Revealing mistake: When Frodo stops rolling down the snow covered hill, just before the shot of Boromir picking up the Ring, you can see the edge of the stockings that the actors wore to protect their feet since they were walking in real snow for that scene. (00:07:14)
Revealing mistake: When Frodo and Gandalf are on the wagon talking about Bilbo, and we see footage of Bilbo in Bag End, look closely at his foot. You can obviously see it bounce, showing that it is not his real foot but a prosthetic one. Extended DVD. (00:12:25)
Revealing mistake: Once the secret door to Moria is open, when Gimli says, "Soon Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves," as Gandalf leads the way inside, note the glint of the trailing power cord as it moves along the ground behind Gandalf and goes directly under his robe. This is the staff's electrical supply cable. (00:16:20)
Revealing mistake: When Gandalf first visits Bilbo in Bag End they sit at a long table that is positioned lengthways from the camera. Bilbo potters about at the far end of the table and Gandalf goes to the left at the end closest to the camera. As he sits down the near half of the table wobbles but the far half does not. This seems to expose the fact that the table is actually in two parts, a small sized piece of table close to the camera next to which Gandalf looks large, and a normal sized piece of table a bit further away that looks the right size for Bilbo. The two pieces are filmed from such a perspective that they look like they join together in one long table and the fact that there is really a gap between them so that Bilbo is further away than it seems, makes him seem small compared to Gandalf. There is a round of cheese and various pieces of crockery on the near piece of table to disguise the gap. (00:17:10)
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)
Revealing mistake: Gandalf and Bilbo sit on the bench outside of Bag End smoking their pipes with the party area in the distance. The tree, the water, Hobbit home (future home of Sam and Rosie) to the right and party area is extremely different in dimensions and aspect ratio, compared to the background that's seen when invisible Bilbo comes through the gate at Bag End. It's also very apparent, because of the hair, that it's Bilbo's scale double in the back shots on the bench. (00:19:25 - 00:25:25)
Revealing mistake: At Bilbo's party, the rocket takes off with the tent. In the aerial shot, the ground below is seen and the ropes with the lanterns and streamers hanging from them are shown around the perimeter of the party. These ropes are suspended from wood posts staked into the ground. In the aerial shot all the ropes shown are arced and in a direct view from above we should not see an arc in all the ropes that are suspended on those posts. The aspect ratio of the lantern lights, shown to the sides of the streamer lines is skewed as well. The aerial view is CG. (00:22:55)
Revealing mistake: After Bilbo returns from the party invisible and finds Gandalf by the fireplace, look at Gandalf as Bilbo walks between him and the fire. There is no shadow cast on him when there clearly should be. Also as the camera pans round following Bilbo's movements, you can see Gandalf is casting a shadow on the floor but not on the table, but when Bilbo walks up to it he does, even though Gandalf is between him and the fire light. (00:25:10)
Revealing mistake: At Bag End, Gandalf is leaning on the fireplace talking to Bilbo. Then, just as Bilbo says, "It was just a bit of fun," Gandalf's eye contact does not quite line up with Bilbo. This is because they were shot individually and placed together in editing. (00:26:00)
Revealing mistake: In Balin's Tomb, after Merry and Pippin are separated from Frodo when the cave Troll smashes its club on the floor beneath them, the Troll first sniffs around the pillar to Frodo's right (viewer's left) as we see Pippin and Merry standing up, before the Troll comes around to Frodo's right and sniffs again. At the start of the next shot, we actually see Merry and Pippin in full view of their facial expressions, standing at the ready, with their daggers held high, continuing to just stare past the pillar behind Frodo. So, despite the fact that the huge Troll is appearing directly in front of them, to Frodo's right once again (before it roars), Merry and Pippin don't even glance in its direction. (00:31:35)
Revealing mistake: When Gandalf tells Frodo to 'keep it secret, keep it safe' there is a close-up of Gandalf's face and he is wearing contact lenses. (00:31:45)
Revealing mistake: After the battle with the cave Troll, Aragorn rushes over to injured Frodo and brushes past some big rocks that wobble, showing that they are lightweight and not real. (00:32:15)
Revealing mistake: When the Fellowship is trying to get to the bridge of Khazad-Dum and are delayed by the gap in the staircase, in one shot, Legolas jumps, in the next shot, Gandalf jumps. Sam is visible for a second, in the upper right corner of the screen, and he is obviously the Sean Astin's scale double wearing a mask. (00:36:10)
Revealing mistake: When Gandalf first sends the Hobbits on their journey, they are in the forest and the Hobbits walk up to Gandalf and the horse, you can tell that the Hobbits are dressed up little people rather than the actors themselves. You can tell by their stature, and how they walk. (00:43:05)
Revealing mistake: When angry Farmer Maggot chases Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pip, whilst they tumble down the hill Sam's knee pads are visible in a couple of shots. (Slow motion is not necessary.) (00:52:30)
Revealing mistake: When the hobbits ask Strider where he is taking them, he answers "Into the wild." A split second later as Strider walks past the camera the bow he carries on his back touches the camera, shaking the screen a bit. (01:03:00)
Revealing mistake: When Pippin falls in the Midgewater Marshes, you can see that part of his Hobbit foot is ripped off. Extended DVD. (01:04:50 - 01:07:30)
Revealing mistake: In the first wide shot of Aragorn taking the Hobbits "into the wild" they are cresting a hill and the village of Bree is visible behind them. This is obviously a backdrop because the smoke coming out of the chimneys doesn't move at all. (01:05:25)
Revealing mistake: After fleeing from Boromir, Frodo is approached by Aragorn and Frodo passes a statue on a stone base and a stone pillar near stone steps. As Aragorn follows Frodo, in these shots, Aragorn's height and waist reach the same markings as Frodo when he went past these same objects. (01:17:15)
Revealing mistake: When Arwen enters the water after being chased by the Ringwraiths, as she turns the horse, you can clearly see the fake hobbit (representing an injured Frodo), bounce up and down like a rubber band. (01:18:50)
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.