Continuity mistake: Gandalf stands at the door of Bag End waiting for Bilbo. Slung over his shoulder is his large pouch that rests at his thigh, and attached to the large pouch is a small pouch, near the flap. When Gandalf enters Bag End the small pouch is gone, not hidden, just gone. (00:15:35)
Continuity mistake: At Dwarrowdelf, as Gimli runs towards the Chamber of Mazarbul with Balin's Tomb, we see outside the doorway an assortment of body remains, armor and other objects. Then after hearing the approaching Orcs, Boromir looks out of the doorway, and we see to his left that the various body remains and armor are different. When Aragorn and Boromir close the doors to the room, outside we see the position and/or variety of body remains, armor and objects change again. (00:25:05)
Continuity mistake: When Gandalf gets the doors open to the mines, the doors open and you can see Gimli's axe on the right. The camera angle changes to a close-up of Gimli and he is seen in a sitting position smoking his pipe turning his head to the doors. The camera angle changes to a wide shot and he is seen standing with his axe in his hand. (01:45:25)
Continuity mistake: When Arwen is being chased on horseback through the woods by the Ringwraiths, at one point her face gets grazed by a tree branch, which leaves a long red scratch on her right cheek. In the following shot from up behind the horse she's riding, when she turns around one more time to see where the Wraiths are, her face is conspicuously unblemished, only to have the scratch re"surfaced" on subsequent close-ups. Also, during this long flight to the Ford sequence it is quite discernible in many cuts by cueing on her face (esp'ly in slo-mo) that the rider is a stunt double. (01:21:10)
Revealing mistake: There is a shot of the Fellowship in Moria running towards camera as the entrance collapses behind them, in this shot you can see that the hobbits are obviously not Elijah, Sean etc. but their scale doubles. (00:18:15)
Continuity mistake: Upon the Fellowship entering the Chamber of Mazarbul and discovering the tomb of Gimli's cousin Balin, a ray of light is shown shining into the room from the side opposite to the entrance: the side with the long drop later featured prominently by Pippin. After exiting the chamber, another ray of light is shown shining into the tomb from the opposite side it was earlier depicted, appearing to enter the chamber from the entrance side through a small hole above and slightly to the right of the door. No such ray of light, or hole, is seen prior to the Fellowship entering the chamber: the direction of the light just completely flips upon them exiting the room. (01:52:50 - 02:01:45)
Continuity mistake: This is in the extended version only. When the hobbits are in the bar in Hobbiton, and Merry and Pippin are on the table singing, Frodo is skipping around the table singing too, with four mugs of ale in his hands. However, as he skips around, you can see that the mugs are empty, but he then puts them down in front of some other hobbits, and they have something in them.
Continuity mistake: At Bag End, Gandalf tosses the envelope with the Ring into the fire. He grips tongs tightly between his thumb and other fingers and reaches into the fire with his thumb facing his left side. In the close-up, the Ring is grasped on the same side as his thumb, with the excess Ring on the other side with his other fingers. Yet in the next shot, Gandalf lifts the Ring out of the fire and the Ring is grasped on the same side as his other fingers, with the excess Ring at the same side as his thumb. This has nothing to do with camera angles. (00:36:55)
Continuity mistake: While Gandalf is nervously waiting, Frodo is looking for the envelope with the Ring in the wood chest. In the first shot looking up from the POV of the chest, Frodo holds the envelope with the flap up near his fingers and the seal below it. However in the next shot the envelope is reversed, with the flap opposite his fingers. (00:36:40)
Continuity mistake: When Legolas lets loose the final arrow into the Troll's mouth, at Balin's Tomb, and the Troll drops down. The things lying on the ground near the Troll's right arm, are in different positions in the close-up and wide shot. (00:33:25)
Continuity mistake: During the prologue, after Sauron strikes Elendil, we see Narsil falling right at the corner of a dirtless, sandless smooth rockface and the sword has only some blood stains on it. When Isildur grabs Narsil, it is now in the middle of dirty, sandy rock, and the sword has dirt all over it now. (00:03:35)
Continuity mistake: After hearing noises out the window, Gandalf tells Frodo to, "Get down," and reaches for his staff leaning on the mantle. In the close-up when he grabs the staff, on the mantle there are books on the left end with a box near it, and a piece of paper leaning up against the wall between the two. In the wide shot just before this shot, there is no paper between the books and box. Also, the paper lying between the books changes from previous shots and when he starts heading for the window, behind him on the mantle the paper to the right of the candlestick changes position in the following shots. (00:42:15)
Visible crew/equipment: After Frodo looks into the mirror and sees the destruction of the Shire, Galadriel is seen riding in the swan boat across the river. Look in the background, on the left bank, a man can been seen sitting there, very faintly. As the scene progresses this crew member can be seen looking back and forth. (01:01:50)
Continuity mistake: As Gimli weeps at Balin's Tomb, he says "Oh no. No." There is a wide shot, and this is the first shot of the skeleton and pail resting on the stone well. In this shot, the skeleton's feet and head, which are leaning to its left, are in different positions than in the second shot of it. In the second shot, Pippin backs up towards the well, and the skeleton, with its head leaning to its right is shown. Then in the third shot Pippin turns toward the well as Gandalf reads, "A shadow moves in the dark," the skeleton's head now leans to its left. In the fourth shot, as Pippin starts to touch the arrow, the skeleton's head is now leaning forward to its right. (00:25:20)
Continuity mistake: When Gandalf and Bilbo are outside Bag End we see the cloth topped table against the wall that has papers, packages and a candelabra on it. In the shots from outside, the table end closest to the front door is located right under the second decorative beam of wood on the wall, away from the inside archway. In the indoor shot when Gandalf and Bilbo come in, the table end is located right at the archway. (00:16:10)
Continuity mistake: After leaving the Mines of Moria, the Fellowship flee toward Lothlorien. Aragorn runs through a rocky bed of water, stops and smiles looking ahead. In the shot from the front, the top of his bow is hardly seen at his shoulder, but in the shot from behind the top of the bow is way up higher than his shoulder. (00:44:00)
Continuity mistake: When Aragorn is kneeling with the dying Boromir, the amount of blood on Aragorn's mouth/nose slowly decreases throughout the scene, though he never wipes his face.
Continuity mistake: At Bag End, when invisible Bilbo reappears in the hallway, we see books on the shelf of the coat tree. As Bilbo leaves Bag End, he opens the front door, again we see books on the shelf of the coat tree. In both of these shots, the amount and arrangement of books differ. (00:25:40 - 00:28:30)
Continuity mistake: Frodo is in the kitchen packing apples and other food for his journey to Bree. Frodo asks Gandalf, "And the Ring will be safe there?" Behind Frodo, to his right, the window and table in the next room are seen. The chair near the table, is not the same chair that is next to that table in all the rest of the shots of the area. The window is shut, but when Gandalf and Frodo are soon in there it is open when Sam isn't "dropping no eaves." It cannot be assumed that Sam would have opened the window. The existence and arrangement of books and papers on the window bench also differs. (00:41:30 - 00:42:15)
Continuity mistake: In Rivendell, when Bilbo gives Frodo Sting, as he's unwrapping the sword from the cloth, in the close-up he spreads the cloth out flat on the bench in front of the bed. In the next shots, as he shows and then gives Sting, the cloth is wrinkled up on the bench. (Time appropriate for second disc.) (00:01:10)
Answer: "Fly, you fools"