Goofs
Jump to:
Anachronisms (1) |
Character error (1) |
Continuity (7) |
Factual errors (3) |
Incorrectly regarded as goofs (3) |
Revealing mistakes (1)
Anachronisms
In an early scene of a rainy "New York City, 1881" almost everyone is carrying an umbrella. While umbrellas were certainly around, they were still a bit of a luxury item, more a fashion item. Not everyone had one, especially the lower class.
Share this
Share this
Character error
When John Carter is trying to pull the chain out of the rock in one shot of the arena fight scene, you can see that the ring connecting the chain to the rock has a gap that would enable Carter to remove the chain just by unhooking it. However, the gap in the ring disappears in the next shot, so there might be a continuity error involved as well.
Share this
Share this
Continuity
When Edgar Burroughs is given his uncle's private journal, he first turns the book so that he can open the lock with his right hand. After the attorney leaves, he turns it another time, just to put it in the same position again.
Share this
Share this
During the beginning of the wedding of Sab Than and Dejah Thoris it shows a close up of Sab Than's face but the tattoos are on the left side of his face instead of the right.
Share this
Share this
When John Carter (with Kantos Kan) visit Dejah Thoris and her courtesans preparing for her wedding she is wearing a traditional Zonangan dress and red lipstick, this lipstick color clearly seen when she asks him to stay and fight for Helium. When he does not answer and hides his ring hand she turns away. If you look closely you will see that her lipstick has now been expertly reapplied and is a lighter color, almost peach.
Share this
Share this
After John Carter has saved Dejah Thoris from the collapsing airship, the Tharks hand him their wager. He then takes off the necklaces and other jewelry except for a flat white neck ring. The camera switches to Dejah and back to Carter and the neck ring is gone.
Share this
Share this
When John Carter first tries to leap over the white ape, the chain linked to his ankle drops him short about halfway across the arena. A couple of minutes later, after his chain gets tangled around the ape, wrapping around its enormous body several times, the amount of free chain looks to be nearly the entire length of the arena.
Share this
Share this
During his first encounter with John Carter in the Thark village, Tal Hajus's broken tusk repeatedly switches sides between shots.
Share this
Share this
When John Carter is transported to Mars the first time, he rolls to the left and is lying between the dead Thern and the cavalry officer. When he transfers back to Earth, there is no sign of the Thern's remains, but the skeleton of the officer is there.
Share this
Share this
Factual errors
The shoulder straps that the 7th Cav Officer is wearing should be yellow (Cavalry) not blue (Infantry)
Share this
Share this
Near the beginning of the movie, it is mentioned that Carter, a former Confederate soldier, was "decorated six times, including the Southern Cross of Honor." In fact, the Confederacy issued no medals and only added a few names to a "Roll of Honor." The Southern Cross of Honor did not exist until the late 1890s when the United Daughters of the Confederacy began giving it to veterans. So, in reality, it would've been impossible for Carter to have been "decorated six times" and receive the Southern Cross of Honor.
Share this
Share this
In an early scene of "New York City, 1881" we see a young Edgar Rice Burroughs at approximately 12 years of age. This is impossible since he was born in 1875, making him only 6 years old at that time.
Share this
Share this
Incorrectly regarded as goofs
In the beginning of the film, John Carter is told that to send a telegraph he must choose a minimum of ten words. The letter is shown as only containing eight words. However, telegraphs have always had a certain number of words as a minimum cost. It cost however many cents per word, but the minimum was ten words that it would cost, not the minimum number of words that can be sent.
Share this
Share this
The moons of Mars will never look as similar to Earth's Moon as they do in this film. Both are highly aspherical; thus, they do not appear circular from the Martian surface. Deimos, as the smaller and more distant of the two, does not even show a disc from the surface - appearing instead as a star-like point of light whose phases are not visible other than as changes in brightness. While this may be factually inaccurate, it is not truly a "goof", as the film portrays a fantasy version of Mars capable of sustaining human life, and the moons are clearly fantasy-based as well (referred to as "Thuria" and "Cluros").
Share this
Share this
The moons of Mars do not move in the sky as shown in the film. Phobos, the larger and nearer, orbits so rapidly - its orbit takes less time than a Martian day - that it appears to move backwards across the sky. Deimos, the smaller and further, meanwhile, has an orbital period so close to Mars' day (30.4 hour orbit, 24.7 hour day) that it takes nearly three days to transit the sky. While this may be factually inaccurate, it is not truly a "goof", as the film portrays a fantasy version of Mars capable of sustaining human life, and the moons are clearly fantasy-based as well (referred to as "Thuria" and "Cluros").
Share this
Share this
Revealing mistakes
The white ape's blood is blue, so it makes no sense that its mouth, gums and tongue are light red.
Share this
Share this
