The fuse on the bomb physically changes between shots while Kip works on it. And, in the extreme close-up of the wires being cut, just one connected wire is seen.
As Hana reads the note Almásy has written on the Christmas cracker paper - "the heart is an organ of fire" - we see that it is dated only "December 22". However, when we see Almásy originally writing the note in flashback, we see him date it "December 22nd 1938".
Hana lays on a cot, an IV in her arm, donating blood. But when she rises off the cot just as the shelling begins in the next shot, the IV is gone.
The hair Katharine twirls and pins to her head at the campfire shifts position between shots, as does her shawl.
Hana sweeps her wet hair off her forehead as she talks to Caravaggio; in the next shot, the hair is back on her forehead.
The helmets worn by the American GIs on VE day at the bridge are actually Russian military helmets.
Whether the character Müller was actually a Standartenführer or a Sturmbannführer is really irrelevant, as there were no Waffen-SS units attached to the Afrika-Korps at the time of Tobruk's surrender.
Major Muller is wearing the rank insignia of SS-Standartenführer, which is equivalent to full colonel.
In a scene in the desert the Egyptians pray and read the Quran out loud. However, the Sun is up, and all Muslim prayers at that time are silent.
In the Tobruk interrogation center, the German officer wears the shoulder boards of a major and the SS collar insignia of a full colonel.
The first time Major Muller is glimpsed, he is seen through a window from above. Actor Jürgen Prochnow had not yet arrived on set, so director of photography John Seale stood in for him during this shot. And his bluejeans are visible underneath his long military coat.
Hana has to cut her hair with a knife but, somehow, has cleanly shaved armpits. Very unlikely both for the time the film takes place and for the difficult conditions she is facing.
After Hana washes her hair she places a lamp on a table behind her, but her shadow is projected onto the wall behind the lamp.
In the first scene with the plane flying over sand dunes: the shadow of the wing on the plane, the shadow of the plane on the dunes, and the shadows cast by the dunes themselves suggest three different positions for the sun. The shadows of the dunes also change length and direction when the camera angle changes to behind the plane in the next shot.
When an Egyptian worker hits his head on the overhanging wall of the cave, the rock flexes.
When Hanna gives Fouad some olive oil he asks her if it is for his hair. He should have know it was, as oil is the traditional treatment for long hair in India.
Katharine Clifton (Scott-Thomas) explains to Count László Almásy (Fiennes), that her husband is map making in Ethiopia. The year at this point is 1939, and the country was known as Abyssinia until 1945.
American flags with 50 stars being waved by those on tanks instead of 48 in 1945.
German paratroops did not land via parachute in North Africa until late 1942. The fall of Tobruk was in summer 1942. Also, the German paratroopers are shown descending with a kit bag attached by a line to one leg. This was a British and American technique, not used by the Germans.
The registration plates on the cars in Egypt are of a layout that was not used till the 1980s. Also in 1930s a Cairo car plate would not carry more than 4 digits, not 6 as seen in the movie.
After the plane crash when Katharine has been moved to the cave, László leaves her with some supplies to hold her over until he can return with help. When Katharine is having problems with a flashlight, she smacks the light against her palm and looks into the light's reflector. The bulb shown in this shot is a halogen high-performance type lamp which was not available until 1959 (in A.C./household bulbs). These bulbs were not available for flashlight use until the late 1970's/early 1980's when longer lasting alkaline batteries were available to supply these extremely bright and power-thirsty bulbs.
The music that Hanna plays on the bomb-rigged piano does not correspond with the keys that she is actually playing.
When Almásy and Madox are walking through the market discussing the impending war, the camera's shadow can be seen clearly on two extras crossing in the close foreground.
Extras in the Cairo market are wearing burnooses (hooded robes) from Tunisia (filming location), not worn in Egypt.
When the British soldiers are discussing getting through the mountains, one says, "The Bell maps show a way," to which another replies, "Let's hope he was right." In fact Bell was Gertrude Bell, the first woman to be hired as a British military intelligence officer.
Katherine's husband has taken off to take pictures for the British Army because, "They want maps of all North Africa, That's why he is in Ethiopia." Ethiopia is located in Eastern Africa, not in North Africa.