The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - 225 mistakes

Continuity: 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).

Revealing: Legolas sends an arrow directly to Grima atop Orthanc, and as Grima starts to fall back the arrow is quite visibly well below the coat's fur. However, when Grima actually hits the ground, the arrow is now higher up, protruding from the fur. Even Legolas' arrows can't do that!! (Extended Edition.)

Continuity: As Sam lay sleeping, Gollum sprinkles lembas crumbs on Sam's right side. 1st shot, the grey blanket completely covers Sam as Gollum begins to sprinkle it. 2nd shot, the blanket is at Sam's shoulder with a just a bit of cloak and sleeve showing. 3rd shot, the blanket is completely covering Sam's shoulders as the lembas is shown only on the blanket. Then Sam stands and the blanket is now on the ground (as mentioned in another mistake, there are no crumbs at all when he stands). Later, when Gollum accuses Sam in the 'framing' shot, the lembas crumbs are shown on Sam's cloak even though it was the grey blanket Gollum sprinkled it on earlier!

Visible crew/equipment: In Shelob's lair, when Frodo is caught in the web, in the first close-up while hanging there the camera pans down to his feet. Both ankles are wrapped and have foot supports and the wire cables attached to his ankle straps are visible, especially his left. In the next back shot, as Frodo turns around the wrist/arm support at his right arm, while he holds Sting, is seen too.

Continuity: 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.

Visible crew/equipment: At the Black Gate, Sauron's forces march towards Aragorn and his army, there are close-ups of Pippin drawing his sword and of Merry taking a deep breath. The next shot is of Orcs running to the right of the screen. As that shot opens, click five-six frames in and TWO crew members are seen between the Orcs on the right of the screen, click a few more times and more crew members, one with a hat, are visible in the middle, between the Orcs.

Revealing: After the Witch King destroys Gandalf's staff, the wizard and Pippin fall to the ground in the wideshot. In the next close-up, as Pippin (who is behind Gandalf) raises his right leg while he gets up, the white/black sneaker he wears is perfectly visible on Billy Boyd's Hobbit foot!!

Visible crew/equipment: When Sauron's forces start to surround Aragorn et al. at the Black Gate, there is a close-up of Éomer glancing towards the right of the screen. The next shot is of Orcs advancing to left of the screen. Fourth frame in, a dark haired crew member is visible behind the Orcs near the center, click some more and again he and others are visible in the background.

Continuity: When Gollum accuses Sam of eating the lembas bread, the crumbs on his shoulder don't appear until the shot when Gollum brushes them away.

Revealing: 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, yet in their next wide shot running in, they are considerably lower. 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.

Revealing: 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.

Revealing: In the first scene in Edoras (the capital city of Rohan). The first pan over Edoras: You can see the pan is shown in reverse, with the smoke going into the chimney and the fire at the end is burning backwards. The flags are fluttering oddly as well.

Visible crew/equipment: As Sam carries Frodo on his shoulders, Gollum jumps onto them. When Gollum and Frodo fall down the stairs and then Frodo lies on his back, the black body protector that Frodo wears is first visible at the neck and then under Frodo's front shirt flap that is untucked.

Continuity: In the opening shot as Gandalf stands on the balcony at Minas Tirith the many buildings beside the balcony are shown. When Gandalf says, "If the garrison at Osgiliath falls, the last..." as he continues, "...defense of this city will be gone," the buildings beside the balcony are once again visible. To say that the buildings are completely different in the two shots would be a vast understatement! (This has absolutely nothing to do with camera angles. Extended Edition.)

Continuity: When Theoden is dying, the Witch King says, "Feast on his flesh," and there is no Mumak behind Theoden. As soon as Eowyn appears there is a giant Mumak carcass lying behind Theoden. The beast is seen in a few shots, but in quite a few shots, even the birds-eye views, no Mumak is anywhere near Theoden.

Continuity: At the end, when the four Hobbits are entering Grey Havens, Sam is wearing a yellow vest with brown buttons over a white shirt. The vest can still be seen when Sam and Frodo hug. But when Frodo makes his way onto the ship and turns back to smile at his friends, Sam is no longer wearing the yellow vest. The vest is still not there when the three Hobbits turn to leave Grey Havens. But, when Sam returns home to the Shire and is holding his daughter, he is once again wearing the yellow vest.

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.

Continuity: 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.

Visible crew/equipment: While Frodo is tied up in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, Gorbag says, "It's going...along with everything else." In the next shot of Frodo, behind his right shoulder a crew member is moving around in the background. It is not Shagrat or Gorbag. Also, when Gorbag says, "...and I'll stick this blade in your gut," in the close-up of Frodo as he moves his tied wrists, between his right elbow and waistline of his pants a crew member's face is visible at the top left of the screen. It is not Shagrat or Gorbag. (Can easily be seen slow motion or frame by frame.)

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: 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!!

Continuity: 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.)

Continuity: 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 seen fleeing off screen at the right. But that's impossible, Pippin is still with Faramir, near the White Tree!!

Revealing: 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 oliphaunt's side, you can see the arrows in his quiver go through the side of the CGI oliphaunt.

Revealing: 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: 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).

Continuity: 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: 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.

Audio problem: At the battle on the fields of Pelennor, before Legolas leaps onto the Mûmak, as he kills the Orcs audibly he shouts, "Fifteen! Sixteen!"; however, visually his lips do not.

Revealing: 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.

Deliberate "mistake": Just after we hear Gandalf shout, “Get the women and children out! Get them out! Retreat!” there is a flipped shot of many soldiers with their swords at their right side, as some run through the gate being held open by others.

Deliberate "mistake": When Théoden and the Rohirrim ride out of camp, as Éomer shouts, “Form up! Move out!” and in the following close-up when Théoden shouts, “Ride! Ride now for Gondor!” please note that Théoden’s sheath is at his left side and Éomer’s strap hangs down his left shoulder to his right side – whereas normally they are the opposite way. Both shots are flipped for direction continuity.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: When Deagol first finds the ring and is cleaning it off, the fingertips of his left hand become wet with mud. Seconds later, when he and Smeagol are grappling, those same fingertips drag across Smeagol's face-yet it is not even smudged.

Continuity: At Minas Tirith there is a wide shot of Gandalf on the balcony, and as he begins to cough while he smokes, Pippin lies in the bed behind him. Yet, in the very next close-up, as Gandalf continues to cough, Pippin now stands beside the bed, with his new Gondorian garments actually spread out on the made bed in front of him. Then, in later shots the unmade bed is perfectly visible. (Extended Edition)

Continuity: 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.

