Visible crew/equipment: When Michael Caine leaves the Last Chance Saloon at night and is walking along a sidewalk in town, he looks inside one of the store windows to see something moving under an old cloth. As he looks closer to the window, suddenly a hand jumps out from under the cloth and crashes through the store front window from the inside and grabs Michael Caine's throat. What is so laughable is that the crew or extra who is putting his hand through the breakable glass to get at Michael Caine's throat fails to "hide" his entire arm from view and what is supposed to be a severed hand is not only the hand but the entire arm attached.
Revealing mistake: In the letter to Mike Gallagher attached to the newspaper, subscription is misspelled. Sally Field is a reporter, so she should have caught that. (01:19:43)
Factual error: Ragtime is set in 1906. Yet a 1915 Model T figures prominently in the plot.
Continuity mistake: 1981 film: Near the end, John Heard is riding a white horse. He has his left arm missing during the whole movie, but in one scene his right arm is missing instead as he is dashing through the woods. When he comes out of the woods it is correct again.
Visible crew/equipment: When Anne and Tyler break into the morgue, the shadow of the camera can be seen on the wall outside.
Continuity mistake: When Jeremy Irons goes out on the breakwater to talk to Meryl Streep his umbrella is in his right hand. When the scene shifts his umbrella is in his left hand. (00:01:00 - 00:04:00)
Revealing mistake: When John Jaffrey is lying dead in front of his medicine cabinet, he is still breathing.
Continuity mistake: When Owen shoves the hamburger back into his father, it falls on the floor right where the father is. When the father stands up to leave the room, the hamburger is now a few feet away from where it should have originally landed.
Revealing mistake: When the photographer is shot by Thana, his blood can be seen being thrown from offscreen. (00:36:54)