Top 10 Prop and Costume Mistakes in Famous Films

Most people don't go to movie theaters for the historical and scientific accuracy of the films, but discussing such mistakes can be very entertaining. Moreover, props and costume mistakes appear even in some Oscar-winning films.

Higher on this list are films with significant mistakes or mistakes that appear repeatedly throughout.

Lower on the list are films with accidental mistakes that appear briefly - for example, an extra in the background of a film set in the 15th century wearing a digital watch or a Metallica T-shirt, or someone's modern underwear being visible for a short period of time.
The Top Ten
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves: Telescopes didn't exist in the 12th century. They were invented in the 17th century.

There's a scene with Costner, Freeman, and a telescope. It looks cool but the first known telescopes were invented in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Man, 500 years is a long time (the movie takes place in the year 1194).

Lovely list! Didn't know any of these...

Braveheart: Mel Gibson's kilt wasn't worn in the 13th century. Kilts weren't used until the 16th century.

God, Braveheart was such an inaccurate movie. It's not even funny.

Pompeii: Nero's top generals wear purple capes, which was actually a crime punishable by death because only the emperor was allowed to wear purple clothing.

Nero criminalized wearing purple clothing by anyone but himself.

Amadeus: Many outfits have zippers, which were invented about 120 years after Mozart's death.
The King's Speech: The King wears the wrong kilt - he was supposed to wear a Scottish kilt but was wearing an Irish one.

The kilts worn by members of the British royal family are of Scottish Balmoral design. Colin Firth's character wore a kilt in the Irish tartan style.

Maybe he was feeling lucky that day.

Oops! Haha. One is largely amused.

Pride and Prejudice: Rubber boots didn't exist at that time.
American Hustle: Louis C.K. wears a gold Rolex watch that was introduced in 2010, not available in the 1970s.

Some also say that any gold watch would be out of the price range of the FBI detective.

Captain America: The First Avenger: The headset didn't exist yet.

It's safe to say the radio earpiece under Jim Morita's hat wasn't in military use in WWII because it was designed around 2000.

Schindler's List: Women in the concentration camps have their legs and armpits shaved, which wasn't common in the 1940s.

The movie is set in Poland. I don't know if this was a trend at all. I mean, over here in German-speaking countries, shaving your armpits or lower regions wasn't even a thing until the 21st century.

I think body hair was women's least concern in the Nazi concentration camps.

I don't remember women being very hairy. Is that a European thing?

Django Unchained: Jamie Foxx's sunglasses didn't exist yet.

This particular style of black-shaded lenses wasn't worn in America until 1929, so Jamie Foxx wore sunglasses about 70 years prior to their invention.

The Newcomers

? Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Nazis wore medals in 1938, though wearing medals became more common during WWII.
? Gladiator: Russell Crowe's Lycra shorts weren't available in ancient Rome.
The Contenders
Dirty Dancing: Baby wearing denim shorts was historically inaccurate.

Very cool list, except for this item. Go to Google Images and enter "1960's girls jeans cutoff Raquel", and you will see the super-world famous Raquel Welch wearing them way back when. Try "Dawn Wells cutoff jeans" to see "Mary Ann" from Gilligan's Island. There is even one photo of Raquel Welch auditioning for Gilligan's Island wearing them. That would have been something.

They were quite popular during the 1960s, and this often-cited non-mistake seems to be a case of poor original research. The style experienced a major upswing in popularity after the 1980s TV show "Dukes of Hazzard" and the female star wearing what became known as "Daisy Dukes".

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