Continuity mistake: When the kids and the mother go outside to see what scared Elliot, ET's footprints on the sand are smudged. When the shot changes they're neatly marked.
Revealing mistake: During the scene in the woods with the communication machine, Elliot tells E.T. that they need to go. You see the machine still working at a regular interval because a rope is pulling it. The shot pans to the left a touch and the rope stops moving, as if the person pulling it realises it's no longer in the shot.
Continuity mistake: The weather during the end chase changes three times. When they first leave it is full on sunny. When they arrive at the playground it is overcast. The next scene it's sunny again.
Other mistake: When Elliot's mother is reading to Gertie, there is a scene looking into the closet and we see her shadow as she is reading. Why don't we see Gertie's shadow? When we see them through the closet door they're sitting next to each other. We should see both.
Other mistake: When the kids pedal away from the FBI and turn towards the homes under construction, skidmarks from previous takes are visible before the FBI cars arrive.
Continuity mistake: When Elliot shows up behind the fridge his mom kneels down and puts her head on his chest. From the opposite angle she is standing taller, with her head by his right elbow.
Continuity mistake: When the movie starts and ET is about to arrive to his spaceship with the cops behind, the scenes involving ET and the cops are filled with smoke, the ones with the spaceship are smoke clear. This swaps back and forth.
Revealing mistake: When the boys' bicycles lift off they cast no shadow on the police cars nor on the road below.
Continuity mistake: When the movie ends and the spaceship takes off, all the people in the forest suddenly disappear.
Continuity mistake: When Elliot says goodbye to dead ET, his robe swaps from open to closed around the neck.
Other mistake: Whatever E.T. feels or things happen to him, Elliot experiences them too, but when Mary takes a photo on Halloween, only he faints and Elliot doesn't, despite their mental link.
Suggested correction: E.T. doesn't faint. He is just startled and stumbles and falls over backwards.
Continuity mistake: When ET's spaceship takes off and starts flying, the sky is red, a shot later it's blue.
Continuity mistake: At the end, ET's finger glows and he says "I'll be right here" but in the immediate opposite angle the finger's not glowing.
Continuity mistake: When Gertie first meets ET his neck is either stretched or not depending on the angle.
Continuity mistake: Elliot runs the curtain in the van where his brother is at the wheel. He grabs the curtain with his right hand, but in the next shot it has swapped to the left, and the right one is grabbing the lower part of the curtain.
Continuity mistake: When Gertie enters Elliot's room and sees ET for the first time, her doll switches around between shots.
Continuity mistake: While the van is escaping from the bad guys with the plastic tube attached to it, from the outside angles there are houses to the right, but from then shots inside the van there are hills. This changes back and forth.
Continuity mistake: During the bicycle chase, when the cops stop chasing the kids, they pedal next to a dark brown house. In the close-up angle they swerve next to the house, but in the next angle they are pedaling several meters away from the house.
Continuity mistake: During the bicycle chase, when a police car is about to swerve towards the hills, watch the kids in the background: They're seen approaching the cops, but in the next angle they're meters behind, repeating the previous movements.
