Corrected entry: In the final battle scene, when Aragorn and crew are creating a "diversion" outside the gates of Mordor, everyone is on horseback. Later in the scene, when Aragorn and the other warriors charge the enemy, they are on foot. Even if they did dismount, where are the horses? (02:32:00)
Corrected entry: In Mount Doom, Gollum bites off Frodo's finger to get the ring. In the next shot, you see Frodo holding his hand, underneath the blood, you can still see the ring on his finger.
Correction: What you can see is a reflection of light of the "blood" on the tip of the severed finger (and other points of the hands). But certainly not the ring. Even though it might look like it that would be a far too stupid mistake for a movie of that quality.
Corrected entry: In the Tower of Cirith Ungol, Gorbag is shoved down the entrance hole by Shagrat, causing the orc fights below, yet later we see that Gorbag, not Shagrat, is again in the room with Frodo, to be stabbed by Sam.
Correction: Yes, Gorbag is pushed down below and Shagrat bellows, "The scum tried to knife me, kill him," causing the melee which results in the other Orcs dying, except for the intended Gorbag; and in a lovely twist of irony it is Gorbag that returns up to the tower threatening Frodo, who Sam then kills.
Corrected entry: When Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin, Merry, Eomer, and Gandalf (pardon me if I have missed anyone) ride up to the Black Gate they are on horses, when they come back they are on horses, but when they charge to meet the orcs, trolls and Southerners the horses have vanished.
Correction: There's a long time between these events - more than enough time for them to have dismounted, as horses are a liability in close combat, then the horses were led away from the battlefield before they were surrounded.
Corrected entry: In every shot of Minas Tirith, a city which faces east, with mountains behind it to the west, the sun is shining onto the City from the north. Now this is possible, in very early morning and evening, from May to early August in the Northern Hemisphere...but not at noon-time, and NOT in March (the Ring is destroyed just after equinox, March 25th). We know Middle-earth is Northern Hemisphere since the warmer lands are further south (and Tolkien states in the book that it lay approximately where Northwest Europe is now). In winter, the sun moves southerly and low in the sky. But this was filmed in New Zealand, where winter sunlight comes from the north, not the south, hence so does the sunlight at Minas Tirith in the movie. There's the reason, but still a mistake.
Correction: The Earth has not always been tilted on its axis roughly 23 degrees. The angle of tilt does change approximately every 20,000 years. In the time of the Pharaohs, Sirius was the north star and now it is Polaris. The Earth's rotation has also slowed down thoughout history as did the orbit around the sun. This error is correct if this movie took place in our lifetimes or even in the last 2000 years. But the problem is, it is a mythlogical world on a mythological timeline. We cannot determine what century it took place. Pre-dinosaur, post-dinsaur, pre-Egyptian, pre-Sumarian? Not knowing at what point in Earth's history the movie is set makes it impossible to guess exactly how the sun would shine down on any given spot.
Corrected entry: When Frodo is in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, his shirt is off and you can see a round, burn-like mark; presumably where he was stung by Shelob. The mark is, however, in the area that would have been covered by his mithril shirt. Even if Shelob did pierce the shirt (which would be odd, since it survived that troll-thrust in "Fellowship"), where is the hole when the Mouth of Sauron shows it to Gandalf?
Correction: When Frodo's white shirt is unbuttoned at the top, the low neckline of the mithril shirt is visible underneath. Shelob does not perforate the mithril shirt, she wounds Frodo at the neckline and the scar, which is seen at the Tower of Cirith Ungol, is positioned in the area where the mithril neckline would be located.
Corrected entry: How in the world did Sam rip the ring off Frodo even though he was covered with webs, pick up his sword that was far away from him, find a hiding space and run deeply into it in the four seconds or so that he had before the orcs came? Another thing is that hobbits are not very fast as they have very short legs and are fat, and Sam had pots and pans with him which would have made lots of noise if he was running quickly, and we hear nothing.
