Continuity mistake: When Brody jumps from his seat to get Michael out of the sailboat, he lifts Ellen by her arms. But then, one shot later, he's lifting her by the hips instead. (00:23:35)
Revealing mistake: When Charlie and Denherder, the two fishermen, first wrap the link chain around the corner wood piling, the dock they stand on is clearly visible. A bit later when the shark takes their bait, the crossbeams at the base of the dock are actually gone for the stunt. (00:25:00 - 00:26:20)
Continuity mistake: When the two old fishermen are fishing for the shark from the pier, the shark takes the bait and you can see the chain getting pulled into the sea. In the next shot you can still hear the chain being pulled into the sea but if you look on the pier, you can't see any chain being dragged in and the wooden post that the chain is secured to changes into a different position. (00:25:20)
Continuity mistake: As Brody flips through his shark book, he pauses to look at a photo of two fishermen and their catch. The photo is on the right page, but in the previous shot where we see Brody stop flipping through, there was no picture on the right page as seen in a reflection on his glasses, just words. (00:25:30)
Audio problem: When the old fisherman yells at his friend to swim faster and not to look back, his mouth movements aren't consistent with what he is saying. (00:25:55)
Continuity mistake: When the shark swims away with the roast bait, a dramatic close-up of the quickly unfurling thick link chain lying on the dock is shown beside the trashcan. The unmoving end of the chain lies behind, to the left of the trashcan and the end being pulled is on the right, with the slack at the center. Now when the chain is pulled taught in the following shots, the trashcan should have flipped over, if the slack chain was indeed where it was shown to be in the close-up. In the wide shots the trashcan sits on the left at the center of the dock, but the chain being pulled is attached to the piling at the right corner end of the dock. (00:26:15)
Audio problem: When Charlie shouts, "Hey! He's takin' it! He's takin' it! He's takin' it!" his lips actually say something else. (00:26:20)
Revealing mistake: When the shark takes the fishermen's bait, the attached chain pulls one corner piling at the corner of the small dock. When the dock gives way in the wide shot, another line around the second corner piling visibly pulls it as well, in order for the dock to break apart effectively for the stunt. (00:26:25)
Continuity mistake: On the dock, Charlie and Denherder wrap a link chain around the corner piling, which is yanked when the shark takes the roast bait. In the close-up the chain is pulled taught from the front and breaks free, but in the next wide shot the chain is slack and being pulled from behind the links around the piling. (00:26:25)
Continuity mistake: The chunk of dock that floats in the water, as the shark pulls it, differs from the piece of dock that broke off in the previous shots. (00:26:30)
Factual error: In the scene when Brody and his deputy, Hendricks, are at the boat dock watching all the fishermen get into their boats, there are many shots when you see the town behind them. If you'll notice, there are no leaves on any of the trees, suggesting that it may be autumn. The events in the movie are supposed to occur during the 4th of July holiday. This mistake is also repeated when the mother of the boy comes to the dock and slaps Brody. (00:28:40 - 00:36:00)
Continuity mistake: At the harbor, just as Brody asks, "Help me get those guys out of the boat, will you?" in the wideshot there are five men standing on the dock and three standing in the boat. Then in the next close-up, there are four on the dock and four in the boat. The one in a black/white check shirt is now at the end of the dock and the one in a black rain slicker, that was standing on the dock, is now suddenly standing in the boat below, at its stern. (00:28:45)
Continuity mistake: When Chief Brody asks, "How many guys you gonna put on that boat?" he stands between two adjacent pilings. Hooper then stands beside the same two pilings in the following wide shots. However, in the close-up when Hooper asks about a good restaurant on the island, he is at the center of the shot standing beside only one lone piling. Richard Dreyfus' beard is also fuller in the close-up, than in the wide shots. (00:28:50)
Continuity mistake: In one of Richard Dreyfus' first scenes, Brody asks him to help with the group of men crowding into a small boat. Hooper says that the officer wants him to tell them that they're overcrowding the boat. They show the men climbing in and there's a guy in a blue jacket climbing down the ladder into the boat. He waves his arm and says "what do you care?" They then show Hooper asking if they know a good restaurant or hotel on the island. When they show the men again, uttering the line "Yeah, walk straight ahead," the man in the blue jacket is on the deck again and is again descending down the ladder. (00:29:00)
Continuity mistake: When Hooper tries asking the fishermen about a restaurant or hotel on the island, he makes a motion with his right hand. But between shots, his hand grabs onto the wood piling. (00:29:10)
Visible crew/equipment: When the fishermen start out on the hunt, Ben Gardner appears in a close-up leaning on the windshield at forward deck, while talking to his boatmate about how stupid some of the others are. In the next wide shot of the boats, Ben's green boat is towards the left of the screen, and the large reflector screen and camera, that are mounted to the bow of his boat, are visible in front of the forward window where Ben was seen in the previous shot. (00:30:25)
Continuity mistake: In the medical examiner's room, before Hooper splashes water over his face, he rolls up his left sleeve just a bit. His wristwatch is in view, but between shots the watch tucks itself away under his sleeve. (00:32:40)
Continuity mistake: On the dock, as the Tiger shark is being raised there is an arrow above its gills, a second arrow below its dorsal fin and a broken arrow shaft in the wound just beside that dorsal fin. When Hooper tells the three fishermen that it's a Tiger shark, the broken arrow beside its dorsal fin is now a nice, long, whole arrow. All of the arrows change their degree of penetration in the shark's hide throughout these shots. (00:32:55 - 00:34:20)
Continuity mistake: When the Tiger shark is displayed on the docks, the blood stains in and around the mouth and its body, either change significantly between shots or completely disappear. (00:33:00)
Continuity mistake: When Hooper measures the Tiger shark's mouth, the people standing around him change between the close-up and the previous and following wideshots. (00:33:30)
Chosen answer: As mentioned in the movie, the posion was in the needle and the shark's hide was too tough for the needle to penetrate. Hooper had to go in the water so that he could get the needle into the shark's mouth, where the flesh was less tough.
Kevin Howard