Continuity mistake: After Aragorn cuts off the head of the Mouth of Sauron and rides back with Gandalf, Legolas and Eomer to his army, the dead body, horse and decapitated head of the Mouth of Sauron are nowhere to be seen, while no time has passed. The horse hasn't run away, so it all just kind of disappeared. (Extended Edition)
Continuity mistake: In one of the final scenes of the movie, Frodo is writing in the book "There and Back Again," adding his own story. As he is finishing, he clutches the wound he received from one of the Nazgul in "The Fellowship of the Ring." Frodo does put the quill down, but that happens before he gets the pain in his chest. Frodo has the quill in his hand when he starts to write again. Frodo is not shown putting the quill down between these next consecutive shots. In the first close-up, Frodo has the quill in his hand as he clutches his chest, because of the pain. Next shot, Sam enters the room. In the next consecutive shot, Frodo, who is still clutching the pain in his chest, does not have the quill in his hand. (03:01:50)
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: 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)
Revealing mistake: In the scene inside Mount Doom after Gollum bites Frodo's finger off and it appears they have both fallen into the lava, Sam looks over the edge of the cliff and sees Frodo hanging on. Just after Sam says, "Take my hand!" as Frodo tries to grab Sam's hand, you can plainly see Frodo's "missing" finger bent in half to give the appearance that it is gone, complete with the blood and gore seen just after the finger was bitten off initially. (02:44:25)
Deliberate mistake: In the Extended Edition, the location of the Tomb of the Stewards is shown to be behind the city of Minis Tirith, at the cemetery on the mountainside, accessible via a long bridge. Flaming Denethor later runs to the far prow of the city, leaps off and plummets. The distance between the two areas makes it is obviously entirely impossible for someone, even adrenaline charged Denethor, to run this distance while his oiled flesh burns. Admitted on the commentary that it's poetic license, due to director Peter Jackson's long awaited vision for this dramatic shot. (00:13:15 - 00:30:50)
Continuity mistake: When Denethor holds the Horn of Gondor, the metal loop (with rope), which is affixed at its wide end, is located at the outer curve where it is cloven. However in both FotR and TTT, the metal loop at the Horn's wide end, is located on the inner curve where it is cloven, on the opposite side. (There are only two metal loops and they are permanently affixed.) (00:44:50)
Continuity mistake: When Pippin finds Merry's cloak, in the shot facing the ground he picks it up and Merry's Elf leaf broach is vertical, as it points towards Pip's right. However, in the next shot facing Pippin, the broach is now horizontal and points to his left (viewer's right). (00:46:50)
Revealing mistake: When Legolas is climbing up the oliphaunt during the battle of the Pelennor fields, there is a shot of him moving along the oliphaunt's side. During this shot, he pivots a bit on the rope he is holding. When he pivots towards the side, you can see that the arrows in his quiver pass through the skin of the CGI creature.
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: 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)
Revealing mistake: After Théoden orders to reform the line, when the Mûmakil approach, Éowyn and Merry (from his eyes up, actually) are seen in close-up as she shouts during their charge. This is the same close-up of them shown earlier, when the Rohirrim charge at the Orcs, only it's been flipped for this scene. (00:28:35 - 00:32:30)
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: When Gandalf and Pippin walk into the hall where Denethor is sitting, the back of Gandalf's cloak is clean and white. After Pippin offers his services to Denethor, Gandalf walks out on Denethor and when he turns around and starts to leave, the bottom of Gandalf's cloak is much dirtier. (00:33:55)
Continuity mistake: Smeagol walks into the cave as his voice-over says, "They called us murderer." He coughs, and "gollum, gollum" comes out. In the 1st wide shot as he's clutching himself, Smeagol's fingernails are very thick, long and stubby. In the 2nd, a close-up of his hand, it reveals the Ring in his palm and his fingernails are perfectly normal and flat with dirt underneath. In the 3rd, a wide shot, his hand is open and the fingernails are very thick, long and stubby again. The 1st and 3rd shots are one sequence that was split to add the close-up in the middle. (00:04:50)
Revealing mistake: At the stairs of Cirith Ungol, after Gollum says, "Come away, Hobbits. We climb. We must climb," there is close-up of Hobbit feet. The next shot as Frodo and Sam climb, is a flipped shot - just note the stew pot on Sam's back, it is on his left side, though he carries it on his right side. Sometimes, what gives away the reversed shots are the Lórien leaf brooches or Sam's pots and pans.
Revealing mistake: At Minas Tirith, after Frodo wakes up and finally sees Gandalf standing at the center of the footboard, there are three wideshots which face the doorway from the side of the bed. In that second shot, when Gimli stands in the doorway, just as he throws his arms open, a laughing Gandalf's eye contact is not in line with any of the Hobbits. Frodo, Merry and Pippin are huddled together in Frodo's bed, and Gandalf's eyes are actually looking to their sides.
Continuity mistake: When Eowyn and Merry are talking while they are resting on the ride to Gondor, Eowyn's hair goes from tucked into her shirt to a few pieces untucked and then back to all her hair tucked in. (Extended Edition). (00:10:30)
Continuity mistake: As Legolas climbs up, swings from and stands on the Mûmak, the shirt that is worn under his green topcoat is seen at the slits on his sides in most shots. The color of that shirt at the slits varies between the normal silvery color as the rest of his shirt in some shots and an odd brown/green color in other shots. (01:12:40)
Continuity mistake: At Minas Tirith, when Gandalf knocks Denethor out with his staff and then shouts, "Prepare for battle!" the silver broach he wears on his cloak is backwards (not upside-down). Interestingly, his belt is actually on properly, and the background is also as it should be. (02:01:25)
Answer: Aragorn is 210 years old when he dies. Some of the early texts give his age at death as 190, but Tolkien eventually confirmed that 210 is the correct age.
Tailkinker ★