Continuity mistake: On the island, after regaining consciousness, when Jack puts his hands up to his face and desperately asks, "But why is the rum gone?" his fingernails are totally clean. However, in the earlier shots while getting drunk, his fingernails are very dirty, before passing out. (01:39:15)
Super Grover
Other mistake: Keira Knightley has very obvious makeup applied to her cheeks and especially her eyes and lips throughout the movie. First example, when she gives Will the medallion in the cabin, and second, when Barbossa points the gun at her, before Jack shoots him. Actresses wear makeup in movies, but the lip color and eye make-up are unrealistic for a kidnapped Elizabeth. It shouldn't be as dark and apparent, as it is in this movie. (01:18:10 - 02:00:55)
Continuity mistake: When Jack is in the Fort Prison, he's trying to get the dog to bring him the keys. When he says, "Good boy. Come get the bone," the handle sticking out of the pail on the floor is leaning away from the cell. When the dog comes closer, and Jack says, "That's it, doggy," the handle in the pail is facing towards the cell door. (00:36:10)
Continuity mistake: Elizabeth holds the medallion chain over the edge of the railing. In the first shot she says, "I'll drop it," the chain dangles down with the excess chain over her fingers. In the front close-up of her arm, only the bottom chain is dangling. In the back close-up of her hand, with Barbossa in the background, the medallion and chain dangle shorter now, with the excess chain over her fingers. This takes place before she says, "There's no point in me keeping it." (00:38:50)
Continuity mistake: On the Black Pearl, just before Elizabeth spins the wheel on deck and knock's off Grapple's skeletal head, when she first approaches the wheel, it is fully wound up with rope. As she starts to spin the wheel, there are only about five lines of wound rope, next to the wheel. (00:59:25)
Revealing mistake: When Pintel and Ragetti are below deck with the cannon and hit with forks and other utensils from the Interceptor's canons, Pintel's eyes are seen. The yellow contact lenses that Lee Arenberg wears as Pintel are seen in this and other shots during the movie. (01:25:30)
Revealing mistake: When the pirates arrive on shore at Port Royal, Ragetti and Pintel are standing in front of the boats. Ragetti has his false wood eye in his hand, as he sharpens the 'iris' with his knife point. As he does so, the eye socket does not look empty in this shot, only covered. (00:30:45)
Continuity mistake: When Governor Swann is leaning on the desk next to the drawer with the severed hand, his right hand is behind his back. In the close-up shot when he opens the drawer, his right hand is on his stomach, but in the wide shot his right hand is behind him again. (02:02:10)
Continuity mistake: The position of Barbossa's white shirt collar varies within wide and close-up shots, during the first blood ritual with Elizabeth. (01:10:05 - 01:14:40)
Continuity mistake: Barbossa rips the chain and medallion off Elizabeth's neck, puts it into her palm, then cuts her hand. He takes her hand in his and he turns hers over so it's palm down. The chain can be seen in the close-up and wide shot, dangling down between her fingers and the chain is NOT clasped shut. In the next close-up of the chain and medallion falling into the chest, the chain IS clasped shut. (01:11:55)
Continuity mistake: Pintel yells out, "How do we tell?" and his jacket is covering a reasonable amount of the white shirt underneath. In the next shot of him when he's shot by Barbossa, more of the white shirt is visible, so the bullet hole can be seen. (01:12:50)
Continuity mistake: As Elizabeth says, "Lower the anchor on the right side," Mr. Gibbs' right white collar is under the leather strap buckled correctly and Will's neck scarf is crooked. In the next shot, when Elizabeth says, "On the starboard side," Mr. Gibbs' leather strap is not buckled properly, his right white collar is over the strap and Will's neck scarf is straight. When Mr. Gibbs says, "Daft like Jack," his white collar is under the strap again and one end of Mr. Gibbs' neck string is much longer than the other end. Also, Will's right white shirt collar is over his vest. Yet when Mr. Gibbs says, "Do it, you gobs..." the ends of Mr. Gibbs' neck string are even and Will's right white collar is under his vest. (01:24:00)
Deliberate mistake: When Will is staring at Jacoby, another pirate comes up from behind him and hits Will on the head with a solid silver candlestick. The sound it makes when hitting Will's head is a sharp clang, as if it hit another metal, not reverberation. Post production thought it sounded more dramatic and funnier than a thud. (00:35:25)
Continuity mistake: At the Fort, the two columns of soldiers separate and Norrington walks into view. It's shouted, "Right about face," and the soldier behind Norrington on his left has his black bag to his side. When "present arms" is shouted, the soldier's black bag is in front. Also, Governor Swann, in the front wide shot, is standing on the second step from the bottom. In the next close-up, he's standing on a step further up - the soldier to his left in the previous shot was standing on the same step as him. (00:11:15)
Continuity mistake: When the Governor's servant opens the door and is shot by Pintel, the position of the servant's body and also in relation to the door, varies while he's lying on the floor in the three shots of him. (00:32:10)
Continuity mistake: When the barrels are being tossed off the Interceptor there is a shot of a crewman in an orange jacket holding a cannonball in his hands and passing it to someone on his left. As the shot pans to the side, behind that crewman that passed the cannonball, we see part of the head of someone and also see Will's shoulder and arm - he just climbed out from below deck. Yet in the very next shot, Will is just coming up from below deck. (Perhaps better in slow motion.) (01:22:40)
Visible crew/equipment: Just after Will cuts the lines from the Interceptor to the Dauntless, the Interceptor is shown leaving. The next shot is of the back wood plank between the ships falling away. On the deck of the Interceptor, behind the railing, on the right of the screen, is a crew member ducking down, so as not to be seen by the camera. (00:47:10)
Continuity mistake: Elizabeth has a light tan and her hair has lighter streaks running through it, in the shots on the island with Jack. In the following scene, on the Dauntless, her tan is gone and her hair is normal again. Confirmed on commentary. (01:35:00 - 01:40:00)
Continuity mistake: When Barbossa takes the sword out of his own chest, he then stabs Jack with that sword, and he stabs Jack right under the strap and buckle. As Jack walks backwards, into the moonlight, the skeletal Jack appears and now he has the sword over the strap and buckle, in his chest. The length of the sword between the guard and his chest differs greatly, as does the amount of sword that protrudes from his back. (01:55:15)
Continuity mistake: Just before Elizabeth whacks Jacoby, she asks, "You like pain?" and in the first shot as she starts to swing her hair has some waves and curl to it. Mid swing it cuts to the second shot, and when she says, "Try wearing a corset!" her hair is totally flat with no waves or curls whatsoever. Then, in the very next shot it's actually full, wavy and curly. (01:59:45)
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