10 Mistakes Directors Hoped You'd Forget By The End Of The Movie

Sgt. Elias' (Willem Dafoe) death in Oliver Stone's war epic Platoon is one of the most unforgettable demises in cinema history, as the mortally wounded Elias is shot to death by a fleet of North Vietnamese soldiers.

Yet despite Willem Dafoe reacting to being shot, we don't ever see any bullets actually impact upon his body, because the squibs attached to his clothing malfunctioned and didn't detonate.

Watch closely and you can even see Dafoe clenching the squib detonator in his left hand while recoiling as though the squibs had gone off.

Ultimately Stone hedged his bets that audiences would be so wrapped up in the drama and emotion of the scene that they wouldn't process this obvious mistake.

Considering that Platoon won both Best Picture and Best Director Oscars - as well as a Best Supporting Actor nod for Dafoe - he was clearly right.