3rd May 2017
Continuity mistake: After Mary carries Elliott downstairs the government agents start entering her home, and in the next closeup of ET lying on the floor there's a large bath towel hanging over the side of the bathtub, but in the next shot of ET from behind the "spacesuit", there's now a small bath mat (same color as the previous towel) hanging over the side of the tub.
3rd May 2017
Continuity mistake: In the exterior front shots of Elliott's house there are some significant changes to the landscape in different shots. For instance, the two lampposts at the bottom of the driveway change to an entirely different style in some shots, and the huge garden boulders repeatedly vanish and reappear. Also, note when Michael takes off on Elliott's bike to go search for ET, the in-ground lamppost that should be beside the mailbox has vanished, but it reappears when all the government agents are setting things up outside the house.
3rd May 2017
Continuity mistake: While Elliott and ET are saying goodbye, in the original 1982 version in the shot facing Elliott, ET lifts his right hand to point his finger at Elliott's forehead and ET's finger glows (note the weird angle of ET's raised right hand), but in the next shot facing ET when he says the iconic words, "I'll be right here," it's actually ET's left hand up by Elliott's face. This was digitally corrected in the 2002 version, so that in the first shot ET lifts up his left hand.
5th Apr 2017
Continuity mistake: When Elliott's holding the Kromedge saw blade in his hands, note the position of the writing on the blade and the position of his fingers within the blade's teeth, then after he slices the index finger of his left hand there's a closeup of the blade with Elliott's blood on one of the teeth. The problem is that Elliott's index finger was actually on the blade tooth further along the blade's circumference (note the writing).
5th Apr 2017
Visible crew/equipment: After Mary and all the boys look in the shed and find tracks, when they head back to the house Tyler stops at the pizza box, and note the three distinct marks on the ground to inconspicuously signify where actors should stand while discussing the pizza. Michael stands at his curved mark, Elliott stands at his L-shape mark, and Mary's mark is in the shape of a T-mark.
5th Apr 2017
Continuity mistake: When the two government agents pull over at the bottom of the hill to cut the boys off, in the shot from inside the car we see Greg and Tyler riding their bikes over the car and zooming off, then the agent inside the car lifts his head as yet another bike lands on the car, but in the next exterior shot it's Tyler (note his black high-tops) who lands on the car's roof, knocking off the magnetic beacon light. (Elliott's conspicuously missing from these few shots).
5th Apr 2017
Visible crew/equipment: When the two government agents pull over at the bottom of the hill one of the agents remains in the vehicle, and in the shot from inside the car just as Greg rides his bike over it, the crew member's (presumably cameraman) hand can be seen behind the agent's head in the rearview mirror's reflection. (It can't be the driver's hand since it gets blocked from view by the driver's head, within the reflection).
5th Apr 2017
Continuity mistake: When Mary and the boys go to the tool shed after Elliott's encounter, as Tyler and Michael kneel down to inspect the tracks on the ground, the trash can beside Tyler is partially under the table and a roll of fencing is upright behind him. However, after Michael mentions the coyote, the trash can is now to the left of the table, the roll of fencing is lying on the ground in front of the trash can, and some long-handled tools have moved as well.
5th Apr 2017
Continuity mistake: After ET levitates the balls of modeling clay (which Gertie had been playing with) Elliott tells Michael "something scary" is happening, and when Elliott runs toward the shed the swings on the swing set are motionless, but in the next shot one of the swings is suddenly swinging back and forth, but in the next shot it's perfectly idle once again.
5th Apr 2017
Continuity mistake: While all the boys are trying to escape with ET, there are black brake levers/clamps on Michael's and Greg's bike handlebars, and brass brake levers/clamps on Tyler's and Steve's handlebars, but in some closeups this changes. For example, after Steve shouts, "Let's split up," Michael's are brass, when Tyler pulls off his balaclava his are black, and when Greg shouts, "Tell me when it's over," his are brass. Presumably bikes were switched for closeups.
5th Apr 2017
Continuity mistake: When Elliott is trying to lure ET into his room by leaving Reese's Pieces on the carpet, the red helmet is lying on the table with its white stripe facing the doorway and its opening facing the bunk-bed, but when ET reaches the doorway the helmet has turned itself around so it's facing the opposite way.
23rd Mar 2017
Other mistake: When ET launches all the bicycles into the air, first there's a closeup of Michael, then in the next closeup of Steve as they climb higher he leans back with his arms outstretched, as if he's balancing himself on his bike, and we see Steve's right hand making a fist pretending to grip his handlebar, though he's not actually gripping anything at all, it's an empty fist. (This shot has nothing to do with CGI disappearing issues).
23rd Mar 2017
Continuity mistake: When Elliott gets food for himself and ET he takes the milk container from the top shelf of the fridge, and we see an empty space beside the Skippy peanut butter where the milk had been, but after Elliott drops everything onto the floor, in his next two closeups note the milk container (it has a distinctive curved design) is back on the shelf in the same spot beside the Skippy jar.
23rd Mar 2017
Continuity mistake: When Elliott finds ET hiding behind the stuffed animals in his closet, Elliott's holding two plates in his hands while balancing two cans of Coke on his forearms, then one of the cans falls over onto the plate, but in the next shot we can see that can under the plate and it's upright.
23rd Mar 2017
Continuity mistake: When Elliott slices his finger on the Kromedge saw blade, it's the index finger of his left hand, but in the closeups of his finger he's actually holding up the index finger of his right hand.
23rd Mar 2017
Continuity mistake: After Elliott finds ET all dressed up courtesy of Gertie, when ET heads into Elliott's bedroom the large oval striped rug has its center under Elliott's bunk-bed, but when they're all in Elliott's room that rug is pulled out (which can't easily happen due to the weight of the bunk-bed) and now covers much more of the floor area, between the bunk-bed and closet.
23rd Mar 2017
Visible crew/equipment: When Michael and Elliott bring ghost ET downstairs Mary walks over to the trio with the Polaroid camera, and when she kneels down the actor's tape mark can be seen on the carpet, presumably where Mary had stood when she stopped to scream.
23rd Mar 2017
Continuity mistake: When Elliott is kneeling near the bathtub explaining to ET where the faucet water comes from, there's a can of Coke beside him, and in the wideshot it's the "Coca Cola" logo facing out, but in Elliott's closeup it's the "Coke" logo facing out.
23rd Mar 2017
Continuity mistake: While ET is lying on the bathroom floor there's a pink and burgundy striped bath rug beside him, and in some shots the burgundy edge is beside him, but in other shots the rug is turned around and positioned the opposite way with the pink edge beside ET. Additionally, the proximity of the rug to ET keeps changing during the scene. (This rug can also be seen during an earlier scene with Elliott and ET in the bathroom).
23rd Mar 2017
Visible crew/equipment: When one of the government cars drives alongside the boys on their bikes as they're nearing the bottom of the hill, in the closeup of the car the reflection of a crew member wearing a cap can be seen on the back passenger window, just as the driver speaks into his radio mic and says, "We got 'em," at the start of the shot.
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