More 'movie mistakes' you must have missed

A month ago, Funfare published a list of “movie mistakes” from a book by Jon Sandys titled such (now on Take 2 Revised & Updated). Those “mistakes” are not unique to Hollywood movies but are also found in other films, including those of our own.

Wrote a reader who requested anonymity:

I am a fan of your column and a fan of Philippine movies. In the movie When Love Begins starring Aga Muhlach and Anne Curtis, take note of the scene where Aga’s family is having lunch. Above and at the center of the screen you see the microphone. Another scene was taken on the steps leading to the house above. Look at the newly-painted plants on both sides; there’s a plastic straw that guides the plants. Next scene, same area: there’s a time lapse of two years and the rope is still there. Maybe the plants are slow-growing. Please don’t print my name, otherwise they might not rent my house again. Sayang ang income.

Here’s another letter, from reader Ernest Villareal:

Nice column. I always enjoy watching out for “directorial errors.” I used to teach my students how to look out for these mistakes not only as a way to sharpen their senses and observation skills but also to look for ways to improve things like movie sequences as a way of improving themselves.

I remember the movie Omega Man which starred Charlton Heston. He was supposed to be the only healthy human left on earth but in one scene, there was a commercial jetplane in the sky in the background.

There were many movies where the microphones on extension boom would be seen.

A common error in action movies is when a pistol or a shotgun is cocked twice. Or a pistol that is cocked in one scene is shown with hammer down in the next. Very common.

I saw almost all those movies you mentioned in your column and did not notice all those mistakes.

I promise to be more observant from now on and keep notes.

Maybe we can make it like a project.

As requested by readers, here are some more “movie mistakes” from Jon Sandys’ book:

• The Sound of Music. In the scene where Maria (Julie Andrews, photo) is singing her way up to the front door of the Von Trapp home, the house has several large windows in front by the door. However, once inside in the grand hall, there are no windows by the door.

•  North By Northwest. When Cary Grant and his film mother enter the elevator at the Plaza, the scene was filmed through a glass door, and you can see the reflection of a crew member in a white shirt who is crouching below or next to the camera

•  Casablanca. In the famous train scene where Ingrid Bergman stands up Humphrey Bogart, his coat is soaking wet. He gets on the train after receiving his “Dear John” note and his coat suddenly looks amazingly dry.

•  Father of the Bride. In the scene where Martin Short (top) is looking at the house to see the changes for the wedding and they are talking about the menu, the Annie character starts with her hair in a ponytail, then for a split second her hair is half-up in a barrette and then it’s back to a ponytail (or vice-versa).

•  Me, Myself & Irene. When Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger arrive at the train station in Rhode Island, Jim’s dual personalities are having a “fight.” During this fight, Jim unzips his pants to wiggle his “thing” at a group of ladies sitting on a bench. Immediately after that he falls to the ground and his pants are zipped up.

•  Pearl Harbor. In the scene in front of the hotel on the night before Ben Affleck ships out to England, Kate Beckinsale puts a scarf around his neck. There is a camera shot from his back: No scarf. Then another shot from his front: The scarf is back.

•  Rush Hour 2. At the very end of the film when Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are saying their final goodbyes, Jackie is wearing the strap to his bag on his left shoulder. You will notice that in almost every scene, even in the mistakes during the credits, the rubber thing on his bag is alternately there and not there.

•  Twister. When Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt chase the first toernado they switch to Bill’s new truck. They look at the speedometer once then they look at it about three seconds later and the odometer is hundreds of miles different from what it was only three seconds before.

•  Road to Perdition. When Jude Law (bottom) is first shown talking to Tom Hanks in the diner, he orders a cup of coffee. They talk for about 30 seconds with the camera going back and forth between Hanks and Law. In one shot, there’s nothing on Law’s table, then in the next shot of him he has a cup of coffee in front of him.

•  Ghostbusters. There’s a scene where Sigourney Weaver’s building is falling apart, and stones and stuff are falling to the street below. One of the huge boulders bounces off a wooden police barricade in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.

•  For Your Eyes Only. When James Bond (Roger Moore) and company attack Kristatos’ warehouse, it is in the middle of the night. However, as Bond runs up the stairs to chase the escaping bad guy, he reaches the top in broad daylight.

•  Charlie’s Angels. When Lucy Liu is fighting the thin man in the tower, the bell falls. Soon afterwards, he heads towards her, sword swinging, and we can see the bell again on the right.

•  From Russia With Love. When James Bond (Sean Connery, above, right) is driving the white truck up the arrow from the ground, his hand is covered in blood. But when the camera shoots his hand for a second time, no blood at all. And the third time, you can see the blood again.

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