Short Film Goofs!

This Is It

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We all know Mike was an ultimate perfectionist, but, just like in all movies, his ground-breaking and spectacular short films had some mistakes! I'm not trying to attack him, just point out some funny goofs, for example, continuity errors, revealing mistakes, green screen errors, crew or equipment visible or factual errors.

Bad - Before they go into the subway, Michael takes his gloves off and throws them to the floor and storms out of the building - but when he's leaning up against the column in the subway he has the gloves back on (although he could have picked them up). Before the dance break, Michael is still wearing his black leather jacket but in the next scene he just has his black t-shirt on. Just before Wesley Snipes grabs his hand, Michael makes a fist from the front view, but it is gone from the back view.

Beat It - At 4:30, Michael steps on the man in the white jacket's shoes! In the last dancing part, at around 4:44, one of the backup dancers (in the brown jacket, next to the person in white; the third person to the left of Michael) moves to the right - the opposite direction to everyone else! He also forgets the dance steps a few more times before the end, plus a man waves to the camera just as the video comes to a close.

Billie Jean - Some blocks of the pavement don't light up when he touches them, which is very evident especially when he is by the billboard.

Black Or White - During the panther scene, on his right hand he starts off with finger tape on index, middle and pinky fingers. Then when he's doing the crotch grab on the car his index, ring and pinky fingers are taped. Then once he's off the car it goes back to his index, middle and pinky fingers being taped again. He steps on water at the start of the panther scene, but in another shot none can be seen.

Come Together - In Moonwalker, his shirt goes back and forth between stages of being ripped.

Dirty Diana - His shirt goes back and forth between stages of being ripped.

Smooth Criminal - There are continuity errors with the finger tape placing. The woman takes the money from the wrong pocket (not the one where he put it). However, if you watch the part after he walks down the stairs that drop, after he shoots the baddie, he reaches into the inside pocket where he had put that money and throws it up to three men who are below the stairs. They are likely to be two different sets of money, so it could not be a goof.

Speed Demon - Michael takes his trousers and gloves off. The camera angle then changes to show him taking off his headwear - but with the gloves back on his hand. As he puts it down, tape appears on three fingers!

Thriller - When Michael is walking with Ola past the graves (6:26-31), two studio lights are visible in the upper right hand corner. They move out of sight once the camera zooms into the graves and smoke and Vincent Price's rap starts.

We Are Here To Change The World - In Captain EO during this song, one of the dancers (second from the right in the fourth row back) spins when everyone else dips down, although it is not that obvious.

You Rock My World - In the full version (13:29), at 3:55 the girl's dress which is resting on her shoulders glides down of her right shoulder as Michael touches her back, but at 3:59, when the camera angle changes, it is back on her shoulder.
 
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I have only ever noticed the ripped shirts thing.. You've got good eyes.. :yes:
 
I noticed the Beat It one for sure...I noticed that a long time ago, and I always laughed at that part...Oh, Michael..lol...But I haven't noticed anything else from your list...I'll have to check them out!
 
LOL. I shouldn't have read this cuz it always bugs me when I watch them and know about it! :lol: You really have an eye for detail lol!
 
I would really love someone to compile a YouTube clip of all!
 
wow i need to recheck these videos now. thanks for posting!
i was so stupid as a kid, i always thought his shirt went from being ripped to not so ripped, and thought his shirt was magical or something and wondered why it did that....not realizing he must have changed shirts or the pre ripped shots were used.
 
Just found an epic one in You Rock My World! Probably one of the best so far. Added to the list.
 
Wow, I can't believe I never noticed the Beat it and Thriller goofs before!! Good job!!!
 
Thriller - When Michael is walking with Ola past the graves (6:26-31), two studio lights are visible in the upper right hand corner. They move out of sight once the camera zooms into the graves and smoke and Vincent Price's rap starts.


OMG, how did I not notice this before? It's so obvious!!
 
Thanks for posting!

By the end of Beat It, there's a guy that waves goodbye to the camara. It always cracks me up.
 
The only one I ever noticed and only because my uncle pointed it out to me, was in the Beat It video, towards the end when all the dancers are doing the famous dance routine and a dancer located in the middle row on the left hand side of Michael, messes up while trying to follow the rest of the routine dancers when he accidentally faced the opposite direction and you can tell he's like "doh!" and immediately changes direction. LOL.

Its easy to miss when your eyes are only on Michael to be honest.

