Continuity mistake: When Indy breaks through the window of the room where his father is locked up, you can see that it is cloudy and raining outside. However, after Henry says, "Junior, you did it!", in the next shot, there is a very intense and constant brightness (not the instantaneous brightness of lightning) coming through the broken window, as if it were sunny. This brightness disappears two shots later. (00:50:00)
Big Game
17th Feb 2025
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
17th Feb 2025
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
Continuity mistake: When Holmes confronts Dr. Sexton, the detective drops the button he has just found and then pulls out his revolver. In the next shot, the position of Holmes's right arm has changed. (00:58:48)
16th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the movie, Ted Grossman runs away. Then Indy, Satipo and Barranca enter the scene. In the next shot, the position of Satipo's arms has changed. (00:01:38)
11th Feb 2025
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Continuity mistake: When Indy climbs onto the circus train, he begins to be chased by Half Breed and Fedora. However, in the next shot, when Indy enters the reptile car, it is now Rough Rider who is behind Half Breed. (00:06:22)
10th Feb 2025
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the movie, Admiral Prentiss reads a newspaper, then drops it and begins to put his right hand into his pocket. In the next shot, the position of Prentiss's right hand has changed. Then the Admiral sits down next to Captain Shore, and his hands change position between shots again, this time going from below the table to rest over it. (00:03:55)
10th Feb 2025
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)
Continuity mistake: After Watson notices Anthony Lloyd is following him and Holmes, both men hide and then Holmes salutes Lloyd, surprising him. In the next shot, the position of Holmes' head has changed. (00:32:07)
9th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Other mistake: While the fire is falling into the Ark, one shot before it closes, two lids can be seen at the same time. The first is on the floor of the Altar, with the two golden angels on the lid being very visible (the one on the left is the most visible), while the second lid is the one falling from the sky.
9th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Continuity mistake: When the portal opens over Geheimhaven, you can see that in the sky and inside the portal there are a lot of blue clouds. Two shots later, in the shot inside the portal when the fire turns on itself, the clouds have disappeared and the portal's interior is now the normal night sky (black and with one star visible).
9th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Continuity mistake: When the Ark is 'sucking' all the fire, the klieg on the left of the screen points towards the altar. Two shots later (and after the Ark closes), that klieg points towards Indy and Marion.
9th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Continuity mistake: Just as the ghosts fly out of the Ark, a soldier can be seen on the left side of the altar, with nothing in his hands. Two shots later, that soldier is now carrying a banner.
9th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Continuity mistake: In the Well of Souls, Indy and Sallah place the Ark in the box. Indy closes the box with a wooden lid and looks up. In the next shot, a torch has appeared in Indy's hand, a rope has appeared, tied to the four sides of the box, and Sallah has appeared next to Indy's left shoulder. In addition, the box is already several metres above Indy and Sallah in the second shot. (01:09:43)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: There is an obvious time jump between the shots. They simply decided not to spend ten minutes showing all the details of sealing the box and tying the rope around it.
I wouldn't say this was a deliberate time jump, as they show Indy carefully and slowly placing the Ark in the box, then sealing it. In addition, when he looks up, he immediately says, "All right... take it up! Easy!" so it's clear this is a continuity mistake.
He says, "All right. Take it up." After the cut. Yes, he does look up before the cut, but since everything else is different, we are supposed to interpret it as a jump in time.
In fact, almost nothing changes between these two scenes, except for these small but clear details.
There's a deliberate jump in time between these two shots, and this transition is done creatively. First, we're below with Indiana as he places the lid on the crate and looks up toward the top entrance; it then cuts to the entrance POV, and now we're looking down as the tied-up crate is being lifted. The jump in time between these two shots is transitioned using a type of match cut. Absolutely no mistakes regarding these two consecutive shots.
6th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (1989)
Continuity mistake: When the German mechanic is killed by the Flying Wing's propeller, the position of the boxer changes between shots, just as he begins to scream.
6th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (1989)
Audio problem: When Angela is using the turret to eliminate the soldiers who have just arrived at the airfield in the truck, you can see for a moment that the gun stops firing and producing flames. However, you can still hear the turret firing.
