Factual error: When Eakins returns to the house after he swears an oath to the union. You can see a thermostat on the wall behind him. (01:40:00)
Factual error: Alexander's copy of Homer is a codex, or bound book, not invented for another 400 years or much used for 600 years.
Factual error: In the foreground of the Aqaba raid scene, Turks are using a Browning M1919 machine gun, which wasn't yet designed and certainly would not be available to the Turkish Army.
Factual error: When Bob Ford opens the box under the bed, on top is an issue of "The Jesse James Stories" weekly, which was published from 1901-1903 - fully twenty years after the events of this film. (00:36:10)
Factual error: When Nancy goes in a car in London to score drugs there is a political poster stating 'Labour Isn't Working'. This poster was used by the Conservative party in the 1979 general election - Nancy was killed 9 months prior to this election.
Factual error: Warren Beatty refers to the "Hoover Dam" being able to generate the power needed for Las Vegas and his Flamingo casino. The problem is that he supposedly made the comment in 1937. At that time, the "Hoover Dam" was still called "Boulder Dam." It wasn't renamed to honour President Herbert Hoover until about ten years later.
Factual error: In one scene supposedly set in the late '70s (Andy was about to get/just got "Taxi"), Andy is playing Ms. Pac Man. I may be wrong here, but didn't Ms. Pac-Man come out in 1982 or 1983? (00:29:30)
Factual error: When the team is running you can see a new model white Range Rover Sport and a red Honda Civic passing by.
Factual error: The train liveries shown in the UK were well out of use by 1980. And the West Coast Railway (Company) did not exist at all.
Factual error: Einar walks away from his wife in Paris to go to a peep show, then there is suddenly a scene where he walks the streets of Copenhagen. It's clear that the marble church of Copenhagen is in the shot.
Factual error: Sug Knight drives under the Monorail tracks. These tracks were not built until after 2002. Tupac was killed in 1996. (02:12:00)
Factual error: A number of press photographers are present during the trial of the Great Train Robbers and they take a series of photographs of the opening proceedings. No photographer has ever been allowed in a British courtroom for any reason at any time, ever.
Factual error: After showing a picture from 1955 when he was eight, the narrator (Shayne) states that he was fifteen by 1962. The story begins with his mother getting fired from her job at a potato chip factory and making the decision that night to move the next morning. The family moves from L.A. to Kingston, Idaho. Shayne's mother Fran tells Mr. Moon that they (she and whatever work her kids do for him around the house) want paid "minimum wage plus 10%" to pay for the land and when she gets hired at the bowling alley she is told the job pays "minimum wage" (plus any tips, which "ain't much"). Idaho did not establish a minimum wage until 1963, a year (or some months) later. The narrator even asserted at the beginning "This is a true story. It really happened to me." (00:20:03 - 00:23:47)
Factual error: In the final scene where Solomon was reunited with his family, the doors he entered the room through had Edwardian style leadlight glass. The movie was set about 50 years before this style.
Factual error: As Ray is driving around the country selling his machines, we see town mileage signs that are green with white lettering. In the early 50s they were white with black lettering.
Factual error: At one point in the movie, some characters are gathered in the break room that has bags of chips. One of these chip bags is a Doritos bag which has the modern logo. This logo was not implemented until 2013.
Factual error: When the camera took a shot on a train coming to a station in Czechoslovakia, you can see electric cables above the train tracks. There was no such thing in Czechoslovakia as electrified trains in the 1940's. The electrification started in the 1950's. (00:01:05)
Factual error: As Wendell and Jackie are driving in the car, Jackie turns the radio on to put a hiatus on their discussion. As soon as he turns it on, sound issues forth, but in the 40's radios used vacuum tubes, which required a warm-up period.
Suggested correction: Once the tubes are warmed up, they will tend to stay warm for a period of time even if the radio is turned off. It's possible the radio had been turned on and warmed up before this scene.
Factual error: In the scene where the young Helen Goff is traveling by train with her family, it's obvious that an American engine and coaches have been used, instead of a Queensland Rail locomotive of the era. None of the QR locomotives had flared smokestacks like on the one seen in the movie. The coaches are also incorrect - as far as I know, none of the Queensland Rail wood coaches had clerestory roofs with a set of windows in them like seen in the movie. When Helen looks out the back of the train, it's also obvious that the tracks are spaced at 'standard gauge' (4' 8.5"). They should be closer together, as railways in Queensland are built to 3'6" gauge instead. There is also no such company as the 'Queensland Victoria Railway Co', as marked on the coaches, as all railways in Australia are state owned.
Factual error: Mrs. Loving washes Corelle dishes after dinner with the Life magazine photographer. Those photos were in 1965 and Corelle dishes were not introduced until the 1970's. (01:27:00)