Other: At Minas Tirith, when Gandalf whacks Denethor 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.

Deliberate "mistake": After Théoden orders to reform the line, when the Mûmakil approach, Éowyn and Pippin (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.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: After Smeagol kills Deagol, Smeagol opens up Deagol's fist to claim the Ring. In the first shot, Smeagol leans over Deagol, then Smeagol's right hand holds Deagol's wrist and Smeagol's left hand opens Deagol's fingers. Yet in the close-up, now Smeagol's left hand hold's Deagol's wrist and Smeagol's right hand opens Deagol's fingers to reveal the Ring.

Continuity: 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.

Revealing: Trying to save Faramir, Pippin shouts, "Gandalf!" and in the first shot from behind Pip, he runs towards Gandalf, the Gondorian soldiers run towards the camera and he is perfectly Hobbit sized. However, in the next shot, facing Pippin, he is not only further away than in the previous shot, when he runs towards the camera as the Gondorians run past him, Pippin is now much taller, about as tall as the soldiers he passes.

Deliberate "mistake": Just after Gandalf shouts offscreen, “Fight! Fight to the last man! Fight for your lives!” there is a flipped close-up of Gandalf turning, when he hears Pippin shout, “Gandalf!” and his sword is at his right side, the opposite of the norm.

Deliberate "mistake": After Théoden shouts, “Make safe this city!” in the flipped close-up of Éomer, as he reacts to the approaching Mûmakil, his sheath and helmet straps are both noticeably backwards.

Continuity: When Pippin takes the palantir out of the water and Gandalf takes it from him, in several consecutive shots of Pippin, the burnt bark in the water changes to sticks, then back to bark again.

Deliberate "mistake": After entering the Tower of Cirith Ungol, Sam runs down a passageway and looks up and in the next shot he starts to run up the stairs. These two shots are flipped as things on his body are backwards.

Continuity: On the fields of Pelennor, Éowyn throws the spear at the Mûmak's hind leg and in the wide shot her horse rears up. As she holds the reins, neither she nor Merry have a sword in their left hands. Yet, in the next close-up each of them hold swords in their left hands.

Continuity: At Minas Tirith, Gandalf says, "Peregrin Took, my lad, there is a task now to be done," then we see him walk through a narrow passageway, exit and walk past crates, rope, etc. In the next shot as Pip walks past the same things, regardless that he is shorter than Gandalf, the crates, rope, etc. are positioned differently now.

Revealing: After Arwen's vision, an escort says to her, "We cannot delay," and in the wideshot as she turns her horse around, the face of the riding double is perfectly visible.

Continuity: When Gollum drops the lembas from the ridge, you see the leaf it was wrapped in fluttering away, and the wafers fall roughly straight down. However, when Sam finds it later, there are still lembas wafers wrapped in the leaf, along with a few lying around unwrapped.

Deliberate "mistake": After Skully orders the catapults to release the decapitated heads, shots of the Gondorian soldiers are flipped, which is noticeable in close-ups of their legs – please note the sword sheaths that hang at their right sides, instead of left.

Deliberate "mistake": Some moments after Gandalf whacks Denethor, the wizard rides Shadowfax up the stairs and all the archers’ quivers hang on their right, instead of left. Then, the wizard shouts, “Send the foul beast into the abyss!” in a close-up that is flipped – please note Gandalf’s cloak broach, which is backwards. Another following close-up of the wizard is also flipped. All done for direction continuity.

Revealing: When the front hatch of the Orc's siege tower lands on the stone wall, smashing some points, in the next side shot the wall and its points differ. For example, when the door lands the nearest unsmashed point actually has a broken tip, but is the next side shot the tip is whole and pointy.

Continuity: When Aragorn shouts for Legolas, he turns to see the Mûmak heading towards him and the mountainside to the right of Minas Tirith is gone, though it should be visible at this angle, such as when earlier, as the Corsair ships arrive, that mountainside is visible in the wideshot facing Minas Tirith.

Continuity: At Cirith Ungol, the white paint stripes on Gorbag's face change position, thickness and whiteness in the shots while in the tower and when he falls downstairs.

Continuity: At Dunharrow, after sending Merry off to the smithy, in the wide shot Éowyn speaks with Éomer outside the tent and there is a standing torch behind her. Yet in the next shot Éowyn says, "Why should Merry be left behind, he has as much cause to go to war..." and as Éomer moves his head the visible torch now stands up against the tent pole. In the next close-up another change behind her, to her left.

Continuity: When Aragorn enters Theoden's tent, there are two tables, one to the left and the other on the right, with a variety of items on them. The objects' positions or existence change throughout this scene. Including the gust of wind wide shot facing Aragorn and the overhead shot of Elrond carrying Andùril.

Continuity: Legolas' horse changes several times. Most notably in the sequence in which Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn enter, then follow the Paths of the Dead, the horse changes from dappled grey to pure white with a grey mane and back, between a number of shots.

Deliberate "mistake": After Aragorn is crowned king he greets Legolas and they place their hands on each other's shoulder. In the shot facing Aragorn when he starts to move toward Arwen, the semi profile seen on Legolas is not Orlando Bloom, but that of his double. In the previous shot facing Legolas, Aragorn and the Elf are the same height and eye level, but in the shot facing Aragorn, Legolas is considerably taller.

Continuity: In the battle of Pelennor fields, you can see that an Orc scratches the top of Aragorn's face with his blade, making blood form around Aragorn's forehead. In the next shot, all the blood is gone.

Continuity: 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.

Revealing: The two doors of the CG Black Gate continue to open wide, as Aragorn and the others ride away from the approaching Orc army. When Aragorn rides as he shouts, "Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers....when the age of men comes crashing down," at the top of the screen the 'closed gate' is visible above the shadow.

Continuity: Whilst Sam runs up the stairs to rescue Frodo, before Shagrat makes off with the Mithril shirt, quite a few changes occur between the two consecutive shots. The larger hole in Shagrat’s chain maille sleeve shrinks, his hair goes from flat and stringy to fuller and neater, the way he grips the shirt differs, and in the second shot he wears something reddish - which is seen through the chain maille tears, but in the previous shot it was black.

