20 Tiny “Titanic” Mistakes Real Fans Saw as a Gigantic Iceberg

It’s been more than twenty years since the premiere of Titanic, but the movie is still in everybody’s mouths because it’s still as moving as the first time we watched it. Over time, it has become a reference for modern cinema due to its multiple recognitions and awards. Despite this, not even a production of such magnitude is spared from making mistakes. Thanks to their eagle eye, viewers have noticed what diehard fans will see as critical oversights.

Bright Side uncovered 20 mistakes that can be hard to spot unless you’re a true Titanic fan.

1. Etiquette mistakes

Titanic’s plot revolves around members of different social classes falling for each other. Rose and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater (played by actress Frances Fisher), belong to a privileged stratum, so they are supposed to know the etiquette protocols very well. In fact, on several occasions, Mrs. Ruth reminds others to comply with them. That’s why it seems contradictory that in several parts of the film, she wears gloves to snack when the rules of etiquette forbid this: she should take them off when entering any room where food is offered.

2. The disappearing crowd

At the movie’s beginning, thousands of people gather to say goodbye to their loved ones and watch them depart aboard the Titanic. But if you take a closer look at the scene where Jack and his friend Fabrizio, played by Danny Nucci, are playing cards to win their lucky tickets, you can see the ship through the window. However, the crowd isn’t there. Where did they all disappear to?

That we don’t know, but the crowd is back on the dock when Jack and Fabrizio board the huge ship to embark on their new adventure.

3. Changes in the smokestack

Like the guardrails and the bow, the smokestack of the boat also seems to take on a life of its own. At the beginning of the film, the shape of the smokestack is different from what we see as the ship begins to sink. Remembering and preserving the set’s exact details must have been very complicated and cost a fortune, which is why that might have happened.

4. Objects appearing

The ship’s officers wrongfully arrest Jack, and Rose rushes to his aid. But producers didn’t notice that a pillow appeared out of nowhere between scenes in the room. Did someone decide to take a quick nap?

5. The snotsicle

Jack and Rose are stranded in the middle of the freezing Atlantic Ocean, where they both struggle to survive while waiting to be rescued. At the beginning of these scenes, both support each other, and because of the cold temperature, Jack gets what’s come to be known as a snotsicle. But a while later, the ice has melted when Rose tries to wake him up because help has arrived.

6. Moving guardrails

Check out this props oversight. In the first image, Jack Dawson (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) was standing next to his friend on the ship’s bow, and the guardrails on the sides were separated.

Later in the film, both protagonists find themselves in the same place to act out one of the most iconic scenes: Jack embraces Rose with the wind blowing on them. But the railings were now attached. Is it possible that the bars were carried away by the love inspired by this shot and decided to embrace each other too?

7. The cameraman’s reflection

In 1997, when the film was shot, technology was not as advanced as today, and filming a scene required several cameramen following the actors from different angles. One of them can be seen in the reflection of the glass of one of the doors of Titanic. Undoubtedly, this error is hard to spot and edit without today’s apps.

8. Wrong time of the year

Another wardrobe oversight is Cal Hockley (played by Billy Zane). This character, due to his jealousy, ruffles Jack’s feathers, referring to his poverty and emphasizing his ordinary manner of dress. But something that causes doubts in this scene is to see him with a dress suit and shoes, but without socks. This is a must-have accessory in formal attire, and even more so for the era on which the film was based.

9. Rose’s nail length

We know that the movie’s filming lasted several months, so Kate Winslet’s nails obviously grew several times. However, for her character Rose, it was barely a couple of days. In some scenes, we can see that her nails look short, and the length changes drastically from one scene to the next.

10. The lake Jack mentions

When Jack tries to dissuade Rose from jumping into the icy waters of the Atlantic, he mentions ice fishing on Lake Wissota. The small detail is that the lake in question is artificial and was not created until 1917, while the Titanic sank in 1912. Something similar is true of the Santa Monica roller coaster that Jack promises to take Rose on. In reality, it was not built until 1916.

11. The ship’s bow

As we will find out later, the film set had quite a few logistical and design oversights. An example of that is how the bow changes. It definitely doesn’t look quite the same when Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is excitedly watching the dolphins jump, as it does in Jack and Rose’s iconic romantic moment.

12. Jack’s hair

Another curious continuity error is Jack’s hairstyle in one of the scenes in third class. After his charming dance with little Cora, Jack returns to the table, where Rose is waiting for him with his hair disheveled. However, we can see how in the next instant his hair is perfect and even has several layers of styling gel. Many of us would like his power to style our hair in seconds.

13. The sky

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson commented on several errors in the film. For example, they did not consider the date, the course of the trip, and the position of the stars as they were seen in the sky that night. The film shows Rose and Jack on a clear, moonless night; according to the expert, this is incorrect.

14. The disappearing file

The famous discord drawing had another major continuity error. Cal, Rose’s fiancé, discovers the picture in a brown folder. When he picks it up, he is enraged and wants to tear it up right then and there. The funny thing is that in the next shot, the folder is gone, and we see the crumpled sheet of paper in Cal’s hand.

15. The moving mole

One mistake that no one noticed was Rose DeWitt Bukater’s (played by actress Kate Winslet) mole. When the young woman was about to board the boat, her mole was on the left side of her face; however, several shots later, it was on the opposite side.

16. Reconstructed glass

In her attempt to free Jack, Rose runs in search of an object that could be useful to save him. She manages to see an axe inside an emergency glass on the wall of one of the corridors. An interesting fact is that the glass is magically reconstructed after it’s broken to reach the axe.

17. Jack and the disappearing suspenders

The scene in which Rose frees Jack from the handcuffs has many oversights. Among them is a very obvious continuity error.

At some point, we can clearly see Jack’s suspenders; in the next shot, when his beloved is about to release him, these are gone. The same thing happens several times in other scenes. Perhaps it would have been simpler not to include the suspenders in the costumes at all.

18. Gravity-defying ropes

Something really interesting about this film is that, after the ship suddenly hit the iceberg, it began to sink from the bow; consequently, the stern of the ship was gradually raised, that is, a strong inclination was created from the front that originated the rise of the rear.

According to the law of gravity, every object should always fall in the direction of the body with the strongest attraction, in this case, the Earth. But in the first image, the ship’s ropes seem to tilt parallel to the Earth. Although later on, we suppose that the producers were more attentive and corrected this mistake.

19. Uneven angles

Scenes later, Rose is driven by impulse and is about to make a difficult decision. Luckily, Jack appears to make her reconsider. Now, there is an important detail in this scene: depending on the camera angle, Rose’s hand is either holding the train of her dress or not.

20. The drawing line

The scene where Jack draws Rose melted the hearts of thousands of viewers. With emotions running high, it was probably difficult to notice the error in the drawing.

The first line that Jack draws is quite thick. However, when we see the canvas again, there is no trace of it. The lines are much finer, and the technique is quite polished.

Do you pay attention to inconsistencies in a film? Do you know of any mistakes we should add to this list?

The enduring friendship between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet was further solidified by a pivotal comment DiCaprio made about Winslet’s body during their “Titanic” days. Despite facing body-shaming and bullying in her younger years, Winslet found solace in DiCaprio’s remark, emphasizing the importance of her natural shape. This conversation empowered Winslet to champion body positivity, a cause she has passionately advocated for, especially after becoming a mother.