There are many continuity errors/goofs
in Mulholland Dr. How they are viewed by fans goes across the
spectrum. Some believe that the continuity errors could
be clues left by Lynch. Others believe that their study is like
looking at the bark of one tree vs. viewing the entire forest. On
the one hand we are told that Lynch is a very careful director who is
involved in the smallest of filming details. On the other hand, we see
goofs that even a novice director would catch. So what is true? Or is the truth somewhere in the middle? Lynch
continues to keep
us puzzled.
Description
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Visuals
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The Taurus that crashes into the limo at the beginning of the movie is seen soaring down the road with lots of people in it, two of them hanging out of the sunroof.
At the instant of the impact between the two cars there are no people out of the sunroof - as a matter of fact there is
nobody in the car.
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At L.A. Airport, while Betty waves at the old couple, you can
spot the taxi cab over her shoulder.
We see the driver open the trunk, but when she turns around looking for her bags, it's closed again... and then he re-opens it to put her suitcases
inside.
Explanation:
This sequence originally got shot with Betty turning to the cab driver before
waving at the couple, yet left the cutting room in reversed order.
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At Ryan Board, when Vincenzo Castigliane slides the envelope with the photo of Camilla Rhodes down the conference table, the flap
on the envelope is up when it leaves Vincenzo's hand, but the flap is down when the envelope arrives at the other end of the
table and is retrieved by Ray and Mr Darby.
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The envelope retrieved by Mr Darby
is somewhat crinkled and the flap is free of marks. However, at close-up we see an envelope in better shape with a flap that's
got a hole punched-in. Explanation:
The original headshot
of Camilla Rhodes, intended for the TV-Pilot, had been replaced for the feature film. The newly
shot close-up lacks perfection in terms of continuity.
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When the servant comes in to serve the cup of espresso,
Luigi's hands and arms are on the table, then the very next shot, they are tucked under the table, then back again.
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The headshot of Camilla in front of
Vincent Darby seems to disappear for a second, just after Luigi expels his
coffee.
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After Joe shoots Ed, we see an unstained
"Italy" poster
to the right of the desk. When Joe drags the fat woman into the office, there
is now blood dripping down the poster.
Explanation: Lynch might have mixed censored
with non-censored footage of the hit on Ed. From the Pilot script:
"Joe's hand [...] reaches out and fires a hole through Ed's temple -
blowing Ed's brains out across the desk, carpet and wall."
»see also
Trivia of Massacre scene
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The office next door with the Enzyme woman in it has a large sticker on the outside window (facing out) that says Enzyme + Plus. From the outside shot there is no sign in the window.
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Right after Betty is talking to her aunt, she walks into the bedroom to confront Rita. Rita is sitting at the foot of
the bed and there is no towel to her right. The camera cuts back to Betty and when it shows Rita again, there is a red towel
on the bed beside her. Also, the pillows seem to have moved against the earlier
front-view shot.
A perceptive contribution to
the complexities of David Lynch's dream narrative?
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Betty takes the hat out of the box and holds it. After Rita puts her bag with the money in the box, we see Betty
lifting the hat from the bed and putting it inside the box, although it should still be in her hands.
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When they hide the purse with the money and the key in the round hatbox, Betty places the hat on top and then puts the box in the closet. When they retrieve the purse after returning from the Club Silencio, the hat isn't there.
Explanation:
The Pilot script contains a canned
scene, where Rita opens the hatbox
and removes the purse to handle over some money to Betty in return for
her kindness. Thereby hat and purse might have switched positions.
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When Betty arrives at her audition her necklace isn't showing, but when we see her again her necklace is right
there.
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An error sequences appears after Wally says
"let’s everyone take a seat". Right facing megaphone under Wally’s Emmy award (in background) changes to face left
between shots.
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In the scene where Betty and Rita
are kissing in bed, their head tilt changes direction between shots.
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In the scene following Club
Silencio Betty
places the blue box onto the bed next to the red blanket and …
disappears. Rita pulls out her purse from the hatbox, places it onto the
red blanket and leaves to look for Betty. Upon her return the blue box
has considerably moved away from the red blanked.
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In the scene where Rita turns the
key in the blue box, the position of the keyhole changes between shots.
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Rita glances at the box sitting on the bed. *cutaway*
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She takes the box into her hands. *cutaway*
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Rita turns and removes the key. The keyhole is back to its original
position 1, as if she never turned the key at all. *cutaway*
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Rita reaches for the box to opens it. Now the keyhole is in just
another position.
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On the couch, Camilla grabs at Diane's
shoulder to stop her. Diane clinches Camilla's forearm with her left hand.
In the cut-over to Diane her hand is off Camilla.
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In the final
scene, when the elderly chase Diane into the bedroom,
Diane falls onto her bed with two pillows sitting on it. After a
cut-over to the elderly the camera pans across the bed again and this
time we only see one pillow.
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Factual error: After the hitman Joe shoots Ed in his office and is placing the gun in Ed's hand, it discharges and shoots a
hole in the wall. The appearance of the wallpaper around the hole makes it look more like an exit hole than an entrance hole.
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Factual error:
Guest room doors in Hotels open into their respective rooms not into the
hallway. Therefore, Adam is behind a door painted number 16, it is just
not a hotel room.
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Revealing
mistake:
When
Adam goes to meet the Cowboy and he's just coming
closer to the parking position, you can see a spot of lighter
sand/ground, which is shaped exactly like the car. Looks like the car
left a dry patch after it had been raining.
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Factual error: When Betty puts the coins in the payphone outside Winkie's to call the police department, the coin return lever is flipped down. A coin will not go into a payphone when the lever is depressed.
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Crew or equipment visible:
During the long tracking shot of the mob goon (Kenny) entering the
director's house a crew member is reflected in the window.
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Crew or equipment visible:
As Adam walks to the Castiglianes' limo you can see the film crew in the window across the street.
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Factual error: When the two detectives are looking at the car wreck, one says "We found these in the back seat of the
Caddy." The car is actually a Lincoln.
Explanation:
Mixing up car brands could just indicate Diane's ignorance in technical
matters. »see also Abraham
Lincoln connection
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Continuity: In the
last shot of Adam beating the Castigliane brothers car with a golf club,
we see a flock of birds fly from behind the car in a scare. It's
impossible they've stayed there during the whole beating sequence and we
don't see them land anywhere near the car during the sequence
itself.
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Audio/visual unsynchronized: Having just gotten off the phone with her aunt,
Betty comes into the bedroom. We hear a small click as the door knob is touched or pushed and then a very loud twisting of the
doorknob,
but only after the door has started swinging in.
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Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Betty is using the pay phone outside Winkie's, the touch tones are audible before she
touches the keypad.
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Factual error (possibly deliberate error by
the filmmakers): Betty exits LAX at Departure
rather than Arrival level.
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Factual error: When Betty tries to call D.
Selwin ("it's strange to be calling yourself"), it looks like
she forgets to hit the CALL key.
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