There you are, comfortably sitting in the movie theater (or on your couch at home!), snacking on your favorite popcorn (salted caramel for us), enjoying the latest blockbuster that your friends couldn’t stop hyping. That’s when somebody next to you points out a mistake on the screen. Maybe it’s a crewmember ‘hiding’ in the shadows, a costume fail, or something that makes no sense narrative-wise. You’re no longer immersed in the story and can’t unsee the glaring error—it seems far too obvious now!
It’s moments like these that end up being shared on the subreddit. An online community of over 156k cinephiles, it’s home to people who love drawing attention to interesting mistakes that they spot in films and shows. We’ve got to hand it to them, they’re more perceptive than a hawk who moonlights as a detective!
Check out some of the biggest acting, editing, and narrative fails, as shared on r/MovieMistakes, and upvote the ones that really surprised you. In the mood for some more cinema sleuthing? You’ll find Bored Panda’s earlier article about the community right over here.
Bored Panda reached out to Ariane Sherine, who used to write for British TV shows, to learn about the difference between writing for the screen and writing a book. Ariane is a comedy writer, journalist, music producer, and published author. Read on for the insights that she shared with us.
#1 Show (9-1-1 S3-Ep3) This Guy Got His Arm Amputated But They Forgot To Edit It Out Of This Shot
Image credits: Ian11z
#2 I’m Watching Doctor Strange And I Caught A Crew Member Literally In Plain Sight
Image credits: greenm312
#3 I Don’t Think This Is How You Fire An Arrow With A Bow
Image credits: JellySorry5372
Comedy writer Ariane, who used to write for British TV shows like the BBC’s ‘My Family’ and ‘Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps,’ was kind enough to share some of her experience when it comes to writing scripts. She explained to Bored Panda the difference between writing for TV and movies and writing something more ‘traditional’ like a short story or a book.
“Writing for TV and movies is different from writing books or short stories as you’re producing the blueprint for art rather than the art itself,” she told us.
“You’re providing directions and dialogue but your script isn’t the end product, the TV programme or film is.”
#4 Pretty Woman Was A Big Hit In The ’90s.few May Have Noticed That When They Have Breakfast Together At The Hotel, Roberts’ Character Takes A Croissant From The Table, Which Shortly After, At Minute 32:10, Mysteriously Transforms Into A Pancake
Image credits: JellySorry5372
#5 About 50 Minutes In To Hereditary, All I Could See Was Toni Collette’s Wig’s Lace
Image credits: reddit.com
#6 Unforgiven 1992. When Lil Bill Is Telling The Real Story Of “The Duck Of Death” , You Can Sew Gene Hackman Has His Lines In The Book
Image credits: Huichan81
#7 Fake Bookshelf In The Last Crusade
Image credits: Oldspice_DentalFloss
#8 In Django Unchained, The Harpist Is Playing Für Elise. Für Elise Wasn’t Published Until 1867; 8 Years After The Movie Takes Place
Image credits: eren_yeagermeister
#9 In Supernatural Season 10 Episode 3, “Hospital” Is Misspelled
Image credits: CashYT
“Very few scripts make it into bookstores—generally only if the production is a huge success. Because screenplays are rarely as fun to read as books—that isn’t their purpose.”
Meanwhile, we were curious whether TV writers generally try to adapt the script to specific actors or if the actors are cast only once the script’s been written. Ariane shed some light on this: “The script comes first!”
The r/MovieMistakes subreddit has been up and running since mid-July, 2012. That means that its members have been slowly combing through film projects for errors for over a decade!
Over the years, the community has grown, solidified, and become one of the biggest groups on Reddit as a whole. But the real victory is just how active the members of the sub are: they’re still looking for accidental mistakes and editing fails in movies and TV shows, both new and old.
