"The storm trooper bonking his head in 'A New Hope' is a pretty famous one": A collection of the 'biggest, most obvious, most expensive' mistakes ever left in big-budget movies

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jan 6, 2023 5:00 PM EST

From "Lord of the Rings" to "The Bourne Identity" to "Gangs of New York," people are sharing their favorite examples of movie mistakes that made it into the final cut. Some movies, especially "Shutter Island," are notorious for intentionally creating continuity errors to scare the audience more. But most of the movies people mentioned were ones they were watching and suddenly noticed a glaring issue that was totally unintentional. 

Read below to see if you agree with these people shared the most distracting goofs they can think of from their favorite movies – or if you have any others that should be on the list! Then check out these waiters and waitresses who shared what they think would immediately change if the concept of tipping suddenly disappeared. 

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  • 01
    Organism - PRODUCTION DIRECTOR 'My favorite will always be Les Miserables... Anne Hathaway leaves the scene then when the camera pans over you can see her sneaking away in the background' CAMERA PERSON Ro DS/SYNC
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  • 02

    Check out the OP's explanation, then check out the comments people left to see how many of these errors you've noticed!

    Font - r/movies Posted by u/themickeymauser n Biggest editing/production mistake that made it into the final cut? Discussion
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  • 03
    Font - I always like pointing out small little mistakes, continuity errors, and editing errors, but they all seem pretty small and you'd miss them if it weren't for nerds like me to point them out. But I'm wondering, what's arguably the biggest, most obvious, most expensive, or most spiteful editing or production mistake that was either accidentally or even intentionally left in the movie, big enough to make heads roll in the studio office? And I don't mean mistakes that didn't go as planned but
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  • 04
    Rectangle - PotterAnd Pitties 23 hr. ago Braveheart. He is charging and has a sword, then an axe and then a sword.
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  • 05
    Font - 3720-To-One 21 hr. ago One thing that always stuck out to me in that movie is that in one of the battles as the battle is wrapping up, in the distant background, you can see a Scot and and Englishman sword fighting, but then they just casually stop swinging at each other... 740 Reply Share Continue this thread → Barragin 19 hr. ago What about the English lord wearing jeans as he rolls down the hill?
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    Font - Halligan1409 20 hr. ago The scene in Gangs of New York where Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting throws a meat cleaver at the back of Walter 'Monk' McGinn, and you can see it bounce off and hit the ground, but when McGinn falls down, the cleaver is planted squarely between his shoulder blades.
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  • 07
    Font - Thrashed0066 - 22 hr. ago The gas cylinder getting exposed when the chariot crashes in Gladiator always comes to mind Reply Share 1.3k LucaMuca 21 hr. ago You can also see a guy in jeans with a camera in the "Are you not entertained?" scene
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  • 08
    Font - Casual Piano · 22 hr. ago One of the first episodes of Malcolm in the middle: you can clearly see a production crew member handing Lois a wet red dress from out of a bucket. https://youtu.be/ekMwdFyegq4
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    Head to https://youtu.be/ekMwdEyegg4 if you want to check that one out. 

