While painstaking details are poured into creating historical films, there are often instances where small, or even large, mistakes fall through the cracks. If you’ve ever noticed a period discrepancy or a pair of sneakers hidden in a movie set hundreds of years prior, check out these other ten funniest mistakes caught in historical films.
10. JFK, False Confession
There have been a ton of conspiracy theories surrounding the death of JFK, and unfortunately for the film JFK, it only feeds the rumors. Though David Ferrie has long been accused of the assassination, nothing was truly set in stone. In the film, however, Ferrie makes a supposed “confession,” when in real life he had never admitted to anything and always denied any involvement.
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9. The Green Mile, Electric Chair
The Green Mile is a film adaptation of the bestselling Stephen King novel that tells the story of John Coffey. While the film is heart-wrenching, there is a huge plot discrepancy sitting in plain sight. The events of the film take place in Louisiana in 1935 with all of the death sentences connected to an electric chair. In reality, the electric chair wasn’t used in Louisiana until six years later in 1941.
8. 300, Black Powder
Spartans and Persians go head-to-head in our eighth selection 300. While King Leonidas leads the Spartan army, Xerxes stands at the front of the large Persian army. When the two clash, Xerxes uses explosives to try and win the battle at Thermopylae. While it makes for a great action sequence, black powder wasn’t invented until the 8th century AD in China.
7. Ever After, Chocolate
Ever After is a fairytale favorite, but it does have a minor historical error that lands the film on our list. While Prince Henry and Marguerite are at the market, he offers her bricks of chocolate to try. Since the movie is set during the life of Leonardo da Vinci, or the early 1500s, chocolate only existed in liquid form until nearly 300 years later in 1847.
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6. Braveheart, Kilts
Unfortunately for the film Braveheart, their costume mistakes have earned them the sixth spot on our list. During the time that the film takes place in Scotland, no one wore a kilt. These pieces of somewhat revealing clothing didn’t appear in the country until the 16th century, and the Scottish didn’t paint their faces with blue paint either.
5. The Last Samurai, Flag
If you enjoy watching Tom Cruise on the big screen, then you have probably seen the film The Last Samurai. While Cruise fighting as a samurai is quite entertaining, you might want to pay more attention to some of the details in the background, as one has a mistake. Set in 1876, the U.S. flag appears several times in the movie with 43 stars. The problem? The 43-star flag appeared first in 1891, nearly twenty years after the fact.
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4. Gladiator, Gas Balloons
Our fourth selection is Gladiator a film known for its incredible soundtrack and fight scenes. What you may not have realized is a mistake hidden in several of the scenes. On some of the chariots that flip over, you can see a balloon with gas on it, which is probably part of the prop and should have been hidden a little better.
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3. Titanic, Lake Wissota
Titanic is a sweeping film full of intricate details from the ship to the guests, but some of them didn’t quite fit into the timeline. When Jack tries to prevent Rosa’s accident at the beginning of the film, he tells her about a time went he went fishing in Wisconsin on Lake Wissota. The problem? The artificial lake didn’t appear until 1917, six years after the crash.
2. Troy, Coins & Umbrellas
Rounding out our second-place spot is Troy, based on Homer’s great epic and scattered with historical discrepancies. While some of the mistakes are quite small, like coins placed on a corpse’s eyes even though coins did not exist during those times, some were not. One of the most glaring mistakes was an umbrella with metal spokes over the heads of Paris and Helena. Oops.
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1. Marie Antoinette, Sneakers
Our final historical film mistake appears in Marie Antoinette and may be the most hilarious of them all. As the camera pans across the several pairs of delicate heels the Queen of France must wear, we also get a full glimpse of a pair of Converse sneakers. Not exactly the type of footwear you would expect at that time.
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