10 Annoying Anachronisms In Modern Movies

One of the few flaws in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (which if it's not the best film of the year - it'll do 'til the best film of the year gets here) set in 1980, is that a Carl's Jr. restaurant with a current day sign complete with cartoon smiley face star logo can be seen in the background.

Also a modern Domino's Pizza typeface on a storefront is clearly visible even in a night scene shoot-out. These don't truly distract from the action but they did take me out of the movie somewhat.

A lot of anachronisms in the movies are pretty forgivable. A car model not in line with the period portrayed can be overlooked, much use of music is more an artistic choice than a mistake per say (except when it blares from a radio like the 1971 song "American Pie" in a scene set in 1969 in BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY), and a lot of clothing and slang can be dismissed. 

However there are those moments where a blatant disregard for correctness and consistency can really mar a movie. So let's take a look at: 

10 Annoying Anachronisms In Modern Movies 

1. A Ms. PacMan Machine in MAN ON THE MOON (Dir. Milos Foreman, 1999) The IMDb says of this Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman misfire - "numerous anachronisms can be chalked up to artistic decisions; the film intentionally plays fast and loose with the timeline." Well that's fine and all but seeing a 1982 Ms. PacMan video game machine in a scene set in 1977 really took me out of the movie. I can accept the narrative decision to have the famous Carnegie Hall "milk and cookies" concert (pictured on the left) occur after Kaufman was diagnosed with cancer and presented as his big farewell but when an early 70's scene references "President Jimmy Carter" - odd jarring misplacements like that do this formulaic biopic no favors.

2. The Lake Wissota reference in TITANIC (Dir. James Cameron, 1997) Self proclaimed "king of the world" Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) tells Rose (Kate Winslet) at their first meeting this little revealing tidbit - "once when I was a kid me and my father were ice-fishing out on Lake Wissota..." As five million websites will tell you, Lake Wissota is a man-made reservoir which wasn't created until five years after the Titanic sank. James Cameron apparently acknowledged this goof at one point but then proclaimed himself "KING OF THE WORLD!!!" Sorry, couldn't resist that. 

3. The '70s Hippies in '50s Vegas in THE GODFATHER (Dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) Very briefly and through a window behind Michael (Al Pacino) when he and his party get out of their car at the entrance to Fredo's (John Casale) hotel you can see a couple of young men with long hair and 70's attire. Coppola on the DVD commentary chimes in: "this was one of those really cheap second unit shots we did...I was very embarrassed by this because of in the background you see there's like hippie-looking guys that are not correct for period." Well played, Coppola. You win this round.


4. Post-it notes in ALMOST FAMOUS (Dir. Cameron Crowe, 2000) Actually there is a plethora of anachronisms in this movie that takes place in the early 70's - Chem-Lite glow sticks at concerts, albums that weren't released yet (like the Stones' "Get Your Ya-Ya's Out" and Joni Mitchell's "Blue") given prominent screen-time in a scene set in 1969 (pictured above), and 90's Pepsi cans abound but damnit the post-it note deal just irks me. They weren't around until the 80's and it just seemed too cute to have teenage Rolling Stone journalist William (Patrick Fuggit) surrounded by them in a hotel bathroom. Seems like this is pretty indicative of the liberties with his own life Crowe was talking in this semi-autobiography. 5. ANOTHER 48 HOURS Billboard in THE DOORS (Dir. Oliver Stone, 1991) Since most of Stone's movies are set in the 60's and the 70's I could do a whole post about the inaccurate elements and out of place objects but I'll spare you that (for now). I'll just say that for all the work that went into the mood and tone of the era in this bombastic biopic of rock star/poet wannabe Jim Morrison (played by Val Kilmer) the visibility of a billboard for a 1990 movie is just plain stupid. Actually truth be told most of what's in THE DOORS, accurate or not, is just plain stupid.


