Continuity mistake: As Clean tries to get some fuel the sergeant says, "Eight bucks for that camera" and Captain Willard grabs him by the throat and pulls him over the desk. At first the Captain has a cigarette in his mouth than in the next shot he doesn't. (01:05:00)
Continuity mistake: When Captain Willard runs into the photographer when he reaches Kutz's compound the scene keeps jumping back and fourth between the two characters as they walk around. The photographer is wearing a red headband. As the film shots keep jumping back and fourth between the two characters the headband changes from being folded flat to being rolled up across his brow.
Other mistake: Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore says, "You smell that? Do you smell that? I love the smell of Napalm in the morning", right after the jet attack and there's no indication that his character isn't smelling exactly what he says he is. There's no way he could possibly smell Napalm in the ten seconds of uninterrupted movie time that has elapsed from the attack. The explosion is several hundred yards away and looking at the smoke canisters, quite a brisk wind is blowing all the smoke away from them and not in their direction. (00:49:15)
Continuity mistake: Just as Captain Willard grabs the sergeant by the throat and pulls him over the desk Lance reaches his left hand up to his face, then in the next shot his hand is at his side. (01:05:25)
Continuity mistake: Discussing the map with Captain Willard Colonel Kilgore says, "Mike, you know anything about this point at Vin Drin Dop? " and Mike goes from looking at Lance on his right to looking at the soldier on his left between shots during the beach party. (00:32:50)
Continuity mistake: Captain Willard walks up to a soldier and asks him, "Where can I find the CO". At first he has his right hand on the soldier's left arm then in the next shot he's not touching him at all. (00:26:20)
Continuity mistake: In the second shot of dinner at the plantation a French boy is speaking to the people seated at the table. There's no centerpiece or flowers in the middle of the table but there is in the next shot. (02:02:50)
Continuity mistake: Several different boats are used in this movie as "PBR Street Gang" and they are almost duplicates of each other. In the scene where Clean is killed look at the handrail on the port side that extends from the rear of the roof towards the front of the boat. The last section is kinked up at a 45-degree angle where it's attached to the roof. Two minutes later we see a wide shot of a different PBR which has a gentle bend in this piece of metal rather than the abrupt bend on the other boat. (01:52:00 - 01:54:05)
Continuity mistake: They dock the boat on the side of the river and as Lieutenant Kilgore flies over looking for his surfboard we see a long rope running from the front of the boat to a tree. It's in some shots but not in others. (00:53:45)
Continuity mistake: Lance is with his Playboy Bunny spreading makeup on her forehead as she says, "They make you do things that you don't want to do." Later as she says, "I wish I could find, just one person," he puts the make up on her forehead again. (01:30:05 - 01:31:05)
Continuity mistake: Dennis Hopper walks up the steps to the bamboo cage where Captain Willard is being held and gets some water from a fountain about five feet to the right of the cage. In the next shot as he turns around the cage is right there next to him. (02:42:45)
Continuity mistake: As Colonel Kilgore flies over looking for his surfboard the boat is docked with it's bow towards the shore in some shots and it's stern towards the shore in others. (00:54:10)
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)
Visible crew/equipment: After a soldier hands Colonel Kilgore the Air-Cav shorts that he gives to Lance, the reflection of several crew members can be seen moving in the middle of the megaphone to the right of the screen. (00:48:40)
Audio problem: Clean listens to his transistor radio as the DJ says, " and we have an important message for GI's who are living off base from the Mayor of Saigon". The volume that we hear stays the same but watch his thumb on the left of the radio as he turns the volume knob up. (01:14:05)
Continuity mistake: As Chef tries to put the fire out with the fire extinguisher Captain Willard is hanging over the side of the boat with Clean as they try to escape the flames. In the next shot and as chief Phillips walks around him he's behind the helm of the boat near the Playboy picture that Chef taped up. (01:16:50)
Revealing mistake: Colonel Kurtz reaches down and catches a fly in his hand and then lets it go. If you look closely the four fingers of his right hand are clinched when he reaches down because the fly is already in his hand. (02:55:00)
Audio problem: On the French plantation dock, Lance picks up what looks like the sole of an old shoe and smells it while Chief Phillips yells, "Lance, cover the captain". Look closely at Chef's lips, for the next ten seconds he's talking but we don't hear anything. (01:57:10)
Continuity mistake: In the close-up of the General when he says, "He joined the special forces.", note his collar is closed up more and they way the front of his hair is combed changes between shots. (00:14:40)
Continuity mistake: During the arrow attack Chief Phillips yells "Lance, fire" and we see a shot of Chef on his machine gun ducking the arrows. Look closely at the unmanned machine gun to his right. First it's pointing into the air, then in the next shot it's aiming downward. (02:21:40)
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