Continuity mistake: The two wounds on Frodo's chest are noticeably changed in appearance, from the first shots of Frodo while Shagrat and Gorbag are behind him, to the following shots before and after Sam rescues him. (02:18:50 - 02:21:10)
Continuity mistake: As Sam walks in through the doorway of the Tower of Cirith Ungol there are bodies scattered all over the floor of the entryway in the close-up. However in the next overhead wide shot, there are no bodies in the entryway behind Sam. (02:20:00)
Continuity mistake: When Sam is heading to the top of the Tower of Cirith Ungol to rescue Frodo, there is a shot of four Orcs and Uruks coming down at the same time. After Sam growls echo loudly, the next shot shows an Uruk turning and starting to run back up. When they attack Sam, there are only three. The fourth one, who is clearly not Gorbag, could not have run into the tower, because when Sam stabs Gorbag at the top of the tower, the light of Sting goes out, indicating there are no more Orcs in the vicinity. (On the Extended DVD, it is the Uruk Shagrat who escapes and hides, as he holds Frodo's mithril shirt, while going down the tower when Sam heads up.) (02:20:30)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Aragorn suggests attacking the Black Gate in order to draw out the orcs and give Frodo safe passage, the amount of Gandalf's hair hanging loose from his pony tail varies from shot to shot. (02:24:25)
Continuity mistake: While walking in Mordor, Sam yells "Frodo, get down!" and in the first wide shot Frodo turns his body towards Sauron's Eye as Sam drops down. In the next shot Sam is in the background, Frodo's arm is in the foreground and Frodo has not turned yet. Also, in the shot of him facing the Eye, Frodo's face and neck are cleaner than in the shots before and after. (02:28:55)
Continuity mistake: Just before and after Sam yells, "Frodo get down. Hide!" the sores at Frodo's neck caused by the Ring's burden are visible. Frodo then falls to the ground after seeing the Eye and the sore on the right side of his neck is seen again, but completely different. The sores change many times in consecutive shots. (02:29:00)
Continuity mistake: When Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf, Gimli etc, ride up to the gates of Mordor, the main characters go up to the gate on their own to demand it opens. The trails the horses leave on the way towards the gate are different to those that you see in the shot when they retreat after the gate has opened. (02:29:40 - 02:31:20)
Continuity mistake: As Aragorn et al are in front of the Black Gate, Aragorn shouts, "Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth!" In the first overhead shot, Éomer is second from the end, the rider with the flag is at the very end and Gandalf is a good distance away from Aragorn. Yet, in the next close-up, Gandalf is right beside Aragorn and in the next rear shot, Éomer is at the very end as the rider with the flag is now second from the end. (02:30:00)
Continuity mistake: In the second half of the film, Frodo has a scar on his lower right cheek, close to his chin. Many times throughout the rest of the film the scar changes position and size on his right cheek. It also appears on his left cheek in flipped shots (most obviously on the slopes of Mount Doom when Sam is cradling his head). (02:31:05 - 02:34:00)
Continuity mistake: According to the map shown in the opening prologue to the Fellowship of the Ring, the tower of Barad-dur should not be visible through the Black Gates - it's far off to the east, with an outcrop of the Ash Mountains in the way. (02:31:20)
Continuity mistake: When at the Black Gate, the armies of men are surrounded by Orcs, then after Aragorn's "For Frodo" line, they charge across the screen from left to right. When they are running, in a shot where Gandalf is seen on the very right of the screen and 2 Warriors of Rohan with axes are in the front of the shot, you can see through some gaps and there are no Orcs, just an open field. Thousands of Orcs just disappeared. (02:36:55)
Continuity mistake: Gollum says, "Clever Hobbits, to climb so high!" and leaps onto Frodo and Sam. When he rolls down the steps with Frodo, while Frodo is lying face down, one of Frodo's back suspenders pops off and the button can be seen flying off his back towards the ground. Of course the suspenders are fine in the following shots. (02:37:40)
Continuity mistake: When Gollum chokes Frodo, Sam throws a rock, hitting Gollum in the head and Gollum falls. In the next front close-up of Frodo, as he catches his breath, the necklace is caught up in the collar of Frodo's shirt and the Ring is at his right shoulder. Yet in the next side shot, the necklace is now flat on his neck and the Ring is centered in the middle of it. (02:37:40)
Continuity mistake: After Gollum says, "Clever Hobbits, to climb so high!" he jumps onto Frodo and Sam. Gollum then attacks Frodo and when he turns Frodo onto his back, Frodo's shirt is wide open at his neck/chest and the necklace and ring are gone. In the next close-up as Gollum chokes Frodo, and the following shots, the necklace is back. (02:37:45)
Continuity mistake: After falling from Sam's shoulders, Gollum attacks Frodo while they roll around on the ground and Frodo's shirt is messy and untucked. However, while Gollum holds his head from the bruise of Sam's rock, in the side shot Frodo lies on the ground coughing and Frodo's shirt is neatly tucked into his pants. (02:37:50)
Continuity mistake: Frodo awakens at Minas Tirith, sits up in bed and sees Gandalf. There is a silver pitcher on the dresser to his left and the pitcher's handle points away from Frodo. Yet when Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli look at the three Hobbits, it is a different pitcher entirely, and I might add with the handle now pointing towards Frodo. (02:49:20 - 02:50:50)
Continuity mistake: After Frodo wakes up in Minas Tirith, Merry and Pippin stand in the doorway. Their height reaches the middle of the ornate carving on the door in the close-up, but in their next wide shot running in, they are much shorter. When Legolas and Aragorn walk in, also in a close-up, their height is just a bit higher on that ornate carving than the two Hobbits' heights were. Then when Sam stands in the doorway his height also reaches the center of the carving. (02:51:20)
Continuity mistake: After Aragorn's coronation, he and Arwen approach Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry. When they all bow to the Hobbits, in the close-ups the people surrounding the Hobbits are very close. However, in the overhead wide shot there is a large gap between the Hobbits and the crowd. (02:57:10)
Continuity mistake: At the crowning ceremony for King Aragorn, the four hobbits stand side by side, and Merry is a little taller than the other three. However, in the far shot when everyone bows, the scale double for Merry is obviously the shortest of the four. (02:57:20)
Continuity mistake: Near the end, when the four Hobbits are seated at the table in the Green Dragon, Frodo passes out the mugs of ale to himself and the rest. Look at the interior of the mugs, not just the exterior. Frodo and Merry have the same colored mugs as each other and Sam and Pippin have the same as one another. When they lift their mugs to drink, look at the interior of the mugs, now Sam and Merry have the same color and Frodo and Pippin have the same as each other. (02:59:05)
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 ★