Murder with Too Many Notes - S13-E4
Other mistake: In the movie within the story the murderer repeatedly stabs the victim and pulls back the knife. Even after several stabs there is no blood on the knife. (00:02:25)
Bishop73
8th Feb 2023
Columbo (1971)
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Suggested correction: Nobody is stabbed in this made-for-television film. The murder victim is drugged, then dropped from the roof of a tall building, staged to look like suicide.
This mistake refers to the "movie within the story" that's having its film score completed by the composer, Crawford. The "murderer repeatedly stabs the victim" in a scene of "Corkscrew," the soon-to-be-released movie; it plays in the recording studio (00:02:25), as Crawford (Billy Connolly) conducts the orchestra for its score. Corkscrew's murder scene plays again in the screening room (00:05:45), with Corkscrew's director extolling Crawford's genius as a composer.
Suggested correction: As has been posted elsewhere - in the early seventies, no television show used blood effects. They were too expensive and would severely restrict potential audiences, as television channels were notoriously conservative in those days. This is a creative and technical decision, not a mistake.
There are a few things wrong with the correction. First, this shows a total lack of knowledge of the mistake in question. Corrections should be based on watching the scene first, not just throwing out wild and inaccurate guesses. While listed as an episode, this was a Columbo made-for-TV movie from 2001, not the early 70s. Second, explaining how or why a mistake occurs doesn't invalidate them. Creative and technical decisions can be deliberate mistakes.
2nd Jan 2022
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Revealing mistake: When the Grinch hits the Christmas decoration with the cue stick, the ball rolls over the Christmas tree, not under.
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Suggested correction: The Grinch picks up the cane, then hits the Christmas ornament with it. The ornament goes past the Christmas tree (in front of it), then knocks the other ornaments off the tree. What is the mistake? The ornament is not supposed to go behind or "under" the tree.
The green branches (i.e. the tree) that the ornament passes over are several inches off the ground, and therefore it shouldn't have rolled over them since it's supposed to be on the ground. In the next shot, we see the ornament rolling on the ground, where it is rolling under the branches before hitting the base and jumping up the tree.
You are correct. I first thought the mistake was talking about a layering issue, where the ornament was supposed to be layered behind the tree, or something. I'm not sure how I misunderstood that, but nonetheless, you're right.
6th May 2023
The Untouchables (1987)
Corrected entry: At the end of the movie, a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes is shown on Ness' desk. The circle on the pack is red. Before America entered World War Two, Lucky Strike cigarettes had a green circle. The red circle was added with the ad campaign, "Lucky Strike is going to war."
Correction: The Lucky Strike circle has always been red. The redesign came from switching from a green box to a white box (Lucky Strike marketed the change as a way to support the war). The pack seen on the desk is green, indicating it's before WWII.
2nd Dec 2024
The Santa Clause (1994)
Factual error: Neal says he stopped believing in Santa Claus when he was three because he didn't get an Oscar Mayer wienie whistle. You didn't have to buy wienie whistles; the Oscar Mayer company gave them away to children for free at grocery stores. (I had one.)
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Suggested correction: For a child believing in Santa, it's not the price of the gift. His parents didn't get him a weenie whistle for whatever reason, even though he asked Santa for one.
1st Dec 2024
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
Corrected entry: When Sally finds out that Thanksgiving is on the way, she said, "I haven't even finished eating all my Halloween candy" - but in the Halloween special, she never got any candy - she spent the whole night in the pumpkin patch with Linus.
Correction: This "mistake" has already been submitted and corrected. There's no reason to think the pumpkin patch incident happened the same year as this Thanksgiving, especially since there are 7 years between the films. And just because Sally missed trick or treating and the party doesn't mean she didn't have Halloween candy.
21st Mar 2002
Bells Are Ringing (1960)
Character mistake: When Dean Martin desribes his writer's block to Judy Holiday, she says that she keeps sharpening his Ticonderoga pencil until there's nothing left but the "Ti," but in fact what would be left on a little nib is the "ga."
