Hollywood is big business. They spend millions producing top notch blockbuster films, paying big Hollywood stars huge salaries to star in their movies and creating the most impressive CGI effects, all to get us through the door and part with our cash. However, despite all this, we here at Best for Film (just like a MasterCard advert) like nothing more than to pedantically pick out all their mistakes. Priceless! So here is our collection of the best and worst outtakes and bloopers and mistakes in movies.

Star Wars Mistakes

Top of the list of mistakes in movies is Star Wars. George Lucas may have produced the most impressive trilogy in the history of film and then ruined it by producing another three films, but here are some of the most famous Star Wars mistakes.

In Episode IV: A New Hope, after arriving on the Death Star, C3PO and R2 D2 are in the control room and as the storm troopers break in keep a close eye on the one on the right. As they storm in blasters at the ready trying to look super hard, this clever storm trooper bangs his head on the door! Ouch!

Here’s another glaring mistake in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Darth Vadar kills Captain Needa for loosing track of the Millennium Falcon. However, as Darth Vadar turns away and two guards come in to take the corpse away, take a close look dead Captain Needa. He practically gets up and walks out the room himself! Maybe Darth Vadar felt a bit bad and brought him back to life.

To top it off Return of the Jedi up next. When Lando says to Han Solo, “Go on you pirate,” his whole outfit changes. Not only does it change colour but the strap and rank changes sides. This one isn’t even subtle!

Harry Potter Mistakes

Well up next in the stocks for a Best for Film tomato pasting is the Harry Potter films. Although a set of films based around a boy magician, even magic cannot be blamed for these glaring Harry Potter mistakes.

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone there is a scene where Harry ends up talking to a snake. He is then surprised to see that the snake actually winks back at him. Now we don’t care about the fact that there is a snake who seems to understand the English language. What we are more interested in is the fact that snakes cannot actually physically wink. They have no eyelids. Sorry, getting a bit pedantic with that one!

Another Harry Potter mistake again in the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Harry and Ron are chatting on the train to Hogwarts and in the blink of an eye Ron’s hair changes from a centre parting to a side parting. Must be that hairus changus spell,eh?

This one now is just unforgivable. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in the duelling scene take a look at the left of the screen. When Snape pulls Malfoy to his feet you can clearly see a cameraman amongst the crowd.

Anachronisms

Anachronisms now. Film producers spend millions on historical experts, props, set and costume designers to get their film looking just right for the period they are meant to be filming in. Then one of your actors forgets to take their watch off in what is meant to be Ancient China!

The most famous of anachronisms appears in Titanic. In the film Jack (Leonardo Di Caprio) claims to have been ice fishing in Lake Wissota. You big liar! Everyone knows Lake Wissota is a man-made reservoir that wasn’t created until 5 years after the Titanic sank.

Another famous anachronism appears in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc. In the film we see Indiana’s plane routes across the world. However, the film’s producers didn’t think about getting maps for the time he was flying in. Instead we see 80s geography in a 1930s world. We’re being pedantic again but Thailand should be labelled Siam and Jordan was known as Transjordan until 1949.

Now this one is not strictly an anachronism but still quite amusing considering the current political climate. In Rambo III the Russians invade Afghanistan and Rambo comes to the aid of, wait for it…the Mujahideen aka the people America are fighting against now. The film ends with a quote dedicating the film to, “The gallant Mujahideen people of Afghanistan.” As the old proverb goes, today’s friend is tomorrow’s enemy!

Continuity Errors

Continuity errors now. This is usually where props appear and disappear from one shot to the next causing a visual error in the continuity of the film. They even specifically pay people money to stop this happening but I think some p45s were handed out after these films came out.

In Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the mischievous Merry and Pippen are in a tent playing with one of Gandalf’s fireworks. In this shot we see that there are other items in the tent but when they set the firework off and the shot cuts to a view from the tent outside, everything in the tent has disappeared.

Back to the Future now. It’s 1955 and Marty is confused, stumbling around his town after travelling back in time. It’s election time for the new mayor and a car drives by promoting one of the candidates. But take a close look at the car. In the first shot you can see it has two loudspeakers and the candidate’s picture. In the next shot the picture has turned 90 degrees and one of the loudspeakers is missing.

Another famous continuity error occurs in Jurassic Park.  In this scene Nedry receives a bag of money in return for offering to steal dinosaur embryos. In one shot he has a bag of money under his arm and in the next he doesn’t. By the looks of him he probably spent it all on pies!

Disney Hidden Messages

So you think Disney films are just for children? Well, lets take a look at the more adult side of Disney. Now are these just bored animators that Tyler Durden would be proud of, or something more sinister?

Take a look at this shot from The Rescuers. There’s no denying that in the background you can clearly see something that really shouldn’t be in a kid’s film!

More sex in Disney now with The Lion King. This one has been around the Internet for ages and has had the conspiracy theorists going wild. When Simba goes to the edge of the cliff he flops down and disturbs some pollen which flies up into the air. It is suggested that the pollen spells out a certain word but I’ll let you decide.

The Little Mermaid now and take a close look at the not so innocent picture on the box of the video release of this film. Is that a phallic symbol in the middle?

Jackie Chan bloopers

No article about outtakes and bloopers could end without some classic Jackie Chan bloopers. His complicated, choreographed fight scenes never usually go right in the first take. So if you like to see people get accidentally punched in the face or kicked in the crown jewels and you have a spare five minutes check this out…

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1371872/jackie_chan_compilation_the_outtakes/

More film reviews on Best For Film

Top 10 films…