Mistakes That Are Hard To Ignore In Pirates Of The Caribbean

You might have a bottomless budget and a cast of the world's most talented actors at your disposal, but even then, perfection isn't guaranteed. When it comes to filmmaking, the bigger the scope of the project, the more chances there are to drop the ball—and despite four consecutive successes at the worldwide box office, many balls have been dropped during the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Set over the course of several years during the 18th century, Disney's swashbuckler epic falls victim to a number of historical inaccuracies, though they pale in comparison to the many rookie mistakes made on the set and in the editing suite. From glaring errors in continuity to makeup mishaps and green screen nightmares, here are the biggest mistakes lurking in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

When Jack is repaid for saving Elizabeth's life with arrest, the Captain engineers the first of what would become many improbable escapes over the course of the franchise. After putting a pistol to the head of Miss Swann and ordering her to unshackle him, Sparrow grabs a rope and releases the cannon at the other end, flying into a spin and, eventually, to freedom. Before departing he tells Commodore Norrington that he would always remember this as the day he almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow, though in reality he would remember it as the day his men time-traveled into the future to upgrade their weapons. The English gunmen fire at will, each popping off shot after shot, though rifles at the time would have needed reloading after every bullet. Repeating rifles like these didn't come into use until 1862, when they were used by Union soldiers during the American Civil War.

When Jack is trying to put together a crew he bumps into a not-so-friendly face from his past and receives his traditional slap across the chops. Anamaria's previous ship was stolen by Sparrow and she applies for the position of crewman hoping to confront him, a chance she literally takes with both hands. She berates the grinning Captain, pointing at him with her right hand—though in the very next shot, she's clearly pointing at Sparrow with her left. The anger in her eyes may well have been real, as actress Zoe Saldana later revealed she almost quit acting after being disrespected on set.

One of the biggest goofs in the first Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, 2006's Dead Man's Chest, comes early—soon after Sparrow and his pirate cohort pay a visit to Tia Dalma, the dreadlocked Obeah sorceress who gave the Captain his unusual compass back when the two were first acquainted. She uses her traditional magic to point the Pearl in the direction of her former lover Davy Jones, and as Will, Jack and Gibbs scan the waters in search of Jones' legendary vessel the Flying Dutchman, a lantern being carried by an arm without a body passes behind them. By the time the random shipmate reaches the stairs at the edge of the shot he becomes whole again, but as he passes behind his superiors on deck he's eaten up by the green screen, and the result is a revealing and rather spooky mistake.

The Tortuga bar fight is the second-most memorable scene in Dead Man's Chest, beginning with a disheveled and barely recognizable James Norrington applying for a position under the very pirate he once chased halfway across the world and ending with the shamed Commodore getting a bottle smashed over his head. The music playing over the all-out brawl that takes place in between those two events comes from a concertina, one of the most (for want of a better word) 'piratey' sounding instruments there is. As well as it fits the scene, its inclusion is factually inaccurate, as this cousin of the accordion wasn't in circulation until the 1830s.

Davy Jones' ferry to the afterlife, the Flying Dutchman, is the most formidable ship to have appeared in the franchise thus far, rising from the deep and making matchsticks out of Navy and pirate vessels alike. As Jones bears down on Jack Sparrow's Black Pearl in pursuit of his stolen heart, he orders his crew to "send his beloved pile back to the depths" and they get to work on sinking the Pearl. The windows of the Captain's quarters and the wood framing them is blown to pieces by the Dutchman's cannons, though Sparrow's ship seems to have some otherworldly qualities of its own. Either that, or it's a really bad edit. Moments later, viewing the Pearl from the port side of the Dutchman, we see that its back end has magically repaired itself.

Keira Knightley's little beauty spot seems to come and go from movie to movie, either left to stand out in pride of place just to the side of her right eyebrow, or covered up by an eager makeup department. In the case of the third film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, 2007's At World's End, the freckle seems to disappear and reappear at random, probably depending on which particular artist did her face that morning and how thorough they were feeling. Ironically, it vanishes most often during scenes in which any makeup would undoubtedly run off.

Getting to meet Jack Sparrow's dad was an exciting prospect for Pirates of the Caribbean fans, and getting to work opposite Keith Richards was just as exciting for Johnny Depp. The star has admitted he took inspiration from the legendary Rolling Stones guitarist when designing the character of Jack Sparrow in his mind, "sponging as much of him" as he could. Richards certainly looked the part, though one of his better scenes is unfortunately ruined by a bad edit. As we watch Jack approach from over his father's shoulder, we see that Captain Teague's hand is resting atop the body of his guitar, a position from which even he couldn't play it. When we cut to Jack's point of view seconds later, that hand is where it should be.

As At World's End draws to a close, Jack discovers that his old nemesis Barbossa has once again taken the Black Pearl, though he is able to continue his search for the Fountain of Youth without it, having previously stolen Sao Feng's maps and charts. As Sparrow sets out from Tortuga, we see him consulting a scroll that details the discovery of 'Aqua de Vida' by someone named Ponce de León in 1523. This refers to an actual Spanish explorer and conquistador who, according to legend, set sail in search of the mythical fountain. Juan Ponce de León was the first European to lay his eyes upon the southeastern tip of what is now the United States, naming it La Florida. The trouble is, this voyage actually took place in the year 1513—not 1523, as Jack's map states.

Jack soon finds out that an impostor has been attempting to put together a crew to lead an expedition to find the Fountain under his name. When Sparrow comes face to face with said impostor, the pair become involved in a sword fight that keeps the identity of the Captain's foe hidden until the very last. The fake Jack turns out to be Angelica, his former lover and the daughter of infamous pirate Captain Blackbeard, who also happens to be seeking the mythical Fountain. The problem with this scene is the height difference between Penélope Cruz and whoever stood in for her during the battle, as this person was clearly the same height (if not a little taller) than Johnny Depp.

The reveal that Barbossa was alive and well (despite being minus one leg) perhaps wasn't unexpected, nor was the fact that the Black Pearl had been lost under his command, seeing as he seems to lose control of the ship as often as Jack does. The biggest surprise was that Captain Barbossa was now in the employ of the Crown, though either the former pirate isn't up to scratch with his Navy lingo or the writers made a few historical errors. Barbossa addresses one of his men as lieutenant commander, a rank that was not introduced into the Royal Navy until 1914. Also, his ship flies a version of the Union Jack flag that didn't exist at the time, as the Kingdom of Ireland had yet to be absorbed.