Correction: All Sam needs to do to get to the chain is reach with one finger between the web and Frodo's neck, pull out a bit of chain and unclasp it, very quick and simple to do. From the time Sam hears the Orcs, to the moment of their arrival, is longer than "four seconds", as it is not necessary (and very deliberate) to show Sam's (who is indeed quite fast on his Hobbit feet) actions onscreen - so the viewers would see and hear nothing. (The point is made in the films that despite Hobbit size, they are rather quick and nimble.)
Corrected entry: In the scene where Frodo, Sam and Smeagol crawl past the dead city of Minas Morgul, a huge green ray of light issues from the top of the tower, followed by a zillion and a half orcs marching out. In the shot where Gandalf and Pippin are watching this event from Minas Tirith, the green beam appears to be on the right (our right) of Orodruin (Mt. Doom) erupting. However, check out Tolkien's maps of Middle Earth and you will see that, from Minas Tirith, the green beam should be on the left of Orodruin.
Correction: When looking at the map of Middle Earth, Minas Tirith, Osgiliath, and Minas Morgul are, from west to east, on the same line of latitude, and Mount Doom is northeast of Minas Morgul. When Gandalf and Pippin stand in Minas Tirith, facing Osgiliath, beyond it lies the Mountains of Shadow (Ephel Dúath) and within that mountain range, directly behind Osgiliath, is Minas Morgul, where the green beacon is emitted from. While still facing the same way, to the left of Minas Morgul, farther in the distance is Mount Doom (Orodruin). The scene with Gandalf and Pippin is geographically correct.
Corrected entry: The Kingdom of the Dead fled before the battle between Isildur and Sauron. They hid in the mountains and they never saw or spoke to anyone after that. So how is it that they are instantly able to recognize Aragorn's sword and know that it was broken?
Correction: Narsil, Elendil's sword, was legendary even at the time of the War of the Last Alliance - it was over three thousand years old at that point. Even with the alterations made by the reforging, it would be recognisable. The Dead didn't retreat to their subterranean realm immediately after their curse, making it highly likely that they would have encountered others at some point. At that point in history, only shortly after the fall of Sauron, the tale of Elendil's fall would be widely known, making it highly unlikely that they wouldn't have been made aware of the details, including the breaking of Narsil.
Corrected entry: The pirate on the Corsair ship who talks to Aragorn et al. is actually WETA workshop manager Richard Taylor.
Correction: It's not Richard Taylor - he's standing near the huge crossbow "looking menacing" (according to Richard himself). See the Extended DVD appendices - they talk about the cameos in that scene.
Corrected entry: At the end, before Gandalf's little 'breaking the fellowship' speech, he takes his left hand off his staff. Then it cuts to the hobbits and back to Gandalf, who has his hand on his staff again.
Correction: There is plenty of time for Gandalf to place his hand back on the staff during the camera cut.
Corrected entry: In the Paths of the Dead, Aragorn is leading with a torch in his hand. However, when the King of the Dead challenges him, he holds his sword in both hands - the torch is missing.
Correction: In the wide shot just prior to when the King of the Dead says, "The way is shut. Now you must die.", the huge gorge is visible right behind Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, as Aragorn holds the torch in this last shot where it is visible. Then there are 2 shots of the King of the dead, 1 shot of Legolas and 1 of Gimli, before Aragorn walks forward. If Aragorn throws the torch to the side during these 4 shots and it's then kicked into the gorge by the menacing Army of the Dead, in one of the many shots where the ground isn't visible before the Army of the Dead disappear, it is quite plausible. If Aragorn throws the torch behind him, directly into the gorge during the 4 shots, it's also perfectly plausible, as there is plenty of time for either to occur.
Corrected entry: Sam tells Frodo that Sauron's eye passed on towards the north. But Sauron's eye passed on towards the south.
Corrected entry: In the Tower of Cirith Ungol when Frodo is lying without his shirt, while they go through his clothing, he has spider web in his hair. A short while later when Sam comes to rescue him, there is no spider web in his hair at all, and his hands are still bound so he couldn't have removed it.