  • 09
    Font - tungstencoil 22 hr. ago edited 20 hr. ago The set design for the lab in The Rocky Horror Picture Show neglected to have an entry door. This posed a problem for Doctor Scott's entrance later in the film. They resolved this by having him (and his wheelchair) crash through the wall, á la "hey...KOOLAID".
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  • 10
    Font - SaavikSaid 20 hr. ago The tracks in the floor pulling him all the way up there are also quite obvious. 65 Reply Share Continue this thread → cobaltandchrome 22 hr. ago Yess All the other s people are posting is minor but this is an actual plot-related error that was resolved hilariously during filming.
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  • 11
    Font - poppinkorn 21 hr. ago One that still bugs me is in the first Bourne film (The Bourne Identity). Bourne is trying to flee the US Embassy, finds a fire escape exit on a higher floor, walks all around on the snow on the landing there, then hides. When security sticks their head out the door to look for him, the snow on the landing is pristine, arousing no suspicion. 596 Reply Share iHadou 20 hr. ago It's implied that with his extensive training, he smoothed the tracks back over using a debit
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  • 12
    Font - 93 Sanardan 5 hr. ago Russian passport fail from Bourne Identity is quite famous! There is a close up shot of his fake russian passport and his name in russian is some random letter combination like Ashchf Lshtshft Cracks me up every time.
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  • 13
    Font - Aggravating_Turnip17 14 hr. ago Can't be worse than watching the impracticality of when Borne had a car chase scene in the middle of Times Square for five minutes without hitting traffic.
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  • 14
    Font - Noirradnod 21 hr. ago You might like Shutter Island if you enjoy watching for continuity and editing errors. The entire film is deliberately full of subtle mistakes to make the audience unconsciously feel uneasy. From objects moving around on tables, to characters changing which way they are facing from shot to shot, to even one instance where someone is handed a cup, only for the next shot to show them pantomiming drinking while not holding everything. There's even a few short shots of p
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  • 15
    Font - ihave10toes_AMA. 15 hr. ago Haunting of Hill House did something similar! Changing the directions of the statues randomly, ghosts hidden or in full sight but tucked in the back of shots.
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  • 16
    Gesture - Storytellerjack 16 hr. ago This was recently said of The Shining having intentional continuity changes and an impossible layout to the house for subconscious unease.
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  • 17
    Human body - Elusivblak 22 hr. ago The palm trees in the Ohio neighborhood in nightmare on elm street.
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  • 18
    Font - GRUMPYbug12 21 hr. ago . Didn't the first Halloween movie also have palm trees in the background too? And that takes place in Illinois 261 Reply Share Continue this thread → Regina SpektorsVJ - 21 hr. ago Yeah, guys, it's not Nightmare on Palm Street! GEEZ!
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  • 19
    Font - bigboilerdawg. 20 hr. ago There's a scene in one of the Austin Powers movies that is supposed to be on a London street, you can clearly see California hills in the background.
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  • 20
    Human body - Primid 23 hr. ago The storm trooper bonking his head in A New Hope is a pretty famous one
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  • 21
    Font - RunF4Cover 18 hr. ago In the original Charlie and the chocolate factory there's a stage hand holding up a big candy tree in the room where everything is edible and Willy Wonka mixes his chocolate by waterfall. He's clearly on the wrong side of the tree but the camera just passes him by like he's not there.
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  • 22
    Font - ReginaSpektorsVJ - 21 hr. ago Anytime I see a car window or any kind of reflective surface in a movie, I always look for a reflection of somebody who's not supposed to be there. Obviously it usually doesn't happen, since film crews are aware of these things.
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  • 23
    Font - jonnybebad5436 - 22 hr. ago In Napoleon Dynamite when Deb is using the pay phone you can see the reflection of multiple people from the film crew. The director commented on it in the DVD commentary lol
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  • 24
    Font - tackthiratrix 16 hr. ago Also when napoleon tries to ride the bike off the mini ramp the middle brick disappears (from Pedro's attempt to Napoleons). This movie is low budget and that middle brick missing was probably the best way to make napoleon fail his attempt so I'm not sure if that counts lol
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  • 25
    Font - lumiere4565 22 hr. ago In the first Avengers movie, when Tony is trying to restart the aircraft's turbine, he is first shown with a bloody face. It cuts to Steve fighting, then cuts back to Tony and his face is clean and no longer bloody. Cuts back and forth between Steve and Tony and Tony's face is bloody again. Pretty egregious because when we see Tony, it's one of those "inside the helmet" shots where his face takes up the whole screen.
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  • 26
    Font - Close Ghost Complex - 21 hr. ago There's an extra hilariously sweeping the air with a push broom in Quantum Of Solace in the background of the scene where James is on the pier.
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  • 27
    Sleeve
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  • 28
    Font - jugglaj91 22 hr. ago . There was a Starbucks cup in one of the game of thrones episodes. They fixed it but it was all over the place when it happened. 1.1k Reply Share DYGTD 22 hr. ago And then a water bottle a few episodes later.
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  • 29
    Product - _Didds 22 hr. ago Planes in the sky in a couple of scenes that I remenber 88 Reply Share Continue this thread → DirtyHandler 22 hr. ago Also a truck in the background
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  • 30
    Font - GallantArmor 22 hr. ago The first one I ever noticed was in American Pie there is a scene where a solo cup changes from red to blue between shots. It was a focal point of the scene IIRC, so a pretty glaring error.
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  • 31
    Font - bitterswee 22 hr. ago Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. When Indy pushes out the big stone block to escape the temple with the snakes, you can see the stone bounce on the ground at the bottom of the frame. 167 Reply Share Gram64 22 hr. ago Another thing with Raiders in the same scene with the snakes, when he first falls in you can see there's a glass pane between Harrison Ford and the snake that hisses at him, you can see the snake's reflection on it.
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  • 32
    Font - sawdeanz 21 hr. ago . At the end of Dunkirk the plane on fire doesn't have an engine or anything in it... you can see the propeller and the shaft is just hanging out in an empty space where the engine should be. It's not the end of the world but it's one of the few mistakes I actually caught during my first watch.
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  • 33
    Font - markglas 18 hr. ago The Goonies! At the end of the film Data is asked about the scariest parts of their adventure. He refers to the octopus... I remember thinking 'what octopus'? That would be so cool. Turns out it got cut out of the movie and they forgot to edit Data mentioning it at the end! The octopus can be seen in the deleted scenes of the movie if anyone is curious.
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  • 34
    Font - SourImplant 22 hr. ago Jurassic Park, when the raptor is opening the door to the kitchen, you can see the puppeteer's hand pushing the door open.
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  • 35
    Font - Spidey Fan914. 12 hr. ago The T-Rex is also walking on air when it first appears. The wide shots show they're on an elevated platform, but the T-Rex doesn't come from below.
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  • 36
    Font - yoshisama 20 hr. ago When Kurt Russel destroyed a historical guitar thinking it was a prop in a Quentin Tarantino movie. You can even see the actors breaking out of character when he's breaking it. 93 Reply Share deathbystereo007 - 12 hr. ago Yes! Jennifer Jason Leigh seemed horrified for him, as he had no clue it was a priceless instrument and not just a prop. I read that the museum that lent the piece to the film established a rule to never lend instruments /valuable items again after t
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  • 37
    Font - ManyJaded 22 hr. ago edited 21 hr. ago Two very minor things which popped into my head from Lord of the Rings. 1. When "Strider" is taking the Hobbits to Rivendell in Fellowship, his bow smacks into the camera when walking through some bushes. 2. Eomers sword falling out of his scabbard in Two Towers when he and his men surround Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli.
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  • 38
    Human body - DoggZiggler 20 hr. ago When they ride out of Helms Deep one of them rides straight through a CGI orc.
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  • 39
    Font - michelangeldough 21 hr. ago How about that 80s movie with Sean Penn where the cameraman is 100% visible on screen, taking up about 1/6 of the frame? It's insane. Bad Boys
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  • 40

