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Height/weight ratio
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ALL of the mistakes shown here (are US Military Personnel - its even more complex with foreign or vintage eras) could have easily been avoided with a military or Technical Adviser or Historical Advisor (in the case of a vintage era productions).
UNACCEPTABLE ERRORS
MOVIE MILITARY MISTAKES (MMM)
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Another mistake which raises the question: "Why not just use a modern day serving or former military person, to serve as the military advisor" as opposed to using a Historical/Military consultant? This common assumption, can also be a serious mistake. The reason is simple, why would a soldier that served in say 2006, be automatically an expert on a foreign soldier from WW2 (1939-1945) or WW1, simply based on his modern training? He wouldn't! Anymore then a soldier from 1776 could make a good advisor for a soldier of present day. Different weapons, training, drill, uniforms, protocol, fighting technics, commands, rank, etc. Yes, his/her military "bearing" and "discipline" would be VERY useful, but his/her training would be entirely different from another era, and thus completely incorrect and not likely accurate to or useful for a vintage period production.
PHOTO - Another couple examples of a very "bad or incorrect salute" (above and below) from the same film scene. Both actors (an unnamed actor portraying a US Army Sergeant above and Brad Pitt as a US Army four star General below) grossly fail to render a proper salute (See explanation of the reasons under: Salute three rules ) Photo courtesy: from a recent TV movie.
PHOTO - Two examples of improper and/or incorrect uniform details (above and below) from the same film and same character from different scenes. In the upper photo the US Marine Colonel has six rows of correct ribbons on his uniform, BUT they are completely upside down and backwards of the correct order. Also his shirt collar rank devices are placed incorrectly (far too low). While in the photo below, the same actor/character is now wearing only five rows of ribbons, which are same four ribbons repeated over and over in a different order (some which are incorrect for an officer to be wearing), and he oddly now has Marine Para jump wings (above ribbons) suddenly a Photo courtesy: out take from a recent TV Docudrama mini-series.
What are we trying to prove here? Why be so critical of these 'minor' details? Simply because it's either correct or its wrong! Would you cast a 11 year old girl to portray a large Special Forces soldier or Navy SEAL in combat? Of course not, because your audience would not be able to believe or follow your story, without thinking: "Wow, that's a 11 girl playing a badass combat Green Beret/SEAL! ...WTH! ...What were they thinking"?!
One of the first jobs of a good filmmaker is to take you somewhere, so artfully and convincingly, as to make you forget your not really a bystander to what it being depicted on the screen.
This is sometimes called: "Suspension of disbelief"
It's when you become so absorbed in the story, you forget you are watching a movie. This requires the film making process to become so "invisible" that the audience doesn't pay attention to the details (props, wardrobe, set dressing, and the way the actor does things) instead of just the story. That's the goal and/or the 'cardinal rule'!
Now, lets apply this unwritten 'rule' to any historical and/or military situation. Would you expect a U.S. Marine guard to 'High Five" a U.S. President as he boards Air Force One in a film? ...or should he salute? If it's salute, then why not have him salute in the proper manner the Marine Corps originally trained him? For millions and millions of current and/or former military personnel, a poor and/or improper salute is just as glaringly bad as if he gave a high five!
PHOTO - Another actor (above), portraying a U.S. Army officer, wearing the standard issue black beret (post 2001) . Note the poor sloppy un-shaped look of the beret and the sizing draw cord hanging down in the back. Photo courtesy: A recent TV movie.
Two examples (above and below) from the same film which show wardrobe failures and/or uniform mistakes. In the photo above, the Marine officer has his trouser belt far past regulation length. In the photo below, his cloth uniform belt is inside out, and improperly secured. Also his Pistol Expert badge is folded and stuck up under the ribbon bar, which is again upside down and backwards, and his shirt collar rank is either improperly placed or completely missing. All which could be corrected by someone that knows better, in less then five minutes. This is why we have "Last Looks" in the film industry. Photo courtesy: from a recent TV Docudrama mini-series.
PHOTO - Another actor (above), portraying a U.S. Army officer, wearing the standard issue black beret (post 2001) . Note the poor sloppy un-shaped look of the beret and the sizing draw cord hanging down in the back. Photo courtesy: A recent cable TV movie.
PHOTO - A pack of cigarettes on the table at a dinner party set in 1944. But, a barcode is seen on the side? The UPC code was NOT introduced or used until summer of 1974 (30 years after this film is set in time) . Photo courtesy: A WW2 themed TV movie.
You can have all the correct uniforms and components , correct insignia,
As such, anyone that knows these things, will feel the need to point out that filmmakers should never take liberties with those details. Not if they want the their audience to respect and enjoy their film.
Especially if they don't know what or why certain things would make it right or wrong (thus "make it up as they go along" or "take liberties" as they say). The "Meme" at the very top of this page, was created by a number of film and/or military buffs, and it's just one example of dozens and dozens of similar photos, pages, or memes all over the web, that are dedicated to pointing out movie mistakes.
While I may agree with many of the points made in the photo above, I will not be discussing them, at this time. I simply shared it as an example of the how far people are willing to go with their intense dissatisfaction with film errors! However, I do intend to share some of my own 'catches' and discuss some of the more egregious errors that I have ran across in just the past few months.
But before I do, let's first cover some of the various 'types' of errors, mistakes, and/or issues that can occur in the filmmaking process. These are (but limited to) as follows:
Audio error = (bad sink, wrong sound, missing sounds, etc)
Background errors = (Purple Barney character running through the background of a WW2 film, modern car left in frame of a vintage era film, current day item on set, cast member or film equipment in frame, etc).
Continuity = editing, timing, something moved, actor changes something, empty glass is now full, etc.
Crew Errors = Visible crew/equipment (Boom in frame, crew in shot, etc. )
Factual error = (story incorrect, detail wrong, date wrong, translation incorrect, etc.)
Revealing mistake = (Make-up malfunction,
Technical Error = (Loaded gun,
SALUTE THREE RULES
1) US Military Personnel does NOT salute indoors.
2) Military personnel "generally" don't wear covers (headwear) indoors, unless under arms (in possession of a weapon or on duty which is "figurative" armed).
3) Does NOT salute uncovered (except in rare situations)!
PHOTO - A clearly untrained non-military actor (far right), portraying a U.S. Marine on Embassy duty, strangely begins to slightly bow while attempting to render a grossly improper salute to the US Ambassador (who actually returns the salute correctly). Photo courtesy: A recent TV movie.