Continuity mistake: In the first shot of them having dinner at the French Plantation a Vietnamese waiter speaks to the woman at the right of the table. In the next shot he's speaking to the man sitting next to her. (02:02:40)
Continuity mistake: Just as the rocket attack starts on the boat Chef is reading his mail and says, "hey Lance ". Look closely at the bullets on the machine gun right behind him, they're all draped to the left of the gun, no one has touched them but in a previous shot they were draped to the right the gun. The M-16 has also been moved. (01:51:40)
Continuity mistake: Chef says to Captain Willard, "I thought you were going in to blow up a bridge or some railroad tracks or something" and he has something strapped around his waist. He never touches it but ten seconds later when we see him again it's strapped across the middle of his chest. (02:24:30)
Continuity mistake: As they pull Colonel Kilgore's surfboard into the boat it's sitting sideways on the railing of the boat. Then in the next shot the tail fin is back in the water. (00:51:30)
Continuity mistake: On the boat while Captain Willard reads Kurtz' file Clean starts making noise by tapping his drumsticks. This annoys the captain and as he gets up to confront him we see, at the right of the screen, the helmet that Clean is drumming on. In the next shot the helmet and its strap have been moved around the metal pole that holds up the roof. (01:19:05)
Continuity mistake: Colonel Kurtz sits reading articles from Time magazine facing the captain and the sun is behind him shining right into the doorway. When we first see Captain Willard locked up in this room he's facing Kurtz and the beams of sunlight are coming in from his left, which is 180 degrees in the opposite direction from the shots of the colonel. (02:48:30)
Continuity mistake: Captain Willard walks over to Colonel Kurtz' typewriter and sees his manuscript laying there. As he first looks down at the manuscript it's totally in the dark but in the next shot as he thumbs through it it's in the light. (03:10:55 - 03:13:20)
Continuity mistake: As the captain smokes his cigarette Dennis Hopper says " but he's got something in mind for you, aren't you curious about that". The bloodstain on the bamboo pole to the left of the captain disappears between shots. (02:43:25)
Continuity mistake: Hubert says to Captain Willard, "We took the Vietnamese, work with them, make something" and the guy sitting on the right of Roxanne who got up and left several shots ago is back. (02:12:15)
Continuity mistake: When the soldiers carry Clean's body to it's grave his head and feet are not covered. The next time we see him they are. The cords tied around his body are also in a different position. (02:00:35)
Continuity mistake: There are four shots of the fighters that drop the napalm. The first time we see the jets there's only three of them and the part of the nose in front of the cockpit is painted black. The second time we see them there are five planes, the third time we see them there are four without black paint and the last time we see them there are three. (00:47:55 - 00:48:45)
Continuity mistake: On the boat after leaving Kilgore Chef lights up a joint and hands it to Lance who holds it between his thumb and index finger. In the next shot it's between his 1st and 2nd fingers as he offers it to the Captain. (00:52:25)
Continuity mistake: As the men walk on the shore looking for Colonel Kilgore there's a field behind them across the bay. There's only a tank there but in the previous shot as they landed there were four helicopters along with the tank. (00:25:30)
Continuity mistake: When Colonel Kilgore leans down to give the VC soldier a drink from the canteen watch closely as the roses on the rosebush to the left of the injured soldier disappear and then reappear between shots. (00:29:25)
Continuity mistake: Two other patrol boats pass them on the river going the other way and Chief Phillips yells over the megaphone "is that you Lazaro?". The guy whose pants fall down has a cigarette in his mouth, and his pants are down further in the front as the boats approach. In the next shot after they pass by, he has no cigarette in his mouth. (01:16:20)
Continuity mistake: The PBR's roof canvas is damaged by fire after passing another PBR. Later, Chef and Lance repair it with palm fronds. When departing the Do Loung bridge, the roof canvas appears undamaged.
Continuity mistake: In the wide shot when Kilgore throws the megaphone in the air all the smoke canisters that throughout the scene were blowing behind him are now gone.
Continuity mistake: Colonel Kilgore walks away from his helicopter saying, "Body cards, bring my body cards." Behind him is a radioman and an antenna that is kinked at a 45 degree angle. Two shots later the antenna is standing straight up without adjustment. (00:27:10)
Continuity mistake: When Captain Willard punches the mirror with his right fist, he bloodies it up considerably. Later in the scene when the soldiers come and throw him into the shower, we see a close-up of his right hand without any cuts or blood. (00:09:15)
Continuity mistake: Just before the tiger attacks them there's a close-up of Captain Willard's face with a large leaf in front of him to his right. As the tiger lunges he runs several feet to his left. He gets out of the way by moving, but the next shot as he fires his rifle he's back in the same spot again. (00:58:50)
Answer: It should be noted that "transmutation" is a word Coppola has used to describe the film making process. Https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LFTQcwgq4CY.
Bishop73