Can you spot the period fail in the picture above? Here’s a clue –
Sometimes, period drama fails are minor, others are epic, but more often than not, they’re just plain funny. It seems that modern day electrics are to blame for many lapses in continuity, as was this t.v. aerial in another scene from Downton Abbey.
They cropped up in Poldark, as well.
Heck, they were even a bane to set designers decades ago – below, Melanie’s oil lamp is sporting an electrical cord in Gone With the Wind.
In this scene from Gladiator, there’s a gas canister on the back of a chariot. What’s that about?!
While in another scene, an extra can be seen wearing a modern day coat and sneakers or boots.
Modern day clothing seems to offer up more problems – see the extra wearing a white t-shirt, sunglasses and a cowboy hat in the scene above from Pirates of the Caribbean. Below, Captain Jack indulges in a bit of pirate product placement.
An extra wearing jeans and a t-shirt can be seen just to the left of the liquor bottle in this scene from Indiana Jones.
Braveheart may be the most groan-worthy period film of all time, on many levels, but the car that appears in the battle scene will be hard to beat.
Wrist watches were the problem in Lord of the Rings, above, and in Glory, below.
But the most epic fail has to be this scene from Troy.
And if that isn’t enough, here’s a blooper reel from Pirates of the Caribbean for no other reason than it’s period, it’s funny and . . . Johnny Depp. There’s a commercial that pops up in the middle of it. Just click it and the video will continue. Don’t know why it’s there. Must be a mistake . . . .
FWIW, the “extras” in modern dress are almost certainly crew members who didn’t realize they would appear in the shot. I would bet that the one kneeling in the chariot with the white soles of his shoes visible is a camera operator.