6. 1965 Canadian Flag Maple Leaf Logo in the 1930's in THE UNTOUCHABLES (Dir. Brian DePalma, 1987) As the site Whoops! Movie Goofs & Mistakes reports "The Canadians probably laughed their asses off when Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) made his first unsuccessful bust: The movie takes place in the 1930s and you can see boxes decorated with maple leaf logos. That logo was first seen 1965 when Canada introduced its flag." Yeah, well considering the reaction to DePalma's REDACTED these days, this 20 year old blunder should be the least of his worries. 

7. A Jet Crosses The Background of CLEOPATRA (Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1963) This I've never seen - it's listed as a "goof" on IMDb's entry for the film. Likewise in their entry for THE TEN COMMANDMENTS they state: "Anachronism - Moses on top of the large rock with a watch on." Without a recent viewings of these films I can only say that these seem like an urban myths. No other source online collaborates either - in fact most sites only list that a crowd member in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS appears to be wearing a watch but this is disputed as well. I guess, in a BIG FISH kind of way, I'm siding with the myth on this one because I don't see either making my Netflix queue anytime soon. 

8. '80s Geography imposed on 1936 Maps In RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Dir. Steven Speilberg, 1981) In a nice almost comic book touch we are shown Indiana Jones's (Harrison Ford) plane routes with lines imposed on a screen filling map. Unfortunately it imposes the geography of the early 80's into a 30's world. Thailand, which was called Siam at the time, is seen as is Jordan which was known as Transjordan until 1949. There is also a globe in Indy's classroom that depicts various countries of Africa that didn't exist in 1936. Ah-ha! This undisputed action movie classic isn't historically accurate! Like anyone will care though - I mean even I admit this is nit-picking. Oh yeah, according to the IMDb "in 1936, no aircraft were able to travel such distances with having to stop for refueling." How about that nit I just picked? 

9. A Rent-A-Center In BOOGIE NIGHTS (Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997) Late in the film a "Rent-A-Center" is clearly visible in the background. Actually that's a pretty minor one - the film has lots of other anachronisms that are pretty forgivable and not really annoying but I wanted a excuse to bring up the brilliant BOOGIE NIGHTS and say I'm really looking forward to nit-picking Anderson's upcoming THERE WILL BE BLOOD for period piece mistakes so stay tuned.


10. Registered Pedophiles Weren't Required To Notify Neighbors In 1991 in THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Dir. Joel Coen, 1997) This one kind of hurts - the law wasn't implemented in California until 1996 so for one of the most memorable bit part roles in a Coen Bros. movie, John Turturro as Jesus Quintana was going through inaccurate actions when he went door to door informing his neighbors. I guess I can let it slide - it is one of the all time great movies. No amount of incorrect for the period cars or bowling balls can change that. Whew! Well that's enough nit picking for now. I know there's a lot of annoying anachronisms I missed so you know where you can put them! In the comments below, of course. 

More later...

No Lament For Lumet - The Guy's Still Got The Goods

It's been a very good week - reviewed below is the third film I've seen in a row at the theater that really lived up to its hype and may end up on my year end top ten. Also nice to report that it is the work of a director than many had long written off. So let's dig in:

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD
(Dir. Sidney Lumet, 2007)

After the solid yet fairly unremarkable FIND ME GUILTY (2006) many (including me) expected the 82 year old Lumet, with a career behind him that included such undisputed classics as FAIL-SAFE, NETWORK, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, and SERPICO, to go gracefully into that good night.

There's nothing graceful about the characters and their actions in BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD though. With a economical pacing and frenetic fractured structure that youngsters like Tarentino and Soderbergh would kill for, this heist gone wrong parable is not only one of Lumet's best movies in possibly decades but is one of the year's best films. An emotionally detached Andy Hanson (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and his twitching down-on-his-luck brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) decide to knock over a mom and pop jewelry store located in a New Jersey strip mall. 

Thing is - it's their actual Mom and Pop's (Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris) store - Hanson's Jewelry - and oh, Hawke is having an affair with Hoffman's wife (Marissa Tomei). I don't consider any of that plot info to be spoilers since all of that is revealed in the trailer but don't worry I won't spill any more - the build-up and juicy interlocking of vignettes here are so swift and satisfying that nobody needs further briefing. 

