Corrected entry: While Klinger is collecting toilet paper from the latrines, he's singing/chanting the theme music from "Bridge on the River Kwai" (known as the Colonel Bogie March, BTW). That movie wasn't released until several years after the war.
jle
16th Feb 2004
M*A*S*H (1972)
Correction: The famous march whistled by the POW in the movie wasn't composed for it but is actually the "Colonel Bogey March" composed in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts. It became immensely popular with the troops in WW2, with the somewhat rude text "Hitler has only got one ball." This is also the reason why it was whistled in that movie, because those lyrics wouldn't have gotten past the censors. That it is often (wrongly) called the "River Kwai March" today is due to the fact that the actual movie theme called that was a march superimposed on the whistling POW in the movie. So when you're listening to the movie theme, you're actually listening to two marches: Col. Bogey March, and the River Kwai March at the same time.
1st Nov 2003
Rain Man (1988)
Corrected entry: When Charlie sees a small-town doctor to get some advice how to deal with Raymond, the doctor asks Raymond to do some mathematical stunts. He multiplies 312*123 and 4343*1234 without thinking, which is unbelievable enough even for an autistic savant, but the square root of 2130 with 8 decimals after the dot, again without a bit of thinking, is certainly too much. (00:59:50)
Correction: Raymond's abilities are exaggerated, but not as much as you think. See, for example, http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~changc/page2_5.html which describes a man who can give the square root of a 4 digit number in 4 seconds (although it doesn't say to what precision). In the film, Raymond thinks for 2 seconds or so about the square-root, so his skills are not that unbelieveable.
28th Oct 2003
Scarface (1983)
Corrected entry: In the New York scene, Tony is following the politician's car. However, he never stops for a red light and runs at least one red light without having to avoid any oncoming cars.
Correction: They only run one red-light - to keep up with the car they're following - and immediately afterwards there is the sound of other cars hooting. This scene looks and sounds realistic.
26th Mar 2002
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Corrected entry: In the scene where Billy Tyne and Linda Greenlaw are in the wheelhouse of the Andrea Gail talking about the romance of being a swordboat captain, Capt. Billy (who knows all the charts by heart) says that "you head out the South channel...head NORTH, open up to twelve..." If you head north and open up to 12 out of Gloucester, you will run aground off (approx.) Ogunquit, Maine in about 3 hours. The Grand Banks are almost DEAD EAST from Gloucester.
Correction: While the Grand Banks are due east of Gloucester, to get there you do not point your boat due east and sail in a 'straight line'. The shortest route between two points on a sphere is along a great circle - and the great circle route from Gloucester to the Grand Banks starts out going north-ish.
24th Nov 2002
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Corrected entry: The film, being based on a true story, is supposed to be set in 1991. If it is, then why does the weather man who studies the storm have a very modern flat screen monitor?
Correction: I was using monitors with flat screens in 1991 and before. They may not have been as common and cheap as they are now but the technology has been around for many years.
Correction: They were not actually available until the mid 90's.
27th Aug 2001
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Corrected entry: When the Andrea Gail's owner comes in to the Crow's Nest to tell the "loved ones" that the rescue chopper had to ditch, Ethel says "If it were good news, he would have called us." Weren't the phones dead?
Correction: Chris's phone is dead, but she doesn't live at the Crow's Nest anymore. There is nothing to suggest that the whole town's phones are out.
27th Aug 2001
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Corrected entry: At one point when they are piloting the Andrea Gale over the waves the boat crashes down smashing the front windows, the left side windows are then smashed, later on however it becomes quite obvious that the left windows are the only ones broken and the front ones are completely intact.
Correction: It is only the left window that is smashed. In the very first shot you can tell that it is the portside windows because you can see white wiring running above them, which is also seen later in a wider, clearer shot of the bridge.
24th Jun 2003
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Corrected entry: In the shot where Andrea Gail meets the gigantic wave, and thereafter sinks, the wave is moving towards the boat. However, the waves in the preceding shots were moving in the same direction as the boat.
Correction: The Andrea Gail is turned over - bow to stern - by the wave, so it is now pointing in the other direction.
