Continuity mistake: There are trebuchets atop the walls of Minas Tirith; however, in the front wideshot (not side shots), as Faramir and the rest of the Gondorian soldiers ride towards Osgiliath, with Minas Tirith directly behind them, all the trebuchets are gone. (01:31:10)
Continuity mistake: In the scene at the beginning of the siege of Minas Tirith, as Denethor looks down, when the Troll is heaving the first rock onto the catapult, the first shot shows the rock being flat with a flat bottom. In the next shot, once on the catapult, the rock is taller. (01:31:50)
Continuity mistake: When Aragorn stares at the road to the Dimholt, as the shot zooms in, the landscape differs in this shot compared to when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ride into the door under the mountain. (01:36:00 - 01:44:50)
Continuity mistake: At Minas Tirith, Gandalf tells Pippin, "Go back to the Citadel!" and while Gandalf battles the Orcs, the area of the two adjacent benches, one is a two legged bench and the other is a three legged, change in consecutive shots. For example, the legs of a man lying under the three legged bench are in a shot, then they're gone, then back again in the same position. (01:36:15)
Continuity mistake: After getting caught in the web at Shelob's Lair in Cirith Ungol, Frodo's Elven cloak and the rest of his clothes are covered in web material. Following this, there are quite a few consecutive shots in which the amount, position, or existence of web on his body, changes within the close-ups and wide shots. (01:43:20)
Continuity mistake: Frodo falls at Shelob's Lair, and he lifts his head to see Galadriel, as she reaches her hand out to him, In the first close-up of Frodo he has a green leaf in his hair, in the second close-up, it's a brown leaf and in the third close-up it's the green leaf again. There are also differences with other leaves around him. (01:45:25)
Continuity mistake: When Sam rolls down Shelob's back and falls, we see Sam's sword in the sheath at his waist. However after he stabs Shelob between her pincers, she knocks Sting out of Sam's hand, pushes him and when she tries to stab him, as he rolls we see an empty sheath. Then after he picks up the light of Eärendil, he falls and we see his sword (not Sting) in the sheath once again. (01:51:00 - 01:51:45)
Continuity mistake: Sam rolls down Shelob's back, then he grabs Sting and takes a stance against Shelob. In the next overhead wide shot, Sam stands at the ready and Shelob positions herself at the stairway. Frodo's wrapped body is nowhere to be seen at the bottom of the stairs in this mostly CG shot. (01:51:05)
Continuity mistake: When Sam withdraws Sting from Shelob's eye, the sword is covered in eye gloop and he is holding Sting in his left hand. The shot switches further out and the gloop is gone and Sting has moved to his right hand. (01:51:10)
Continuity mistake: After falling near Frodo's body, Sam thrusts the Phial of Galadriel toward wounded Shelob as she recoils into her lair. In the shots behind Sam his hood is at his left shoulder, but in the shots from the front and in the overhead shot as he reaches Frodo's body, his hood is centered. (01:52:00)
Continuity mistake: After Shelob retreats into her lair, Sam runs over to Frodo and begins to remove the webbing. In the first front shot we see Shelob's green blood on his hands. In the next shot from the side, the amount and shape of the blood on Sam's hands has changed. Then back to another front shot and the stains are the same as in the first shot. (01:52:25)
Continuity mistake: When Frodo is stabbed by Shelob (the giant spider) and wrapped in her web, Sam thinks he's dead because he's not moving at all. From Sam's point of view Frodo's eyes are fixed wide open. A cut to a side view of Sam lifting Frodo shows Frodo's eyes shut. The next cut back to the original point of view shows Frodo's eyes back fixed open. (01:52:30)
Continuity mistake: After Frodo has been wrapped in the spider web, Sam tries to rescue him and frees his face. In the next shots, the web is sometimes over Frodo's chin and sometimes under it, although no one touched it. (01:52:35)
Continuity mistake: When Shelob retreats into her lair, Sam runs to Frodo and lays Sting down on the ground. It lies on dirt that has white rocks showing through underneath, which is even seen in the last overhead wide shot of Sam holding Frodo. Yet in the next close-up of Sting glowing blue, it is lying on plain dirt. (01:52:40 - 01:53:30)
Continuity mistake: As the Rohirrim approach Minas Tirith, they arrive on the flank of the Mordor army, putting them to the north of the battle (the Mordor forces are attacking from Osgiliath in the east to Minas Tirith to the west). As they do so, the Sun appears behind them, rising in the north rather than in the east. (01:57:05)
Continuity mistake: When Theoden is planning the attack before the battle of the Pelennor fields, Grimbold rides across the front of his horse and rides a considerable distance, but in the next shot, he hasn't even set off yet, and is still behind Theoden. (01:58:00 - 01:59:00)
Continuity mistake: When Faramir is carried up and placed near the White Tree, Denethor walks down the stairs to approach him. The two soldiers who stand on the stairs outside the palace doors repeatedly change from standing on the 4th step, to the 5th step, then to the 4th, back on the 5th, and so on, in the first and all the following shots. (01:59:25)
Continuity mistake: At Minas Tirith, after injured Faramir is carried up, Denethor walks away and sees the Orc army for the first time. In the next shot when the Troll lifts the rock onto the catapult, this catapult is totally different in the close-up and following wide shot. (02:00:35)
Continuity mistake: After Denethor looks down at the Orc army, mumbling about Rohan's desertion, Gothmog laughs as the stones are catapulted towards Minas Tirith. Then there are two close-ups of people running and screaming and at the start of the second shot, Pippin is fleeing off screen at the right. But that's impossible, Pippin is still with Faramir, near the White Tree. (02:00:55)
Continuity mistake: When Pippin first kills an orc in Minas Tirith, his blade has no blood on it but a second later, blood appears. (02:01:05)
Answer: There are only five wizards. Saruman and Gandalf are heavily involved, as we see. Radagast, while not mentioned in the film, has a particular affinity with the birds and animals - it is he who sends the Eagles to the last battle, and to rescue Gandalf from Isengard. The final two, Alatar and Pallando, known as the Blue Wizards, went into the far eastern regions of Middle-Earth and never returned. Tolkien felt that they would ultimately have fallen from grace, much as Saruman did.
Tailkinker ★