Go check it out. :)
 
Wow you all have amazing observational skills. Although its not a short film and its a performance, the 1995 MTV Awards makes me giggle when Michael pulls his hand out of his pocket and (what looks like) a sweet wrapper fulls out his pocket on to the stage just before he undoes his tie to sing YANA. Also he has a mucky spot on his trouser leg! He must have been enjoying some chocolate and sweets before he went on stage! Makes me love him all the more, if thats possible!
 
Not goofs, but...

Seeing as the Smooth Criminal vignette was posted online today from a Sony promo thing, here are some observances! It includes clips from the classic black-and-white films Dead Reckoning, Gilda, In a Lonely Place, Angels with Dirty Faces and The Big Sleep. As he leaves the club (called Break O' Dawn!), he does a body popping move very similar to one at the start of the '88 short film (the part when the music begins from the jukebox). Much of the vignette is quite similar to the original, and the gunfire part appears to be taken from it. When the floodlights lights are suddenly turned on halfway through (just as the man walks shoots the door open, walks through and Michael hides behind the upper window on the roof which he has climbed onto), it looks very similar to around 2:23 in the HIStory album teaser. The blimp behind the cityscape at the end has 'MJ Air' written on - the name of his proposed This Is It ending, with a 3D plane taking off over the audience.
 
Black or white- when MJ first starts to dance, there are clips of him stepping on water but there in another scene there is no water in site! :p
 
Black or white- when MJ first starts to dance, there are clips of him stepping on water but there in another scene there is no water in site! :p

Is that from the "panther" bit at the end? I'll have to check that out when I have more time.
 
This thread is very interesting - I've never ever noticed all of these errors before! :D
 
i always thought it was HILARIOUS that the guy in the beat it video forgot all the moves!!! lol
 
In Bad, WAYYY too much time passes as Michael is walking toward the old man in the subway, in his unsuccessful attempt to rob him. I mean, if it were real time, he would've already been on the next train! LOL
 
1995 VMAs (not a short film but appears on HIStory on Film: Volume II) - At the 1995 Video Music Awards, just before the 'You Are Not Alone' segement of his medley, Michael pulls his hand out of his pocket and (what looks like) a sweet wrapper fulls out his pocket on to the stage just before he undoes his tie. This white object flies out as he says "...made this record number one...," and he looks down for a couple of seconds while he keeps taking and puts his hand back in his pocket - but just as he moves down slightly to get it, he moves back up and descides to cue the music instead! Also, he has a mucky spot on his trouser leg, so must have been snacking beforehand!

Yay, I love bloopers!

Honest to God, I've never even seen any of these before, I'm always amazed at what people notice, I'm usually dribbling too much over Michael to notice these sort of things hehe :lol:

Excellent though - such an attention to detail, I will be looking out for some myself!

I just love the '95 VMA's performance, that's my favourite of Dangerous :yes:
 
Actually, the SOULTRAIN RTT performance is a disaster. Everybody messes up in that one. Take a look at the dancers. They all made mistakes. And, actually, I think the ankle thing, was just a hoax, He never learnt the dance moves for that song. Not even on the Dangerous rehearsals. I think he got so frustrated for not being able to actually do it well enough, that he invented the ankle thing for the SOULTRAIN and took it off the tour.
 
wow... I haven't noticed none of this :lol: ... (except the VMA 95 :) ) ... thx 4 postin' ;) ...
 
Man In The Mirror - In Moonwalker, his outfits change between black and blue (although this may be deliberate).

They Don't Care About Us (Brazil) - Michael wears two different shirts in the video (red and white), which, between camera angles, both quickly change similarly during stages of being ripped from slightly at the top to almost fully. A red waistcoat also goes over his white shirt in some scenes, as well as him wearing sunglasses in a few shots. These may, however, be obvious costume changes rather than errors.
None of those are "goofs" but are interntial. MITM is obvious. How could you think that was a mistake? lol
1995 VMAs Also, he has a mucky spot on his trouser leg, so must have been snacking beforehand!
Michael makes that spot on his trousers when he slaps his leg during Dangerous.
Soul Train Awards 1993 - During 'Remember the Time' (the only time he perfomed the song live; it was rehearsed for the Dangerous World Tour but dropped) he sprained his ankle beforehand and had to sit in a chair. For the first line of the mimed performance, he opens his mouth too early (luckily this is shown from a further camera angle!) - so covers it up by wiping his hand across his face, and by the time the camera cuts to him the song is three words in, his hand has just moved away and the performance is back on track!
MJ often would cover his mouth during a concert etc when he was miming.
 
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