Continuity mistake: At the dinner table when Edward says "Don't know if you are aware of this Josephine.", there is a yellow bowl right in front of him. The bowl keeps changing position during the shots. (00:40:05)
Continuity mistake: When Edward meets Karl after leaving Specter he walks out of the forest to the road on leaves. Even the shot looking down from Karl's point of view shows leaves all the way to the road. When the camera cuts to show down the road as they walk, only grass can be seen from the road to the edge of the screen. (00:40:50)
Continuity mistake: When Josephine turns off the radio in Edward's room there is a jar on the night table. First the handle is pointing towards the wall. In the following shots the handle points out. (00:41:00)
Continuity mistake: As the Ringmaster is preparing to sign his contract with Karl, the Mr. Soggybottom next to him shifts his hand from the top of the contract to the bottom and back. (00:51:40)
Continuity mistake: After Don is done beating Edward he grabs him by the jacket and lifts him up. First he grabs him by the chest, but when it cuts he is holding him by his arms. (01:02:45)
Continuity mistake: After Edward has received the letter from the army he gives the letter to Sandra. Then he reaches out for her shoulder and about to lay his hand on her shoulder when it cuts to him reaching out for her shoulder again. (01:04:50)
Continuity mistake: When the Korean soldiers do their kung-fu bit they end in a pose shoulder-to-shoulder, but the next shot shows them at least a foot or two apart. (01:10:55)
Continuity mistake: When Edward Bloom goes into the tent with the Korean officers, he pulls the string on the lamp closest to the tent door, and it turns off the lights in the tent. When he turns the light back on, the power string is now on the lamp in the middle of the tent. (01:11:05)
Continuity mistake: When Edward meets Norther in the bank they shake hands twice. (01:20:25)
Continuity mistake: At the bank when Edward and Norther are about to rob it, Norther says "My associate's gonna handle the vault." At that time Edward has passed a pole. When it cuts, Edward starts walking and passes the pole again. (01:21:20)
Continuity mistake: While robbing the bank, Norther pulls out a drawer which falls to the floor, you can see some notes on the counter in front of him. When it cuts from the other side of the counter and Norther sticking his head up the notes are gone. Then they reappear again. (01:21:45)
Continuity mistake: When Bloom first goes to see Jenny about buying her house, the door is rhombus-shaped (as to fit with the slanting house), but when Bloom rips the door off, it lands on the floor as a regular rectangle. (01:36:35 - 01:39:05)
Continuity mistake: As Will sleeps beside his unconscious father in the hospital, some papers are visible on his lap. In the next shot, he wakes to tend to his suddenly conscious father, and the papers disappear. No sound suggests they fell to the floor, Will makes no movements to account for them being on his lap, and in later shots, they are missing from the scene altogether. (01:48:50 - 01:49:45)
Continuity mistake: When Edward is walking through the forest and the trees grab him the key he is wearing falls off his neck, but in the next couple shots you can still see it hanging on his neck.
Continuity mistake: When the house is burning we can see flames coming out of the window. However when Edward comes out of the house with the dog, we can see the window is intact.
Continuity mistake: When Will brings the canned drink to his father, the cushion at the foot of the bed keeps changing back and forth from smooth to wrinkled.
Chosen answer: Deregulation of the U. S. savings & loan industry in the early 1980's greatly reduced the restrictions on which federally-chartered S&Ls could invest their money. Since the depositors' money was insured by the federal government, the S&Ls had no incentives to minimize risk. This resulted in a major political scandal by the end of the decade, to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars being lost through questionable investments, with taxpayers picking up the tab. Many of the most egregious violators were based in Sun Belt states, including Texas. The fashions do appear to be a bit out of date, however.