Nitpicking the Masters: Tiny Flaws in Great Masterpieces

[lord_clyde]

In 'Dellamorte Dellamore', the floating lights in the cemetery are clearly lights on strings.

But doesn't that make sense with the 'in a snowglobe' ending?

If the 'in a snow globe' ending makes sense to you, I guess.

[teddyleevin]

In Brazil, when Tuttle says, "Bloody paperwork, heh!"
It was obviously written for a Brit to say, and despite all of his other lines being said brilliantly, that one is just bad.

[montgomery]

I can overlook the continuity errors in Goodfellas, but what about Scorsese's mother magically pulling her painting out from under her chair?

[devlinnn]

A couple of nitpicks from a very recent viewing of Heat - how bad does Val Kilmer's hair/wig look throughout the picture? Not once does it look right. Plus how the hell did Waingro get away so easily from McCauley while at gun point? Ree-diculous. (Funny though - I had no idea Michael Mann was Aimee Mann's father until listening to the commentary)

[Highway 61]

Pretty sure his daughter just shares the same name as the singer. But you're right about Heat; it's the first film I thought of when I read the thread title. Mann depends far too much on chance throughout the entire film, such as McCauley's incredible stoke of good luck in restaurant choice when his driver drops out before the robbery.

I'm also amazed at how bad Diane Venora's dialogue is, the biggest offender being, "I may be stoned on cheap grass and prozac, but..." Just awful.

[Napoleon]

In Brazil, when Tuttle says, "Bloody paperwork, heh!"
It was obviously written for a Brit to say, and despite all of his other lines being said brilliantly, that one is just bad.

Would make a nice tagline for the film though.

[Kinsayder]

Joan Bennett's "Cockney" accent in Lang's Manhunt and the "Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" melody that plays on a loop every time she's on screen.

[MichaelB]

Pretty sure his daughter just shares the same name as the singer.

Michael Mann is only 17 years older than the famous Aimee Mann. Granted, that doesn't make it completely impossible that he's her dad, but it does look extremely unlikely - especially as a Google search on both their names failed to turn up any connection.

UPDATE: Michael Mann's daughter spells her name Amy - see here.

[Mr Buttle]

The goddamn tapirs in 2001: A Space Odyssey! In the prehistoric deserts of Africa we see TAPIRS milling about - creatures indigenous to the South American jungle!! And yes, I know Kubrick is using them to represent prehistoric antelopes. But the fact that he considers me so ignorant of natural history that I won't recognize an out-of-place tapir drives me NUTS!!

[Kenji]

I find the acting and expressions of Bijon Bhattacharya in Ritwik Ghatak's relatively neglected Bengali masterpieces Subarnarekha and Cloud-Capped Star very irritating. But as he was a playwright buddy of the director from their Marxist theatre days i suppose his presence is understandable.

In Mizoguchi's sublime Sansho the Bailiff, there's a physical discrepancy between young and adult Zushio- but perhaps this works in favour of the lovely and deeply moving performance of Kyoko Kagawa as Anju

[Stagger Lee]

When someone hangs up and you are still on the line, you do not instantly get a dial tone. No, I don't have an example of a masterpiece that contains this flaw, but I'm sure there are some because just about every movie I've ever seen in which someone hangs up a phone with the other person on the line makes this mistake. Does this happen elsewhere and I'm just unaware?

Why do people in movies always drive cars like they're weaving through cones? Have actors never actually driven a car? I noticed this one again watching Badlands recently. I know Kit drives like a maniac sometimes, but he's not supposed to be doing so in this scene.

Speaking of Badlands and a little off-topic: anyone notice the catfish laying on the nightstand next to Kit in the scene after Holly confesses that she threw out her fish when it got sick? The scene is dark so I only noticed it on my last viewing. Weird, right?

In Good Will Hunting when Will is defending himself in court, he pronounces "syncope" SINK-ope. He also pronounces Nietzsche NEE-chee. These might be excusable for the average person, but Will's supposed to make us all feel like idiots.

And one more TINY one: in Last Life in the Universe, when Kenji is sharpening his pencil it doesn't look like the pencil is in the sharpener.

[Mr Sausage]

In Good Will Hunting when Will is defending himself in court, he pronounces "syncope" SINK-ope. He also pronounces Nietzsche NEE-chee. These might be excusable for the average person, but Will's supposed to make us all feel like idiots.

And these aren't explained by the fact that he speaks with an accent?

[Stagger Lee]

In Good Will Hunting when Will is defending himself in court, he pronounces "syncope" SINK-ope. He also pronounces Nietzsche NEE-chee. These might be excusable for the average person, but Will's supposed to make us all feel like idiots.

And these aren't explained by the fact that he speaks with an accent?

Mmm, I don't think so.

[Mr Sausage]

In Good Will Hunting when Will is defending himself in court, he pronounces "syncope" SINK-ope. He also pronounces Nietzsche NEE-chee. These might be excusable for the average person, but Will's supposed to make us all feel like idiots.

And these aren't explained by the fact that he speaks with an accent?

