Continuity mistake: When the school principal shows the poster with the IQ requirements for regular schooling to Forrest's mother, the grip on his pencil changes back and forth in shots from the front and from behind. (00:07:50)
Continuity mistake: When young Forrest goes to young Jenny's house and he finds her in the backyard, they run away from the back of the house to get away from her drunken father. They kneel down in a patch of corn and pray to turn into birds and fly away. The camera then pans up over the corn and you can see that they are in the corn field in front and just to the side of the house, not the back of the house. (00:17:35)
Continuity mistake: The first time that Forrest runs across the football field, a front view of the coach's head shows him following Forrest without moving his head, coach just moves his eyes. But a back view of the coach's head shows the head moving, following Forrest's movement. Back to the front view and the head is still. (00:20:30)
Continuity mistake: When Forrest was running in the first football scene, it shows cheerleaders and a couple of football players on the sidelines, then the next scene in closer view of Forrest running it shows the same cheerleaders and players in the same exact spot as if Forrest ran that same part of the field again. (00:22:15)
Continuity mistake: When Bubba and Forrest have just arrived in Vietnam, they are walking along a boardwalk and pass a sign. The shot changes and faces them, but the sign is gone. (00:40:05)
Factual error: In the scene where Forrest's platoon is crouched down along the side of the road, and the narration is introducing some of the soldiers, you can see a pack of Marlboro cigarettes in one of the men's helmets. On the side of the pack is, "Marlboro Miles." These weren't available until the 1990's. (00:44:00)
Continuity mistake: When the platoon is walking down the trail and he says they are always looking for a man named Charlie, he has a pack of matches in his helmet from his rations. When they get on their feet, he has a pack of napkins next to the matches. (00:44:15)
Continuity mistake: When Forrest is in Vietnam and they are all under attack in that little bunker, pay attention to Lt. Dan. In one shot there is a gun behind him, but a few shots later it is gone. (00:47:45)
Continuity mistake: When Lt. Dan gets lifted off the bed by the male nurse, the handle he was holding on to disappears when the camera cuts to Forrest - it was so low that it should be in the picture. (00:55:30)
Plot hole: When Forrest finds out he is receiving the Medal of Honor, he is addressed as PFC Gump (Private First Class, E3). "Two weeks later", he leaves Vietnam, and is then shown receiving the medal from President Johnson. In this scene, he is wearing Sergeant's stripes (E5). There is no indication or mention of him receiving a promotion, let alone two. (01:02:10 - 01:03:05)
Continuity mistake: When Forrest runs towards Jenny in the reflecting pond during the Anti-Vietnam Rally, he runs by the same man twice. Look carefully for the man in the top hat and you will see it is really the same shot from two different angles. (01:04:40)
Continuity mistake: When Forrest sees Jenny at the anti-war demonstration in Washington D.C. he runs through the crowd towards the pond. We see that the gap between the people who let him through closes immediately after him, but in the last shot it remains wide open, obviously to allow a more dramatic view of Jenny's and Forrest's reunion. However, when the crowd is shown from the other side there's no gap at all. (01:04:40)
Continuity mistake: After Forrest gets his medal he meets Jenny at the anti-war demonstration. When she goes to the bus to leave they are standing talking. In one shot his medal is tucked inside his jacket, but in the next shot (right before he takes his medal off) it is on the outside of his jacket. (01:09:15)
Factual error: In the scene where Forrest Gump is wheeling Lt. Dan across a street between a bunch of taxis, the car they go behind is a 1973 Chevrolet Caprice (see the tail lights). However, several scenes later we know the year is 1971 because it is New Year's Eve 1971 because we see the TV flash 1972 as the year changes. (01:13:30)
Suggested correction: 1971 to 1976 was the second generation of these automobiles, with production of these models beginning in mid-1970. This car would absolutely have existed at the time depicted in the movie.
Factual error: In the scene where Forrest gets his discharge papers, he is practicing table tennis in a gym. The gym floor has a three-point line on the basketball court. It is a college or high school three point line- 19 feet, 9 inches. There was no three pointer in basketball at that time, especially at that distance. (01:21:40)
Factual error: When Forrest and Lt. Dan first try catching shrimp on the new boat in the mid 70s, they catch a bunch of junk, including a Mello Yello can, which wasn't launched until 1979. (01:30:05)
Suggested correction: The time frame is right on track. It took Dan a lot of years to get to the point where he joined Forrest on the boat. 1979 tracks with what comes before and after.
You should watch the film again. Hurricane Carmen, which happened after Lt. Dan joined, and they were struggling to catch anything, was in 1974. And Forrest leaves the shrimp business in 1975 when he finds out his mother is dying of cancer. 1979 comes well after all those events. Not to mention that it's only 1981 when Forrest is sitting on the bench telling his story.
Revealing mistake: When Forrest finally catches shrimp on the boat, the net drops shrimp on the deck which are not only already dead, they're headless and very obviously processed for shipment to market. (01:32:30)
Factual error: Near the end of the movie when Jenny visits Forrest, it is supposed to be July 4th, 1976. On her TV is the New York Harbour Bi-centennial Celebration, and a shot of the Statue of Liberty shows her with a "gold" torch, which was added as part of her restoration in 1986. (01:43:50)
Continuity mistake: When Forrest meets Jenny at his house, Forrest stands up with the lawn partially mowed. After he hugs Jenny and the camera is on him it shows the path of grass completely mowed. The grass changes between mowed and unmowed a few times. (01:44:34 - 01:45:12)
Continuity mistake: When Forrest stops running, the close-up on him shows a sunny road with no painted lines on. The rest of the angles are of a shadowy place with painted yellow lines. (01:53:10)
