Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the movie, Richard Gere's friend hangs himself in the shower. Notice how many times his friend goes from nude to wearing underwear.
Visible crew/equipment: Near the beginning when the new recruits have arrived & are being harangued by the drill sergeant for the first time, in the shot where he walks along the line of recruits towards the camera you can see the camera dolly tracks on the grass. Then when the angle changes to a long shot you can see the marks left in the grass by the tracks.
Continuity mistake: When Debra Winger is at the payphone at work, her hair is very flat with bangs. After she can't reach Zach, runs out of work, and is talking to her mother, her hair is very full and curly.
Continuity mistake: When Gere removes his dead friend from the shower, take note of how many times the corpse blinks his eyes, and don't tell me it's probably nerves.
Continuity mistake: When Richard Gere is fighting with his drill instructor, red marks on his stomach and back (from being hit) disappear and reappear with each shot.
Character mistake: When the candidates are sworn in, after Foley is thanked, he salutes and does an about face. He then steps off on his right foot. No Marine NCO would do this.
Continuity mistake: Right before Zach is caught by Sid paying for the buckles and shoes, he is seen reaching into his jacket pocket to pay for them. The camera angle changes and he now has money in his hand.
Continuity mistake: During the graduation sequence, one of the officer candidates salutes the Commanding Officer with his sword. A split second later, we see the officer candidate from behind and the sword is miraculously returned to its scabbard, a motion that anyone who has performed it will tell you takes at least five to ten seconds.
Continuity mistake: In the fight with the local lads from the bar Richard Gere kicks the lad to the floor and then stands over him. His head is on a white line on the road. When Gere walks away, the group rush in to help him and his head is about a foot away from the line.
Continuity mistake: In the graduation scene, after taking the oath and being discharged by Foley, the candidates toss their hats in the air, conspicuously leaving them there as they depart the area. However, they all have their hats back shortly after when they turn in their candidate insignia and receive their first salute from Foley.
Revealing mistake: When Foley is in his karate suit in the blip hanger he is choking Daniels, but his hands are very loose around his neck.
Other mistake: When Sid committed suicide, the coroner brought him out of the office...not his room.
Continuity mistake: During the pool scene, the ribbons on Foley's uniform change. Foley starts with 3 service stars on the Vietnam campaign ribbon and 3 stars on the drill instructor ribbon. Also the Vietnam training service ribbon has a "V" attachment before he jumps in the pool. When gets out of the pool and dose CPR the stars and "V" are missing.
