Visible crew/equipment: When the two government agents are about to cut off Elliott and his friends at the bottom of the hill, a film crew's vehicle is reflected on their car's passenger side. (01:40:35)
Revealing mistake: Right before the government agent car skids out at the bottom of the hill, tire tracks from a previous take can be seen on the pavement. (01:40:45)
Continuity mistake: When E.T. is in the kitchen reading comics, he glances over at the TV then takes a look at the coffee table which has, among other items scattered on top, six pack rings. A few shots later E.T. is at the coffee table working to create a communication device, but now there's one can of beer attached to the rings. (00:48:05)
Continuity mistake: When ET is walking with Elliot and his brother trick-or-treating, we see several shots from ET's point of view of people walking toward him. In all of the following shots however, none of the people that were walking toward him can now be seen behind him as they should be. It's not a montage either, these scenes are to be taken that they are occurring in real time.
Continuity mistake: After E.T. clicks the TV set on, the way he holds the remote control differs between cuts. (00:46:20)
Continuity mistake: Home alone, Elliot talks to ET and says "Human. Boy. Elliot" and right then he swaps from standing one meter away from the bed to leaning against it.
Revealing mistake: Elliot takes his dishes to the sink, opens the faucet and steam rises all over the kitchen. When the camera pulls back, one can notice that the huge cloud of steam is coming from somewhere along the window, not from the narrow stream of water from the faucet.
Factual error: Unbelievable that for 30 years no one has pointed out that in every shot with the moon, except when the moon is full, the crescent is pointing the wrong direction. In the evening (ordering pizza), in the Northern Hemisphere (California), a crescent moon will always be pointing down to your right (the bright side will be on the lower right). The only time it could point the way it does in these scenes is in the wee hours of the morning, at 4 or 5 a.m. and looking to the East. Spielberg didn't even fix it in the re-release.
Revealing mistake: During the scene in the woods with the communication machine, Elliot tells E.T. that they need to go. You see the machine still working at a regular interval because a rope is pulling it. The shot pans to the left a touch and the rope stops moving, as if the person pulling it realises it's no longer in the shot.
Continuity mistake: The weather during the end chase changes three times. When they first leave it is full on sunny. When they arrive at the playground it is overcast. The next scene it's sunny again.
Other mistake: When Elliot's mother is reading to Gertie, there is a scene looking into the closet and we see her shadow as she is reading. Why don't we see Gertie's shadow? When we see them through the closet door they're sitting next to each other. We should see both.
Continuity mistake: When Elliot shows up the morning after Halloween her mum hugs him and gets dark paint on her cheek. When the angle changes the stain vanishes.
Suggested correction: Mary doesn't get "dark paint" on her cheek when she hugs Elliot. When Mary's standing at the fridge door speaking to the police officer, she's still wearing her Halloween dress and the mark on her right cheek is the black heart (part of her Halloween makeup), which is still on her cheek when she sits Elliott down on the kitchen seat.
Right after she hugs Elliot there's a wide angle where she says "Sorry" and her cheek is spotless. Screenshot can be submitted if necessary.
Continuity mistake: After Elliott burps during class, notice the blonde girl in blue. Her arms are crossed differently depending on the shot. (00:45:10)
Continuity mistake: As Gertie lifts a flower pot and places it in the wagon, the overhanging green leaves near her left hand disappear as the shots change. (00:37:15)
Continuity mistake: When Mike suggests that Elliott saw an iguana instead of an alien, Mary holds a coffee mug halfway between her mouth and the tabletop. Between frames the mug changes position and is now within a couple inches of her mouth. (00:17:05)
Visible crew/equipment: When drunken ET is about to grab the comic book, watch the microwave door. Right before the angle cuts, someone's moving shadow is reflected.
Continuity mistake: When drunken ET drags a blanket filled with stuff behind the TV, the type of stuff changes when the mother arrives home.
Continuity mistake: When Elliot and ET are in the bathroom and the phone rings, the chord changes positions between the wide and close-up angles.
Continuity mistake: After the van skids into the playground, Steve's hand jumps to a different position on the bike he's holding. He starts off by gripping the handlebar, but then suddenly he's holding onto the steel frame between both handlebars instead. (01:39:00)
Continuity mistake: After the frog incident, Elliott opens Gertie's closet doors to reveal E.T. dressed in drag. He initially grabs both knobs and starts pulling, but in the following shot no hands are seen gripping the knobs and the doors open up automatically. (00:53:40)