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Suggested correction: She said she would sharpen her pencil... to the "t."
You should watch the whole scene. She said she would sharpen it to the Ticondero, and then to the Ticond, and she keeps going until the "Ti" and "T" (where she pronounces the sound rather than the letter).
16th Jan 2009
Snatch (2000)
Corrected entry: Several times during the film, Cousin Avi refers to Frankie Four Fingers as "Bubbe" which is a Yiddish term of endearment for "Grandma" and would be inappropriate when addressing a man.
Correction: Yes, the term does mean Grandma. There is also a Yiddish term "Bubele" (not sure of the spelling), which means "baby." Jewish people often shorten that to "bubbe" as a term of endearment, and the way he is using it in this film is exactly how many Jewish people use it in real life.
Maybe not an acceptable comment to this correction, but is this the word Harry Ellis uses in "Die Hard" when talking to Hans?
Funny, I was absolutely going to use that EXACT instance as an example! I decided not to, though, in case some people hadn't seen that movie. But yes, same word and meaning. "Hans, Bubbe, I'm your white knight!" Both Ellis and Avi are using it correctly.
28th Oct 2024
Clerks (1994)
Factual error: When Dante is fined for selling the cigarettes to a child, the agent tells him that his fine cannot be contested in any court of law. That is not correct because of due process; any citation or fine can be contested in court. Dante could plea for a reduced fine or to have the charges completely dismissed.
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Suggested correction: He doesn't say the fine can't be contested. He said the summons can't be contested. A summons means having to appear in court.
23rd Feb 2016
The Simpsons (1989)
Other mistake: When The Town is singing the Christmas carol you can see Sideshow Bob, who was arrested and jailed in series 1. We know he hasn't been released, as that's a plot point over the show. (00:18:10)
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Suggested correction: Maybe he was allowed to participate due to good behavior. That's a possibility.
Good behavior or not, a prison wouldn't furlough an inmate just so they could participate in a snow day.
I'm not sure if it's been discussed here or listed as a mistake. Part of the problem with "The Simpsons" and the Sideshow Bob character is that time both moves forward and doesn't move. In "A Brother From Another Series," Krusty visits the prison and tells Bob he hasn't seen him in years because Bob had been in prison all those years for his crimes. Yet Bart and Lisa are still the same age and in the same grade. Bob is also let out of prison on a work-release program in the episode.
27th Feb 2020
Joker (2019)
Factual error: The Waynes went to a theater with 5 movies, with the main spot being Blow Out and Zorro the Gay Blade, who came out on July 24th and 17th of the year. You can also see marquees for other July movies; Wolfen, on the 24th, Arthur, on the 17th. But the narration that opens the movie said it was Thursday October 15, and the events of the movie span across at the very least two weeks (the Joker gets booked on Murray's for "next Thursday" when at least a week has passed since the intro). So the theater is showing in November movies that are over 3 months old (7 for 'Excalibur'. Last movie to be featured) and no new releases. (01:49:10)
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Suggested correction: Yep. No fact is in error here. It's not a fact that states this isn't possible.
Especially since that's what discount theatres did (sometimes called dollar theatres): showed 2nd run films months after they were initially released.
11th May 2019
Hercules in New York (1969)
Factual error: Zeus' wife is Hera not Juno. Juno is the wife of Jupiter, god of Roman mythology, not Greek.
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16th May 2023
Lethal Weapon (2016)
Surf N Turf - S1-E2
Other mistake: When Riggs calls the arms dealer's phone (agent Hirsch), Hirsch doesn't answer the phone, silencing the call and putting the phone in his pocket, but Riggs leaps to action and says "it was Hirsch's voice on the phone!" Realizing that the arms dealer and Hirsch are the same person but no-one answered the phone. (00:32:00)
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Suggested correction: When Hirsch ignored the call, it would have gone to his voicemail. That was the voice Riggs would have heard on the phone.
