The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Corrected entry: Elrond could have easily stopped and taken the ring from Isildur inside Mount Doom, destroying it, but he simply lets Isildur walk out freely. (01:22:10)

Joey221995

Correction: Isildur would have fought back against Elrond. Elrond having to kill him for the Ring may have caused him to desire it for himself. Or them two fighting may have caused a war between men and elves.

Greg Dwyer

Corrected entry: When Merry and Pippin run in on the Secret Council, you can see Elrond watch them come past him. However, for a few frames you can see that he keeps looking at where they came from even when they have gone past him. This is probably because they were superimposed on to the film.

KingofallSamurai

Correction: There is no mistake. He is looking there since he thinks that someone else can also show up.

Corrected entry: You can see the Black Rider's effects mask when he's asking the hobbit about "Shire. Baggins". There's a bluish glint on it.

Correction: Already listed and corrected. There's no reason the Ringwraiths can't actually wear masks under their hoods.

Twotall

This is a mistake. The Nazgul do not wear masks under their hoods. The "bluish glint" described is consistent with fabric used for the post-editing process to create the darkness effect over the face of the actor. Behind-the-scenes footage shows that the actors wear the aforementioned blue face masks to capture effect, so this entry is correct.

No, it is not. This entry isn't correct. It was done deliberately in order to make them appear more scary and menacing. No mistake at all.

Behind-the-scenes footage are not part of the movie itself, and therefore inadmissible. Within the context of the movie, the Ringwraiths may very well wear some sort of masks (as they are to have covered every other part of their "bodies").

Twotall

Corrected entry: When Saruman and Gandalf are dueling in the tower, Saruman throws Gandalf above a door with his staff. Gandalf is stuck there, but when he falls, the wall moves very slightly.

Correction: No, the wall doesn't move at all.

Corrected entry: As Arwen rides off with the wounded Frodo, Sam yells at Aragorn saying 'What are you doing? Those wraiths are still out there'. He says the first part of this line in his natural American accent.

Correction: His voice sounds the same as when he usually yells. Sam doesn't have a thick as an accent as other characters.

Corrected entry: In the scene where Pippin asks "Well what about second breakfast?" Merry and Pippin are thrown a piece of fruit each. Pippin is thrown his on the right side of his body, yet it ends up in his left hand. The fruit is also red in colour whilst being thrown, but orange in his hand. (00:56:05)

hcolovic

Correction: You can see him change the fruit from one hand to the other. And it's an apple that's red on one side, orange/yellow on the other.

Twotall

Corrected entry: When Bilbo is back at his house after the party, Gandalf asks him whether it is so hard to give up the Ring, and Bilbo says, "Well no," though his mouth is very out of sync.

Correction: It is not out of sync. He speaks normally.

Corrected entry: Peter Jackson's son Billy (seen listening to Bilbo's troll story) is the only hobbit in the movie that didn't need a wig.

Correction: According to the director/writers commentary of the extended cut of the film, it was actor Billy Boyd, who played Pippin, that did not require a wig. No mention is ever made of whether or not Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh's son needed a wig, or even what his name is. Their son AND daughter appear together, and neither is ever named.

Corrected entry: It is rather interesting that the German dubbed version of FOTR follows Tolkien's guidelines for pronunciation more closely than the original English version. In the Appendices to the novel (Appendix F, 'On Translation') Tolkien states that Sam's name is not of Hebraic origin but short for 'Samwise' (an Anglo-Saxon word, Tolkien being a lecturer in Anglo-Saxon and Old English) and therefore not to be pronounced similarly to the abbreviation for 'Samuel'. Instead the name would have been pronounced [sahm] (the 'a' like in British English 'fast'). Another example is with place names such as 'Isengard' ('Isen' rhyming with 'treason').

Correction: However, on the audio tape J.R.R. Tolkien reads excerpts from the "Lord of the Rings" and "the Hobbit", and he pronounced the words the same way as in the movie.

Corrected entry: Just before the scene in which Pippin complains about not having "second breakfast", the shot changes to show an overview of the forest they're in. Before the scene changes, look in the top right hand corner of the screen. The trees there appear to be forming a circle with a hole in the middle. Slow motion or pausing isn't necessary, but it makes it easier to spot.

Correction: The fact that the trees "seem to form a circle" is not valid movie trivia.

wizard_of_gore

Corrected entry: This happens when Sam and Frodo are in Farmer Maggot's cornfield, just before they encounter Merry and Pippin. Sam emerges on to the path and can't see Frodo, so he runs down the path, calling out for him. As he does so, a rhythmic squeaking noise is audible, which is heard at no other time when he runs. This would appear to be the camera trolley moving along the track, either filming him running or moving to simulate his point of view.

Correction: All audio from the actual shooting of a scene is only used for reference. All sounds and effects we hear in a movie is created under controlled environment in a studio. No dolly sound can be heard in any of the copies I have.

Corrected entry: Bill the Pony is nowhere to be seen when they are climbing the mountain, but he is back when they reach the gates of Moria.

