In one of the battles, Hamish's father's hand is chopped off by a battle axe. In later scenes we see him with both hands.
In the first battle scene, there is no army behind the charging cavalry.
When the English spy tries to kill Wallace, and you realize the crazy Irishman is a friend, you see the spy drop his sword, as soon as he is hit by the Irishman's weapon, but as soon as he hits the ground dead, the sword is back in his hand.
The body that falls from the rafters is wearing undergarments as it falls, but is naked when it is on the table.
At the battle of Stirling it shows Wallace beginning the charge using a war hammer, the same one he used to spike the English cavalryman through the helmet with. The hammers were small and thin with a pickaxe head. It then cuts to the English overseeing the battle, then cuts back to Wallace charging with no sword in hand; he begins the charge and draws his Claymore. The movie cuts to another English scene again, and upon returning to Wallace charging into battle he has his sword nearly out. After another English vantage point he is brandishing the war hammer again and running from a side view. After one last English view, Wallace's Claymore is out and raised above his ahead as he and his men crash into the opposing army.
The film shows King Edward I (the Longshanks) dying just before Wallace was beheaded. Wallace was executed on August 23, 1305. King Edward I died on July 7, 1307, while leading another invasion of Scotland.
The film depicts William Wallace as having an affair with Isabella, the wife of Edward II, and implies that he fathered her child, the future King Edward III of England. In reality, Isabella was only two years old at the time the film depicts the affair happening. She would not marry Edward until three years after Wallace's death and her son, the future king, was not born until seven years after that.
Wallace and many other Scottish characters ride horses while dressed in kilts. Even in times and places where the kilt was actually worn (it wasn't worn anywhere in Scotland in Wallace's time, and at no time in history was it worn in Wallace's part of Scotland), men who expected to ride anywhere wore trews, not kilts, for the very good reason that it would have been an extremely painful and impractical experience; no underwear was ever worn under the kilt. Kilts were not invented until the 16th century, more than 200 years after the events in this film.
In reality most of the Irish fought against Wallace.
Primae noctis has never been used in the entire history of the British Isles.
Irish whiskey was common at the beginning of the 14th century and had been around for about 200 years, so it's unlikely the Scots would have had a problem getting any. When some of the village men are about to tend to old Campbell's arrow wound with the aid of a jug of spirits, Campbell says, "It seems like a waste of good whiskey." However, the production of "uisge beatha" did not begin in Scotland until about 200 years later.
English in the 13th century was drastically different from modern English. The characters in the movie, however, speak modern English, which naturally includes a huge amount of vocabulary not used in Wallace's time. This is clearly an artistic decision, not a mistake. Think of it as a "translation" of what they were "really" saying.
As Murron tries to escape on the horse we can see the blood spatter all around her mouth prior to being struck by the staff (and knocked from the horse).
In the events preceding her escape, she bit a chunk of flesh from the cheek of one of the Englishmen who was attempting to rape her. This is where the blood came from.
This is neither a biopic nor a historical documentary but is, rather, a romantic fiction inspired by true events. Many of the "real" characters and events have been deliberately re-interpreted to suit the story, as have some details of costume and custom. Despite this, both Randall Wallace (writer) and Mel Gibson (director / star) consistently touted this film as "history" and "historical fact" when it was released.
During the last battle, two soldiers just stop fighting and laugh at what is going on.
When the wives, mothers, children are trying to find their dead and wounded men, there is a shot of a girl who is obviously laughing and tries to cover her face with her hand.
The "thistle bloom" that young Murron gave to young William at the funeral was clearly a silk flower--no surprise then that when William produced it many years later to show Murron that it was still bright (and silky shiny) purple and green, rather than dull and crumbly.
During the Battle of Stirling's mooning scene, you can clearly see blood flowing from a soldier's behind before he is hit with the arrow.
