Visible crew/equipment: When Daryl wants to turn himself in, crew members are visible in the scene.
Continuity mistake: During the beginning, the sky changes numerous times. In some shots it's just plain blue sky. In others it's full on cloudy. It goes back to sunny when the kids leave the school. Also you can tell some shots were filmed later in the day. Use the sun angle to see this.
Revealing mistake: When Col. Tanner is on top of the Russian tank, he is firing his pistol into it. After a few shots, you can see that the slide on his gun locks back, showing that the gun is empty. Tanner does not reload, but is none the less able to keep shooting afterwards. (01:11:25)
Continuity mistake: In the beginning after the teacher is shot the Russian shoots into the classroom. During the first view you see all of the students ducking and right before they cut to the next shot there isn't a dead kid on the window but when they come back to that shot there is.
Continuity mistake: The license plate on Daryl's (the mayor's son) shot-up Pontiac is J5-40T3. In the next scene, the Chevy with the bumper sticker has the same license plate.
Factual error: The Russians use a beeping "radio direction finder" to find the partisans by detecting a bug swallowed by the Mayor's son. In closeups the "direction finder" is seen to be an impedance meter (used for measuring AC resistance) - it's labeled "X=(down arrow) x (up arrow)(omega)". X is the standard abbreviation for impedance, omega means "ohms" (the unit of impedance/resistance), so the label says "impedance is lower dial times upper dial, in ohms". There is a piece of spiral twisted wire across the terminals of the impedance meter which would be useless for radio direction finding. (01:19:15)
Factual error: When the Russian tank rolls up to the two gas pumps, the crew have a choice of regular gasoline (as indicated on the pump), or Good Gulf (a premium gasoline). And in fact one of the tankers tells the attendant, "Gasoline." The trouble is, all Soviet tanks, from the T-34 up through the T-80, have diesel engines for safety reasons. (00:46:55)
Suggested correction: Most variants of the T-80 use a Gas Turbine engine, which can use basically any flammable liquid.
Factual error: In the opening scene of the movie, the Soviet paratroopers are seen wearing smooth, black, leather parachute helmets. But Soviet Paratroopers have always worn tan, cloth parachute helmets with ridges that resembled tanker helmets. (00:05:00)
Suggested correction: Actually no, The Soviet airborne would have had leather helmets when they jumped in circa 1984.
Revealing mistake: In the beginning of the movie, when the teacher is shot, the impacts on his chest are out of sync with the actual gunfire. First, we see the soldier start shooting, but he fires several shots at point blank range before the bulletholes and blood appear on the teacher. Also, as the angle changes, the teacher falls backwards with more impacts appearing on his chest. The problem is, the soldier has already stopped shooting, and there is no other gunfire to be heard. (00:05:25)
Factual error: When the Soviet airborne troops first drop into Calumet in the first few scenes of the movie they are using US Army issue parachutes - MC1-1B. (00:04:45)
Revealing mistake: Early in the film, when the boys shoot the deer - there is no actual shot that comes out of the shotgun. He pulls the gun back, simulating a shot, and the Sound FX is perfectly placed, but there is no shot coming out of that gun.
Visible crew/equipment: In the scene immediately after the Cuban leader allows Swayze to leave, as he carries the dying Sheen, Swayze is walking in a park towards a park bench. Watch closely on the left at the start of the scene and you can see the shadow of the camera crew. Very visible.
Continuity mistake: When the small band of troops comes up the mountain to take pictures and read the sign, one of them snaps a photo of the view. We see a static shot of what he is looking at, trees covered in snow and fog in the valley. Later however, we see the same view. There is no snow on the trees and no fog down below.
Continuity mistake: After the pilot's funeral, Matt walks through some grass to talk to Jed. In all of the previous shots and most of those after, there is snow on the ground because it's January. In this particular shot however, there is no snow, not even on the mountains behind them.
Visible crew/equipment: The two antagonists are talking about the Wolverines while standing in the street in town. This is moments before the building explosion goes off that Jennifer Grey planted. On the bottom of the frame, the shadow of the camera is visible.
Continuity mistake: The scene with two of the main antagonists talking in town about the Wolverines and Vietnam starts in the shade. Right before the explosion, the two men are now standing in sunlight.
Continuity mistake: When Jed shoots Colonel Strelnikov near the end of the movie, the Colonel drops his gun but is holding it in the next shot.
Continuity mistake: After the helicopter attack where Toni and Robert are killed, the Russian helicopters land about forty feet apart, the officers get out and walk to meet each other at the halfway point. For the rest of the scene, they are right next to one of the helicopters. (01:38:30)