Blibbetyblip

Correction: Bill is tagging along in all the scenes between Rivendell and Moria. Often at the back of the Fellowship, but he is there.

Corrected entry: When they're on the road and you see Frodo, there are barely any leaves around his feet. It cuts to the shortening road, then back, and Frodo's feet are surrounded by leaves. And when they're on the road, the hill they drop off is steep and green. When they hide, the verge is no longer grass-covered and is more level.

Correction: Frodo's feet become surrounded by leaves because the wind was blowing in his direction while he looked down the path. And the hill looks different because of the perspective we're viewing it from.

Phixius

Corrected entry: When the Troll stabs Frodo in Balin's tomb, it stabs the left side of his stomach with the blade held horizontally. When Frodo sits up and is alive, the stab mark on his shirt is on his right shoulder and it is vertical.

Correction: That's because it's from an earlier wound - the Witch King stabbed Frodo in his right shoulder on Weathertop.

Twotall

Corrected entry: In the deleted scene where the Fellowship looks down into the mines in Moria, you can see a moving crew member with a torch down on one of the ledges.

Correction: I watched this scene about 20 times, and I can't see any person other than the Fellowship. The light sources in that shot are from Gandalf's staff, and a torch that Aragorn holds.

Corrected entry: In the scene at the Council of Elrond, right after Frodo says, "I will take it," there is a shot of all the members of the council staring at Frodo. The problem is, they are not all staring in the same spot. (Look closely at Boromir and Gandalf, they look as though they could be staring at Frodo. But the two elves on the right of the screen are staring too far off to the right.)

Correction: Nowhere does it indicate that everyone is looking at Frodo. The elves could be, and certainly seem to be, looking elsewhere. Doesn't really seem to be a movie mistake.

Zwn Annwn

Corrected entry: After battling the Watcher in the Water Legolas can be seen to the left of the screen helping Pippin to his feet as they flee inside Moria. In the next shot Pippin is standing with Sam and Merry and turning to run into the mines, nowhere near Legolas.

Correction: He's not helping Pippin, he's helping Frodo. Boromir was carrying Frodo but put him down, you can see that he has no Hobbit in his arms, and Legolas is helping Frodo to his feet. Note the difference between Frodo's green cape and Pippin's red.

Corrected entry: The books were published in the mid-1950s as three different stories, much to the annoyance of author J.R.R. Tolkien, who had never intended the work to become a trilogy.

Correction: In the authors forward to The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien states that his intent was to see if he could tell a really long story that would hold the readers attention and that he originally wrote it as a serial that he mailed to his son in South Africa. He didn't care if it was published as a trilogy what set him off was the unauthorized publication by another publishing house.

Corrected entry: When Aragorn gets hit in the mouth by Lurtz it actually knocked out a tooth. He went to the dentist in his lunch break and was back on set the same afternoon.

Correction: Viggo Mortensen broke a tooth during the filming of Helm's Deep, not during the filming of this sequence. Confirmed on the DVD.

Corrected entry: When the Hobbits are in the woods and Merry has asked Frodo who the Black Rider was looking for Pippin says "Get down". Though if you look you see that it is actually Sam who says it, but Pippin's voice is heard. You can tell because the one speaking is the one to the left, and when the Hobbits duck Sam is to the left and Pippin to the right. Plus it is the chubbier Hobbit who speaks, which would be Sam.

Correction: It sounds like Pippin but it is Sam. In the Extended Edition cast commentary, Sean Astin explains how in one take of that scene, he said the line with an American accent.

I watched the film and I am sure it didn't sound like Pippin saying get down.

I've seen mistake entries for other film where characters say a line without their established accent or in the actor's real life accent. Perhaps then this would still be considered a mistake with a a different wording.

Bishop73

Video

Other mistake: When the hobbits are hiding under the tree trunk from the Ringwraith in the beginning, you can see space to the left and right of the tree above them. Logically when the Ringwraith walks past the tree you would see it on the right side of the tree first, then on the left, but you don't - it looks like it walks out of the tree instead of behind it. [Confirmed on the commentaries - Elijah Wood asks his fellow actors if anyone spotted the mistake: 'It kind of magically comes out of the tree'. Sean Astin: 'You mean it doesn't pass from the other side?' Wood: 'No, it comes out from the centre.'] (00:51:40)

More mistakes in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin: But what about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?
[Aragorn stares at him, then walks off.]
Merry: Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it.

More quotes from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Trivia: While filming the trilogy, Viggo Mortensen got so into character that, during a conversation with Peter Jackson, Jackson addressed him as "Aragorn" for more than half an hour, and Mortensen didn't even realize it.

More trivia for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Question: Since Gandalf knew how dangerous the ring was, why did he give it to Frodo and tell him that he must destroy the ring? It would make more sense to either do it himself or find someone else to do it.

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.

Answer: Gandalf can't take the ring because he would be tempted to use it, and it would ultimately corrupt him. This is true for nearly anyone who has it for any length of time, except hobbits for some unknown reason. Gandalf recognized this in Bilbo, and later in Frodo.

More questions & answers from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.