#10 In D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994), Half The Crowd Is Made Up Of Cardboard Cut Outs To Fill The Seats In The Stadium
Image credits: LisleSwanson
#11 Malcolm S07e05. Dewey Plays Without A Cartridge In His Gameboy
Image credits: william_weatherby
#12 In ‘Simpsons Roasting On A Open Fire’ The First Simpsons Episode In 1992, Towards The End There Is One Shot Where The Background Is Upside Down
Image credits: DyceCubes
Now, before you rush headlong into a posting spree, take the time to read the subreddit’s rules. If you plan on being an active member of the community, you need to be aware of how to make your post have the most impact, instead of getting deleted.
Naturally, whatever you post has to be about the unintentional mistakes that filmmakers have made. The mistakes have to have made it into the final cut of the film or TV series. Meanwhile, if a mistake isn’t very obvious, explain it to the crowd.
The moderator team also asks its members not to joke about how some movie or other “was a mistake.” According to them, “it’s an overdone joke.” In short, the community wants fresh perspectives, not rehashed insights and humor. That push for originality is probably why the community has lasted this long: it sets the bar for quality pretty high.
#13 Aladdin 2019 Probably Late To This Party But It Looks Like A Cell Phone In His Pocket
Image credits: PoopyGoat
#14 [ncis] Just Noticed Abby Making A Phone Call Is Very Clearly A Calculator App
Image credits: Foxterriers
#15 Inventing Anna Photographer Lens Cap
Image credits: BlurMyFace
Meanwhile, the title of your post has to include the name of the film or show, along with a brief description of the mistake. If it’s a TV series you’re gently poking fun at, mention what season and episode it’s in, so that everyone else can double-check things for themselves.
Moreover, your post should actually have a pic or video of the mistake in question. The only exception to this rule is if the movie is still in theaters. The team running r/MovieMistakes also asks its members not to spoil recent film projects, unless you’re marking your post with the ‘spoiler’ tag. For instance, if a film’s still in theaters, you’d have to use the tag. Be courteous to any redditors who might potentially hate spoilers.
#16 In Spider-Man (2002), When He Goes To Punch Green Goblin, The Stunt-Double’s Lips Can Be Seen Still. While Willem Dafoe Voiceovers “Impressive!”
Image credits: Jllanes734
#17 In Pulp Fiction You Can See The Bullet Holes On The Wall Even Before The Guy Comes Out From The Bathroom,shooting!
Image credits: kajokarafili
#18 Tyler Perry’s A Fall From Grace (Netflix) 42:00 Camera Roll Shows Various Photos With Various Fake Lock Screens With Messages And Fake Phone Calls And Mock-Up Dial Pad
Image credits: PauPowers
Like every other subreddit, r/MovieMistakes asks everyone to be kind to one another. The mods also frown upon anyone whose goal is ‘repost farming’ for karma and awards. Try not to repost well-known mistakes just because you want a spot of attention from everyone else.
#19 In The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (2014) Thorin Oakenshield Is Seen Wearing Boots With Modern Day Rubber Gripped Soles Whereas In All Other Shots He Has Completely Flat Soles
Image credits: FroggboyFrank
#20 Seinfeld S8 Ep2 You Can See Jerry’s Mic When He Lifts Up His Jacket
Image credits: Madison_was_bored
#21 In Insidious, You Can Very Clearly See A Fog Machine And You Can Even See The Operator Moving In The Darkness If You Look Closely
Image credits: CrunkyDunk
Anyone who intentionally spoils plot twists and other story details can be banned. That’s something that can also happen if you repost removed content or behave like a bot. In short, look at what’s already been shared in the online group, be nice, and try to share some original insights with everyone else.
#22 Ok So Uuhh… Can We Talk About How Lyle The Crocodile Isn’t A Crocodile?
Image credits: SmolderTheDragonGirl
#23 If You Look Really Really Close You Can Hardly Tell They Spelled The Fucking Title Wrong Christmas Twister (2012)
Image credits: Ok-Hat9079
#24 In The Lost World, Jurassic Park 2 (1997) Ian Malcolm Looks Through Binoculars The Wrong Way
Image credits: UnScrapper
As we’ve covered on Bored Panda before, making movies is an incredibly long and expensive process. Consistency becomes difficult to maintain over months and years, especially if some of the scenes aren’t filmed chronologically.
