Continuity mistake: When Indy fights the two guards before the bridge scene, the sequence is all off. He knocks one to the ground, who lands still clutching his sword. The other one has his sword whipped away from him - it flies over the cliff, and he runs off, whimpering. We then see the other guard approach, and suddenly Indy's standing over an unconscious guard by the boulder and clutching a sword, both of which have appeared from nowhere. (01:37:25)
Continuity mistake: On the bridge scene Indy's sword changes. Initially, he has a sword with a straight blade and no hilt; however, when he shouts at Mola Rom, he has a something like a cutlass curved blade and heavy handguard to a machete-like weapon he uses to cut the bridge. (01:38:05 - 01:38:55)
Continuity mistake: When Willie and Shorty get to the rope bridge they start walking out and Shorty starts jumping on it, then in the next shot the sunburn on Willie's back is significantly worse and her hair differs. In the second shot it's presumably her stand-in.
Continuity mistake: While hanging onto the fallen bridge, both Mola Ram and Indy are pulling Indy's bag with the Shankara Stones, and note that this bag has three drain holes underneath instead of just two drain holes, which it normally has.
Continuity mistake: When Indy threatens Willie with a fork on her ribs, in the wide angles her arm is down, but in the close-ups it's up to allow for the fork to be seen. This keeps swapping back and forth, with no continuity at all.
Continuity mistake: The jet of water comes out through a squared hole on the rocks, and seconds later comes through many other places, making the first hole much bigger, and making pieces of rock fall off. However, when Indy cries, "Let's meet up at the bridge!" there's an aerial shot of him climbing and the mountain has the very same perfect structure as before the jet of water burst.
Continuity mistake: When Willie is put into the cage, she has many necklaces around her neck. However, a few seconds later when Mola Ram walks up to her, all of the necklaces have completely vanished with no sign of anyone actually removing them before. (01:15:25)
Continuity mistake: In the village, Willie grabs food with her hand and puts it inside her mouth. From the angle behind, the arm and hand are not raised and close to the mouth.
Continuity mistake: When the fuel runs out, the engines die and propellers stop. They are stopped as it grazes the mountain peak. In the next two outside shots as they exit the plane, you can see the propellers are again at full speed and can hear the engines. (00:16:55)
Continuity mistake: On the mine conveyor, the guard pins Indy to the belt with his foot and his head toward the grinder. When Short Round tackles the Maharajah, we can see the guard on the conveyor, but he's facing the wrong way, both his feet are on the belt, and Indy is nowhere in sight. (01:31:30)
Continuity mistake: During the mine cart scene, Indy hits the second lever with the shovel to change the course. The Thuggees in the cart behind him shoot the same lever and it flies back just as Indy hits it, and changes the course again.
Continuity mistake: In the angle from below where Short falls through the hole on the bridge, there are no ropes hanging off the sides. In all subsequent shots there are many ropes.
Continuity mistake: The dozens of balloons next to the gong base suddenly disappear when it falls down.
Continuity mistake: During the palace dinner scene, the "snake surprise" is laid down at Willie's left side. A few shots later it's on her right.
Continuity mistake: While Indy and the Thuggee Chief Guard are battling it out, after the shot of the Maharaja gleefully stabbing the Indy doll, in Willie's next closeup she's wearing the veil as she throws rocks at the Chief Guard, but in the next wideshot the veil is gone, but it's back on her head in following shots.
Continuity mistake: Mola Ram wears a wristband on each wrist and only one armband on his right upper arm, but when he falls off the hanging bridge into the water, in the overhead shot he's suddenly wearing armbands on both upper arms.
Continuity mistake: After Willie's rescue, when she tells Indiana they should get out of there, in the next closeup just as Indy says, "Right, all of us," this is a flipped shot, note Indy's Fedora, chin scar and red strap.
Continuity mistake: During the mine cart chase, when Indy grabs the shovel to scrape the underside of the overhead metal bin, Indy's right hand is suddenly missing the cloth which is wrapped around his knuckles in previous and following shots.
Continuity mistake: While the second mine cart with Thuggee goons is in hot pursuit of Indy, note the brake pole at the front of Indy's mine cart keeps vanishing and reappearing in following shots, before it actually breaks off.
Continuity mistake: After Indy's fight with the Chief Guard on the conveyor belt, when Indy attempts to save him from the rock crusher Indy ends up hoisting himself up in mid-air, and when he reaches the platform Indy's shoes are completely flat, unlike Indy's ankle boots which have heels.
Suggested correction: Actually it appears the vial falls to the left of Kao Ken's chair, not Lao Che's. It appears after Indy pierces the other guy with the shishkebab, Kao Ken, off camera, takes the vial and puts on his left side. Indy jumps on the table and after missing the vial he slides further and then elbows Kao Ken who is on the right side now. The vial is still on the left side of Kao Ken's chair when it's kicked onto the wooden floor.
lionhead
You're very much mistaken. Lao Che is wearing an embroidered dinner jacket and has a pinky ring on his left pinky, and Kao Kan's left hand is bandaged in gauze. After Indy skewers Chen, in the closeup of Indy's hand just as it knocks the vial off the table, it's Lao Che's hand (note the pinky ring, etc) that we see on the table next to Nurhachi's urn, the stack of money, and the vial. That is not Kao Kan's hand/arm, remember his left hand is bandaged. And as this closeup continues to pan down it follows the vial as it lands on the floor in the empty space where Kao Kan's chair should be, but it isn't.
Super Grover ★
Yep, you're right I see it. There are 2 shots of Indy trying to grab the vial off the table and the second one is followed through with the vial falling off it and that one is wrong. Alright.