Audio problem: During the disappearing/reappearing scene, Superman grabs Zod's neck and cries "Wrong again, Zod!" but his mouth isn't moving.
Visible crew/equipment: When the villains enter the fortress, the moving shadow of the crane used to make them fly is visible when the last villain flies towards the upper left quadrant.
Continuity mistake: When the movie begins Zod breaks the red glass and there's a brief shot of Ursa looking in fear. Her hair is longer than in the previous shot.
Revealing mistake: Right when the Metropolis fight is about to start, Superman flies to the Daily Planet and passes by a building. Check the pattern on the windows and you'll notice that the same small door on the left appears almost everywhere, revealing that a miniature was used.
Continuity mistake: When the villains are trapped in the phantom zone (filmed by Richard Donner) Zod, Non and Ursa (from left to right) are tightly pressed against a glass. When the elevator explodes and are about to be released (filmed by Richard Lester) not only are they not pressed, but neither in line, having changed positions (and looks, as already listed): Non now stands above Zod and Ursa.
Continuity mistake: In Krypton when Non breaks the guard's neck the guard presses an emergency button. In the wide angle all of his fingers are extended, but in the close-up only the index is. This changes back and forth.
Revealing mistake: The villains send cars flying through the air. This was achieved with detailed scale model cars in a scale model Metropolis. But in order to mimic the blown-away citizens they use cheap mannequins that move on some sort of conveyor belt. (01:43:50)
Revealing mistake: When the villains blow away the stuff in Metropolis, the fire hydrant falls down and reveals it wasn't fixed to the ground, a blatant prop.
Audio problem: When Ursa lifts the bus she mumbles and laughs, but her mouth is closed.
Revealing mistake: At the Fortress, when the villains and Superman play the appearing/disappearing trick, there's a shot with 4 Supermen onscreen, a special effect which was achieved with stand-ins. The one in front of Zod, and especially the one next to Lois look nothing like Christopher Reeve.
Continuity mistake: At the Fortress, when the 3 villains extend their arms to send a laser beam to Superman, there's a very brief shot on Ursa and her hair style is completely different. Very short and with her forehead very clear.
Continuity mistake: When Superman is putting the antenna back in place, watch the right of the platform with a bunch of metal parts and cables sparking. In the closeup they disappear.
Continuity mistake: The branch that Superman cuts to save Lois from drowning swaps from bright milky chocolate colour to pale dark brown depending on the shot.
Continuity mistake: In the balloon, after Luthor says "Due North", Teschmaker's arm swaps from raised to lowered.
Revealing mistake: When Luthor is about to climb up the balloon his bald cap wrinkles by his nape.
Revealing mistake: In the prison laundry, Luthor's bald cap is very noticeable, especially by his sideburns.
Continuity mistake: When Lois is cutting oranges the glass jumps from being on the right side of the table to being on the far left.
Continuity mistake: When Superman is crossing the street and a taxi crashes against him, the passers-by are not continuous between shots. Check the African American girl in a pink dress who appears randomly on every single corner of the streets around.
Revealing mistake: When the phantom zone explodes it is a cheap pencil drawing animation.
Continuity mistake: After Lois asks the Paris spokesperson about the bomb he turns around and talks to her. Then it suddenly cuts to a closeup of his face and he's now talking to the journalists that were on the left, without having turned his head or body.
Answer: Superman was well educated regarding his home planet's history. All this information was left for him by his parents at the secret installation at the North Pole.
raywest ★