Factual error: If Private Cowboy is from Texas, a state west of the Mississippi River, he'd be stationed for basic training in San Diego, not on Parris Island.

Continuity: In the opening scene, Gunnery Sgt. Hartman is making his speech and passes by Privates Cowboy and Joker on his way to the other side of the barracks. On his way he passes Private Pyle standing to the right of Private Joker. Later in the scene, when he rushes over to confront Private Joker and then moves on to Private Cowboy and then Private Pyle, Private Pyle is on the left of Private Joker.

Visible crew/equipment: When Cowboy, Joker, Rafterman and the other soldiers are running across the buildings to get to Animal in the final sniper scene, watch the foreground. If you freeze the movie right as they reach Animal, you can see they run by a boom mic and a crew member. A bicycle is also there (just to help you out).

Continuity: In the fire fight in the city near the end of the film, one of the men is firing a M-16 around a corner. As the camera angle changes he is seen firing left handed and right handed. Back and forth several times. Also in the same sequence the ammo clip in his gun keeps vanishing. One shot he has it and in the next there is no ammo clip in the gun and yet he hasn't moved.

Continuity: In the scene where D.I. Hartman dumps the contents of Private Pyle's footlocker on the floor, in the next few shots the layout of the clutter on the floor changes. Note that after Hartman confronts Pyle with the jelly doughnut and turns away, there is a clear path through the clutter for Hartman that disappears in subsequent shots.

Revealing: When the GI's are jogging through the training camp complex, singing "I don't know but I've been told..." you can see the British road junction markings on the tarmac underneath them. There is little evidence to suggest that there was any attempt to disguise or remove them.

Continuity: There's a scene where Sgt. Hartman goes to punch Pvt. Joker in the stomach. If you look carefully, he starts to punch with his left, then we instantly see Joker getting punched by his right.

Continuity: During the drill scene when Sgt. Hartman is asking Private Pyle if he knows the difference between his left and his right, watch the positioning of Pvt Pyle's cap. After being struck the first time, the cap is slightly cocked. After the shot returns to Pyle and before he gets struck for the second time, the cap is obviously cocked further over.

Continuity: During the "blanket party" scene, Pyle appears to be sleeping on two (wrinkled) pillows. When Cowboy covers his mouth Pyle is sleeping on one very neat pillow.

Continuity: In the bathroom scene on the last night of boot camp, Pvt. Pyle is 'training' with a rifle. As he snaps to attention, the shot from behind shows him with legs slightly apart, a second later the shot from the front shows him with his legs perfectly together, yet he never moves.

Continuity: Pvt. Pyle is on the rifle range with Gunnery Sergeant Hartman right behind him. When filmed from Pyle's right side, he is wearing a white wrist wrap/brace but the shot moves behind him and it is gone. Back to the right side and it reappears.

Continuity: During the graduation parade, if you look at the background you can see many large squad bay buildings with a few single trees in front of them, this scene seems to be shot at the actual Paris island. However when they show a close up of Joker's platoon in parade, the background changes to mostly trees, with only two or three small buildings behind them.

Continuity: In the scene where Gomer Pyle is in the toilet with his rifle and after shooting the drill instructor, Pyle sits down on the fourth toilet seat from the back of the room. In the next shot where Pyle kills himself, he is sitting on the third toilet seat. You can see this already from the front shot of Pyle when he kills himself because there is a rise in the wall next to the third seat, which is visible through the whole scene. It is more obvious in the following shot where you can see the row of toilet seats and Pyle sitting dead on the third one.

Factual error: In 1968 the USMC were still using the Sikorsky UH34/S58 helicopter (powered by a piston engine) but the helicopter seen in the film is the British version of the same aircraft, the Westland Wessex - gas turbine powered, it has a quite different nose shape from the original American version.

Continuity: When Joker is riding along in the chopper we can see its shadow falling on the ground below, only it's the shadow of a Bell Jetranger, not the Wessex/UH34 he is supposed to be in.

Factual error: The first time I saw this movie was with my uncle who served in the Marines during the Vietnam War. He told me that the scene midday through basic training where you see the recruits running with their top buttons of their shirts open was incorrect. In the 60's, recruits were required to button their shirts all the way up until they graduated. After graduation, they would be allowed to "lighten up" and unbutton the top shirt button.

Continuity: In the first Vietnam scene, while Joker is sitting having a drink, the same cars keep driving round and around behind.

Continuity: In the scene where the tanks are moving into the city with the Marines i.e. after meeting Private Cowboy, Animal Mother and the rest, they run into a firefight. When they stop shooting and are reloading watch the leader's ammo clip. It's missing in one shot of him, in the next he's ejecting the magazine and putting in a fresh one before shooting the two Vietnamese with it.

Factual error: In the scene where 8-ball gets shot, in the shot which shows the platoon ducking near a wall with Cowboy, Joker and Animal Mother in the front, there are two weapon related errors. Cowboy's M-16 has a nickel (silver colored) firing assembly and Joker's M-16 has an A2 type pistol grip. The A2 types were introduced somewhere around the 80s, and nickel plated assemblies are rarely used (and were invented after Vietnam, too). The nickel assembly is visible at the beginning of the shot, and you can see the A2 grip when Joker is changing magazines (while Cowboy shouts cease fire).

Factual error: In the sniper scene where Animal Mother disobeys Cowboy to go help 8-Ball and Doc, and Animal Mother peeks around the corner of a building to try and see the sniper and the sniper shoots at him, narrowly missing his face, the impact of the sniper's bullet on the wall and the sound of the gunshot occur a split second before the muzzle-flash in the distant window from where the sniper is shooting from. This would imply that both bullet and sound have travelled faster than light.