Continuity mistake: When Haldir says, "Welcome Legolas, son of Thranduil," the outfit that Legolas wears is not the same in these shots than in the previous and following shots. Gimli's hair/beard are not as full and his prosthetics are a bit different too. Apparently this scene was one of the first to be filmed, but they realized later that this outfit wasn't working for the role of Legolas, so they changed it. Commentary on extended DVD. (00:45:30)
Visible crew/equipment: During their fight at Orthanc, in the wide overhead shot, as Saruman flies backwards towards the large doors, the wire attached to the back of Christopher Lee's outfit is visibly pulling his clothes. (00:50:45)
Continuity mistake: During Arwen's race to the Ford of Bruinen, she rides at least two different horses. The first horse seen is a lovely grey (white and black hairs) and is likely to be of Andalusian descent. The second horse is a fleabitten grey (white with red hairs) with completely different hind-end conformation and muscling, and looks as if it is an Arabian. The switch occurs several times. If you aren't a horse person, you can see this change by watching the horses' necks. The first horse has a very thick neck, and the second horse's neck is much thinner. (01:17:30)
Continuity mistake: After the battle at Amon Hen, Frodo rescues Sam from drowning and pulls him into the boat. During their dialog in the boat, you can see that the boats' stern is pointed toward the bank of the river. There is one brief view of them from the riverbank where the side of the boat is facing the riverbank.
Continuity mistake: Just before the scene changes to Saruman on top of Orthanc, the shot zooms out from the Fellowship attempting to climb Caradhras. Legolas (recognizable as, being an Elf, he is standing on top of the snow) is to Gandalf's left. When the scene resumes he has moved back some distance to Gandalf's right, closer to the rest of the Fellowship. The camera pans upwards as the avalanche falls and as we follow its descent, Legolas runs out from Gandalf's left to pull him clear. Even for an Elf that's a lot of quick, (and unnecessary), movement. (00:09:36)
Continuity mistake: When Saruman and Gandalf start to battle at Orthanc, the first time Gandalf points his staff, he causes Saruman to slam onto his back. In the close-up of Saruman, the white wrap around the palm of his hand and wrist is perfectly visible on his right hand. He does not wear the wrap on his hand in the previous and most of the following shots. (00:50:25)
Visible crew/equipment: When Saruman points both staffs at Gandalf, he says, "I gave you the chance of aiding me willingly, but you have elected the way of pain!" as Gandalf spins round on the floor, with his left leg raised in the air. As he spins, there is a bulge at his side and the apparatus with the wire, around his left ankle, is perfectly visible. (00:50:55)
Continuity mistake: Aragorn stabs Lurtz in his thigh and in the first shot the long handle is sticking way out in front. Next shot, the knife's long handle is NOT seen anywhere above Lurtz's knee - his hand would not be able to cover the very long handle and in the same shot, Aragorn's already put his hand down. Yet in the next shot, Lurtz punches Aragorn in the face and Aragorn's hand is still at Lurtz's leg. Next, Aragorn rolls over and in the side wide shot of Lurtz going closer to Aragorn, we should be able to see, but DON'T see, the long knife handle in front or blade in back, protruding from anywhere in his right thigh. Only after he lifts Aragorn, headbutts him and punches him down, we see the knife handle and blade protruding from Lurtz's leg. (01:25:10)
Continuity mistake: In one shot of Gandalf's first appearance at Bilbo's front door, he is wearing light-brownish shoes under his robes, and when he walks in, he's got his normal grey ones on. (00:15:00)
Continuity mistake: During the scene when Isildur cuts the Ring from Sauron's hand, it is obvious that he is against a pretty tall rock wall. But, when we see an overhead shot of the Dark Lord exploding, there is no rock wall. Notice how there are soldiers all around the explosion. (00:04:00)
Audio problem: When Arwen and Aragorn are talking on the bridge, you see Arwen's lips moving while Aragorn is speaking. When you zoom in you can see that Arwen's mouth is definitely moving as she is talking animatedly, both when neither character has any dialogue and when Aragorn's voice says 'I thought I had strayed into a dream'. (01:32:15)
Continuity mistake: At Balin's Tomb, in two shots Pippin backs up towards the stone well, and when the skeletal head falls into the well we see a part of the sticks behind the pail, lying on the well. In the shot from above as the body falls in, and in the close-up of the chain and pail falling in, the sticks aren't there. In the next shots of the stone well we see the sticks lying there. (00:26:25)
Continuity mistake: At Amon Hen, just after Boromir blows the Horn again, in the two wide shots, Pippin holds his sword with his right hand. In the next close-up, Pippin holds it in his left hand. Also seen behind Pippin in this close-up, is Boromir's sword already sticking up out of an Uruk. In the very next wide shot, showing Pippin jumping onto an Uruk, seen between Pippin and the Uruk, is Boromir's sword in the body and Boromir is just removing his hand from it. (01:22:10)
Revealing mistake: At the end of the film, there is a shot when Aragorn fights an Uruk-hai, just before Aragorn's back is up against the tree (before Legolas shoots six Uruks in a row). Look at the Uruk-hai's left arm, Aragorn rips two big holes with his fingers, in the Uruk-hai's skin. (01:21:20)
Continuity mistake: In Boromir's death scene, when Aragorn puts the sword into Boromir's hand, Aragorn's finger with the ring on is covered in blood. When we see his hands on Boromir's chest a second later, the blood has vanished. (01:23:50)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the Amon Hen battle scene, where Boromir has been shot by Lurtz, there is a close-up of Lurtz's feet (as if from Boromir's POV) showing Lurtz striding over and stopping in front of him. The ground is clear all around his feet. The shot then changes to a wide shot, from the side, and there are orc corpses piled up all around. None of these were visible before, but should have been. (01:21:20)
Continuity mistake: Right at the end, Aragorn is telling Legolas and Gimli, "Let us hunt some Orc." In the two close-ups of Legolas that follow, the colour of the feathers on his arrows are light green, differing from the Mirkwood arrows he always carries. These close-ups were shot as pickups, months after filming ended. Commentary, extended DVD. (01:29:35)
Continuity mistake: At Balin's Tomb, in the first shot Boromir's right wrist is caught up on the Troll's chain and he's holding his shield with his left hand. In the second shot, the Troll flings Boromir across towards the wall, and as Boromir is flying across, he is not holding his shield. In this next shot, as soon as Boromir hits the wall, he has the shield in his left hand again. (00:30:00)
Continuity mistake: When the four Hobbits run out of the corn field, Pip stops short at the edge and there's a shot of the slope below. Next shot, when Merry and Frodo push up behind Pippin, Sam appears directly behind Merry, to his right, and stands there looking down. Yet, in the next side shot, from far behind, Sam is still running up to the rest of them, as his head is turned looking over his left shoulder. He then ends up on the opposite side from the first shot, to Frodo's left. (00:52:25)
Continuity mistake: Having just arrived on shore at Amon Hen, in the first shot Legolas says, "It is not the eastern shore that worries me." Then as he says, "Something draws near", his hair lies differently at his shoulders. In the next shot, as he says, "I can feel it", his hair now lies the same as in the first shot. (01:13:10)
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.