5th May 2017
Lethal Weapon (2016)
Factual error: When Riggs and Murtaugh go to investigate the scene where the body of Ramon Alvarez is discovered Scorsese states that Alvarez's dog tags say "SEAL" on them. His dog tags would not say that he is a SEAL on them. The information listed on dog tags is as follows: Name, Social Security Number, Blood Type, Service Branch, and Religious Preference. There is no way to tell what a given service member's MOS (job) from his or her dog tags. (00:14:00)
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3rd Sep 2010
Jaws 2 (1978)
Revealing mistake: During the scene in the bar, the first shot shows some kid playing an arcade of some sort, and the shot continues to scroll from right to left. However, all the writing (ie. the arcade machine, t-shirts, chalkboard, and various signs) are all backwards, which means the shot is flipped.
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Suggested correction: I think some of the shots from that are shot showing the mirror's reflection of the bar because shortly after the same, or immediately in the next shot, it pans down to show Lucy and Patrick, but as both them and the mirror reflection of, so I think it's slightly to do with that. Yes, to wonder why this was and whether it was intent or just an unthought error, but could have been that the reason it appears flipped than an actual editing flip mistake.
I agree, the pan is continuous, and even after it pans the other way and there's a weird cut, the camera position doesn't change. When it pans down, you see we've been looking in a mirror.
8th Sep 2024
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
Corrected entry: What would Simon's plan have been if John hadn't gotten to the subway bomb in time? If it had exploded before he evacuated all the civilians, there would be lots of dead people as a result, meaning the cleanup would have taken much longer. Simon wouldn't have been able to get his people into the vault, so basically his plan relied on the sheer luck that McClane got to the bomb on time.
Correction: This is a question and not a plot hole. The plan was for the bomb to go off and not to be thrown out of the train. The cleanup didn't affect the plan to steal the gold.
21st Jul 2003
Angels in the Outfield (1994)
Continuity mistake: The stain from the nachos on David's pants is completely gone when Roger asks him to get him a cup of coffee.
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Suggested correction: From what I remember, enough time has passed to where David could've cleaned the stain.
So he couldn't clean the mustard stain off his shirt, but is somehow able to completely clean the seat of his pants? The mistake is valid.
14th Aug 2024
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Corrected entry: Full moon happens exactly once per 28 days, but in this movie, David transforms twice on two consecutive days.
Correction: A full moon only lasts for a brief instant, but to the naked eye, and more importantly to werewolf lore, the moon can appear full for up to 3 days.
17th Sep 2018
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Continuity mistake: When Groot creates a handle for the axe with his arm, he chops off the arm and it lands on the ground. The sharp end is facing to the right when it lands, but when it begins to lift, the sharp end is now facing to the left. (01:44:20)
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Suggested correction: Looking at the screen, sharp end is to the right, Groot adds the handle as he does he rotates it, and then when he creates the handle, Stormbreaker falls as expected.
You're talking about the wrong part of the scene. The mistake occurs after Groot adds the handle and cuts off his arm. After the completed Stormbreaker falls, its position changes when the camera cuts to it starting to rise.
12th Aug 2024
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990)
Did the Earth Move For You? - S2-E1
Other mistake: Ashley is now thirteen years old, but she was nine in the previous season.
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Suggested correction: It's not uncommon for TV shows to do this, especially with kids. In this exact show they had a baby Nicky who the following season suddenly was like 5 or 6 years old. Other shows like Family Ties and Growing Pains did the same thing. Shows are not always shown in real time when it comes to episodes. They can each take place days, weeks, months or years from previous episodes.
This isn't a valid correction. Just because shows do it or it's common doesn't invalidate the mistake. And while shows don't always have to be shown "in real time", all the other characters would have to make the same jump in age, otherwise it's a mistake.
As Bishop73 said, it's a legitimate mistake because the other characters did not age by four years. There was no time jump. Changing her age does not make sense within the "world" of the show.
6th Sep 2009
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
Continuity mistake: When Pluto meets Rex, Rex has a black tie. It changes to a red one in the next shot.
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Suggested correction: There isn't a shot of him in a red tie. It's black in every shot I see. Their pocket squares are red though.
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