Revealing mistake: When Roger is in the bathroom at the urinal, he can see Edwina's reflection in the mirror (as she is, supposedly, inhabiting his body). However, when Roger lets out a particularly big exhale, Edwina's bangs blow slightly upwards, showing that the "mirror" effect is achieved by simply having her stand behind a wall right in front of him. (00:29:45)
Continuity mistake: In the first 1968 section, where Noodles rents a car and drives back to his old neighbourhood, watch the background of the wide shot as he is stopping the car. In the close-up that follows when Noodles gets out, two girls have appeared, hanging around a doorway, who were not to be seen the moment before.
Continuity mistake: When Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward are on the beach in the grass hut on the video version you clearly see the overhead boom mike swinging back and forth to face the character who is speaking at the moment. This continues through the whole scene.
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the film, when Johnny is first climbing the stairway to his apartment, he climbs a flight, then there is a dissolve to imply that it's a very long stairway, and he's shown climbing another flight. You can see the ground floor only one flight below after the dissolve.
Continuity mistake: When Mae and Tom persuade little Beth to go and feed the chicken again because they want to make love, the way the towel is thrown over Tom's shoulder changes between shots. (00:39:15)
Continuity mistake: Early in the film, Vladimir and Anatoly are in Anatoly's car. The car has two dice hanging from the top of the windshield, but no rearview mirror. When Anatoly pulls up behind the gas truck, the dice are now hanging from a rearview mirror. (00:07:10)
Continuity mistake: About 70 mins into the film, Michael Caine pulls into a petrol station. All in one shot: Michael Caine asks for the car to be filled up, the attendant puts the nozzle in the car and starts filling it (using the "hold-on" feature now disabled on most pumps), takes the £10 proffered, goes back towards the office, Michael Caine spots Robert Powel, gets in the car and starts the engine. The next shot shows Michael Caine driving away from the petrol station with nobody close enough to have disconnnected the fuel hose, but no apparent fuel hose, or spilt fuel, lying on the forecourt, and the attendant not too worried about a damaged fuel pump or spilt fuel. In the next scene as Michael Caine pulls off the road into a farmyard, the filler cap is visible on, with Robert Powel passing by seconds later; Not enough time, especially for a fugitive, to have stopped, got out of the car, hobbled round, put the cap back on, hobble back, got back in and continued his escape. (01:10:15)
Continuity mistake: At the start of the film, Hanjuro intimidates a bodyguard by crushing a golf ball with his hand. In the initial shot, his palm faces outward. In the next shot, his palm faces inward. (00:03:55)
Factual error: When Jenny Hayden and Starman accidentally overshoot their destination and arrive in Las Vegas, Jenny discovers that her wallet is missing. She has no cash, no credit cards, and no identification whatsoever. The only money she has is a single quarter. Starman uses the quarter to hit the jackpot on a 25-cent slot machine, then uses the prize money to play the Horseshoe $500,000 slot machine, which he also wins. They then use the giant jackpot money to purchase a brand new Cadillac and drive it off the lot. Huge problem: In 1984 (and today), you could never collect a giant Las Vegas jackpot without several pieces of personal identification, for tax purposes. Likewise, you could never purchase and drive a brand new Cadillac off the lot without multiple pieces of identification and a financial disclosure statement (if paying cash).
Visible crew/equipment: During the car chase, when the taxi drives over the gas can and does the two wheel driving, you can see the ramp that flipped it up behind it. (01:01:25)
Plot hole: When we first see the reanimated Sparky, his head's sewed on. While that makes him look a bit like the traditional Frankenstein monster, it doesn't make a lot of sense - the original monster had stitches on its neck because it was made from multiple body parts, but it's not like they sawed the dog's head off after it died...
Suggested correction: Do we ever see how much damage the car did?
Factual error: During their transatlantic boat trip, on their way to Athens, the American athletes are having fun naming various foods from back home that they already miss. One of them claims he misses chocolate chip cookies. Oops. That particular cookie didn't exist until Ruth Wakefield invented it in 1930.
Continuity mistake: At the beginning, Buckaroo tests his oscillation overthruster. Sitting in his test vehicle he's wearing a wrap-around mirrored visor that reflects a full panorama of the desert area in front of him. There is a thick black divider running down the center of the windshield that is missing from the reflection. Also, since it is a panorama seen on the visor, the edges of the front windshield should be reflected on the sides.
Revealing mistake: When Bob Cratchit takes Tiny Tim by the town square to watch the boys play, you see many boys "sliding" on the ice. In the close-ups of the boys you can see the "ice" ripple beneath their feet, revealing it to be some sort of plastic.
Factual error: When Rob Lowe first arrives in Oxford he is driving down a street taking in the sights. Most of the sights he views are actually scattered throughout the town and not on any one street. This is especially true for Radcliffe Camera (part of the Bodlean Library) as it is in a cobblestone courtyard completely surrounded by buildings and cannot be viewed from any street.
Factual error: The scene during Lonette Mckee's rendition of Ill Wind, where coins are poured onto a glass table, appear to be from a later time period. (01:16:00)
Continuity mistake: When Charlotte hastily makes the bed and shoves Ted out onto the window ledge, the bed covers rearrange themselves between shots: a purple sheet that she'd tucked in before is now peeking out over the bedspread. (00:15:05)
Plot hole: When Rachael/Ruby is attacked by Pluto in the rafters, Cass, being blind, is able to hear her cry out. When she does, Cass calls out to her by saying "Ruby." However it was a couple scenes later when Rachael tells everyone that she is really Ruby. Cass is surprised to hear this. Therefore, not knowing that Rachael was really Ruby, she should have called out "Rachael" instead of "Ruby" when she was attacked because she didn't know the truth by then.
Continuity mistake: When Tarzan brings the dead panther, flamingos suddenly appear out of nowhere.
Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the movie, when Josh and Holly are trying to escape in the car, a mutant is on the roof and starts melting its hand through the windshield to get at Josh. The mutant is leaning over the windshield with its hand sticking through a hole it melted in the glass. In the next shot as they round a corner, the mutant is suddenly towards the back of the roof of the car, just holding on without attacking the windshield. In the next shot, the hole is gone also from the glass. (01:25:45)