Revealing mistake: Right after young Celie gives birth, take a look at the baby after it is handed to her. It is obviously a stiff doll. (00:04:20)
Continuity mistake: When the mayor slaps Sofia her two children change positions between shots. When she knocks him out the girl disappears. (00:06:10)
Revealing mistake: Oprah Winfrey's character is supposed to be knocked unconscious, but as she is lying on the ground, the wind blows her skirt up and she reaches down, pushing her dress back down. (00:06:55)
Continuity mistake: Mister's tie changes from red to blue when he asks for Nettie, and back to red when he inspects Celie. (00:07:25)
Continuity mistake: When Mister asks for Nettie and is told he can have Celie, Celie and Nettie are watching from behind him through a window on which a window lock is obvious. When the camera shows him on the porch, there is only an opened door behind him and no window. (00:08:15)
Continuity mistake: When Sofia comes to her in-laws' house for the first time Celie offers her a glass of lemonade. She empties it completely, but when she gives it back to Celie it's almost full again. (00:37:55)
Continuity mistake: After Harpo and Sophia are married, Harpo leans in to kiss Sophia but she is whisked away by relatives and he turns away. In the next shot we get a side view of Harpo and he is still leaning in to kiss her after he had already turned away in the previous shot. (00:38:35)
Continuity mistake: When Celie imagines throwing chocolate dollars from the train platform they scatter around, but the imagined Nettie finds them all in one place. (00:47:25)
Other mistake: Mister cooks Shug Avery a breakfast of grits, biscuits and ham, and takes it to her room. She throws the breakfast against the wall. The breakfast leaves a bright yellow and bright red stain on the wall. There was nothing on the tray that could have left those colors on the wall. (00:51:10)
Suggested correction: There absolutely were 2 things on the plate that would have left those colors. When you see the plate up close, you see a red sauce (presumably ketchup or tomato sauce) on the side of the plate, and the yellow comes from the yolks from the sunny-side up eggs he made for her (which he mentions it as he takes the tray into the room). Look more closely at the plate next time. Also, just because the clip mainly shows him TRYING to make grits and biscuits, doesn't mean he didn't make anything else to go with it. The plate he carries up shows several things he made (mostly burnt) but the red sauce was definitely on the plate as well as the eggs. So this is incorrect.
Continuity mistake: When Celie is combing Shug Avery's hair while she is in the tub, you see Albert creeping up the stairs looking to see what is going on. In the background you hear his father shouting at the house, wondering if anyone is home. At the time Albert is at the top of the stairs he is wearing a reddish shirt. The next shot shows him walking out the door to meet his father, but now he is wearing a green shirt. (00:55:00)
Continuity mistake: Before Squeak hits Sofia she hands a tray with a bottle to Harpo. He hardly catches the bottle before it falls down, but when the camera angle changes he is holding the bottle upright. (01:07:50)
Continuity mistake: When Celie tries on one of Shug's dresses a record is playing. While the song is still on we see the record player again and the label has changed. Then Shug turns the record around, and now the label is the one from the beginning. (01:09:30 - 01:12:10)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Shug and Celie start kissing Celie covers her smile with one hand in a wide shot but with both hands in close-up. (01:14:30)
Character mistake: In the scene where Sophia confronts Celie in the cornfield, she starts by saying, "You told Harpo to beat me". Later she tells Celie, "If you want a dead son-in-law Miss Celie, you keep on advising him like you do". Harpo is actually Celie's stepson, NOT her son-in-law.
Audio problem: In the scene where Albert tries to make a move on Nettie she tells him that she has to go to school. Her mouth isn't moving at any time.
Factual error: When Celie is leaving Albert, she is riding in the back of the car with Shug. As the car drives away down the dirt driveway you can see the telephone pole and electricity wires at the end of the driveway. Not unusual now, but in rural Georgia in the 1930's, it would have been impossible.
Continuity mistake: While Albert is throwing Nettie out of the yard, the sky changes. First, you can see the sun, then the sun is covered by a bunch of clouds, then the clouds are gone.
Continuity mistake: The letters that spell "sky" on the piece of waxed paper change throughout the whole movie.
Continuity mistake: In the scene when Celie offers Albert's father a glass of water, and she spits in it, in some shots it's ice cold, but in others it is transparent. Cold or warm? It seems we have two options.
Continuity mistake: When Celie is shaving Albert, the "patterns" of cream on his face change from shot to shot.