Mmm, I don't think so.

Nor that he would have read them in books rather than heard them in discussion (who in his world would have discussed these things?), and so had to have more or less guessed at pronunciation?

Not that it matters; this is the height of pedantry.

[Stagger Lee]

Nor that he would have read them in books rather than heard them in discussion (who in his world would have discussed these things?), and so had to have more or less guessed at pronunciation?

Not that it matters; this is the height of pedantry.

Sure, I have the same problem with words I've only read and not heard, but do you think it was done this way intentionally or is that just a reasonable explanation to gloss over the mistakes? I apologize for the pedantry; as I said, the only reason I considered it noteworthy is because Will is an improbably intelligent character and the errors are ironic. You seem to feel that this nitpick, among all those listed in this thread, was out of line. Is this type of quibble frowned-upon in these parts?

[exte]

You seem to feel that this nitpick, among all those listed in this thread, was out of line. Is this type of quibble frowned-upon in these parts?

Sadly, yes, though I enjoyed it. Thank you.

[Mr Sausage]

Nor that he would have read them in books rather than heard them in discussion (who in his world would have discussed these things?), and so had to have more or less guessed at pronunciation?

Not that it matters; this is the height of pedantry.

Sure, I have the same problem with words I've only read and not heard, but do you think it was done this way intentionally or is that just a reasonable explanation to gloss over the mistakes? I apologize for the pedantry; as I said, the only reason I considered it noteworthy is because Will is an improbably intelligent character and the errors are ironic. You seem to feel that this nitpick, among all those listed in this thread, was out of line. Is this type of quibble frowned-upon in these parts?

A quick search will show dozens of improbably intelligent people who were unable to perform the simplest tasks. I have one improbably intelligent friend who spent ten minutes insisting William Shakespeare never wrote a play called Cymbeline (the conversation actually arose because I'd spent a minute or so before this trying to talk about Marlowe's "Cymbeline," at which my friend looked cock-eyed and said "you mean Tamberlaine, right?"--I did indeed, so I looked about as dumb. I make this mistake a lot). It doesn't make him any less intelligent. Intelligence and stupidity can often be found in each other's company.

And, no, I don't feel it was "out of line." Sorry if I came off a bit snappy.

[Mise En Scene]

Vagabond -

We can see Mona's pulse on her neck as she is lying dead in the ditch in a bodybag.

Wings Of Desire -

Peter Falk's fallen angel has a grandmother. I overlooked that mention in his monologue and chalked it up to being poetic, but Wenders' comments in his commentary infers it was literal and just left it in there. He could've edited it out easily since it was an interior monologue.

[denti alligator]

Wings Of Desire -

Peter Falk's fallen angel has a grandmother. I overlooked that mention in his monologue and chalked it up to being poetic, but Wenders' comments in his commentary infers it was literal and just left it in there. He could've edited it out easily since it was an interior monologue.

First of all, Wings of Desire is no masterpiece.

Second, what makes you think angels aren't begotten?

[domino harvey]

On the same page where Good Will Hunting is mentioned, you go out of your way to say the Wenders film isn't a masterpiece?

[denti alligator]

On the same page where Good Will Hunting is mentioned, you go out of your way to say the Wenders film isn't a masterpiece?

Good call. Never read up that far, but you got me there.

[Kinsayder]

Second, what makes you think angels aren't begotten?

Biblical angels are all male. Of course, movie angels are another matter.

[Andre Jurieu]

On the same page where Good Will Hunting is mentioned, you go out of your way to say the Wenders film isn't a masterpiece?

Good call. Never read up that far, but you got me there.

I actually thought it was a valid point and worth mentioning.

[fiddlesticks]

Well, Doctor No may not be a masterpiece, and nitpicking James Bond movies is like shooting fish in a proverbial barrel, but one scene in particular has always bothered me. It's when Bond and co. have just landed on Crab Key and the bad guys appear in a speed boat and start shooting the dunes behind which the good guys hide (and don't get me stared on the ability of sand, mud, branches, etc. to stop bullets.) After they shoot for a bit, one baddie takes his megaphone and issues a "leave or else we'll be back with the dogs" warning. He then tells the pilot "full speed ahead" while waving the megaphone over his head, but his voice is still megaphone-ated.

[miless]

The worst continuity I've ever seen is in Carrie... I really dislike De Palma, but that's beside the point.

It's is when Carrie shatters the mirror with her mind and it falls to pieces... and then, in the next shot, is her reflection in the shattered mirror (somehow the pile of glass had re-assembled itself in a split second)...

The other thing I hate about the movie (other than the whole movie itself) is that when she's covered in the pig's blood it goes from a wee little stripe down her front to FULL DRIPPING COVERAGE in a few shots...

Has De Palma never heard of continuity? I wouldn't mind these problems if people would accept Carrie as a shitty (but altogether campy) 70's B-horror film (but there are always those film-nuts I meet who try to convince me that De Palma is one of Hollywood's greatest auteurs... right next to Spielberg... ugh.)