Deliberate "mistake": During the battle between the Rohirrim and Orcs, when Théoden shouts, “Bring it down…Bring it down!” there is a close-up of Gamling as he releases the arrow with his bow held high, but next shot he is behind Théoden holding his sword up.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: After Aragorn's dream, the soldier delivers a message from Theoden, while standing at the doorway of Aragorn's tent and there are long ties hanging from the grommets on one side of the flaps. Yet, in the next exterior shots when Aragorn leaves, there are no ties in the grommets.

Continuity: When Éowyn and Merry ride, she says, "Take the reins." She holds her sword in her left hand and grabs an Orc blade with her right hand as they ride. In the next wide back shot, she holds the Orc blade in her left hand. Then the Orc blade is back in her right hand. There are discrepancies between the sword seen in Merry's close-ups and the wide shots as well.

Revealing: During the charge of the Rohirrim on the Pelennor fields, there is a close-up of Éomer. His spear is held in his right hand, he tosses it up and amazingly changes his hand position on the spear in mid-air as he rides. Another rider is behind Éomer to his left and as this man rides the spear he holds above his head bobs up and down like rubber, as does the spear behind Éomer's right shoulder.

Revealing: In the scene of Shelob's lair, upon seeing Shelob Frodo falls down with the light of Earendil in his hand, and the forefront foam 'rock' hops upward upon his fall.

Revealing: In Osgiliath, while the Gondorians battle the Orcs, in quite a few shots it's obvious that the fighting is staged. In one shot in particular a helmeted Orc slams his double blade axe into the chest of a Ranger, yet it's clear that the sharp axe does not leave any mark whatsoever as he falls to the ground.

Audio problem: At the drinking game, after Éomer says, "No pauses," in the next shot facing Legolas, when Éomer continues to say the two words, "No spills," his lips are closed. Even as he turns his head, his hair does not obstruct the view of his closed lips. (Extended Edition)

Deliberate "mistake": When Gandalf and Pippin quickly ride to the aid of Faramir and his men, who flee the Orcs at Osgiliath, in the first close-up of Gandalf and the Halfling, the wizard’s silver broach is noticeably backwards – the shot is flipped for direction continuity.

Revealing: Though the effort is made to hide Shadowfax's saddle under Gandalf's cloak, bits of it are still visible in some shots as Gandalf rides the horse. For instance, when the wizard rides with Pippin to save Faramir from Denethor, just as they exit the tunnel in front of the Witch King, the brown saddle is seen right behind Gandalf's knee, though his robe is deliberately secured at the bottom to prevent this.

Continuity: While the Orcs attack Minas Tirith, the fix-it shop on one of the levels is seen in various shots and its look changes in consecutive shots. The bucket that hangs at the doorway is gone in the first shot, yet it's back four shots later and the rubble in front is vastly different in both shots, etc.

Revealing: Gandalf and Pippin walk to the prow of Minas Tirith, and while the wizard says, "Childless lords sat in aged halls, musing on heraldry..." the camera passes the two tall stones at the prow. The depth of the stones are the same at both the narrow top and wide bottom, they are irregularly shaped and the actual points are curved. The prow's short side stone walls meet the two front stones at their edges and part of the wall is broken. However, after Gandalf says, "The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men," in the next shot facing Mordor, the stones are completely different!! The two tall stones come to a perfect point, they are straight at all sides and the design of the stone differs. The wall is not broken and both sides jut out past the side edges of the two tall pointy stones. (Extended DVD.)

Continuity: At Edoras, Gandalf and Pippin ride out on Shadowfax, as Merry runs up to the watchtower, followed by Aragorn, to watch them leave. The actual wood of the fence (height, direction of slant and amount in set) differs significantly (especially to Merry's left) in the shot facing Merry's back, as Aragorn reaches him, and the wide shots facing them. (Extended Edition)

Continuity: 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.

Revealing: On the Pelennor fields, the Rohirrim battle the Haradrim on Mûmakil with their bows and arrows. In one particular shot the Rohirrim in the foreground ride towards the right of the screen and the rider at the left lets loose one arrow, then reaches behind him to get another arrow and brings his arm back to the front. However, no arrows are ever visible in his hands.

Continuity: As Pippin climbs to light the beacon, in the overhead wide shot the stacks of wood are seen on a double step platform at the top of the cliff. Where Pip climbs, there is a wide ledge above him leading to the platform, between the four columns. Yet, in the next close-up, there is barely any ledge between the cliff side and the double step platform on which the stacks of wood sits and the cliff side is also rockier in the close-up.

Continuity: Before Merry asks, "What are you doing?" in this wide shot Pippin heads towards Gandalf and walks in the very narrow area between the center cots and the cots against the walls. Yet, when Aragorn walks in and also in the close-up as the palantir rolls out of Aragorn's hand, the area between the cots has significantly widened from the original width, note the floor pattern, for the obvious dramatic shot!

Revealing: In Arwen's vision, as the child (which she realized to be her future child with Aragorn) runs past the plants in the wide shot, the area between his knees and ankles become very thin, dark and partially disappear, then reappear while he runs. However when he reaches the steps and stone ground within the same vision, his legs are normal again, as he was filmed on that set, whereas he was 'pasted' among the greenery. His upper body though, remains normal throughout this shot. As soon as he reaches the stone floor, which is the set that he was filmed on, his legs are normal again along with the rest of his body. There should be no differentiation in the appearance and disappearance of part of his legs between the backdrop of greenery or the stone of Minas Tirith within the one vision, but there is.

Deliberate "mistake": After Frodo puts on the Ring at Mount Doom, when the Nazgûl fly away from the Black Gate, the next close-up of Gandalf’s reaction is actually a flipped shot - the wizard's smudges are on the opposite side of his face.

Continuity: After Éowyn stabs the Witch King, in the two wideshots as he withers away, Merry has his head turned to his left as he watches. However, in Merry's close-ups his body is turned the other way and his head is turned to his right, as he watches the Witch King disappear.

Continuity: When Skully, the Orc lieutenant, shouts, "Come on, you sea rats. Get off your ships," the Corsair ship docks and the six mooring pilings are on top of the raised edge of the dock. However, in the following shots all the pilings are located on the ground beside the raised edge.

Continuity: When Gandalf coughs and mockingly says, "Guard of the Citadel," two of the tall candles on the hanging ceiling fixture (not the wall fixture) are visible behind him now and in following shots too. When Gandalf says, "It's the deep breath before the plunge," those two candles, as well as the others on the ceiling fixture, are nearly entirely melted, though they are tall again in subsequent shots. (Extended Edition)

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: As Gollum steals the lembas while Sam and Frodo are sleeping, Sam's sword lies under him, with the hilt near his face and his right arm over it. However when Sam opens his eyes the sword now lies near him.

