Goofs for
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) More at IMDbPro »

• Factual errors: Jeeps used in the Vietnam war did not have ignition keys.
  
  
• Continuity: When Cronauer first goes to see the Vietnamese village with Tuan, he is wearing a white shirt, but a plaid shirt in the close up when they enter the village.
  
  
• Continuity: In the bathroom, Cronauer misbuttons his shirt, but in the next shot it is fine.
  
  

• Continuity: When Adrian first meets the Lt., the Lt.'s rank insignia on his right lapel is horizontal, but in one shot it is turned vertically.
  
  
• Continuity: Records disappear from the turntables in shots immediately following ones where Adrian has cued a record for airplay.
  
  
• Factual errors: Armed Forces Radio provided music discs to its affiliates, including AFVN, on its own label 12" LP records. No commercial discs are permitted in AFRS facilities, and no 45 rpm records were ever played on an Armed Forces radio station.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Adrian Cronauer is seen singing the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". The movie is set in 1965, but this song was not released until late 1966.
  
  
• Continuity: When Hauk utters, "Who gave anyone permission to program modern music?", the clock above him reads "6:01"; Cronauer's initial rant goes on another three-and-a-half minutes, and when Hauk is shown again saying, "That is *not* what we program here!", the clock above him still reads "6:01".
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Adrian is in the restaurant, he puts in his mouth green lettuce. As the shot moves to the left, white noodles are hanging out of his mouth.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Moments after the establishing shot showing 1965, we see a large traffic intersection. One of the cars in this intersection is a Holden Kingswood, not produced until 1968.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Early on in the movie, Adrian Cronauer pretends to play a record backwards, mimicking it saying, "Freddie is the devil...Freddie is the devil". The film takes place in 1965, and backward messages on records were a generally unknown phenomenon until the Beatles famously made use of this technique a year later with the release of their single Rain, which features the first backwards lyric; "When the rain comes, they run and hide their heads." Furthermore, backward "devil" messages on records did not become an issue until a few more years down the road in the 1970s.
  
  
• Errors in geography: Though the film is supposed to be set in Vietnam, in an opening shot of a main road, the Thai Parliament Houses are clearly visible on the horizon.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Right before the restaurant explosion, you see a couple enter through the front door, but if you keep looking, you can clearly see both running right before the door closes.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In the opening scene when Garlic is driving Cronauer through the city, they pass through a major intersection. A 1971 Holden motor car is clearly visible 6 years prior to its release.
  
  
• Factual errors: US Air Force enlisted men do NOT wear a US cypher on their overseas caps. Williams is shown in every scene in which he wears 1505's (Air Force tan uniform) in an overseas cap which has the USAF enlisted US on it.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: The movie was filmed in Bangkok, Thailand, where the traffic is set on the left. In a scene of traffic in a crossing, cars are seen entering a two-lane street in clearly the wrong lane, as you see directing arrows on the tarmac facing the other way.
  
  
• Factual errors: Lt. Steven Hauk asks the men to salute him when they enter his office. While they would be required to salute in this instance, generally speaking, when indoors salutes are only rendered when reporting for duty or when serving as a guard.
  
  
• Factual errors: United Airlines never operated Boeing 707s like the one shown in the film. They chose to fly DC8s instead,
  
  
• Anachronisms: Cronauer closes his final show (in 1965) with Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World," which wasn't recorded until 1967. (Director 'Barry Levinson' was aware of this but the song was perfect for the montage scene he used it on, he decided to ignore this anachronism.)
  
  
• Anachronisms: In a scene where Adrian is being chewed out by an officer, a golf bag leaning against a wall has Ping cavity-back irons in it, which weren't available in the 1960s.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: In every close-up shot of the VU (level indicator) meters, the meter movements do not match the audio heard. In one scene, the meters are moving on an open reel tape machine and the tape isn't even playing.
  
  
• Anachronisms: When Cronauer and Trinh are in the market on their first date, the clothing items her family hold up are on plastic/PVC hangers which were not available in the 1960s.
  
  

Related Links