentally. This lethal variant doesn't seem to affect either of them.

Correction: The only way we learn it is tuberculosis is Moriarty telling Sherlock. I think Moriarty poisoned Irene Adler - the disease is just the cover story which Sherlock (and was intended to) sees through.

Corrected entry: When Holmes is envisaging himself being pushed over the edge by Moriarty his left boot is correct, but just as he falls off of the ledge he is wearing a black and white trainer (sneaker). (01:51:10)

spence2306

Correction: The right boot is polished and catches the light as Holmes' body moves over the railing giving it a bright appearance for a moment, but he is wearing a matching black boot on his right foot.

jimba

Factual error: In the scene straight after the opening credits we are taken to Baker Street where construction work is being done. This work is identified by a sign with a logo as being for the underground line. The logo type face was developed by a Mr. Edward Johnston for London Underground from 1913 but the distinctive typeface used in the film was not in place until 1919. This is obviously long after the 1891 setting of the film.

More mistakes in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: Uh, hmm... Right. Where are the wagons?
Madam Simza Heron: The wagon is too slow. Can't you ride?
Dr. John Watson: It's not that he can't ride... How is it you put it, Holmes?
Sherlock Holmes: They're dangerous at both ends and... Crafty in the middle. Why would I want anything with a mind of its own bobbing about between my legs?

More quotes from Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Trivia: The final chess match between Moriarty and Holmes is based loosely on a famous chess match between chess masters Bent Larsen and Tigran Petrosian. The match involved the sacrifice of a queen and a surprise checkmate, thus mirroring Holmes' apparent sacrifice of himself to stop Moriarty.

More trivia for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Question: In the scene when Moriarty is doing a book signing, his aide sits and hands him a piece of paper with what looks like some kind of grouped numbers together. What is this and does it get referenced later in the film?

Brad Barding

Chosen answer: That's the key code for his fortune concealed in his library. The one Mrs Watson uses to relay to Inspector Lestrade. Like the book reference numbers in a public library.

More questions & answers from Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

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