Revealing: After Gandalf yells at Pippin, "This is no place for a Hobbit!" he hits one Orc up close, then another in the wide shot. The third Orc he swings at with his staff actually falls back, before the staff is anywhere near him.

Revealing: At Minas Tirith, Grond destroys the door and the Trolls attack. Gandalf charges at one Troll in particular and proceeds to slash the Troll in the belly, and the Troll drops down, yet Gandalf's sword never even touches the Troll at all.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: 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.)

Continuity: As Theoden lies trapped underneath the horse's body, there are many other bodies and armour lying all around him. During the entire scene, until Theoden's death, many of those bodies/armour change entirely or change positions.

Continuity: In the scene where the Witch King is choking Eowyn, saying, "Die now," you can plainly see that Eowyn's thick helmet strap is securely underneath her chin. It is drawn tight. In the shot where she claims, "I am no man," and whips off her helmet, in the close-up the strap is gone.

Continuity: When Aragorn takes the palantir from Pippin and grips it, he leans back and Legolas starts to put his hands on Aragorn's shoulders. In the next side shot it's the same actions again.

Continuity: In the charge of the Rohirrim if you look in the background all the horsemen are ordered and are charging in formation, much like they were before the charge. However, in the overhead shots there are no separate groups, all the horses are charging in one large group together.

Continuity: At the Grey Havens, Cirdan the Shipwright stands behind Elrond, Celeborn and Galadriel. There are five mooring pilings on the dock near them. 1st shot, Cirdan stands to the right of the second piling (on the left). 2nd shot, he stands in front of the second piling. 3rd shot, he stands to the right of the second piling again. 4th shot, Cirdan now stands behind the second mooring piling. This has nothing to do with camera angles.

Audio problem: When Aragorn is sleeping in his tent, he wakes suddenly, grabbing his blade and sitting up, there is a guard at the tent entrance. He speaks to Aragorn and then bows and steps back out. As he does this, he says something like "My lord, King Theoden wishes to see you." The problem is, his lips do not move after the words, "My lord." As he backs out his face IS still clearly visible for the words "King Theoden" that are heard.

Deliberate "mistake": Midst the Rohirrim battle with the Orcs, Théoden shouts, ”Make safe this city.” Two shots later, in the flipped close-up of Théoden as he hears the Haradrim on Mûmakil, his helmet’s chinstrap buckle is on his left (viewer’s right), whereas it is normally on his right.

Continuity: After Pippin has looked in the Palantír Merry rushes to his side. There is a shot of Pippin lying lifeless on the floor and Merry is nowhere to be seen. Then it cuts to Gandalf shoving Merry aside and Merry is again right next to Pippin.

Continuity: As Frodo, Sam and Gollum begin to climb the stairs at Cirith Ungol, Sam asks, "Hey, what's in this tunnel?" then grabs Gollum and pushes him to the stone wall. In the wideshot, Gollum's back is noticeably up against a different part of the wall, than in the previous and following close-ups.

Revealing: While on the balcony at Minas Tirith, Pippin asks, "Is there any hope, Gandalf, for Frodo and Sam?" and in the next back shot of Gandalf standing beside Pippin, the Mordor 'storm' brews in the CG distance. The dome of a building is directly in front of them, to the right. When the beacon of Minas Morgul rises to the sky, there is another back shot of Gandalf and Pippin. In this shot that building with the dome is gone, though it should be visible! (This has nothing to do with camera angles. Extended Edition.)

Revealing: In this shot at Minas Tirith, Gandalf says, "Peregrin Took, my lad, there is a task now to be done," as they walk out from under the archway and pass a particular tall white stone building, on their immediate right, as they continue to walk on. After Gandalf says, "You must not fail me," Pippin runs toward a building and as the camera pans up the very distinct markings on the large stones are identical to the markings on the stone building in the previous shot. Obviously it's the same building used in both shots of different areas. This type of thing occurs numerous times in the film.

Deliberate "mistake": When the combined Rohirrim/Gondorian army halt upon arrival at the Black Gate, Aragorn rides up and stops beside Legolas in the close-up. Éomer's double, who has a much fuller and longer beard, is blatantly visible behind Aragorn in this full frontal shot.

Continuity: As Gollum says, "Too risky. Too risky. Thieves... Musn't wake them," in the two close-ups Frodo and Sam sleep with their backs against a wide rock wall and a single tree between them near Sam's head. However, when Gollum says, "Musn't ruin it now..." and after Sam yells, "You treacherous little toad!" in the next close-up and wide shot of the area, it is very different than in the first two shots.

Revealing: At Minas Tirith, Grond breaks through the door, then Trolls and Orcs attack. After Gandalf yells, "Volley! Fire!" there is a shot of Orcs, one of which is somewhat bald at the bottom of the screen in the foreground, who run towards the right of the screen. Then other shots including Gandalf slaying a Troll. The last shot of this scene is the same shot of the Orcs running to the right of the screen.

Revealing: After Sam rolls down Shelob's back, he holds Sting up towards Shelob and as she advances forward Sam trips and falls back. In the shot facing Sam as he falls, when he hits the ground his left knee pad is seen.

Revealing: Faramir and his men retreat towards Minas Tirith, someone shouts, "Take cover, my lord! It's coming!" In this shot Faramir starts to duck from the Nazgul overhead and seen to his left are his men. After Gandalf rides towards them and a Nazgul lifts a horse and its rider, Faramir is ducking again with the same men to his left in the same positions as the earlier shot. Obviously this is the same sequence that was edited to include shots in between.

Continuity: At Minas Tirith, while speaking with Gandalf, Pippin examines the Gondorian sword as the rest of his garments lie in front of him on the bed. The first shot faces him as does the third shot, but the middle shot is over his shoulder. The gloves' position differs in that middle shot.

Continuity: When Gandalf and Pippin reach Minas Tirith, Gandalf's cloak is fairly clean. As they ride up through all of the gates of Minas Tirith, the bottom of Gandalf's white cloak is filthy, yet when they reach the top Gandalf's cloak is much cleaner again. During their ride glimpses of the stirrups are visible.

Deliberate "mistake": When Bilbo is boarding the boat at the Grey Havens, in the wide shot, the body doubles are standing at the dock. This is most noticeable on the leftmost of the hobbits, who is standing with his face staring straight ahead, unlike the others who are following Bilbo going up the ladder.