So mistakes occasionally happen, even if there are people out there whose job it is to look for things like that. Nobody’s perfect, some minor mistakes will always worm their way into the final version of the project, no matter how much money you throw at it.
#25 In Hidalgo (2004), During The Final Stretch Of The Race, Frank Rides His Horse Without A Saddle, Until A Brief Shot Where He’s Suddenly In A Saddle Again
Image credits: MsYagi90
#26 Netflix’s Kaleidoscope: Episode “Green”. Both Of These One Direction Tickets Are For The Exact Same Section/Row/Seat
Image credits: IcedTuna
#27 In The Dark Knight (2008), Bruce Suggests Putting Two Tables Together. It’s Definitely One Table
Image credits: codyparkerr
The time frame of these sorts of projects also means that even if someone notices a mistake during the editing and post-processing stages of making the movie, it might be too late (or too expensive) to refilm them. Editors might run into situations where they can’t cut out parts of the scene either because that would lead to even greater continuity errors. Their job is to ensure that the audience stays as immersed as possible. That might work with most viewers, however, some people are so eagle-eyed that they’ll immediately pick up on tiny inconsistencies from scene to scene.
#28 On Jane The Virgin, Petra’s Mom Is In The Hospital With A Breathing Mask On… Except It’s Not There In The Next Shot We See Her In
Image credits: VITMOR-
#29 After Mcclane Hangs Karl You Can See Karl Standing In Background
Image credits: Obmr-snrU
#30 In Terminator 2, The Head Of The T-1000 Starts Splitting Before Arnold Shoots
Image credits: allgoners
How good are you at noticing small mistakes and details like the ones in this list, dear Pandas? Which of these continuity errors and immersion fails surprised you the most? Have you ever worked in the film and TV industry? We’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions, so pop down by the comment section when you’re done enjoying the post.
#31 In Hocus Pocus 2, They Make Multiple Mentions Of The Previous Events Taking Place In 1993, The Year The Original Movie Was Released. Halloween 1993 Fell On A Sunday And The Kids Were In School That Day In The Original Movie
Image credits: bum-off
#32 ‘that 90’s Show’ Season 1 Episode 1. All That Netflix Budget And They Couldn’t Get The Period Correct Chip Packaging?
Image credits: anma1234
#33 In Disenchanted (2022), Giselle And Morgan Hug But Their Arms Switch Positions From One Cut To The Next
Image credits: IcyWet
#34 In 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) A Cop Can Be Seen Writing On An Already Written Paper
Image credits: AEKIAN
#35 In The 1965 “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, There Is A Single Frame Of Animation That Is Out Of Sequence Causing The Two Background Characters To Appear In The Middle Layer And Cover Pig-Pen And Linus
Image credits: MrCantPlayGuitar
#36 In ‘Gilligan’s Island’ Several Cbs Studio Buildings Are Visible In The Background From The Lagoon. Episode ‘The Friendly Physician’, 1966
Image credits: BobbyCrispyGuitar
#37 Im Watching Encino Man, I’m The Scene Where Link Hijacks The Drivers Ed Car, Definetly Not Sean Astin In The Back. Can You Say Stunt Driver? Lol
Image credits: tundraportal
#38 In Money Heist, Rio Says “En Español Por Favor” Which Means “In Spanish Please”, But The Subtitles Say “Keep It Short Please”
Image credits: RedOnARoll
#39 In Liar, Liar (1997), In The Fight Scene, You Can See That The Toilet Is Made Of Foam
Image credits: heidismiles
#40 In Dahmer, He Returns From Basic Training In 1979 With The National Defense Service Medal, Which Wasn’t Awarded Between ‘74 And ‘90
Image credits: Origamibyameer1
This content was originally published here.