    The camera is literally taking up the left third of the screen!

    Thigh
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  • 41
    Font - hewhoisneverobeyed 20 hr. ago In "Operation Petticoat" (yeah, I am old), in one of the final scenes when Cary Grant's character greets his character's wife and two sons as they meet him at the submarine in dock, one of the boys says, "Hi Mr. Grant." Grant continues as if nothing happened. To this day, if I run across that movie, I will hang on to the end just to see that mistake that was not edited out.
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  • 42
    Font - o Gram64 22 hr. ago In Batman Forever, there's a scene where Riddler knocks at the door, as Alfred opens it a crack he gets knocked out and falls to the floor in front of the door. Riddler is suppose to just finish opening the door and walk in. But, Alfred was carrying a tray and he drops it as he falls and it lodges itself so the door is stuck and can't open. You can clearly see Jim Carey trying to open the door, can't, Alfred quickly moves one of his hands to move the tray out of the wa
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  • 43
    Font - EtherealAshtree. 19 hr. ago My favorite will always be Les Miserables, since they sang live there was a scene at the end where Anne Hathaway leaves the scene then when the camera pans over you can see her sneaking away in the background https://youtu.be/88T3elu2wfE
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  • 44

    She's right in the middle background of the shot. She's blurry, but still not supposed to be there!

    Hair
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