Continuity mistake: When Faramir kneels in front of Sam and Frodo, in the close-up the hand of a Ranger is on Sam's shoulder. The hand and short fingernails are very dirty. After Faramir's lieutenant says, "You know the laws of our country..." the hand and longer fingernails are clean. Then in the next close-up the hand and short fingernails are dirty again. Sam's hood, hair, etc. differ in these shots too. (01:37:30)
Deliberate mistake: Just after they've clashed with the Warg, while riding on Arod, Legolas lets loose his first arrow and hits a Warg in his face and it flips over. In this first shot, the background behind this Warg is the same background as in the very next shot. This first background shot is really the successive shot of this second background shot. The shot just after Gimli falls off his horse, is the third successive shot, only it's been flipped. The same men on horses are riding across the field in the background, as this was one piece of footage that was cut into three parts. Warg and riders were added to the image, to make them appear different and one was flipped. (00:11:05)
Continuity mistake: During the Warg attack, as the first Warg falls on top of Gimli, in the wide shot we see the area they fall, past the Warg. Later, when the second Warg climbs on top of the corpses and Gimli, in the wide shot, as Aragorn throws the spear we see the area past the second Warg again. The landscape, including patches of grass and rocks, is different in the two shots. This has nothing to do with the angle of the shots. (00:11:30)
Continuity mistake: When Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn are standing atop the wall and Legolas says, "Your friends are with you Aragorn," in this close-up we can see that Legolas' right braid is loose and half undone. As Legolas lets loose his first arrow in the rain, his right braid is perfect again. Various close-ups were done in pickups long after the principal photography. (01:00:40 - 01:04:05)
Continuity mistake: Merry's shirt is untucked under the front bottom of his vest when Pippin chases him and then as he sits on the roots of the tree. The tree starts to devour them. Just after the shot of hairy Hobbit toes, there is a close-up of Merry's jacket and vest, before panning to his face. It shows that his shirt is now tucked in, as well as in the far shot later, when Treebeard rescues them. (01:10:10)
Continuity mistake: Sam helps Frodo up and says, "There's some good in this world," then Faramir walks over and the Hobbits face him. Sam's rolled blanket is seen high up on his back, above his shoulders. Yet in the very next close-up, which is a flipped shot, the blanket is way down on his back, way below his shoulders. Frodo's hair is completely different in both shots too. (01:36:55)
Continuity mistake: When Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas stand and then enter Fangorn, there are multiple shots that are flipped and then not, back and forth. For example, when they get ready to fight the White Wizard, the shots are flipped. The quivers and brooches of Aragorn and Legolas are the wrong way. (00:40:50)
Continuity mistake: Just before Brego comes up to an unconscious Aragorn, his sword is lying on his left side, perpendicular to his body, with the blade facing towards his back and the hilt facing his front. In the next shot, before Aragorn even rolls over onto his back, the blade is now pointing up his back and the hilt is at his thigh. Also once again, the tear in the coat and shirt at Aragorn's left shoulder is very different in both shots, as it is in many of the following shots too. (00:20:55)
Other mistake: John Noble's name is misspelled in its second appearance in the SEV credits. It is correct in its initial appearance (the fades with the fancy font). However, in the short list of where the actors are listed with their character's name, it is spelled "John Nogle." (01:50:50)
Revealing mistake: When Theoden, Aragorn, Legolas and the Rohirrim soldiers ride out to meet the enemy just before Gandalf's return, they charge down the ramp into the stampeding Uruk-hai. If you watch the Uruk-hai very carefully you can see that some are running in slow motion, even though the scene is played at normal speed. (01:29:10)
Continuity mistake: Just after Haldir dies, Aragorn jumps onto a ladder and rides it into a crowd of Uruk-hai. In the close up shot when he first jumps he has his sword in his right hand, but when they cut to a longer shot for the fall his hands are empty. When he lands on the ground, the sword is back in his hand. (01:14:40)
Continuity mistake: In the first shot of the Uruk-hai running away fom Helm's Deep, towards the trees, the shot of Helm's Deep in the background is correct. The Causeway is littered with many bodies and the ladders are leaning against the Keep and the Deeping Wall with the break in it. However, in the next shot of them, as they are entering the forest of trees with Helm's Deep behind them, the Causeway has no bodies on it and there are no ladders leaning against the Keep. Also visible when Theoden is shouting, "Victory, we have victory." (01:38:00)
Audio problem: When the Ents are attacking Isengard, just after the river has been released. Merry calls to Pippin "hold on!", but if you look at his lips, he says "Hang on!" The lip-syncing doesn't match. (02:35:25)
Revealing mistake: When the Ents are releasing the river, on the bottom left hand side, you can see an Orc chopping at an Ent. However, when the Ent moves, the Orc is still chopping the same place.