Continuity: 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.

Deliberate "mistake": After Théoden shouts, “Rally to me!” when the Nazgûl flies towards the King, in Théoden’s close-up the buckle on his helmet’s chinstrap is on his left, instead of the usual right.

Audio problem: Before the skull avalanche, after Gimli shouts, “Stand, you traitors!” there is a wide shot of Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas, in which Aragorn shouts, but nothing is heard.

Continuity: Inside Mt. Doom, there is a wide shot of Gollum on top of the invisible Frodo. In this shot, Sam is lying in the background with his arms at his sides. Then when he attempts to get up again in the next shot, his arms are in front of him.

Continuity: As Faramir and the Gondorian soldiers start to ride down the path in Minas Tirith, there is a close-up of Faramir passing a particular building, and then over a dozen shots later, when Gandalf shouts, "Faramir!" Faramir still rides past the same building. In the next wideshot with Gandalf, they are on a different part of the path, yet in the next close-up Faramir is once again still at the same building as earlier.

Revealing: In several crowd shots of Minas Tirith during Faramir's suicide charge (particularly the one featuring Irolas), the top of the set is visible. Buildings stop unnaturally, and the sky is visible where the other walls of the city and the mountain range behind it would have blocked it.

Visible crew/equipment: At Minas Tirith, in the opening wide shot as Gandalf smokes on the balcony, the large light whose body is mounted on the ceiling behind Gandalf, is perfectly visible overhead, to his left. (Extended Edition)

Continuity: When Éowyn rests on a chaise in the golden hall of Meduseld, Aragorn speaks with her. The position of her robe, the tassled pillows and tassled material, under her feet, etc., changes in consecutive close-ups, semi close-ups and wide shots. (Extended Edition)

Audio problem: As the King of the Dead and his army listen, Aragorn shouts, "You have my word! Fight, and I will release you..." However, in the wide shot as he continues, "...from this living death!" Aragorn's mouth shouts something completely different. (Extended Edition)

Continuity: At Orthanc before Gandalf and company confront Saruman, Treebeard is standing right in front of them and some Ents are in the background, but in the subsequent shots of the group on the ground and from above Orthanc, Treebeard and the other Ents are no where to be seen. After Saruman dies and Pippin finds the Palantir, Treebeard is back again. (Extended Edition)

Audio problem: At the Black Gate, Aragorn shouts, "...This day we fight!" and in the wide shot as Aragorn continues, "...that you hold dear on this good earth..." his lips are not in sync with the words.

Continuity: Frodo is tied up in the Tower at Cirith Ungol and in the first few shots his wrists are tightly bound left over right. Yet after Gorbag threatens Shagrat, in the shot of Frodo as we see them fight behind him, Frodo's now bound right over left and in this shot his hair and webbing are completely different than the previous shot. The rope, its knots, his hair and webbing change throughout the shots.

Revealing: In Minas Tirith, as Gandalf slashes at the Troll to his right with his sword, his left foot disappears and reappears in the Troll to his left. The stirrup under his left foot is completely visible at that point too.

Revealing: When the Orcs attack Osgiliath, Faramir takes his sword and it appears as if he plunges it into the belly of an Orc. However, he really turns the sword before it hits the Orc and the tip coming out of the back of the Orc is CG. The angle of his hand on the hilt as the blade penetrates and the CG blade in the Orc's back do not line up.

Continuity: At Edoras, after Pippin steals the palantir, it rolls out of Aragorn's hands and Gandalf chases it. Pippin lies motionless on green, grey and blue bunched up blankets and a rug etc. In Pippin's close-up, just after Gandalf says, "Fool of a Took!" there is just a grey blanket under his head and a different fur rug to his right. Then in the following close-ups, it alternates between both green and grey under him, to just a grey one.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: When Frodo, who is alone, finishes writing and turns to the beginning of the Red Book, we see 'There and back again, a Hobbit's tale, by Bilbo Baggins' written on the page. However, the handwriting on the page in this close-up is different than when it is first seen in FotR, when Bilbo first writes it. Then when Sam comes into the study, he reads aloud, "There and back... and The Lord of the Rings by Frodo Baggins," in the close-up of Frodo's handwriting. Sam then exclaims, "You finished it!" Frodo closes the book, but as he closes it we see that page again and 'The Lord of the Rings by Frodo Baggins' is written differently than the previous close-up of that page.

Continuity: When Pippin steals the palantir, Gandalf's right hand grasps the sword below the hilt's cross-guard in all of the close-ups. However, in the wide shots Gandalf's hand grasps the grip of the sword above the hilt's cross-guard. The bed sheets differ between the shots as well.

Continuity: When Shadowfax breaks down the door to the Tomb of the Stewards, in the shot facing Gandalf he grabs the guard's spear and points the blunt end towards Denethor on the pyre as Shadowfax rides forward. In the next shot from behind, never altering his tight grip, now the tip of the spear is pointed at Denethor as he charges forward.

Revealing: When Pippin offers his services to Denethor, he crosses in front of Gandalf. Against Gandalf's white robe, the outline around Pippin is noticeable, due to the CG editing, which causes this shot to look unnatural.

Continuity: 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.

Deliberate "mistake": When The Steward of Gondor is about to burn Faramir on the pyre, Gandalf dramatically bursts through the doors on Shadowfax and rides to the pyre. Look at the rider's face - it is obviously not Gandalf, but a double in some of these shots.

Continuity: When Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli arrive, the Corsair ship has significant differences between the close-ups and wideshots. For instance, in Aragorn's close-up as he leaps over the ship's rail, there is a wide link chain running across the top of the rail that is gone in the wideshots.

Continuity: When Frodo and Sam wake up in the culvert, the area of ground just outside of it in the interior shot looking out differs from the exterior shot as Sam stands at the opening.

Deliberate "mistake": On the fields of Pelennor, after the great battle, before Pippin and Merry meet again, Pippin's Lorien brooch points to his right. As Pippin is walking and looking around, his brooch is pointing to his left. When Pippin is next to Merry, the leaf is pointing to his right again. Obviously the second shot is flipped.

Continuity: When Frodo is in Shelob's lair, before actually seeing her, there is a semi close-up of a bird swinging about upside-down in the webs. There is thick webbing that stretches from the bird's body to the tip of its beak, but in the next close-up the webbing only reaches halfway down its beak.

