Continuity mistake: When jaws jumps on the back of the boat, Quint falls on the floor and the shark's head is 3/4 submerged - in the next shot the head is fully above the water and submerges again.
Continuity mistake: When the guy is standing on the beach in the opening scenes the sunset is covered by cloud. When seeing the sunset from the woman in the sea's perspective the sky is clear with no clouds. (00:02:50)
Continuity mistake: The seat that Quint sits in with the fishing reel disappears after that scene has finished. These seats are bolted to the deck. (01:25:50 - 01:35:25)
Continuity mistake: When Jaws gets trapped between the cage and the boat the shark is really thrashing about. Cut to the surface and Brody is trying to free the cage - the surface of the water does not match the actions of the shark.
Continuity mistake: When Quint drinks the beer then crushes the can, the sea behind him is all choppy. When Hooper crushes the plastic cup, the sea behind him is virtually calm. (01:13:15)
Continuity mistake: When Hooper cuts open the shark and empties the contents, the amount and position of the fish changes between shots. (00:44:00)
Continuity mistake: When they are chasing down Jaws with the first barrel on, look at the sea. It's calm at the front of the boat and rough behind when we see close ups of Hooper.
Continuity mistake: When Hooper is lowered in the shark cage, his right hand holds a dart while the left holds a cage bar. But as soon as the angle changes, Hooper's dart changes hands as well. (01:52:55)
Continuity mistake: Throughout Quint's speech in council chambers, the door behind Brody continually opens and closes in alternating shots. (00:21:25)
Continuity mistake: As the townspeople make their way into council chambers, we can see Mrs. Taft talking to Chief Brody before she takes a seat. Between frames, her purse strap removes itself from her left shoulder. (00:19:00)
Continuity mistake: As Brody sits on the shore with Ellen, a councilman approaches. Between shots, Brody's left hand changes position - jumping from his lap to the back of the beach chair in an instant. (00:15:15)
Continuity mistake: When Brody questions Tom about Chrissie's disappearance, Brody turns his head away from Tom between frames, just as they hear Hendricks' whistle. (00:08:00)
Continuity mistake: Before Quint meets his fate, we see him lose grip with Brody's arm. But in the following shot Quint is still holding onto Brody's arm despite having let go just a moment ago. (01:57:05)
Continuity mistake: When the shark rams Hooper's cage, Hooper loses the spear and when it is shown floating through the water, it hits the sea floor just before it cuts to the live shark footage. Following the live shark footage, the spear is shown hitting the sea floor again. (01:49:45)
Continuity mistake: When Quint is up in the crow's nest, Brody tells him "Let Hooper take a turn" (regarding chumming the water). When Quint, while looking down at Brody, says "Hooper drives the boat, Chief", his right arm is across his body and looks to be resting on the safety railing of the crow's nest. When Brody looks up at Quint, his right arm is away from his body and is just holding onto the crow's nest railing with his hand.
Continuity mistake: In the first scene of the Orca at sea, Hooper holds a green tackle box as Quint cracks open a beer. The way Hooper holds the tackle box varies between shots. (01:13:05)
Continuity mistake: As Brody flips through his shark book, he pauses to look at a photo of two fishermen and their catch. The photo is on the right page, but in the previous shot where we see Brody stop flipping through, there was no picture on the right page as seen in a reflection on his glasses, just words. (00:25:30)
Continuity mistake: In the medical examiner's room, before Hooper splashes water over his face, he rolls up his left sleeve just a bit. His wristwatch is in view, but between shots the watch tucks itself away under his sleeve. (00:32:40)
Continuity mistake: Prior to departing on the Orca, Hooper and Quint discuss the anti-shark cage. At the onset, a rigging rests on Quint's left shoulder. But between shots the rigging repositions itself away from his shoulder. (01:09:50)
Continuity mistake: When Brody jumps from his seat to get Michael out of the sailboat, he lifts Ellen by her arms. But then, one shot later, he's lifting her by the hips instead. (00:23:35)
Answer: Although the 1995 documentary "The Making of Jaws" claims that the shooting star was real, the fact is that the shooting-star background effect is a Steven Spielberg trademark in most of his films (first noticed in "Jaws," but also appearing in "Close Encounters," "E.T. The Extraterrestrial," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "Saving Private Ryan" and others). Spielberg has always had a fascination with shooting stars, dating back to his childhood, and he works them into almost every film. Http://americanprofile.com/articles/steven-spielberg-shooting-stars-movies/.
Charles Austin Miller