Other mistake: The exact same background shot of a Ventura bomber followed by two single-engine planes flying left to right is used three times during the film, twice at the beginning as they are planning the mission on the beach and then once at the end when the raid is over.
The Great Raid (2005)
Directed by: John Dahl
Starring: James Franco, Joseph Fiennes, Benjamin Bratt, Max Martini, Robert Mammone
Factual error: The group of Japanese soldiers who came to Cabanatuan following the guards desertion were not "secret police" with orders to execute the POWs as shown in the film. They were simply units who happened to temporarily halt at the camp during their retreat from the advancing Americans.
Factual error: The plane used in the flyover to distract the Japanese from the approaching Rangers was not the B-34 Ventura shown in the film, but rather the P-61 Black Widow night fighter. The latter was specifically chosen because it was an unknown, rather strange looking plane that would attract maximum attention and be psychologically unsettling to the Japanese.
Lt. Colonel Mucci: General, this is the man who led the raid... Captain Prince.
General Kreuger: Congratulations, soldier. I'm very sorry for your losses, but I want to let you know you men have done a great service to your country.
Captain Prince: Thank you, sir.
General Kreuger: Henry, I'll be honest with you. This mission appeals more to my heart than to my head.
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