Continuity mistake: Widescreen version: In the trash compactor, in the scene where Han says, "One thing's for sure, we're all going to be a lot thinner," the pole used to stop the compactor is leaning on the wall in different angles between the wide shot and the close-ups.
Other mistake: Drewe Henley, who plays Red leader, is misidentified in the credits as "Drewe Hemley." (01:57:50)
Continuity mistake: As R2-D2 is rolling through the canyon, he's on a smooth part of the land. He then stops and looks around. When he starts moving again, the terrain has changed and is now full of rocks and pebbles. (00:11:20)
Continuity mistake: When R2D2 and C3PO escape from the Blockade runner, the rate at which the escape pod turns when seen from the outside does not correspond with what we see from inside.
Continuity mistake: Special Edition: When Han is talking to Jabba the Hutt, when Jabba begins to says, "What if everyone who smuggled for me dropped their cargo at the first sign of an Imperial starship?", Chewbacca can be seen walking behind them. In the next shot, he is suddenly walking next to a wall that was nowhere near him in the previous shot. In the following shot, he is back to his original position. (00:51:00)
Continuity mistake: When a confrontional alien thug threatens Luke and Ben interferes, the thug has his hand on Luke's upper arm. In the next shot, his hand is on Luke's shoulder. (00:45:00)
Continuity mistake: When Han is about to fire his blaster at the door of the garbage compactor, Chewie moves away from the door. In the next shot, he is back in his previous position, and moves away from the door again. (01:16:10)
Factual error: After the Death Star, when TIE fighters are attacking the Millennium Falcon, each time one explodes at high speed, the debris and the fire does not keep moving.
Continuity mistake: When Han and Leia try to use a pole to stop the trash compactor, Leia says, "Help me." Two shots later, Han can be seen lifting the pole. In the next shot, Leia is suddenly lifting it with him, and Han is holding the pole differently. (01:18:40)
Revealing mistake: When Wedge leaves the Death Star trench, the green screen is visible behind him for a few frames. (01:54:38)
Continuity mistake: After Owen buys C-3PO from the Jawas, Luke says, "All Right. Come on." and R2-D2 begins to turn his head/dome. In the next shot, his head is still turning, but his dome is in a different position from the previous shot, evident from the droid's features. (00:17:45)
Visible crew/equipment: When Luke and Leia are stuck on the bridge, just before the stormtroopers arrive on the opposite platform Luke remembers the cable and sees the thruster like things over the top of him and Leia, when we get a view of them a small shadow bobs up and down at the centre bottom of the screen.
Continuity mistake: After the droids leave the control room of the Death Star, there's a close-up of Luke in the trash compactor, pushing against some garbage. In the next shot, he is pushing against the wall. (01:19:45)
Continuity mistake: When the Millennium Falcon escapes from the Death Star, each time we see Chewbacca, the sky behind him is dark grey with a few stars rather than black and and full of stars. Some shots later, the sky is normal.
Revealing mistake: In the Death Star, when Chewbacca and Han arrive in the hangar, the shadow of Luke and Leia waiting for their signal is visible.
Revealing mistake: Many times during the film, when someone shoots with a blaster, the shot does not come from the gun. A good example is in the detention block of the Death Star. Luke shoots and the laser comes from 10 centimeters over the gun. Special edition.
Continuity mistake: When the garbage compactor is almost completely closed, Chewie holds the walls with his weapon. In the next shot, he is standing by the wall crying and in the other shot, he is holding the walls again.
Revealing mistake: For this one, you will need a letterbox copy that is not the special edition. In the final award scene, there is a long shot of Luke, Han, and Chewie walking through rows and rows of Rebel Troopers. If you look quickly, the troopers on both ends of the screen are cardboard cutouts. They are cropped off in the Pan and Scan version, and digitised in the special edition, so it has to be the right copy to see this mistake.
Continuity mistake: After Darth Vader kills Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke shouts "No!" and then there is a gunfight with stormtroopers. During this, R2-D2 is going up the ramp into the Millennium Falcon. But a few shots later, when Han Solo says "Come on!", you can see R2-D2 at the bottom of the ramp and he's going back into the Falcon for a second time.
Revealing mistake: When the stormtroopers stun Leia, if you watch carefully, you can see that she begins to fall before the beam touches her.
Answer: Presumably because the monster has pulled him through the lair of whatever they are standing on into whatever space the rest of the body of the monster lives in. Obviously, the monster doesn't live in the part of the part of the compactor that does the compacting or it would be already compacted.
Myridon