Titles such as "The Robbery" and "Three Days Before The Robbery" assign sections of the film to the different players (Hawke, Hoffman, And Finney - seems like Oscar winner Tomei picked the short straw) and shifts our sympathies or animosities between them as the plot-lines pile up. There is a fair amount of humor but like in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN it hides in the darkness making audiences cringe at the same time they stifle a giggle. 

Hawke's Hank - a desperate dead-beat dad has such a cloud over his head and a wide-eyed puppy dog look (Finney says "he's still such a baby" at one point) that we are invited to laugh at him but there's nothing humorous about his older brother Andy. Hoffman's Andy - a jaded withdrawn real estate exec. with slicked back hair and fine tailored suits is disguising a desperation as deep and scarring as his brother's. 

Though Albert Finney, just a little younger than Lumet, appears pretty worse for wear (his mouth is always hanging open and he moves slowly and shakily) he can still bring the intensity as the most affecting character here - he alone may be the heart of this film (sorry again, Marissa). 

With Lumet's name attached as director to another project (GETTING OUT set for 2009) it looks like that good night will simply have to wait. 

More later...

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN Enters The Classic Coen Bros. Canon - Just Don't Call It A Comeback

Cormac McCarthy: MILLER'S CROSSING is in that category. I don't want to embarrass you, but that's just a very, very fine movie.

Joel Coen: Eh, it's just a damn rip-off.

- Time Magazine Oct. 18th, 2007 (A Conversation Between Author Cormac McCarthy And The Coen Brothers) It has been a while since Joel and Ethan Coen unleashed a movie that really made an impact. Their last offerings - THE LADYKILLERS (2004), INTOLERABLE CRUELTY (2003), and a personal favorite of mine - THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (2001) all had their fair share of merits and moments but you'd have to reach back to O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU (2000) to cite any serious seismic blip on the pop culture radar. Even during this supposed down-time they never had a critically lambasted failure or did anything resembling "jumping the shark" so the held belief was they would check in with another masterpiece someday in the future. Well the day has now come with the instant classic that is: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Dirs. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, 2007) A more faithful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel could not be imagined. There are a few transitional dialogue and setting embellishments but the bulk of this film is directly, word for word, from the brilliant book. In the vast plains of Rio Grande, Texas in 1980, Josh Brolin plays Llewelyn Moss - a poor Vietnam vet who one day when out hunting antelopes comes across a slew of dead bodies, a large surplus of heroin, and a satchel containing over 2 million dollars. He takes the satchel and returns to his wife (Kelly Macdonald) at his trailer park home but wakes in the middle of the night with what he himself recognizes as a "dumber than Hell" compulsion to return to the crime scene. Soon to be on his trail is what can only be described as a completely evil man - Chigurh (Javier Bardem). With an odd Prince Valiant-style haircut and a never ceasing confidence, Chigurh uses a cattle gun to kill just about anyone who gets in his way throughout the film (usually through the forehead) and it also comes in handy to blow out door locks. "What is this guy supposed to be, the ultimate bad-ass?" - Moss even asks Carson Wells (a smooth Woody Harrelson) - yet another man on the trail of the money. As Sherriff Bell and a sort of narrator in his grizzled though still whimsical monologues Tommy Lee Jones tries to make sense of these new violent times. He never appears surprised by each new bloody development - he takes it all in with a jaded shrugging sigh. Though many of the stylistic devices have been used and reused by the Coen Brothers before (the roadside murders, the seedy hotels, etc.) amidst the shoot-outs, chases and scary darkness there are waves of fresh subtleties that they hadn't explored before. The quirky everyday folk that reside in little general stores out in the middle of nowhere might have provoked ridicule before in such Coen classics as RAISING ARIZONA, FARGO, and O BROTHER but this time out I found the audience around me were tittering around - almost afraid to laugh at these people. Like Chigurh - who one character refers to as a man "without a sense of humor" seems to know all too well is that their fates, whether by his hands or by natural destiny, aren't that funny. More later...