Continuity mistake: The zinc oxide on Brody's nose either appears or disappears between shots. When Brody pulls the wrong line causing the air tanks to roll, he falls back and there's zinc oxide on his nose, yet when he puts another chum marker in the water the zinc oxide is gone. Another example; when Brody says, "I can go slow ahead. Come on down and chum some of this sh*t," in a close-up there is no zinc oxide on his nose, yet when Quint remarks that it's a twenty five footer, suddenly he has zinc oxide on his nose. The amount of zinc oxide also changes between shots, when he wears it. (01:13:05 - 01:20:00)
Continuity mistake: After Hooper says, "Yeah, he's eating his way right up to us," Hooper and Brody shout for Quint. As Quint rushes to the stern, in the interior shot looking out the window the toolbox and books are in front of the window. When the barrel flies into that cabin window, smashing it, ALL the books are different, things are positioned differently and a thermos suddenly appears. But after the engine burnout, when Quint surveys the damage in the cabin, the books are same as the first shot and now they're actually upright. (01:43:40)
Continuity mistake: After the Orca breaks down for good, Hooper goes into the shark cage to try to kill the shark. The shark proceeds to completely trash the bars on one of the sides. After Hooper escapes to the sea bottom, the shark is attacking the top of the cage, but the bars are now intact. [Extra info: The scene with the bars intact actually shows a very real shark that got caught in the line(s) holding the intact cage. When they raised the cage it was still caught in the line(s). They inserted this footage after the scenes with Hooper and Bruce where the cage got trashed.] (01:55:20)
Continuity mistake: After Hooper cuts open the Tiger shark, when he throws a license plate towards the Chief the area to Brody's left is clear, but in the shot facing Brody there are lines and equipment lying on the ground beside him, to his left. (00:44:10)
Continuity mistake: Check out the scene where the girl gets attacked at the start - keep your eye on the clouds and how they move around. (00:03:10)
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: At his home, after Brody uncorks the bottle of wine he begins to peel the top label. In the following shots the top label changes, as well as the position of his hands, depending on camera angle as Hooper and Brody speak. (00:42:45)
Continuity mistake: While Brody watches the woman in the water, before Alex is attacked, there is a blue and yellow raft in the cabana behind him. In the close-up of his face, just before Harry's black capped head pops out of the water, the raft is gone. Then when Ellen massages Brody's neck the raft is back. The cooler and other assorted items change position between shots as well. (00:15:00)
Continuity mistake: When the man swims away from the 'shark fin' towards the family, in the shot from behind he swims between the older girl and young boy. However, in the next shot facing him he swims between the older and younger girls, causing the raft to tip. (00:59:10)
Continuity mistake: When Michael walks into the kitchen, he holds up his bloody hand and exclaims, "I got hit by a vampire!" In the next wideshot the blood on his raised palm differs. (00:06:00)
Continuity mistake: After Quint trashes the CB radio, he runs to the pulpit with his harpoon gun. Between shots, he goes from leaning over the rail to standing inches away from it. (01:39:20)
Continuity mistake: On the Orca, after Brody's first attempt at a sheepshank, his hands grip the rope a couple of feet apart from one another. Between shots, his hands instantly come back together. (01:14:25)
Continuity mistake: Hooper runs into the very thick black-smoke filled cabin to go below deck, but in the next interior shot the entire cabin is bright and there is hardly any smoke anywhere. (01:48:40)
Continuity mistake: When the shark is harpooned to some rope, Brody & Hooper tie the rope to the stern cleats, causing the boat to be dragged backwards. Quint gets a machete to cut the rope to limit the boat's damage. At this point the sea is somewhat choppy. He throws the machete making it stick into the edge of the boat. The sea in the background is now completely calm. (01:44:25)
Continuity mistake: The word ORCA on the back of the boat continually changes from shot to shot varying from very rusty letters to shiny letters.
Continuity mistake: Just before the Kintner boy is attacked, when Chief Brody is sitting on the beach watching the water, he speaks with the old man called Harry. In the close-up shot of Harry the chin strap of his rubber cap hangs down loose at his chest, but in the side shots the chin strap is tucked up at his ear (seen when Harry stands up). (00:16:00)
Continuity mistake: After the first barrel pops up, Hooper and Quint gather up the rope while at the stern. The existence of rope in each of their hands changes abruptly between shots. Particularly when Quint holds the rope only in his left hand in the wide shot, but in the next dramatic close-up as it leaves a rope burn, he grips it in both hands. (01:37:30)
Continuity mistake: At the hospital, when Ellen walks away carrying Sean, Brody turns to face the Mayor and the countertop of the nurses' station is visible. In the next shot, a black ashtray suddenly appears on the counter as Brody walks over. (01:04:45)
Continuity mistake: After the first shot of Hooper's shark dart falling, in the next shot of the shark swimming away, the cage top is wide open, yet in the previous shots and following close-up the top of the cage is closed, until Hooper actually opens it. (01:54:15)
Continuity mistake: When Hooper is gutting the Tiger shark, the order of things he pulls out does not match the order that they land at Brody's feet, as Hooper throws them towards him, and some things just appear at Brody's feet. (00:44:05)
Answer: Although the 1995 documentary "The Making of Jaws" claims that the shooting star was real, the fact is that the shooting-star background effect is a Steven Spielberg trademark in most of his films (first noticed in "Jaws," but also appearing in "Close Encounters," "E.T. The Extraterrestrial," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "Saving Private Ryan" and others). Spielberg has always had a fascination with shooting stars, dating back to his childhood, and he works them into almost every film. Http://americanprofile.com/articles/steven-spielberg-shooting-stars-movies/.
Charles Austin Miller