Continuity mistake: When Harry, Ron and Hermione are heading to Hagrid's hut, near the end of the movie, a group of three people behind them walk into another corridor. Then a second or two later the same group walks into the same corridor. (01:50:20)
Continuity mistake: When the first years are first led into the Great Hall, in the shot facing the teacher's table, the twins sit to Wood's left at the end of Gryffindor's table. However, in the next shot facing the first years, the twins sit on Wood's right. (00:41:55)
Continuity mistake: In the chess scene, at the end of the (overlong) montage of shots of pieces being smashed, the White Queen turns her attention to a Black Castle. The first stroke of her sword clearly goes through the structure of the castle, which disintegrates. We cut to various different angles and watch pieces of the destroyed castle flying all over the place. Cut back to the original angle, and we see the Queen attacking again, but the Castle is completely intact - only the figure from on top of it is missing. And it can't have been the second castle, since that's Hermione's position. (01:58:26)
Continuity mistake: When Harry walks into Ollivanders, in the overhead shot of the shop the table is angled directly in front of the ladder. Yet, when Mr. Ollivander hands Harry the second wand the table is beside the ladder in this shot. (00:25:00 - 00:26:25)
Revealing mistake: When Harry is walking in the library's restricted section, you see the shadow of the library pillars on the bookshelf. If the light was coming from his lantern, there would be no shadow - the light is obviously from a spotlight elsewhere. (01:25:20)
Continuity mistake: At the hut on the rock, after Harry draws the candles in the dirt, he glances behind him at Dudley's watch. In the next close-up of the watch, as it turns 12:00, the watch is actually on Dudley's wrist (notice his fingers) the opposite way from the previous shot. Note the distinctive design around the watch face. (00:12:35)
Continuity mistake: In the Dursley's kitchen, as Harry walks by, on the table is Vernon's cereal bowl between the coffee pot on his right and OJ on his left, plus the tea pot is in the center of the table. In the close-up as Vernon says, "Yours? Who'd be writing to you?" the cereal bowl is missing and the tea pot is near his OJ. In the next close-up of the letter, the cereal bowl is back and the OJ is now on Vernon's right, near the coffee cup. (00:09:05)
Character mistake: When Wood is telling Harry the rules of Quidditch he says that if you catch the Snitch the game is over, which is true. But then he also says that which ever seeker catches the snitch, their team wins, but that isn't true. Granted that the 150 extra points probably would give you the winning lead, but as JKR pointed out in the 4th book at the Quidditch World Cup, you can catch the Snitch but lose the match. And you'd think explaining the rules to a first-timer you would want to get it right. (01:05:40)
Suggested correction: The team whose "seeker" catches the "snitch" would win in over 90% of matches. At this point, in the film and the book, while Harry Potter has discovered that Quidditch is popular in the wizarding world, he knows nothing about the rules or how to play. Oliver Wood is giving Harry Potter his very first introduction to Quidditch. So maybe it is acceptable for Oliver Wood to give a general overview of how Quidditch works, rather than outline every nuance and detail of every game ever played.
Continuity mistake: In the scene in Diagon alley when Harry first enters there are some witches on the left hand side of the screen looking at what appears to be large lollypops and Harry walks past them. The camera angle changes and Harry walks past them again. (00:20:50)
Visible crew/equipment: When Hagrid enters the hut on the rock, as well as when he leaves, the bare floor near the front door is clearly visible. However, when he says, "It's not everyday your young man turns eleven, now is it?" in the next shot as Hagrid sits down, on the floor to his left is the crew's mat with marks for the Dursleys (Fiona Shaw and Richard Griffiths), who stand near the door. (00:14:25)
Revealing mistake: In the shots facing Vernon, he holds the first Hogwarts letter while sitting at the table. Though in the close-up of the letter as he holds it, it is not Richard Griffiths' hand, that is shown with bitten up fingernails, holding the envelope. (00:09:15)
Visible crew/equipment: On the Hogwarts Express, as Ron says, "This is Scabbers by the way," the acrylic string/wire which is attached to the bottom of Bertie Botts box, that is over Scabber's head, is perfectly visible. (00:36:05)
Continuity mistake: After Dudley shouts, "Wake up, Potter! We're going to the zoo," he pushes Harry back into the cupboard and runs into the kitchen. When he opens the door, the kitchen floor is visible and there are no floor mats. Yet, once Harry walks into the kitchen there is a taped black mat on the floor at the door and another black mat at the counter, under the stools that were visible in the previous shot, when Petunia bangs on the cupboard door. (This does not refer to the reddish mat Dudley stands on.) (00:04:35)
Continuity mistake: When Harry and Hagrid walk into Diagon Alley, in the first shot, as they start down the street, on their right they immediately pass; 1- a man in black standing at the doorway to the Daily Prophet office, writing in a notebook, who then starts to walk away. 2- particular men and women walking past the store. 3- store window with Quidditch uniforms. 4- children looking in store window. A few shots later, they pass on their right a man, with bushy grey sideburns, walking with a woman dressed in black, yet in the next shot that same man and woman are chatting in the doorway to the Owl Emporium on their left. Then a few shots after that, still walking, Harry and Hagrid pass all the numbers, 1 through 4 again in close-up. (00:20:40)
Factual error: When Harry talks to the snake, the camera shows a close up of the snake, and it blinks. Snakes don't blink because they lack eyelids. (00:06:50)
Continuity mistake: The morning of Dudley's birthday, Petunia wakes Harry and the next shot shows Harry in the cupboard with the shelves behind him. When Dudley runs downstairs and pushes Harry back into the cupboard, things inside are positioned differently. This also occurs in the two shots when Harry plays with the small plastic figures inside the cupboard and then when he peeks out as Vernon attaches the wood to the mail slot. (00:04:20)
Visible crew/equipment: In the opening shot at the hut on the rock, when the camera pans down to Harry lying on the floor the long marks that are taped to the floor near the couch are visible. These are the positions of Vernon and Petunia when confronting Hagrid about Hogwarts. (Visible on DVD fullscreen.) (00:12:25 - 00:16:30)
Visible crew/equipment: When Harry and Hagrid walk down Diagon Alley, in the close-up of Quality Quidditch Supplies, a clear reflection of a crew member in a blue shirt is visible, at the top of the screen in the hanging vertical pennant, just as the man with the long red hair walks past the camera. (Visible on DVD fullscreen.) (00:21:20)
Revealing mistake: While Vernon kneels as he tosses Harry's Hogwarts letters into the fire, the interior solid back of the fireplace is visible behind the flames. On Sunday, the first letter (from the fireplace with a CG back) hits Vernon in the face as it flies by. In the following two shots of the fireplace, as more letters fly out, there are now large holes at the interior back of the fireplace that are visible. As the letters pour down from above, air is blown through these holes to blow the letters out and about. (00:10:20 - 00:11:20)
Continuity mistake: When Snape enters the classroom during the first Potions class, there is a lit candle and an hourglass on the desk directly behind him. But in the following shots the candle and hourglass change positions and move farther away. (00:49:20)