When we first see Edinburgh, where Robert the Bruce welcomes the council of nobles, a stable boy in a red tunic is standing behind Bruce, Mornay and Craig. The scene takes place in 1296. When Wallace is captured in 1305--nine years later--we see the same boy in the same tunic, and he hasn't aged.
The word 'Fu
The word 'Fu**'. which wasn't used until many years later is heard in the film.
The word 'Fu**'. which wasn't used until many years later is heard in the film.
During the Battle of Falkirk, Wallce (in the movie) waves towards Lochland & Mornay to use their cavalry. A few seconds before he does so, a soldier is attacked & killed. If you use slow motion, that solider is played by none other than the actor Angus Macfayden (aka Robert the Bruce).
In the first battle an extra is messing about with a sword unaware that the cameras are rolling.
When Wallace's uncle Argyle arrives at the funeral, they later are eating and he asks if the priest gave a poetic benediction. Wallace says it was in Latin, to which the uncle replies, "you don't speak Latin?" His response should have been "you don't understand Latin?"
The fruit thrown at Wallace as he is being led to his execution includes tomatoes. The tomato was introduced to Europe from the Americas in the early 16th century, over 200 years after Wallace's death.
After the defeat of his cavalry at the Battle of Stirling, the English commander orders his "infantry" to advance. Infantry as a word was unknown anywhere in Europe in the 13th century. The term arose in 16th-century Spain, where royal princes--or "Infantes"--were given military commands, and their men became known as "Infantería". The term the commander should have used was "Foot."
When the Magistrate is rolling down the hill, not only can you see his blue jeans through the chain mail, but a back brace to protect him as he falls.
Wallace is asked to kiss the royal ensign during his torture, but this is a rose. Edward I was a Plantagenet king who used the Fleur de Lys as their emblem. It was not until the Tudors, nearly 200 years later, that the rose was used as a royal ensign.
The use of clan tartans and any organized rules for kilts and patterns was a Victorian invention, much later than the time of the movie.
A man is playing the Highland Pipes at William's father's funeral, but they sound like Uillean Pipes. This was a deliberate artistic decision because "they sounded better".
During the rock throwing contest, Hamish says he can crush Wallace "like a worm". When we pan back to Wallace, a man wearing a baseball hat walks into left side of screen.
In the dungeon, when the Princess visits William, a camera can be seen in the background by the door to the cell.
When Wallace is first pulled up during the hanging scene, the rope going to his safety harness can be seen under the back of his shirt.
When the horses are charging right before they jump over a little mound of earth, before they strike the long spikes of the Wallace's soldiers, you can see a car behind the horses after they jump.
When the English soldier interrupts the wedding, some sort of box on top of a tripod it visible on the left side, with blue tarp on it.
The landscape in the opening credits and early scenes is the Western Highlands (specifically Glen Nevis) which look utterly unlike the Western Lowlands where Wallace grew up. Wallace never visited the Western Highlands.
The last 45 minutes of the film (from the Battle of Falkirk to the Battle of Bannockburn) take place over a period of 16 years, yet none of the characters appear to have aged at all.
Isabella of France and her retinue are shown speaking French, while King Edward and everyone at the English court speak English. In fact, they all would have spoken the same language: French. Edward's native language was also French. English would not become the court language in England for another 100 years.
William Wallace was not a mere commoner. His family had a minor nobility and he owned his own land.
The film's narrator, Robert the Bruce, describes himself as the 17th person successively named Robert Bruce and the 17th Earl of Bruce. In reality, Robert the Bruce was the 7th Robert Bruce and the 7th Lord of Annandale.
Wallace uses incorrect Latin when he says "ego numquam pronunciare mendacium". His use of the infinitive form "pronunciare" makes no sense. He should have used the simple first person singular: "ego numquam pronuncio mendacium". This is a very basic mistake that someone as well-educated as Wallace should not have made.
Isabella appears to not understand the term, Prima Nocta, even though she is shown later to understand Latin. However, she can translate the Latin words of 'first' and 'night' without understanding the meaning of the phrase as a whole.