Continuity mistake: In the original 1980 version, in the first wideshot of Darth Vader's Star Destroyer, the light of a Star Destroyer can be seen on the right side just flying through space. This is fixed in the 2004 DVD release.
Continuity mistake: When one of the stormtroopers unties Han Solo before he is put into the carbonite, watch his wardrobe - he has a disappearing / reappearing jacket on. This is fixed to an extent on the DVD - the jacket is now lightened to almost match his shirt, but it's still shiny like leather. (01:32:05)
Suggested correction: It just looks like a jacket because it's a shadow.
Continuity mistake: After Luke says to Yoda, "You want the impossible," Yoda's position jumps from the ground to a rocky boulder, where he then lifts Luke's X-Wing fighter from the swamp. (01:11:30 - 01:13:05)
Continuity mistake: After Boba Fett's ship, Slave 1, takes off, there's a close-up of Leia's face. In the background, Lando can be seen standing erect, putting his hands on his waist. In the next shot, he's crouching, with his hands in front of him. (01:39:25)
Continuity mistake: When Han, Leia and Lando are walking down the corridor to the room with 'refreshments' (aka Darth Vader), Han and Lando keep switching sides. (01:27:55)
Continuity mistake: Near the end of the film, when the Millennium Falcon is trying to get away from Vader, there's the scene in which Vader asks the admiral if he disabled the hyperdrive on the Falcon. This scene is backwards, as you can tell by the insignia on the admiral's chest. Normally it should be on the left side of the chest, but in this scene, it is on the right side of his chest. This was fixed on the DVD re-release. (01:57:10)
Continuity mistake: When the AT-AT that Luke destroyed with a thermal detonator falls over, Luke is nowhere to be seen, even though he should be visible, judging from his position in the previous shot. (As noted in another mistake, the AT-AT is suddenly further away from him after he falls to the ground, but he is still to close to be out of shot when it falls over.). (00:31:45)
Continuity mistake: When Leia and Lando are holding off the stormtroopers while Chewbacca and the droids escape into the Millennium Falcon, a stormtrooper comes running through the doorway. You can see the burn mark on his armour before Lando shoots him. When the trooper is shot, another trooper comes running through the door, also with a burn mark on his armour. Then Leia shoots another (or perhaps the same) trooper, and the burn mark is once again there before the trooper is hit. (01:44:20)
Continuity mistake: After Luke crashes during the battle on Hoth , the AT-AT is far away from him and is moving rather slowly. A few shots later, the AT-AT stomps on his snowspeeder, but it was too far away from him in the previous shots to reach it that quickly. (00:29:55)
Continuity mistake: When Luke is doing a handstand and has the vision of Han and Leia, in the last close-up of him upside-down, his elbows are bent, but in the next shot, his arms are fully extended. (01:14:05)
Continuity mistake: When Vader and Luke are duelling on the catwalk over the chasm, Luke lies on his back after he falls. In the first shot, he is lying in front of the steps leading to the round part of the platform, but when he rolls sideways a few seconds later, he is lying on that part of the platform. (01:50:05)
Continuity mistake: When Han first walks into the command center on Hoth, there's a shot of Leia looking at him. The shot has been flipped. This can be seen, for example, from that the men on either side of her have switched sides. (00:04:50)
Continuity mistake: After Vader cuts through the poles at the end of the duel, the burn marks keep changing size and appearance between shots. (01:50:25)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the movie when the Millennium Falcon is escaping from the TIE fighters we see some going after the Falcon then we see a shot of Vader looking at it - there are now no TIE fighters. They had no time to escape away. (01:57:45)
Suggested correction: Actually, the TIE fighters are still there. They're just too small to see.
Continuity mistake: After Luke's hand gets cut off, in the wide shot where he first comes to a stop after going down the tunnel, you can see his hand. (01:47:55)
Continuity mistake: When Leia is briefing the Rebel pilots, some of the men behind her change position between shots. (00:24:00)
Continuity mistake: When Ben appears to the injured Luke (on Hoth), Luke is reaching out with his left hand calling, "Ben. Ben." As Han appears, Luke is found with his right arm reaching out. (00:13:35)
Continuity mistake: After Han is frozen in carbonite, the outline of his shirt indicates that he is wearing a different shirt from when he was frozen. It isn't the shirt he's wearing after being unfrozen in "Return of the Jedi", it looks more like the shirt he was wearing in "Star Wars". (01:36:00 - 01:37:10)
Continuity mistake: Widescreen version: When Leia, Han, Chewbacca and C-3PO are first walking through Cloud City, as Han says to Lando, "You sound like a businessman", Chewbacca is walking behind Leia. In the next shot, he is ahead of her, and then seems to walk to the side to wait for her. In the following shot, he is behind her again. (01:18:45)
Continuity mistake: In the wideshot where Luke lets himself fall down the pit in Cloud City, Vader lowers his outstretched hand. In the following close-up, he lowers it again. (01:52:10)