Correction: Frodo has web on his face and hair as Shagrat and Gorbag fight. Then it cuts to many shots of the fighting amongst the Uruks and Orcs, followed by all of Sam's shots. Since Frodo's hands are bound at his wrists, in front of him, it gives him the mobility to actually reach up and wipe away the annoying web from his face and much of it from his hair. There certainly is enough time for Frodo to do this.
Corrected entry: In the Extended Edition Eowyn is asleep on a couch in the throne room of Meduseld after the Rohan victory celebration. But she lives in Edoras; why isn't she in her own bedroom? In the film she has to be in a public place, because otherwise Aragorn couldn't talk to her about her dream in the middle of the night. But would king Theoden really leave his eligible young niece asleep alone in the throne room, when there are lots of drunken guests around after the party? You'd expect at least a guard or chaperon with her.
Correction: This has to go in the "character decision" category. Eowyn chooses to sleep in the Hall of Meduseld, and even though her reason for this is not shown, she is free to do so. One possible explanation can be that she had her nightmare in her room, and wanted to get out in the bigger, loftier Hall to get some air, or because she felt safer there. And as Eowyn demonstrates, she is fully capable of taking care of herself.
Corrected entry: Extended edition. Éomer tells Éowyn that he does not doubt the strength of Merry's heart, only the reach of his arm. Yet later in that same scene, he tells her he doesn't believe Merry is brave enough to be in battle.
Corrected entry: The first or second time you see a Nazgul riding the winged beast (in Osgiliath), the winged beast's mouth is big enough to fit a person in whole. Later on when Eowyn cuts the winged beast's head off (just before she fights the witch king), the winged beast's mouth is a lot smaller.
Correction: Not the case - when the Fell Beast attacked Theoden, it takes a sizable amount of his horse into its mouth. The size of the creature doesn't alter between that moment and when Eowyn fights it. The mouth of the Fell Beast is quite long, allowing it to open much wider than the size of the head would suggest, but it doesn't change.
Corrected entry: The Ringwraiths can feel the presence of the Ring at all times as stated by Gandalf, but the Witch King is unable to feel the Ring's presence at its front door or even when he flies right over Frodo in Minas Morgul.
Correction: They can feel the presence of the Ring, yes, but that doesn't mean that they can zero in on it - it doesn't work like a homing beacon unless somebody's actually wearing it. A Nazgul can be within feet of the Ring and be unaware of it, as we see on at least one occasion during the film. The Witch-King can feel the Ring, but he has no way of knowing how close it is.
Corrected entry: After the battle of the Pelennor fields, when Pippin finds Merry, Merry says, "I knew you'd find me." Then in a side shot, though we hear Merry say, "Are you going to leave me?" his lips actually touch and come together like for the letter 'B' and NOT forming the letter 'L' in 'leave'. As an aside, it appears as if his lips may say, "Are you going to bury me?", which was the line as said in the book, but in any case still a mistake. (02:17:45)
Correction: I just checked the Extended DVD, and he is NOT forming the letter B. His lips are parted when he says that letter. You try saying the letter B with parted lips. It's obviously an L, thus he is saying the word "leave" and not "bury".
Corrected entry: When Frodo has been captured and is lying on the floor, you can see Frodo's boxers. They have a white elastic band at the top, with black writing along the edge.
Correction: There is neither an elastic waistband nor is there is any black writing visible on the undergarment. As Frodo moves and takes deep breaths the material does not move as an elastic band and the drawstring is visible in some shots. In an enlarged screenshot the undergarment is clearly regular white material that has shadowed creases at the waist. It is simply Hobbit underwear.
Correction: In close combat with no room to manoeuvre, being on horseback can be a serious liability - the possibility of being pulled off and then killed before getting up is too high, so it makes sense to dismount. The Host would not want riderless horses around - the likelihood is that they'd spook and prove a danger to the soldiers around them - so they simply designated a couple of riders to lead the horses out of the combat zone. It would have taken some considerable time for the Mordor forces to surround them, so there was plenty of time for this to happen.
Tailkinker ★