THE DOORS

This 1991 biographical film about a rock band of the same name had Val Kilmer masterfully channeling Jim Morrison to the delight of boomers everywhere. It was directed by Oliver Stone, of Platoon fame, and starred Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, and a bunch of other people whose names won’t ring a bell.

Despite that the film bombed at the box office, and despite that Morrison’s family and friends hated it for portraying ol’ Jim in a bad light, it was, to some degree, able to garner somewhat of a cult following during the years following its release. In any case, here’s the gaffe: one scene has Morrison wearing a particular model of Ray Bans that were introduced more than 10 years after Morrison’s death.

THE NOTEBOOK

This 2004 romantic drama film had people bawling their eyes out in theaters all over the US. The film stars Ryan Gossling and Rachel McAdams, and it was about a couple who fall madly in love with each other but are soon separated by their social differences. It did very well in the box office and won a couple of less-than-serious awards—of course by ‘less-than-serious,’ we mean a Teen Choice Award and an MTV Award.

Despite the galactic devotion this film elicited from fans everywhere, it wasn’t without its faults. Indeed, there was one particularly glaring continuity error, when Lon Hammond Jr.’s hair changed, seemingly like magic, from black to brown from one scene to the next. In any case, it’s a film that is, to some degree, on everyone’s short list of ‘most romantic films ever,’ so perhaps we can give it a pass.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

This 1995 period drama that was based on Jane Austen’s novel of the same name was directed by Ang Lee, of Brokeback Mountain fame. It starred such Hollywood luminaries such as Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet. It did very well at the box office, and won its fair share of awards. Many even argue that this film greatly contributed to the resurgence of interest in Jane Austen’s novels.

Whatever the case may be, and however wonderful the film might be, one thing of which we are certain is that diapers didn’t exist in the 1800s, making that scene with the baby in a diaper a particularly egregious wardrobe mistake. Indeed, a good money management in a movie is vital to its entire success. A little amount of budget for research could have been very helpful.

THE LAST SAMURAI

This 2003 period action drama film that was directed by Edward Zwick starred Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. It was, to some degree, about an American military man who gets captured by a bunch of Samurai warriors, only to become afflicted with a severe case of Stockholm syndrome. It was well-received in both the US and Japan—the latter being where the film was set.

But despite that Japanese film critic Tomomi Katsuta of The Mainichi Shinbun wrote that the film “had researched Japanese history, cast well-known Japanese actors and consulted dialogue coaches to make sure [they] didn’t confuse the casual and formal categories of Japanese speech,” viewers were still able to point out one wardrobe mistake: Cruise’s samurai armor was introduced some 250 years before the events of the film, which would make it look outdated to even the samurai warriors around him.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

This 2011 superhero film based on Captain America made a few critics change their perception of Chris Evans as an actor. Indeed, whereas he was once seen, to some degree, to be nothing more than a hunk of meat that can recite a few lines in front of a camera, he is now seen as a serious actor. To be sure, he’s nowhere near the level of someone like Daniel Day Lewis, but he’s at least largely considered to be more serious than, say, someone like Jaden Smith, who’s quite insufferable onscreen.

In any case, one error that was jarring to our sensibilities was the earpiece of Soldier Jim Morita; this was World War 2, after all, a time when such gadgetry had yet to be invented. On second thought, in a world of ‘super-soldier serums,’ maybe it isn’t all that far-fetched.

ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES

This 1991 action-adventure film based on Robin Hood, the legendary bow-wielding outlaw of English folklore, was directed by Kevin Reynolds. It also had an all-star cast, with the likes of Kevin Costner, Alan Rickman and Morgan Freeman. One could reasonably argue that this film was somewhat of a period piece, given that tales of the skilled archer and swordsman were generally set in the 12th century, the time of the Crusades.

Which was why, despite that the film deserved credit for much of its costume design, it was so baffling to see one of Hood’s buddies whipping out a telescope for one scene to have a closer look at the evil forces in the distance. Telescopes, after all, hadn’t been invented until more than 500 years later.

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

Steven Spielberg is clearly one of the best directors in the history of filmmaking. Indeed, his films will be remembered long after we’ve been able to colonize Mars. It wouldn’t even be surprising if our Martian descendants put a bronze sculpture of his bust in front of each film school of the future. But despite all of Spielberg’s glorious contributions to the art of cinema, he was still a human, and humans, to one degree or another, always make mistakes.

One such Spielbergian mistake were the boots the soldiers wore for the epic war film Saving Private Ryan; they were all black, despite that the standard uniform of American soldiers during World War II included brown boots.

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

This 1997 slasher flick was, to some degree, a sleeper hit among teenagers of the 90s. The film was about a hook-wielding murderer who’s stalking a group of friends for sport. While it was clearly a hollowly conceived, blood-drenched, teenage-crowd pleaser, it still did well in the box office, in no small part because of its cast, who were—surprise!—all impossibly good-looking.

During one scene, however, viewers got an eye-full; as Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character was hysterically climbing a rope to safety—wearing a gown with a plunging neckline, no less—the camera from above was able to catch a brief glimpse of her.. uh.. assets.

THE TERMINATOR

Even the Governator of California has his own wardrobe malfunction story to tell. During that iconic scene where Governor Arnie walks—completely naked—toward a bunch of bright-haired punks on the street, there was a brief moment where little Arnie, in all his glory, made an appearance. The scene was, to some degree, disturbing.

Granted, the quality of the film back then was abysmal, and it pretty much assured that not many would have noticed little Arnie rearing its ugly head. But if one went through the same scene in the remastered, blu-ray version, then, well.. you get the “point.”

GANGS OF NEW YORK

This 2002 epic period drama was directed by the esteemed Martin Scorsese, and it starred two of the best thespians of our generation, namely: Daniel Day Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Also, some chick from Charlie’s Angels had a small role in it, too. It was set in the 19th century, and rumor has it that the costume designer painstakingly researched the period in which the film was set, so that all the characters would be in historically accurate attire.

But I suppose she didn’t do a good enough job because the firefighters in one scene looked like they came from modern New York; their 19th century counterparts would have dressed much differently. Yes, it so great to be so updated with fashion with all the online classes around, but it would be a whole lot better to be well-informed with demographics and history.