Continuity: During the Mûmakil battle, when a Mûmak topples over, as Éowyn and Merry fall off their horse, in some of the shots their sheath straps hang from their left shoulders to their right sides. Also, please note Merry’s chinstrap buckle which is on his right, but is normally on his left.

Deliberate "mistake": After Denethor shouts, “Abandon your posts! Flee! Flee for your lives!” in the flipped shot of the soldiers at the wall, please note all the sword sheaths at the right side of their hips, instead of the usual left.

Continuity: When Pippin first kills an orc in Minas Tirith, his blade has no blood on it but a second later, blood appears.

Continuity: When Gandalf and Pippin fall to the ground, after the wizard's staff is broken by the Witch King, their body positions differ in consecutive shots, as does Pippin's when he stands up.

Continuity: On the balcony at Minas Tirith, when Pip hands Gandalf the cup of water, the large rug at the foot of the bed is clearly visible, as is the wood bench on the balcony. In following shots, including when Gandalf says, "This will be the end of Gondor as we know it," the bench's position very noticeably differs and the large rug is actually gone!! (Extended Edition)

Continuity: As Frodo and Sam walk by the cross-roads of the Fallen King, they pass the large severed stone head. The area around the head, including plants, branches, etc., differs between the two close-ups and the overhead shots. (Extended Edition)

Continuity: Sam and Frodo wear the Orc armor and slide down the rocky terrain. After they spot the army of Orcs approaching the run off to the side and sit. In the next few wide shots the rocky area behind and around them is completely different. (Extended Edition)

Continuity: At Dunharrow, Éowyn talks with Merry, who stands in front of the tent's door flaps. In the interior shots, there are short ties hanging from the grommet holes on both sides of the flaps. Yet in the next exterior shot as Merry heads to the smithy, there are long ties hanging only on one side of the flaps, the other side has empty grommets!

Revealing: In Osgiliath, when Faramir's lieutenant shots, "Faramir" and the men fire arrows at the Orcs, some of these arrows disappear and reappear in the Orcs.

Revealing: In Shelob's lair Frodo runs away from her and points the light of Eärendil at Shelob to keep her at bay. He then dives, head first, down a sloped passage and as he does both of his knee pads are seen.

Revealing: After stabbing Shelob the last time, Sam picks up the light of Eärendil and trips near Frodo's body. As Sam hits the ground his right knee pad is visible.

Audio problem: When Arwen returns to Rivendell to question her father, she says "Tell me what you have seen. You have the gift of foresight. What did you see?" The last line of "what did you see?" was obviously dubbed, as her lips look like they're saying "Tell me what have you seen?" again.

Continuity: When Eowyn steps in front of Theoden to stop the fell beast from eating him, it tries to bite her but she jumps out of the way and cuts off its head, though her sword and arm should have been caught in the fell beast's mouth as she jumped out of the way. (Better seen in slow motion.)

Continuity: Pippin is being tended to by Gandalf after being affected by Sauron through the palantir. The blankets under Pip's head differ in some of his close-ups. Then when looking down on Pippin, Gandalf's hand is touching Pippin's head throughout most of these shots. Though when looking up at Gandalf, his hand is not at Pippin's head in at least two shots that are wide enough to see a hand, if it were there.

Continuity: After the battle of the Pelennor fields, as the King of the Dead and his army disappear, in the shot behind Gimli and Aragorn, Gimli looks around at the disappearing army and holds his axe horizontally in his right hand. In the next shot from the front the axe is now on the ground and he is leaning on it.

Continuity: At Rivendell, in the first shot Arwen holds the book and it's open to the page with the drawing of the door on the right side. Then in the next close-up, (before the book falls) she is still holding the book open, but it is now open to a different page. Then the book starts to fall to the floor.

Continuity: Legolas always carries two matching knives, crisscrossed under the quiver at his back. When he boards the Mûmak, Legolas removes one of those knives and uses it. Problem is, while the knife is still in his hand, there are two long silver blades that are still quite visible under his quiver.

Continuity: When Faramir and his men ride down towards the front gate of Minas Tirith, certain men and women in the crowd actually reappear in different areas along the path.

Audio problem: When Faramir and his men ride out of Minas Tirith, Gandalf tries to dissuade him from going. Faramir says, "This is the city of the Men of Númenor. I will gladly give my life to defend her beauty, her memory." It then cuts to a tight close-up as he rides past Gandalf when he continues saying, "her wisdom," and his closed lips do not move at all. (Extended Edition.)

Continuity: After entering the Tomb of the Stewards, Gandalf grabs the spear, charges forward and ahead of him stands Denethor on the pyre which is now engulfed in a tall blaze on the left side. Yet in the next shot as Gandalf reaches the pyre, only the tip of the fire is barely visible below the height of the pyre. Then in the next shot as Gandalf strikes Denethor, it is once again a high fiery mass.

Continuity: When Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli reach the Dimholt Gate, a ghostly gust of wind rushes towards them and scares the horses away. Aragorn lets go twice of Brego's reins in consecutive shots. Also, the shot just before Aragorn shouts, "Brego!" Gimli faces the camera and Aragorn is some distance away from Gimli and Legolas, but in the next shot when Aragorn does shout, their positions have changed quite a bit.

Deliberate "mistake": Inside the Haunted Mountain, Legolas and Aragorn turn around to see all the ghosts appear. The shot has been flipped - their Elven brooches and Legolas' quiver are the wrong way round, and Aragorn is holding the torch in his right hand and his sword in his left, whereas in the previous and following shots, the torch is in his left hand and the sword is in his right hand.

Continuity: Faramir and his men are riding towards the gate of Minas Tirith on their way back to Ithilian. They ride past a crowd of many people. In this first shot, they pass Billy and Katie Jackson (Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson's children in one of their RotK cameos) in the crowd, as the riders head from left to right on the screen. The next two times Billy and Katie Jackson are shown amongst the crowd, the riders are going from right to left on the screen. The children did not cross the path of the riders to stand on the other side, nor is it the camera's angle.

Visible crew/equipment: Near the very end when Frodo is making his farewells to the three Hobbits, there are closeups of their faces as they each hug. Clearly reflected in some of their eyes are four bright studio lamps, forming the corners of a square array.

Audio problem: When Aragorn is talking with Elrond in Theoden's tent, a gust of wind, which shakes the tent, knocks over the suit of armor that stands behind Aragorn in this one shot, which makes absolutely no sound when it hits the ground. (As mentioned in another mistake, it is standing in the next shot, that is why there is no audio of it falling in this shot.)

