Making a movie involves many moving parts, and ensuring everything comes out perfectly is tough. However, it’s hard not to notice certain cinematic mistakes in our favorite movies.
These mistakes can be inconsistent props or costumes, sloppy editing, actor/extra mistakes, or stray crew members who wind up in the shot. These things happen and don’t make us love these movies any less, but it can be fun to point them out.
Cinematic slip-ups remind us how much precision and thoughtfulness go into an excellent movie. While these films may have a few oopsies, we can forgive them.
1. The Graduate (1967)
The Graduate has a geographic mistake that likely only California locals would notice. The slip-up is so small we almost feel bad mentioning it, but we must.
When Benjamin drives to Berkley, he drives in the wrong direction. He crosses the Bay Bridge on the top level, which takes you to San Francisco. The lower level of the bridge goes to Berkley.
2. Pulp Fiction (1994)
It’s common for an important movie scene to be shot several times to get different angles, versions, etc. They typically reset the scene between takes, but it seems like someone forgot in Pulp Fiction.
In the early scene, when Vincent and Jules retrieve the briefcase, the apartment already has bullet holes in the wall. Either that apartment was shot up more than once, or they sloppily reset the scene.
3. Independence Day (1996)
In Independence Day, David Levinson throws a fit and knocks over a trash bin. The dramatic moment is tainted by the fact that the bin is labeled “Art Dept.”
Secret government facilities that house extraterrestrial vehicles do not usually have an art department. Someone from the department must have forgotten to remove the bin or perhaps didn’t know it’d be thrown to the ground like that.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Pirates of the Caribbean is supposed to be about pirates, so why is there a cowboy in The Curse of the Black Pearl*? One scene shows Will and Jack on a pirate ship, but a man with a cowboy hat is in the background.
We assume the man in the cowboy hat is a crew member, but he was clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, he is looking wistfully out to sea, which is kind of sweet.
5. Pretty Woman (1990)
In Pretty Woman, Vivian lives the high life at the hotel, with all the luxuries she could want. She especially indulges in the delicious food, but maybe too much.
In a breakfast scene, she’s shown biting into a croissant. Just a moment later, she’s a bite or two into a stack of pancakes. Did she scarf down the croissant so quickly that pancakes appeared before her?
6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Wizard of Oz has a massive oopsie in one scene. When the angry trees hurl apples at Dorothy and the Scarecrow, her iconic ruby red slippers are nowhere to be seen.
Instead, she’s sporting a pair of boring black shoes. This is a massive oversight, considering how important the red slippers are for her journey.
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
Frankly, this is a severe oversight. The final Harry Potter film shows Harry’s mother, Lily, as a child. The flashback shows a red-headed girl with brown eyes.
Throughout the franchise, Lily’s beautiful eyes appear more than once, specifically concerning how Harry and she had the same eyes. Every time they’re mentioned, they’re described as blue, so why did they cast a girl with obvious brown eyes?
8. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
One of our all-time favorite rom-coms, 10 Things I Hate About You, has one tiny slip-up worth noting. This one falls on one of the extras, who clearly couldn’t stay in character.
When Bianca accidentally shoots a teacher during archery class, a student runs to get help but then stops and looks directly at the camera. You can see the extra break character in the background.
9. Titantic (1997)
This is technically a slip-up, but we think it enhances the scene. Leonardo DiCaprio fumbles with his lines during the famous “draw me like one of your French girls” scene.
He tells her to lie on the bed but then corrects himself and says to sit on the couch. This little trip-up is endearing in the scene, making Jack seem flustered and flushed.
10. Captain Marvel (2019)
Captain Marvel really dropped the ball here. If you set a film in a certain decade or era, you must ensure everything lines up, especially the ’90s, which most people watching the movie would remember.
Several aspects of the ’90s setting are off, including computer programs and songs that had yet to come out. The mistakes seem minor, but they’re glaring if you are familiar with Windows programs or Nirvana’s music.
11. The Goonies (1985)
The Goonies, a beloved cult classic, has a somewhat chaotic vibe, emphasized by one weird slip-up. At the film’s end, Data talks to reporters about how wild the octopus was!
Wait. What octopus? There was a crazy octopus scene in the film, but it was cut from the final edit. The mention of the octopus seems to only appear in certain cuts of the film.
12. Spider-Man (2002)
It’s easy to miss this tiny cinematic slip-up because you’re busy watching one of history’s most iconic movie kisses. In Spider-Man, he throws some bad guys through a window before this kiss.
Magically, the windows are intact during their passionate upside-down kiss, like they’d never been shattered. It’s a minor detail but a lapse in continuity.
13. Jurassic World (2015)
The blockbuster film Jurassic World has more than a few mistakes. We won’t highlight every single one here because there are lots, but one stands out to us as particularly sloppy.
During a conversation between Owen and Claire, Chris Pratt’s mouth is not moving, but you can hear him speaking. We know editing these scenes is tricky and can’t always be perfect, but this was bad.
14. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most popular Batman films but has a few mistakes. The most notable is that the film is not about the Dark Knight rising but about the sun rising.
When the stock market heist scene starts, there is daylight. It looks like early morning. However, following the police chase, the sky is pitch black, like it’s the middle of the night.
15. Halloween (1978)
John Carpetner’s iconic slasher film is not perfect. The movie takes place in Haddonfield, Illinois, but many details indicate they are not in the middle of the country.
First, all of the cars in the movie have California license plates, so that’s a pretty obvious giveaway. Second, there are plenty of palm trees in a few scenes, which do not exist in Illinois.
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