Continuity mistake: Clean's burial is two minutes of uninterrupted action. When they first carry him over he's on a bamboo stretcher. One of the soldiers proceeds to take the flag off of him then another puts it back on. When we see his body again a few seconds later the flag is in exactly the same spot but the stretcher underneath is gone. (02:00:45)
Continuity mistake: When Captain Willard flies in by helicopter to meet up with the PBR at the Texaco fuel depot, we see only one PBR with a flag waving in the front and a radar dome on the back of the roof. This is not the same boat that we see in the next shot in which the flag and radar dome are reversed. (00:19:25)
Continuity mistake: As Clean tries to get some fuel the sergeant says, "Eight bucks for that camera" and Captain Willard grabs him by the throat and pulls him over the desk. At first the Captain has a cigarette in his mouth than in the next shot he doesn't. (01:05:00)
Continuity mistake: In the second shot of dinner at the plantation a French boy is speaking to the people seated at the table. There's no centerpiece or flowers in the middle of the table but there is in the next shot. (02:02:50)
Continuity mistake: Captain Willard walks up to a soldier and asks him, "Where can I find the CO". At first he has his right hand on the soldier's left arm then in the next shot he's not touching him at all. (00:26:20)
Continuity mistake: Dennis Hopper walks up the steps to the bamboo cage where Captain Willard is being held and gets some water from a fountain about five feet to the right of the cage. In the next shot as he turns around the cage is right there next to him. (02:42:45)
Revealing mistake: Colonel Kurtz reaches down and catches a fly in his hand and then lets it go. If you look closely the four fingers of his right hand are clinched when he reaches down because the fly is already in his hand. (02:55:00)
Continuity mistake: In the close-up of the General when he says, "He joined the special forces.", note his collar is closed up more and they way the front of his hair is combed changes between shots. (00:14:40)
Continuity mistake: Just after Captain Willard grabs the sergeant by the throat his cigarette appears back in his mouth between shots, than disappears again in the next shot as he walks away. (01:05:40)
Continuity mistake: Dennis Hopper walks to the back of the boat and says, "I'll tell you one thing. This boat is a mess man, whoo!" As he stands in the middle of the boat note the machine guns are missing, yet in the following shot they reappear with their ammo. Later, as he moves back to the front of the boat the disappear yet again. (02:30:10)
Continuity mistake: As Colonel Kilgore calls out to the soldiers surfing in the water Captain Willard's band-aid on his right cheek appears out of nowhere for the first time in the movie. He had no band-aid on his face before this and we don't see him put one on, and there's no indication from the last time we saw his face that his scar started to bleed. (00:47:00)
Other mistake: As the woman that threw the grenade into the Medevac helicopter runs away they shoot at her from another helicopter. You can see by the puffs of smoke on the ground that the machine gun fire is not going anywhere near her, or her friend running in front of her as they fall to the ground dead. (00:44:30)
Continuity mistake: After Lance, Kilgore and his surfing buddies walk away we see three guys playing football and the one without a shirt has his hands up in the air waiting for a pass. In the next shot there are only two men and the shirtless guy is now throwing the football. (00:30:40)
Visible crew/equipment: As they get the boat ready to head for shore if you look closely at the left the screen turbulence from the engines of the camera boat can be seen in the water as it passes them. (00:24:45)
Continuity mistake: Before Captain Willard walks into General Corman's residence the front door is in the shade. In the next shot as he walks through it's lit up with sunlight from behind. (00:10:00)
Continuity mistake: Dennis Hopper says to captain Willard, "the man really likes you" as he hands him the cigarette. In the close-up look closely at Hopper's right hand, as a cut appears on his forth knuckle that wasn't there in the previous shot. (02:43:20)
Continuity mistake: As Dennis Hopper and Chef walk away Lieutenant Colby towards the severed heads when Chef says,"He's gone crazy!" note Hopper's hands move from his sides to raised in one cut. (02:33:30)
Continuity mistake: As they stop at the Playboy Bunnies' camp, two barefoot soldiers run out to meet them. When they first come out there's a red and white oil drum standing in front of their tent. In the next shot it's overturned but later when they walk back into the tent it's upright again. (01:22:55)
Continuity mistake: Captain Willard says to Chief Phillips, "how long has that kid been on his boat?" and a long green piece of fabric is dangling off the roof of the boat behind the Chief. In the next shot of the captain, it's gone. (01:19:20)
Continuity mistake: As Lance is on the top of the PBR Captain Willard says to himself, "He's close, he was real close" and they shuttle between shots of Lance and close-ups of Chief Phillips at the helm. The straw hanging down from the roof of the boat behind Chief Phillip's head is is hanging down differently in both of these shots. (02:21:05)
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