Continuity: When Pippin lights the beacon of Minas Tirith, the soldiers outpost and surrounding mountainside terrain differs between the close-up and wide shots.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: On the fields of Pelennor, when Pippin finds Merry, he rolls the large Orc off to Merry's side, but the Orc's long black hair is still beside the Hobbit's head. However, only in Merry's close-ups the Orc's black hair is gone.

Deliberate "mistake": At Minas Tirith, Gandalf slams his staff across Denethor's face and shouts, "Prepare for battle." In the next shot he rides Shadowfax, from right to left, past a fix-it shop and three shots later he rides past the same shop, from left to right - the second shot is flipped.

Continuity: After Sam and Frodo slide down the rocky terrain wearing Orc armor, they run to the side and Sam's chin strap hangs down and is not buckled. Yet, in the very next shot and the following shots when the army of Orcs approach, the chin strap is tightly buckled. (Extended Edition.)

Continuity: Gandalf enters the Tomb of the Stewards and in the shot facing him he grabs the guard's spear. The guard on the opposite side stands against the wall as he holds the spear in his right hand and walks toward the center of the hallway as he watches Gandalf ride. Yet, in the next shot facing Denethor, the guard now holds the spear in his left hand as he stands with his back against the wall again.

Revealing: 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.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: When Gandalf says, "The board is set, the pieces are moving," he has black/grey eyebrows. But in the next scene when he asks Pippin to light the beacon, he has white/grey eyebrows.

Continuity: At Rivendell, Arwen sits holding the book and we see the bouquet of flowers, the chair at the side of the table faces the camera, the pillows beside her that switch positions and the patterned floor is brightly colored rose tones with high gloss. Yet, in the close-up dropping the book (and following shots), though the floor has the same pattern, it's now light pastel tones, matte and granite-like, with no gloss at all. After Elrond lifts the book, in the wide shot the flowers are very different and the chair is now in front of the table facing the chaise lounge. Then when Elrond takes her hands in the next shot the chair is on the side of the table again.

Continuity: As soon as Aragorn walks into Theoden's tent, behind him stands a suit of armour. While speaking with Elrond about the Army of the Dead, there is a sudden gust of wind and the armour falls in the background in this one shot. Throughout the entire scene preceding and following this one shot, this armour is seen upright.

Continuity: At Bag End, as Frodo finishes writing in the book, from the hall the camera pans inside the study. The shadow cast on the fireplace by the bookstand differs in the close-ups of Frodo. Some of the items on the fireplace mantle differ and the two pipes on the shelves of the desk appear in the close-ups as well.

Continuity: In the poignant close-up, Theoden's last word is, "Éowyn," and he dies with his head towards his left, facing Éowyn, who then puts her face on the top of his chest. In the consecutive wide shot, with her head still resting on his chest, now his head is facing towards his right. She did not move his head.

Continuity: 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.

Deliberate "mistake": Just before Gandalf approaches the archers and shouts, ”Not at the towers! Aim for the Trolls! Kill the Trolls!” in the previous close-up and wideshot of just the archers, their quivers are on their right, instead of the left side of their hips as usual.

Continuity: During the drinking game, after Legolas says, "I think it's affecting me," in the close-up when Gimli slams his mug down and slurs, "What did I say?" the tower of mugs are in front of him. When Gimli passes out the tower of mugs are visible from the other side, but it's still obvious that they're positioned differently. (Extended Edition)

Continuity: At the Black Gate, as the Mouth of Sauron speaks, in the wide shots Gimli's height is way above Legolas' shoulders and is blocked by the bow and knives. However, in the close-ups he barely reaches Legolas' shoulders and is blocked by neither the bow or knives. Similarly this occurs in many shots throughout. (Extended Edition)

Revealing: During the charge of Pelennor fields, when the Rohirrim are fired upon and when they clash with the Orcs, in many shots either the Rohirrim, horses' bodies or Orcs partially disappear and may reappear within the melee. For example, when the riders are fired upon the real horses run right through some fallen CG horses and riders and in another shot two Orcs' arms disappear as horses ride by.

Continuity: In Minas Tirith, while Gandalf and Pippin speak on the balcony, the position and actual height of the chair beside the fireplace varies significantly, as does the position of the candle wall fixture which is attached to the wall, above the chair. (This has nothing to do with camera angles. Extended Edition.)

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: After Pippin swears his oath to Denethor, the Steward derides Faramir about disloyalty, and standing behind Faramir are four men (servants perhaps), seen in the far and close-up shots. When Faramir asks, "What would you have me do?" two of those four servants leave in this close-up. In the next far wide shot, as Denethor taunts, "Is there a captain here..." the same four servants are behind Faramir. Then as Faramir says, "...I had died and Boromir lived..." in this close-up, there are two servants again.

Revealing: Gandalf is supposed to be riding Shadowfax without any equipment, however, in close up shots of the horse, you can see the clear breast collar reflect light.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: As Frodo and Sam walk in Mordor, Sauron's Eye turns towards them and Sam yells, "Frodo, get down!" Frodo collapses and when he hits the ground, in the close-up, the Ring on the necklace is at his right cheek. In the following wide shot, the Ring is lying lower down on his shirt. In his next close-up, the Ring is at his right cheek again.

Revealing: On the ledge by the stairs of Cirith Ungol, Sam tends to Frodo, who has collapsed after intervening in Sam's violent beating of Gollum. As Sam's offer to, "Carry it for a while - share the load," echoes in voice-over, there's a close shot of Frodo's face, wherein contact lenses are visible (in the right eye in particular). They are also noticeable in the following close shot (after Sam tells Gollum to "Go away. Get out of here") as Frodo says, "No, Sam... it's you." (Elijah Wood did not wear tinted lenses, only corrective lenses.)

Visible crew/equipment: In Cirith Ungol where Frodo is tied up, as the Uruk and Orc fight, Shagrat throws Gorbag on top of the hole. In the next shot of Gorbag, as he brings his left leg up out of the hole, three circular lights are visible in the hole below. It may be necessary to darken the brightness of your screen, in order to see the three lights properly. (Extended Edition, Disc 2).

Deliberate "mistake": After Aragorn demands, "Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth," as he says, "Fall back," Gandalf and Pippin, who wears his Gondorian helmet, are seen close-up. It is blatantly obvious that it is not Billy Boyd, but his scale double under that helmet, as the face is perfectly visible in this extreme close-up.

Deliberate "mistake": In the scene at the Black Gate when Sauron is assumed talking to Aragorn, when he turns around you can tell that Gimli is the scale double, Brett.

