Continuity mistake: In a close-up of a soldier on a helicopter gunship shooting down at the people of Vin Din Dop below we can see the bridge in the background and it's already been blown up. This doesn't actually happen till later in the scene. (00:40:05)
Continuity mistake: The three adjoining huts on the beach with the communist flags in front of them explode twice at different times in the scene. Then they appear again undamaged in another overhead shot of the beach as a helicopter pilot says, "We're taking fire from the holes". (00:40:10)
Continuity mistake: One minute into the attack on Vin Din Dop one of the helicopters flies over the schoolyard. This aerial shot is taken around mid-day as there are no shadows visible in schoolyard, unlike the first shot of the schoolyard at the beginning of this scene, which was done when the shadows were long. (00:40:20)
Audio problem: In the first aerial shot of the schoolyard the closed captioning reads, "this should make everything burn" but if you listen closely what the pilot is actually saying is, "can somebody cover that downed bird". Also the helicopter he's talking about hasn't been shot down yet. (00:40:20)
Continuity mistake: In the rear close-up shot of the Vietnamese machine gun nest the soldier in the dark green shirt is to the right of the soldier in the tan shirt who is firing it. In the next shot the soldier in the dark green shirt is behind and to the left of the soldier in the tan shirt. (00:40:45)
Continuity mistake: A little old Vietnamese woman wearing a bright red scarf around her neck is feeding bullets into the machine gun. Six seconds later as the machine gun is blown up her stunt double is not wearing the bright red scarf. (00:40:55)
Continuity mistake: In an aerial shot a helicopter pilot says, "I got a vehicle on the bridge " but if you look closely there's no vehicle on the bridge until the next shot. (00:41:40)
Continuity mistake: A vehicle on the Vin Din Dop bridge is shot by a rocket from Kilgore's helicopter and Lance says' "nice shot Bill" after he sees the car blow up. Colonel Kilgore's helicopter has surfboards on its sides not rocket launchers as was seen when they took off in the last scene. (00:41:45)
Continuity mistake: The vehicle on the bridge that is attacked by the helicopter has three men in it. In the first shot of it exploding one man falls to the right and two men fall to the left. In the next shot as it falls off the bridge all three men fall to the left of the vehicle. (00:41:45)
Audio problem: Just before the flare flies into Colonel Kilgore's helicopter, Lance says, "Nice shot, Bill" but his lips are not moving. (00:41:50)
Continuity mistake: After the 'Valkyrie' helicopter attack, there's a close shot of a soldier who shouts: 'I'm not going.' Another soldier turns back to the chopper to pull him out. Then there is a long shot of the troops at the choppers and you see the same soldier turning back to the helicopter. (00:42:15)
Continuity mistake: As the helicopters land in Vin Drin Dop "The Ride of the Valkyries" is still playing but none of the helicopters have speakers hanging out of their side doors to play the music the way they did before. (00:42:30)
Continuity mistake: After the helicopters land on the beach at Vin Drin Dop a soldier yells, "I'm not going, I'm not going" and we see huts that were blown up and burned down earlier in the scene untouched and as good as new. (00:42:50)
Continuity mistake: Just before the Medevac helicopter lands in the Vin Drin Dop plaza, a soldier machine guns 13 urns sitting next to the building on the left of the courtyard and the building also explodes. In the next shot of the medics working on the injured soldier the 13 urns are back and the building hasn't exploded yet. (00:43:05)
Continuity mistake: As the chopper pilot circles the courtyard he says, "We've got wounded down there" and a yellow flair is in the center of the courtyard. In the next shot of the soldiers running around down below we see the center of the courtyard but the yellow flare is not there having been replaced by a Vietnamese hat. (00:43:10)
Continuity mistake: In the first close-up shot of the soldier wounded in the Vin Din Dop courtyard there are two medics working on him. In the next shot there is a third kneeling by his left leg in the exact spot where the cameraman just stood in the previous shot. (00:43:20)
Continuity mistake: In the first close-up shot of the soldier wounded in the courtyard the medic behind him tries to give him some water as the camera pans away to two Vietnamese civilians for a second. In the next shot the medic is still holding the canteen but the injured soldier now has something hanging out of his mouth, that looks like a piece of string, which wasn't there in the previous shot. (00:43:25)
Continuity mistake: When the Medevac helicopter first lands in the Vin Din Dop courtyard there are only soldiers on the left side of it putting the injured man in. In the next shot five soldiers and a Vietnamese woman appear standing on the right of the helicopter who weren't there before. (00:44:05)
Continuity mistake: Before the Medevac helicopter explodes in the Vin Din Dop courtyard its main rotor is rotating at full speed. In the next shot as it explodes the main rotor is barely turning. (00:44:10)
Revealing mistake: A Medevac helicopter lands in the courtyard and later explodes when a Vietnamese woman throws a grenade into it. The copter that lands is not the one that explodes. The front of the helicopter that blows up is older and beat up and the window on the pilot's door does not have any green sun shade on top as the other chopper had when it landed. The one that explodes is also on a platform that collapses as it blows up. (00:44:15)
Answer: It should be noted that "transmutation" is a word Coppola has used to describe the film making process. Https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LFTQcwgq4CY.
Bishop73