Continuity mistake: While breaking down the bathroom door with the axe, Jack repeatedly strikes and damages the right hand panel, but as he turns away from the door (when he hears the snow-cat) both left and right panels have been damaged.
Continuity mistake: At the beginning when Danny is talking to his Mom and eating a sandwich, the sandwich gets about 5 bites smaller in a split second. (00:04:45)
Revealing mistake: In the first scene, when Nicholson is driving to the Overlook, the shadow of a helicopter can be seen at the bottom right. This is only visible in the un-matted VHS print and fullscreen DVD. (00:01:05)
Continuity mistake: When Danny is playing alone in the corridor, with his toy cars and trucks, in the overhead shot, the little vehicles are set up on the orange and brown pattern, as the ball roles to him down the center brown path in the carpet's sextagon pattern. However, in Danny's close-up, when the ball is in front of him, all the little toy vehicles are now set up (still the same way) on the opposite side of the carpet's distinct pattern, as he also faces the opposite way. This mistake has absolutely nothing to do with the ghosts of The Overlook moving the ball.
Continuity mistake: As Danny is writing 'redrum' on the bathroom door, the lampshade on the nightstand light is askew. A moment later, when Jack is knocking down the door with the axe, the lampshade has somehow straightened itself out. (01:32:40)
Suggested correction: This along with other subtle movements and the microscopic misplacement of everything inside the Overlook is meant to snap back to its former or appear "off" for no reason other than it gives the viewer an uncomfortable and uneasy feeling.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Jack is telling Danny he would never hurt him or his mother, towards the end when the camera is facing Danny, you can't see Jack's right hand and can assume that he's leaning it on the bed; but when the camera moves back to Jack's face it is now around Danny's shoulder.
Continuity mistake: After Jack kills Halloran, there is blood on the blade of the axe, including the next couple of scenes chasing after Danny. However, when they get into the maze, the axe blade is bright and shiny with no traces of blood.
Revealing mistake: In the shot just before when Jack finishes axing the bathroom door, one of the broken pieces of wood is resting against the camera.
Trivia: At various points in the film, Jack Nicholson flicks his eyes to the camera, often only for a few frames, frequently hard to catch. It's deliberate - in one clip of behind the scenes footage Kubrick lies under him while setting up a scene, and specifically tells him to look down to the camera when filming. But there's no specific answer as to why - genre-defying, or to make the audience feel more threatened, or to make the viewers feel like the ghosts he sees. Hard to unsee though.
