Continuity mistake: During the scene where Indy and Marcus are with the Army intelligence agents, watch the agent who is wearing the light blue suit - at the moment when Marcus refers to a secret chamber, the agent in the blue suit has his right hand resting on top the chair that he is sitting on, but in the next shot when he replies "secret chamber" his right hand is now on his face. (00:17:55)
Audio problem: Watch and listen when Marion is being held prisoner in Nepal by one of the thugs. As he seizes her, she's grunting in strain/pain. We can see this in the first, frontal shot of them. However, in the following side shot (from slightly behind Marion as Toht walks over with the heated poker), Marion's mouth is completely still and almost shut, yet her sounds continue (and these sounds would have to be made with wide-spread lips).
Continuity mistake: When Indiana is climbing the statue to escape from the Well of Souls, the snake he encounters makes a rattling sound. However, the snake has no rattle and rattlesnakes are indigenous to the Americas. (01:13:40)
Continuity mistake: When Indy is packing his suitcase to go to Nepal, he picks up a gun that is wrapped in a piece of cloth, he tosses the gun with his left hand into his right hand and begins to unwrap the gun from the cloth by raising his right hand, so that the gun will fall into his left hand, but the gun ends up falling into Indy's right hand instead of his left hand. (00:22:10)
Continuity mistake: When Indy is deciphering the object with the old man, there is a telescope behind them. It changes orientation between shots. (00:48:15)
Continuity mistake: In the map room, Indy pulls out a notebook and takes off the elastic band. The elastic goes flying away. Moments later he closes the book and the elastic is in his hand. Also, the elastic starts off being pink (the one that flies off), then blue (the one that he puts back onto the book) and ends as tan coloured when he puts the book back in his pocket.
Continuity mistake: The position of the Top Secret sign and the whole text is put on the crate across vertically laid planks. A shot later the sign appears slanted across horizontally laid planks. Though it could be argued that there could be a second sign on the opposite side with horizontal planks, when the warehouse guy turns left to store the crate, we get a glimpse of the left side and it's not painted.
Continuity mistake: While Indy is fighting the German who is driving the truck, you can see that the German has got blood on his left hand, but when he throws Indy through the windscreen his left hand is clean and there is no blood on it. (01:27:10)
Revealing mistake: When Indy is fighting the big German at the plane, if you look at the wheels when the plane is turning around, you can see a chain and sprocket assembly that is driving the wheel to actually turn the plane. (01:18:55)
Factual error: When Indiana Jones ambushes the Nazis with the Ark, he threatens them with an anti-tank rocket. This is set in 1936, and anti-tank rockets weren't developed until the American M1 in 1942. The Germans immediately copied it from captured weapons and made their own much larger version known as the Panzerschreck, then Panzerfaust. The Russian RPG which Indy is holding was developed from the Panzerfaust in 1949. (01:41:55)
Continuity mistake: When Indy is in the map room, he blows sand away from a hole and a bunch of hieroglyphics, but in the next shot, there's sand scattered all over the stone he just finished clearing away. (00:52:10)
Revealing mistake: When Indy goes through the windscreen in the scene where he is fighting the balding blonde German, the stunt double playing the German has a full head of brown hair. (01:27:10)
Revealing mistake: After Marion goes in the basket, there is a chase and a truck tips over, if you look amidst the dust, you can see the ram used to put the vehicle on its side.
Continuity mistake: During the middle of the bar fight scene, Indy was slammed on the counter and whispered to the girl, "Whisky". In the next shot she grabbed the bottle and handed it to Jones. The very next shot she hands him the bottle again. It happens very quick. Watch carefully. (00:32:05)
Continuity mistake: In the market chase scene Marion is confronted by a guy with a knife. In some shots the sharp edge is facing upwards, in others it's downwards. (00:39:10)
Continuity mistake: There's a shot of the plane at the beginning, taken from the front, looking down the length of the body, where there's no writing on the side. (00:11:45)
Suggested correction: On a good quality frame the number is visible quite clear. Not visible on a poor resolution frame.
Continuity mistake: When Belloq grabs the machine gun, his left hand is on the trigger and his right hand on the gun cartridge as he turns round with his back to the camera, but in the next shot, his right hand is on the trigger and his left hand on the cartridge but in the next shot, his hands have changed position once more, this time left hand on the trigger and right hand on the cartridge. (01:42:55)
Continuity mistake: When Indy is chasing after the truck on horseback, he jumps off the horse and onto the truck, as he does this the horse begins to slow down and fall behind, but as Indy throws the German soldier in the passenger seat out of the truck the horse has disappeared, it could not have been hidden from view behind the truck, because the horse's shadow would have been visible. (01:23:30)
Audio problem: At the beginning of the film, one of the guides goes to shoot Indy with a gun, but as Indy uses the whip to defend himself, the gun bounces off a rock and goes into the water. As the gun hits the rock you hear the sound of the gun firing, but there is no sign of a flash from the barrel or any gun smoke. (00:03:10)
Audio problem: When Marion and Belloq are getting ready to have a drink, as Belloq pours the wine you can hear the sound of the wine hitting ice, making a crackling sound, but there is no ice in the glasses. (01:04:40)