6th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (1989)
Continuity mistake: When Angela gets in the Flying Wing's cabin, she grabs the metal frame with her hands. In the next shot, her arms change position and her hands are no longer holding the frame.
6th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (1989)
Deliberate mistake: Belloq, Dietrich and Gobler arrive next to the destroyed Flying Wing and begin to walk towards the intact wing, while Dietrich says, 'Have it put on the truck.' In the next shot, the Flying Wing and the entrance to the Well of Souls have disappeared from view.
6th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Continuity mistake: Belloq, Dietrich, and Gobler arrive next to the destroyed Flying Wing and begin to walk towards the intact wing, while Dietrich says, 'Have it put on the truck.' In the next shot, the Flying Wing and the entrance to the Well of Souls have disappeared from view (instead of the latter, you now see the hut where Pat was). In addition, some barrels suddenly appear between shots, next to which the three antagonists stop. (01:20:59)
29th Jan 2025
Terror by Night (1946)
Question: Holmes says he realised that Inspector McDonald was an impostor because he supposedly knows the 'real' Inspector McDonald of the Edinburgh police. As shown in the other movies and Conan Doyle's original stories, there are several Inspectors working for Scotland Yard in London (another British city), which begs the question: does this resolution Holmes mentioned about two British Inspectors having the same surname make sense and, if so, why?
Answer: If you're comparing the film to Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes stories, then any discrepancy does not really apply. The Basil Rathbone films were loose adaptions of Doyle's work, often incorporating plot elements from multiple stories or were original screenplays with new characters. There was little regard to details or plot consistencies. "Terror by Night" was an entirely original story. The original Sherlock Holmes stories were set in the late Victorian era while the 12 Universal Studio films mostly took place during World War II, with Holmes often fighting Nazis and enemy spies. The first two Sherlock Holmes films by 20th Cent. Fox studio were generally faithful to the original stories.
Actually, my question is related to the movies themselves and it's not a comparison. There are still several inspectors working for Scotland Yard in the Basil Rathbone saga too (I've made an entry edition to include this).
Thanks for clarifying, though you stated, "as shown in the other movies 'and' Doyle's original stories." Much of my previous answer still applies. The Basil Rathbone movies were not a definitive interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. The first two by 20th Century Fox were mostly faithful to the original stories. The 12 later Universal Studios films were lower-budget, cranked out in rapid succession for profit, and shifted the time period to the mid-20th century for cheaper production costs. The studio's mandate was the films were, "to simply be entertaining B pictures." There was little regard for historical accuracy or plot continuity from film to film. Scripts were simultaneously developed by different writing teams. The 12 films had multiple directors and screenwriters who were focused on their individual projects.
Actually, almost all the movies were directed by Roy William Neill (11 of 14).
That's true, but many different screenwriters were simultaneously working on the various movies. It's also typical in Hollywood for uncredited "script doctors" to revise scripts, further adding to small inconsistencies. Universal Studios had a seven-year contract with the Doyle estate to make the Sherlock Holmes films. They produced them quickly, releasing three movies per year. Under the contract, Universal was allowed to make plot revisions, create some original stories, and modernise the setting (making it more topical and cheaper to produce).
29th Jan 2025
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)
Continuity mistake: Inside the church, while Holmes is talking about the mole inside the British Intelligence Council, the position of Meade's hands changes between shots. (00:58:29)
29th Jan 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Continuity mistake: As the ghosts dance around the pole to which Indy and Marion are tied, large clouds can be seen in the sky behind them. However, after a ghost circles Dietrich and passes in front of the camera, it can be seen in the background that the clouds behind Indy and Marion have disappeared.
29th Jan 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Continuity mistake: As the ghosts dance around Dietrich, Belloq, and Toht, the Frenchman slowly looks up as the column of mist ascends upwards from the Ark, almost looking straight ahead. In the next shot, Belloq is looking down again; the shape of the mist has changed, and the column of mist is now moving to the right.
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