15th Jan 2004
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Corrected entry: Why do the scientists bother to kidnap 12 humans to host the aliens? It seems it was quite difficult to obtain the human hosts in secrecy. In Alien 3 the Xenomorph grows inside a dog (or an ox in the directors cut version), and in the first movie it has grown inside an unidentified alien species. Surely it can not only grow inside humans. Scientists more than 300 years from now who are able to clone adult individuals would have thought of this. They could just have used monkeys, cows, pigs...
28th Apr 2003
Thelma and Louise (1991)
Corrected entry: When Harvey Keitel shows up to talk to Thelma's husband, it is raining, but only on the foreground stretch of road. If you watch the cars, you can see them pass from a sunny area into the part of the road under the rain machines.
Correction: It is raining in the sunny area as well - you can see the water splashing off of the cars' roofs. Sunshine and rain at the same time is not unusual - it is just a shower.
23rd Sep 2002
Thelma and Louise (1991)
Corrected entry: When Thelma and Louise first start out Thelma puts a load of suitcases and stuff into the back of the car .After they run from the country bar after the shooting it's all gone. Where did it go?
Correction: All their luggage is in the boot. The only thing ever visible on the back seat is the fishing rod. You can't see it when they leave the bar, but it could have been moved when they put the root up.
27th Aug 2001
As Good As It Gets (1997)
Corrected entry: At the beginning of the movie when Melvin is trying to get the dog in the elevator he presses a button to keep the door open, but after he puts the dog in the garbage shoot, he never released the button. When Simon comes out of his apartment to find his dog the elevator door is closed.
Correction: When Simon leaves his apartment the elevator is still open. After that shot, the elevator is not seen again in the scene.
6th Mar 2003
As Good As It Gets (1997)
Corrected entry: In the scene where they are driving to Baltimore, Melvin is in the back seat listening to Simon's story about his father. Melvin has his sunglasses on his forehead, after a point in the story he raises his eyebrows so they fall back onto his nose. In the very next shot they are back on his forehead.
Correction: In the next shot they're still down. A couple of shots later, you see him pushing them back up again.
27th Aug 2001
As Good As It Gets (1997)
Corrected entry: When Melvin and Carol are talking in the restaurant she has a plate of grapes (just a few) - when she turns around the plate is full.
Correction: There is the same number of grapes - in the first shot some are partially hidden by the curve of the bowl.
27th Aug 2001
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Corrected entry: Sarah Michelle Gellar's character doesn't know her way around her own place of work, which is evident when she's being chased by the bad guys and gets cornered in a room where she's forced to jump out the window.
Correction: She knows that the only two exterior doors are locked - there is nowhere else to go.
27th Aug 2001
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Corrected entry: When Barry (Ryan Phillippe) gets hit by the car after the gym scene, you see him lying on the floor with a bit of wood on his shoulder/body. In the close-up shot, the wood has gone.
Correction: There is no wood on him in either shot.
27th Aug 2001
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Corrected entry: When Sarah Michelle Gellar is chased by the killer, she runs to her work. When she reaches the door, you see a shot of the killer not more than 5 meters away. How could the girl that opens the door not see him?
Correction: Elsa doesn't see him because she isn't looking out of the window; first she is fumbling with the keys and then she is looking at Helen screaming about being attacked.
27th Aug 2003
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Corrected entry: When the crew of the Betty gets through the kitchen and into the egg trap, the eggs begin making monster sounds when they open, such as growls and groans. The eggs aren't alive, and in all previous movies the facehuggers never made any sounds.
Correction: The eggs slurp and the facehuggers hiss a little bit. This is consistent with the previous films.
27th Aug 2001
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Corrected entry: When the guy in the wheel chair shoots the alien above him, it drips blood on him and yet this blood which earlier in the film was capable of buring through the floor barely marks him.
Correction: Reactions of acids with metals and organic materials do occur at different rates; what is shown in the film is realistic. Note too that Vriess' clothes (he's the mechanic) and skin are oily, which will also help slow down contact between the acid and more delicate organic molecules.
25th Jun 2003
Heathers (1988)
Corrected entry: After Heather Chandler is killed, shouldn't there have been some work done in the house involving an investigation? You would think that Veronica's and JD's fingerprints would have been all over the place, considering neither of them were wearing gloves.
Correction: The coroner ruled it a suicide so the police have nothing to investigate.
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Correction: The music itself was written during World War I and was associated with soldiers during both World Wars. Klinger would have been familiar with it before the release of the film that kept it famous.
jle