Audio problem: Gandalf's lips don't match his dialogue when he says "Guard of the Citadel, indeed" to Pippin after he saves his life.

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: At Isengard, when Pippin recovers the palantir, in two shots it's large enough to fill both of his hands, so that he has to spread all of his fingers to hold it. In the next shot of Pippin and Gandalf, Pippin raises one hand holding the palantir and Gandalf quickly takes it. In this particular shot, as Pippin hands the palantir to Gandalf with one hand, the circumference of the palantir is noticeably much smaller (while still in Pippin's grasp), than it was in the previous shots.

Audio problem: As Gollum falls backwards toward the lava in Mount Doom, he holds the Ring in front of him and admires it. When he brings the Ring toward his torso, a distinct reverberating 'chinggg' sound is heard, as if it touched another metal. The Ring did not touch anything else, let alone another metal. This is obviously heard for dramatic flair.

Revealing: When everyone is sleeping on the floor in the Golden Hall in Edoras, Gimli is seen lying on the floor next to a man. They're the same length - you can tell my the position of their feet under the blankets. Gimli is supposed to be about 4 feet or so, whereas a man is supposed to be around 5-and-a-half to 6 feet.

Revealing: After Gorbag says, "You touch it, and I'll stick this blade in your gut," Shagrat and Gorbag start to fight. A few shots later there's a close-up of Gorbag who is BALD, he's not wearing his hairpiece/wig in this shot, as he's being pushed towards the right of the screen by Shagrat, just before falling into the hole!

Revealing: 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 NOT lying at the bottom of the stairs in this mostly CG shot!

Continuity: 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.

Continuity: Just before Eowyn is about to strike the fell beast's neck with her sword, a huge gash running down the entire left side of its neck can be seen. When the scene cuts to a close-up of Eowyn, who is on the beast's right-hand side and is about to strike again, the gash is now only across the top of the neck and a few inches down the left side.

Continuity: When Gandalf, Theoden, et al arrive at Orthanc, they stop when they're greeted by Treebeard and then are confronted with Saruman. The positions of the huge spiked wheel in front of Orthanc, Treebeard, the riders, etc., from the time they ride in, as well as the amount or even existence of debris in the water, changes drastically in consecutive close-ups, overhead and wide shots. (Extended Edition)

Continuity: When Gandalf is talking to Theoden about Pippin's ordeal with the Palantir, a woman walks toward the left side of the screen with a dog. A few shots later, the same woman and dog walk toward the left side of the screen again.

Continuity: After Pippin looks at the Palantir, and Gandalf is holding his face, when the shot is on Pip, his face is sweaty and flushed. When the shot is on Gandalf, Pippin's face is pale.

Continuity: When Theoden "reforms the line" as the Mumakil approach, there are empty fields behind the horses. In the overhead shot of them charging, it is seen that there are still orcs in the background who should have been there in the previous shot.

Continuity: When Deagol comes out of the water, the shot opens as he is submerged in water below his arms. As he crawls up there is quite an obvious difference in wetness of the overalls that were submerged for the take and the area above it, including the overall straps. Also, as Smeagol goes after the Ring, there's a close-up of Deagol's backside and there are patches on Deagol's pants that are completely dry. Then Smeagol begins to choke Deagol and as he goes down to the ground, his backside is completely wet again.

Continuity: On the fields of Pelennor, Theoden yells, "Bring it down!" three times in succession. As Theoden yells the first, "Bring it down!" Gamling has the bow in his hand and lets loose an arrow, with particular soldiers around him. In the next shot, Theoden yells the second, "Bring it down!" Gamling now has a sword in his hand, with other people around him.

Revealing: Pippin's height reaches the circular carvings on the wall near the front door and behind Gandalf's cot, when he walks towards Gandalf to steal the palantir. However, after Pip's contact with Sauron, the heights of Aragorn, Legolas and Gandalf are now about the same as Pippin's in the previous shots, when standing near the same carvings! When Gandalf pushes Merry out of the way in the wide shot, this short Merry would barely reach the height of the shelf behind Gimli which is way below the carvings.

Continuity: When Gandalf is confronted with the Witch King, Gandalf's (whose hair is over his cloak) and Pippin's hair blow wildly in shots facing them. Yet in the back shots Pippin's and Gandalf's (whose hair is tucked neatly) hair does not move.

Continuity: At Edoras, Aragorn's sword leans against the wall, significantly lower than the circular carving above it, as Pippin walks toward Gandalf. However, when Merry asks, "What are you mad?" the hilt now reaches near the top of the circular pattern. Then when Gandalf grabs the blanket to cover the palantir, the sword's height is the same as in the first shot.

Continuity: When the Witch King is attacking Eowyn with the spiky ball and chain, it hits the ground a few times yet not one hole or mark is visible later on in the fight.

Continuity: When Pippin gets up from his cot in the corner, in the wide shot the fur rugs between his and Merry's cot are two light browns and a black in between and there is a black rug in front of Gimli's cot. Yet when Aragorn comes in and takes hold of the palantir, in this shot the black fur rug at the foot of Pip's cot is gone. In the next shot the black rug in front of Gimli's cot is gone and the rug that the palantir rolls onto when out of Aragorn's grasp now faces the opposite way than when Pippin first awoke and walked toward Gandalf.

Continuity: When Gimli and Legolas are speaking to Eomer at Dunharrow, the height of Gimli's axe changes. When he is silent, the axe only reaches to his stomach, but when Gimli speaks, and the camera moves in, the axe reaches up almost to his shoulders.

Audio problem: As Gandalf and Pippin stand on the balcony at Minas Tirith, Gandalf says, "This will be the end of Gondor..." but as he audibly continues to say, "...as we know it," visually his mouth says something completely different. (Extended Edition)

Deliberate "mistake": Just before Frodo and Sam fall to the ground on the slopes of Mount Doom, there is a close-up of Sam's feet, then a shot of Frodo and Sam climbing up the rocky surface. This shot is obviously flipped, as Sting is at Sam's left side normally.

Continuity: During Arwen's vision of Eldarion (her future son), you see a close-up shot of Arwen, just before she meets his glance and in this shot the folds in her velvet hood are broad and the pattern lies a certain way. In the next shot of her the fabric folds are smaller and the pattern differs, which stays consistent through Elrond's line. After her vision disappears, the scene cuts back to her (just before her escort says his first line) and her hood returns to the way it was in the first shot.