Continuity mistake: In the first 1968 section, where Noodles rents a car and drives back to his old neighbourhood, watch the background of the wide shot as he is stopping the car. In the close-up that follows when Noodles gets out, two girls have appeared, hanging around a doorway, who were not to be seen the moment before.
Continuity mistake: When Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward are on the beach in the grass hut on the video version you clearly see the overhead boom mike swinging back and forth to face the character who is speaking at the moment. This continues through the whole scene.
Continuity mistake: When Mae and Tom persuade little Beth to go and feed the chicken again because they want to make love, the way the towel is thrown over Tom's shoulder changes between shots. (00:39:15)
Continuity mistake: Early in the film, Vladimir and Anatoly are in Anatoly's car. The car has two dice hanging from the top of the windshield, but no rearview mirror. When Anatoly pulls up behind the gas truck, the dice are now hanging from a rearview mirror. (00:07:10)
Factual error: When Jenny Hayden and Starman accidentally overshoot their destination and arrive in Las Vegas, Jenny discovers that her wallet is missing. She has no cash, no credit cards, and no identification whatsoever. The only money she has is a single quarter. Starman uses the quarter to hit the jackpot on a 25-cent slot machine, then uses the prize money to play the Horseshoe $500,000 slot machine, which he also wins. They then use the giant jackpot money to purchase a brand new Cadillac and drive it off the lot. Huge problem: In 1984 (and today), you could never collect a giant Las Vegas jackpot without several pieces of personal identification, for tax purposes. Likewise, you could never purchase and drive a brand new Cadillac off the lot without multiple pieces of identification and a financial disclosure statement (if paying cash).
Factual error: During their transatlantic boat trip, on their way to Athens, the American athletes are having fun naming various foods from back home that they already miss. One of them claims he misses chocolate chip cookies. Oops. That particular cookie didn't exist until Ruth Wakefield invented it in 1930.
Revealing mistake: When Bob Cratchit takes Tiny Tim by the town square to watch the boys play, you see many boys "sliding" on the ice. In the close-ups of the boys you can see the "ice" ripple beneath their feet, revealing it to be some sort of plastic.
Factual error: When Rob Lowe first arrives in Oxford he is driving down a street taking in the sights. Most of the sights he views are actually scattered throughout the town and not on any one street. This is especially true for Radcliffe Camera (part of the Bodlean Library) as it is in a cobblestone courtyard completely surrounded by buildings and cannot be viewed from any street.
Factual error: The scene during Lonette Mckee's rendition of Ill Wind, where coins are poured onto a glass table, appear to be from a later time period. (01:16:00)
Continuity mistake: Legionnaires are being mowed down left and right by enemy fire in a Nazi ambush. One of them falls into a road construction excavation. He falls on his back, but the close-up of his feet touching the power cable shows them facing down.
Revealing mistake: When Jake is driving his car to run down Vince, there is a quick shot just before he hits him that is obviously a dummy placed in front of the car.
Continuity mistake: When Tarzan finds the ape with 2 arrows stabbed, the blood on the side of his mouth appears/disappears randomly between shots.
Continuity mistake: The social worker takes "the brother" to stay for a while at a female friend's place. Her son, "little Earl" has a bandage on his left knee. He peels the bandage off and sets it on the floor to show "the brother alien" his injury. A medium shot shows there is no bandage on the floor. The "alien" puts his hand on the boy's knee, and heals it. The very next shot the bandage is back on the boy's knee and the scene continues.
Continuity mistake: During the Grand National, the leading horse unseats its rider at the third fence (jockey with pink and black spots), but just a few minutes later the same horse and jockey combination are back up with the pace.
Revealing mistake: Near the end, Clint Eastwood picks up a lamp in anger and throws it across the room, but there's no power cord attached to the lamp.
Factual error: Throughout the entire movie, the SBD Dauntlesses they are working on have the national insignia with the red ball in the center. This was discontinued in May 1942.
Character mistake: The ref says there's no rules before McClure fights Whiplash but she tries stopping them later.