Revealing mistake: When Elizabeth first sees the skeletal pirates she stumbles backward, and when she lands on the tarp in the close-up, the flesh-covered thumb and part of a hand is visible behind her, at the top right, though the pirates are in skeletal form. (00:59:05)
Revealing mistake: On the way to Isla de Muerta aboard Interceptor, during the storm there is a close-up of Jack's hand holding the compass. There are many other close-ups of Jack's hand in the movie, but in this particular close-up, it is not Johnny Depp's hand holding the compass. Depp's fingers are slim and normal looking, but in this close-up Jack's thumb is stout and has a severely enlarged/deformed metacarpal at the base of the thumb joint (likely arthritis). (01:03:35)
Continuity mistake: Aboard the Pearl, in the close-up of Elizabeth hiding the dinner knife in the napkin, the base of the decorative embossed silver knife handle (area of bolster, where the blade meets the handle) is flat all the way around. However, oddly enough, when she stabs Barbossa moments later, in the close-up of the knife protruding from Barbossa's chest there are two wide ridges circling the base - obviously a different knife. (00:57:45)
Continuity mistake: At Isla de Muerta, whilst floating offshore in the rowboat, when Jack moves forward to sit beside Norrington and discuss the plan, Mullroy sits behind Jack. In Murtogg and Mullroy's close-ups the silver medallion on Mullroy's white strap is centered properly at his chest. However, in other shots that silver medallion is near his waist.
Continuity mistake: Aboard the Pearl (before Elizabeth's blood ritual), in the exterior shot Elizabeth peers out the window which slants away from her right side - making it the right window of the port side, as she faces it. However, in the next interior shot she actually sits in front of the port side's left window, which slants away from her left side.
Continuity mistake: There are three sets of windows in the captain's stateroom - at port, starboard and stern - with three windows per set. Just before Pintel and Ragetti give Elizabeth the dress, there is an exterior shot of the Pearl, and all three stern windows are actually symmetrical vertically. However, in the interior shots, the first and third stern windows are vertically slanted at their outer sides.
Continuity mistake: At Jack's hanging, when Elizabeth "faints" her hat's wide white ribbon hangs down both sides - joined at the back of her neck. When she lifts her head, to witness Jack's rescue in progress, the ribbon is now gone from the right side of her hat and hangs loose at her left shoulder. However, when she looks over at her father, the ribbon is intact once again. (02:06:15)
Continuity mistake: At Isla de Muerta, during their duel, Barbossa kicks Jack in the face and he falls to the ground. In the first shot, Jack's arm and back land directly beside the spot of moonlight behind him. In the next close-up, his back and arm are at least two feet from that spot of moonlight, though he has not moved. (Difference visible on VHS.)
Visible crew/equipment: After Elizabeth hides the dinner knife in the napkin, two shots later, as Barbossa hands the medallion to the monkey, there are two rods visible below the swing - one at each end - to keep the swing steady. (Visible on VHS.)
Continuity mistake: When Barbossa pulls apart his jacket, after he is shot by Jack, the fatal wound bleeds out staining a large portion of the front of his white shirt with blood. However, when Barbossa falls to the ground, in the close-up after he drops his beloved apple, his jacket is open and amazingly ALL the blood on his white shirt is gone. (This is ONLY visible on VHS.)
Continuity mistake: Aboard the Black Pearl, after Elizabeth walks out onto the deck and sees the skeletal pirates for the first time, in the shots as she stumbles backward and is tossed in mid-air her strapped shoes with heels are visible. After she knocks off Grapple's skeletal head with the wheel, as Elizabeth runs down the stairs her right shoe is perfectly visible and it most certainly isn't one of those pretty shoes with heels. (This is ONLY visible on VHS.)
Visible crew/equipment: After Will tells Jack that he can get him out of prison, he lifts a wooden bench to use for leverage and says, "And the proper application of strength..." In the next close-up of the bench as it's positioned at the cell bars, a crewmember's fingers are gripping one of the bars at the bottom right corner of the screen. (This is only visible on VHS.)
Continuity mistake: At Isla de Muerta, when Will's hands are bound, Jack tosses Will the sword. In the two shots facing Will, first as he catches it then as he pushes the bald pirate, Will's hose are rolled down, whereas in the previous and following shots his hose are on properly. Orlando Bloom preferred to have the hose down during much of the shoot, when it was supposedly not visible onscreen. (This is ONLY visible on VHS.)
Continuity mistake: Aboard the Pearl, after Elizabeth begins to eat the turkey leg, in the shot facing Barbossa as he pours her wine, there is a hunk of bread with a bite taken out of it on Elizabeth's plate which wasn't in the previous shots. Problem is that it's not until three shots later that Elizabeth actually takes bread from the platter and bites into it, before dropping it. (This is ONLY visible on VHS.)
Revealing mistake: After Gillette locks the shackles on Jack's wrists, it is clear in Jack and Elizabeth's close-ups that the wider side of the shackles' distinctively shaped straight bar faces out at his wrists. However, when Jack is in the blacksmith shop, sitting at the anvil trying to break the links, the left shackle is actually around his wrist the opposite way. (This even occurs in other consecutive shots.) (00:19:00 - 00:21:30)
Continuity mistake: Aboard the Black Pearl, when Jack is speaking with Barbossa in the Captain's stateroom, Jack takes a bite out of an apple, close to its stem, with the stem at the top. However, in the following shots, particularly when Barbossa and Jack are on deck, the angle, position, and appearance of the bite mark differ between shots. (01:20:25)
Continuity mistake: When Jack sails toward Port Royal, he passes the skeletal remains of hanged pirates, to whom he pays a respectful bow. First, there are two wideshots of the skeletons, then in the close-up they are actually wearing more clothing, particularly the strapping middle guy, whose head position differs, and his straw hat is larger as well. (00:09:15)
Continuity mistake: After Norrington orders his men to take young Will below, in the next shot young Elizabeth stands at Dauntless' stern, in front of the mizzen mast and rigging, with the yard arms behind the mast way above her and its full sails. However, in the next close-ups the yard arm and sail are directly behind her, and the sails differ. (00:04:20)
Visible crew/equipment: After Jack rescues Elizabeth, Norrington shows up on the dock and points his sword directly at Jack. In the first shot facing Norrington, (as the sword points toward the camera, which is Jack's POV), the clear reflections of crew members are visible on the large underside of the crossguard, at the hilt of Norrington's sword, when in fact the only one who should be in the reflection is Jack, or possibly even Murtogg or Mullroy. (00:16:50)
Visible crew/equipment: During many close-ups of Jack, Will and other characters, either two side by side reflectors or a single large reflector screen are clearly reflected in their eyes. (00:16:45)
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