Revealing mistake: In the major helicopter scene when Ride of the Valkyries is played, the actual tape isn't going over the playing heads. (00:37:29)
Trivia: The man shooting the movie during the attack on the beach who says "Don't look at the camera" is actually director Francis Ford Coppola. (00:25:38)
Continuity mistake: After Lieutenant Col. Kilgore introduces Lance to his surfing buddies they all walk away and Captain Willard takes a drag from his cigarette holding it with his right hand. A band-aid appears on his right thumb between shots for the first time in this scene. (00:30:45)
Continuity mistake: As they watch Lieutenant Col. Kilgore's helicopter battle from their boat the captain says "It was the air-cav. 1st of the 9th" and Clean appears in the middle of the boat under the flag between shots. (00:24:40)
Visible crew/equipment: As the boat crew steps ashore to find Kilgore, the obvious shadows of two crew and their equipment are seen moving across the backs of the soldiers and then the raised netting slightly further away. This isn't the documentary crew they meet shortly afterwards, who are further onto the mainland. (00:27:20)
Suggested correction: In this scene, the boat crew immediately encounter a camera crew filming the soldiers. This is their shadows.
While they do encounter a documentary film crew, this does not happen until a few seconds after the mistake occurs. The shadows of the film crew are shown when they are walking onto shore, whilst the documentary film crew are shown more onto the main land. Plus, it seems a little weird Francis Ford Coppola would decide to randomly include shadows of a documentary film crew when the cameo doesn't happen until a few seconds later. Clearly this is the shadow of the camera and cameraman cast on them, and is a valid mistake.
Continuity mistake: Inside the helicopter Chef poses Miss May with the black wig and says, "that's it, voila". The white bird sitting on his shoulder disappears between shots. (01:30:25)
Continuity mistake: Captain Willard and Lance run away from Lieutenant Col. Kilgore and the captain says, "get the f&% outta here". As this happens a helicopter is flying towards the colonel and two soldiers are helping an injured soldier. The camera cuts away for three seconds then back to a wide shot of the colonel again and the helicopter and the injured soldier have disappeared. (00:51:00)
Continuity mistake: As Captain Willard walks up to Lt. Col. Kilgore's helicopter there's rain on the windshield. In the previous shot we see the windshield as the helicopter lands and it's dry. (00:26:50)
Continuity mistake: On the boat they offer a joint to Captain Willard who approaches them clean-shaven and dry. He wants nothing to do with them and goes back to his work but in the next shot he's dripping wet and needs a shave. (00:52:30)
Visible crew/equipment: After Clean is killed there's a shot of Lance sitting on the back of the boat holding a mirror in his right hand. This is not the actor Sam Bottoms but a longer haired thinner stand-in who's not wearing the black wristwatch that Sam wears in every other scene in the movie. (01:54:10)
Continuity mistake: As Clean says, "I gotta tape from my mom," we see a rope tied around the cleat on the starboard side of the boat. He doesn't go near the cleat as he listens to the tape but the next time we see this spot, right when the attacks starts, the rope is gone. (01:51:00)
Continuity mistake: At the beach party LColonel Kilgore stands up and says, "This is the first of the ninth, Air-Cav, son". If you look closely when he stands up the map that they were just looking at is gone. The colonel was holding it, but he doesn't have it nor does Captain Willard. (00:33:40)
Continuity mistake: Roxanne prepares a pipe for Captain Willard and says, "It was the morphine he took for the wounds he suffered in his heart." The shadow of her left hand falls on her face as she holds the needle over the flame. In the next shot, however, the lighting has changed and the shadow is now nowhere near her face. (02:16:40)
Continuity mistake: Colonel Kurtz leaves after he finishes reading the Time articles and there's a close-up of Captain Willard's face and chest. He's soaking wet in the close-up but in the next shot, as he collapses trying to leave the room, his face and chest are dry and there isn't as much dirt on the left side of his chest. (02:52:25)
Continuity mistake: The gentleman sitting next to Roxanne in the tan jacket gets up and says, "Look, this is the truth, an egg, the white left, but the yellow stays". If you look closely the lazy Susan in the center of the table holding the oil and vinegar has been rotated between shots without being touched by anyone. (02:07:20)
Continuity mistake: On the boat Captain Willard reads newspaper clippings about Colonel Kurtz' and thinks to himself, "38 fucking years old." He is sweating profusely, with sweat dripping off of his face and neck. However, his right hand is perfectly dry when he lifts a flashlight and moments later a cigarette. (01:01:00 - 01:02:50)
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: At the Playboy Bunnies camps Lance picks up the second barrel of diesel fuel with both hands as he takes it off the boat. In the next shot both his arms are wrapped around it. (01:27:20)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the arrow attack Chief Phillips yells, "Chef, open up, fire". Before he says this we see a wide shot of the shoreline with no vertical poles sticking up. In the next close-up shot of Chief Phillips there's a red spear stuck in the mud on the shore. (02:21:35)
Continuity mistake: After he cuts his hand on the mirror Captain Willard rubs his face with his bloody right hand. In the next shot as he attempts to pour a drink into his mouth only his thumb is bloody and there is no blood on his face. (00:07:10)