Continuity mistake: At Edoras, after Wormtongue spits on Aragorn's hand and runs away, a man shouts, "Hail Theoden King!" The crowd bowing at the bottom of the stairs in this wide shot, is more dense, than in the close-up shot after, where the crowd is very sparse to the right. Not to mention some people are arranged quite differently. (01:23:30)
Continuity mistake: After Legolas yells, "A scout!" Aragorn runs back towards the Rohirrim to warn them. In the first shot, he's running down the hill, straight ahead of him, is Theoden on his horse, Éowyn leading two horses on foot and people to her left. In the next shot, Éowyn's two horses are pointed to her right, there aren't any people to her left, and now standing between Theoden and Éowyn is Gimli with Arod. (00:09:15)
Continuity mistake: First a shot of the Uruks shooting up the second anchor to the Keep, then there's a shot of a line of Uruks pulling on the cable. In the next shot, an Uruk has his arm wrapped around the frame, between the rungs of the ladder. We can also see the feet of another Uruk, standing on the horizontal ladder. This 'real' ladder has a much narrower width than the CG ladder, we see going up in the next shot, which is wide enough to hold 3-4 Uruks, side by side, as it's being raised to the Keep. Then when it reaches the top of the Keep, it's the 'real' ladder again. There is a very noticeable difference between the real ladders and the WETA CG ladders, top or bottom. (01:17:10)
Continuity mistake: Aragorn remembers what Gandalf said, "...at dawn look to the East." Theoden crosses the floor in front of Aragorn saying, "The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the Deep," as Aragorn turns around towards Theoden. Theoden now turns to face Aragorn, as he continues, "one last time." In the next shot, Theoden puts his hand on Aragorn's shoulder, behind Aragorn is a chair to his right. The next shot of Theoden close up shows his back to the front guarded door of the chamber with the chair overturned behind him. Earlier when Theoden crosses the floor past Aragorn, their positions changed. It should be Aragorn's back facing the front guarded door of the chamber now. Also, the overturned chair should be upright. (01:27:20)
Revealing mistake: There are quite a few times where the Uruk-hai fitted skin wrinkles, creases or bubbles up where they shouldn't. Some examples are, at Helm's Deep, while they fight on the Deeping Wall, as the Uruks climb the ladders and when Gandalf charges with the Rohirrim. (01:05:30)
Continuity mistake: At Edoras, after the first close-up shot of Éowyn kneeling at the bedside of Theodred, there is a front wide shot. In that shot the animal skin rugs going around the bed differ in position from the next wide shot behind Éowyn. Note especially, the rugs at the foot of the bed on the opposite side of Éowyn. (01:13:40)
Chosen answer: "Do they give good sport" is simply a way of asking whether they're being kept alive to provide later entertainment; could they be used in some sort of organised hunt, could they serve as gladiatorial fodder in an arena fight, that sort of thing. The weird thing with the tongue really just seems to be a sort of odd tic, designed to emphasise his rather disgusting nature.
Tailkinker ★