Oscars 2014: Which Film Holds The Award For Most Mistakes?

The Oscars nominations 2014 list comprises a ridiculously strong set of films, actors and directors. It’s been a great year, with 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Dallas Buyers Club and Gravity dominating Academy voters’ minds, and all have enjoyed fruitful returns from the box office.

It’s not all perfect though; many of the films nominated for Best Picture feature are riddled with continuity errors and historical inaccuracies, not to mention some scientific miscalculations.

Winning the award for ‘most-riddled’ – an award name we made up – is Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron’s visually stunning space thriller starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Gravity is guilty of 12 wrong turns, including the scientifically inaccurate representation of tears in anti-gravity, the distance of the ISS from Hubble and some ‘righty-tighty, lefty loosey’ issues with oxygen tanks.

The highly rated I-Max feast also wins ‘Biggest Mistake’. The mistakes, like with last year’s popular political biopic Lincoln, were highly documented, and the general consensus suggested we ignore any minor scientific gaffes and focus on the wondrous visuals created by Alfonso and his band of techie experts.

Next page: mistakes in American Hustle

American Hustle, according to the brilliant Moviemistakes.com, is next up on the mistakometre with four flailing faux pas. You’re talking: money from the wrong era, a Diamond Da-40 aircraft appearing before it was even invented, the ‘Boys Club of America’ being called the ‘Boys and Girls of America’ too early, and an uncertified tri-jet Dassault business jet. Yeah, that’s right: an as-of-then uncertified tri-jet Dassault business jet.

Also on two mistakes is August: Osage County. A nice fish lunch is ruined after Ivy, Barbara and Violet all smash their plates on the floor, but when Barbara returns to the dining room – Ivy having raced off in her car – there is no evidence of said smashed crockery. Unforgivable. Also, a glaring temperature error: with temperatures somewhere near the 100 degree mark, there’s no way Barbara and Violet would sit in the car for around 5 minutes chatting away with all the windows closed. Open up those windows and let in the cool breeze.

Next page: Dallas Buyers Club.

With only one solitary mistake to its name, it’s the brilliant Dallas Buyers Club. When the mercurial Ron Woodruff is sitting at his desk – his business runs out of a motel – there’s a picture of a brand new Lamborghini circa 2010-2013, but the film takes place in 1985, when Woodruff was actually knocking about, selling memberships.

And finally – also with one solitary error – is Philomena. “When Philomena and the journalist are waiting to board a return flight from Washington to London, he calls his office in London where a clock shows it is 8:55. That would make it 3:55 in D.C. It can't be 3:55 pm because it is dark; so it has to be 3:55 am. And no flights leave for London until 3 or 4 hours later,” reads the websites entry for the Stephen Frears film.

These errors aren’t designed to detract from the quality of the films, though, as Moviemistakes.com’s Jon Sandys explains: "We're all human, and all make mistakes - things like this are just fun to spot, rather than movie-ruining, especially with films this good! If a movie's terrible I'm far more likely to notice the mistakes because I'm less engaged by what's happening on-screen," he says.

Of course, it would only be fair to give a special mention to the films that couldn’t be faulted: Her (Spike Jonze, Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson), Nebraska (Alexander Payne, Bruce Dern), and 12 Years a Slave are free from the relatively easy-going ignominy of having funny errors.