Apocalypse Now

Continuity mistake: One minute into the attack on Vin Din Dop one of the helicopters flies over the schoolyard. This aerial shot is taken around mid-day as there are no shadows visible in schoolyard, unlike the first shot of the schoolyard at the beginning of this scene, which was done when the shadows were long. (00:40:20)

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Continuity mistake: As Chef and Captain Willard walk through the jungle we get a couple of good close-ups of the band-aid on his cheek and it's different between shots. In the close-up when he first hears the tiger, the right side of the band-aid is pointing towards the top of his ear lobe. Then just seconds before the tiger attacks we see it pointing directly into the middle of his ear. (00:57:50 - 00:58:45)

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Continuity mistake: During Clean's story about a Vietnamese lieutenant Chef puts up his picture of Miss December behind Chief Phillips and its raining and his hat is wet. In the previous and next shot it's not raining. (01:12:15)

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Continuity mistake: Roxanne continues to prepare the pipe for Captain Willard and says, "he would rage and he would cry, my lost soldier, and I said to him there are two of you". In the shot of them from the foot of the bed Roxanne's head is almost touching the captain's but in the next shot over the side of the bed she's about a foot away. (02:16:55)

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Visible crew/equipment: Kilgore points at the jets as they approach the tree line just before the napalm explosion. Look closely above Lance's head as some stage equipment makes a very quick appearance. (00:48:50)

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Continuity mistake: Clean points right at Chef, at the wheel of the boat, as he continues to tell his story and says, "don't do her like that". In the next shot he's not pointing anymore and his right hand is resting in front of his face. (01:12:55)

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Continuity mistake: When the bunnies are dancing there's a close up of playmate Sandra Beatty and as a soldier yells, "take it off" it's raining. In the next shot it's not. (01:09:10)

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Continuity mistake: Just before the Medevac helicopter lands in the Vin Drin Dop plaza, a soldier machine guns 13 urns sitting next to the building on the left of the courtyard and the building also explodes. In the next shot of the medics working on the injured soldier the 13 urns are back and the building hasn't exploded yet. (00:43:05)

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Visible crew/equipment: After he tells him what his mission is Chef says to Captain Willard, "That's f***ing typical, shit, f***ing Vietnam mission". Look at the shoreline about 30 feet past the boat as a crewmember ignites a purple smoke canister. (02:24:20)

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Continuity mistake: Dennis Hopper says, "Zap 'em with your siren, man. Zap 'em with your siren," as they get close to shore. At first there's no smoke and unarmed natives behind him and the smoke changes to red in the close-up. Then in the next close up there's orange smoke and armed troops behind him. (02:29:15)

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Continuity mistake: Chief Phillips Orders Clean down onto the sampan to help Chef with the injured Vietnamese woman. We hear Clean talking to Chef as they lift her body but the next time we see the Vietnamese woman Chef is the only one there and Clean is back up at his machine gun. (01:38:05)

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Visible crew/equipment: Inside the helicopter Chef says to Miss May, "Miss December has black hair." As the camera pulls back its shadow can be seen on the rear seat. (01:28:20)

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Continuity mistake: When the helicopters first attack Vin Din Dop we see eight in formation attacking from the beach with the bridge on the left. One second later we're in a helicopter attacking from the other side of the bridge and we can see the entire beach. From this angle we should be able to see all eight helicopters, but we don't and we also don't see any smoke on the beach from the explosions in the previous shot. (00:39:55)

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Continuity mistake: At dinner with the general, Harrison Ford walks over to the captain with the picture of Colonel Kurtz and he has a pencil in his right hand. In the next shot as he drops the folder on the floor the pencil is not there. (00:12:25)

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Continuity mistake: During the beach party as Captain Willard is saying, "He was one of those guys that had that weird light around him." Note he is holding a cigarette and drinking a Schlitz, with four cans of Budweiser in front of him. In his next shot, just seconds later, there is another can of beer and the cigarette is gone despite the fact he has not moved at all. (00:32:00)

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Continuity mistake: In the beginning of the movie when Captain Willard hears the helicopter flying over and walks to his window the blinds are dark. In the next shot when you see him looking through them they're lit up. (00:04:15)

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Continuity mistake: Before Captain Willard shoots the injured Vietnamese woman on the sampan he's holding onto a metal bar with his left hand. In the next shot he's not holding onto anything. (01:38:25)

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Continuity mistake: Chef asks his playmate, Miss May, to put on a black wig as they sit in the helicopter. When he first reaches for the wig it's on top of a Styrofoam head but in the next shot he reaches for it again and it's on a small table to the right of the Styrofoam head. (01:28:50)

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Continuity mistake: Dennis Hopper stands on the back of the boat and says to Captain Willard, "Yeah, well, they think you've come to uh - , to take him away". If you look to the left of the screen you'll see a piece of seaweed hanging off the roof of the boat. When Dennis Hopper walks back to the front of boat it's gone. (02:30:15)

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Continuity mistake: In the shot of a priest saying the Lord's Prayer, we see smoke rising from an attack by a flamethrower behind him. In the next shot there's no smoke until the flamethrower fires again. (00:30:55)

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Chef: Why do all you guys sit on your helmets?
Soldier: So we don't get our balls blown off.

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More trivia for Apocalypse Now

Question: Why was only one officer (Captain Willard) sent to assassinate Colonel Kurtz? Isn't it very unlikely for a captain like Willard to be able to kill a powerful and influential and "insane" colonel like Kurtz?

L0gical

Chosen answer: Kurtz was protected by political connections and his military record from being relieved of command, and the Montagnard people whose village he was in were considered American allies, so they couldn't just send a force in to kill him or relieve him of command, but an individual assassin. (The US Government's "official" policy is that they do not engage in assassination, which is why "this mission does not exist, nor will it ever exist").

Captain Defenestrator

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