Continuity mistake: After the hobbits take the tumble from farmer Maggot's field, they land in a heap with twigs in their hair. Frodo stands on the road and looks down it. He says, "I think we should get off the road" and the twigs are there. He looks back down the road and the smoke and leaves come swirling at him, he yells, "Get off the road" - no twigs. They hide from the wraith, then make their escape. Merry says, "What was that?" - and they have the twigs in their hair again. (00:51:10)
Continuity mistake: Just after Frodo has fallen down in the snow and loses the Ring, in the long shot (with the Ring in the foreground), Frodo's left hand is higher than his right. In the close-up, immediately afterward, his right hand is higher. (00:07:20)
Continuity mistake: When Frodo is pulling Sam out of the water at the very end of the movie, the underwater shots show Sam's hand grasping Frodo's wrist (Frodo's palm is against the inside of Sam's wrist), but as soon as he gets him above water, Frodo has a grip on Sam that forces Sam to keep his palm facing away from Frodo's arm (Frodo's palm is against the back of Sam's arm). Short of releasing Sam completely, there is no way to change grip like that in between the two shots. (01:31:05)
Continuity mistake: As Gimli bows before Balin's tomb in Moria, the camera circles around the tomb and the body which Pippin later disturbs is visible in the background. It appears fairly substantial, is wearing a breastplate and has its head on its chest. However when Pippin touches it the body looks different; more skeletal and covered in cobwebs, with the head in a different position. (00:24:20 - 00:25:20)
Continuity mistake: As Arwen tries to escape from the Ringwraiths, after she crosses the Ford of Bruinen, Arwen's long hair is behind both of her shoulders in every one of her close-ups. However, Arwen's hair is in front of her shoulders, in the four close-ups of Frodo. (01:22:10)
Continuity mistake: When Legolas jumps up on a rock to look at the approaching flock of birds, you can distinctively see his breath showing. But at no other time do you see his, or anyone else's breath showing in the scene. (It occured to me that this might be smoke, but he doesn't have a pipe.) (00:05:55)
Continuity mistake: When Gandalf sits near Frodo in Rivendell, he explains, "I was delayed." As he thinks back, in the first wide shot as Gandalf lies on the floor at the top of Orthanc, the bowl sits at the left side of the spire wall. Saruman forces Gandalf over the opposite edge and then onto his stomach towards the center of the floor. As Gandalf lies on his stomach and says, "And he does not share power!" in the next shot however, Gandalf is actually sitting up against the spire wall and the bowl is to his right. (01:25:00)
Continuity mistake: When Gandalf arrives at Bag End and hits the light fixture with his head, the order of the candles (watch the small one on the right) is not the same as the next shot. (00:16:05)
Continuity mistake: When Merry is collecting firewood at Amon Hen he has a visible breath. None of the other characters do however.
Continuity mistake: During the prologue when Isildur and his men are riding through the woods, you see Isildur ride alone in front. Then the orcs attack, and when you see the orc jump at Isildur you can see a flag beside Isildur, meaning he is carrying it or someone beside him does. We previously saw him riding alone in front and when it cuts from the shot beneath Isildur we see the flag is gone and that there is no one beside him that is carrying the flag. (00:04:35)
Continuity mistake: When Bilbo and Gandalf are smoking pipes before the party, Bilbo makes a hoop with the smoke. The hoop first goes forward in west way position. But in the next shot the hoop is going directly forward in north way position. (00:19:25)
Continuity mistake: Not only do the arms on the two large statutes at Amon Hen change, the statutes themselves switch places. When we first see them, the statute of the younger man has a winged helmet and is on the left and the older with the smooth helmet is on the right. In the shot once the boats have gone past, the winged helmet statute is on the right and the smooth helmet statute is on the left.
Continuity mistake: When the Cave Troll stabs Frodo, and then you see Sam close up and yelling "Frodo" He has 2 bloody cuts on his left cheek, and near his lip. But when the Troll is killed, and he slowly approaches Frodo, the cuts are moved further back, so they aren't as noticeable. But when Gandalf 'dies', and you can see Sam close up again, crying, the cuts have vanished all together. (The second timecode is when the cut vanishes all together). (01:59:50 - 02:09:50)
Continuity mistake: When we see Frodo and Sam at the night party, there's a girl with curly hair behind them. Depending on the angle she is either dancing with friends, or walking alone. This changes back and forth.
Answer: The temptation of the Ring is directly proportional to the power and ambition of the bearer. To someone like Gandalf - a mighty wizard who wants to save the world - the temptation would, over time, prove to be too much, and he's realistic enough to understand that about himself. With an ordinary hobbit who only wants a nice meal and some peace and quiet, the Ring has a lot less to work with.