Continuity mistake: After hearing noises out the window, Gandalf tells Frodo to, "Get down," and reaches for his staff leaning on the mantle. In the close-up when he grabs the staff, on the mantle there are books on the left end with a box near it, and a piece of paper leaning up against the wall between the two. In the wide shot just before this shot, there is no paper between the books and box. Also, the paper lying between the books changes from previous shots and when he starts heading for the window, behind him on the mantle the paper to the right of the candlestick changes position in the following shots. (00:42:15)
Continuity mistake: As Gimli weeps at Balin's Tomb, he says "Oh no. No." There is a wide shot, and this is the first shot of the skeleton and pail resting on the stone well. In this shot, the skeleton's feet and head, which are leaning to its left, are in different positions than in the second shot of it. In the second shot, Pippin backs up towards the well, and the skeleton, with its head leaning to its right is shown. Then in the third shot Pippin turns toward the well as Gandalf reads, "A shadow moves in the dark," the skeleton's head now leans to its left. In the fourth shot, as Pippin starts to touch the arrow, the skeleton's head is now leaning forward to its right. (00:25:20)
Continuity mistake: When Gandalf and Bilbo are outside Bag End we see the cloth topped table against the wall that has papers, packages and a candelabra on it. In the shots from outside, the table end closest to the front door is located right under the second decorative beam of wood on the wall, away from the inside archway. In the indoor shot when Gandalf and Bilbo come in, the table end is located right at the archway. (00:16:10)
Continuity mistake: After leaving the Mines of Moria, the Fellowship flee toward Lothlorien. Aragorn runs through a rocky bed of water, stops and smiles looking ahead. In the shot from the front, the top of his bow is hardly seen at his shoulder, but in the shot from behind the top of the bow is way up higher than his shoulder. (00:44:00)
Continuity mistake: When Aragorn is kneeling with the dying Boromir, the amount of blood on Aragorn's mouth/nose slowly decreases throughout the scene, though he never wipes his face.
Continuity mistake: At Bag End, when invisible Bilbo reappears in the hallway, we see books on the shelf of the coat tree. As Bilbo leaves Bag End, he opens the front door, again we see books on the shelf of the coat tree. In both of these shots, the amount and arrangement of books differ. (00:25:40 - 00:28:30)
Continuity mistake: Frodo is in the kitchen packing apples and other food for his journey to Bree. Frodo asks Gandalf, "And the Ring will be safe there?" Behind Frodo, to his right, the window and table in the next room are seen. The chair near the table, is not the same chair that is next to that table in all the rest of the shots of the area. The window is shut, but when Gandalf and Frodo are soon in there it is open when Sam isn't "dropping no eaves." It cannot be assumed that Sam would have opened the window. The existence and arrangement of books and papers on the window bench also differs. (00:41:30 - 00:42:15)
Continuity mistake: In Rivendell, when Bilbo gives Frodo Sting, as he's unwrapping the sword from the cloth, in the close-up he spreads the cloth out flat on the bench in front of the bed. In the next shots, as he shows and then gives Sting, the cloth is wrinkled up on the bench. (Time appropriate for second disc.) (00:01:10)
Continuity mistake: Gandalf says, "This is the One Ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron," and next is a side shot of Frodo pouring tea as Gandalf sits at the table. The Ring is beside the small light colored creamer at the edge of the table, with the spout's interior perfectly visible. In the next close-up of the Ring from Frodo's POV, as Gandalf says, "For 60 years..." the very dark colored glaze on the rim and spout of the creamer are visible. Obviously not the same creamer in the shots from this POV. Then in the close-ups of the Ring from Gandalf's POV, like when he says, "...and the Ring survived," not only do the crumbs differ, the actual table differs - the wood's grain is completely different. (00:38:00)
Continuity mistake: In Bag End, as Gandalf goes towards the table with the map, the window bench to the left can be seen. On it lies a red blanket folded up up nicely. Later, when Bilbo is at the window looking out at the Sackville-Bagginses, the blanket isn't folded as it was before, and the book near the blanket has the papers on/near it arranged differently as well. (00:17:00)
Continuity mistake: The Troll hasn't even entered the doorway yet, and both Sam and Aragorn look way up, as if the Troll were standing right in front of them already, but the Troll is only visible more in the distance, through the door. Since the Troll is still only in the doorway for them to see, the eye angle should still be towards the doorway, not up over them. Then when the Troll smashes through the doorway, and walks towards Sam, in the same shot as earlier, Sam looks way up at the Troll, but this time the eye angle is correct. (00:29:35)
Continuity mistake: When Gandalf comes to Minas Tirith, the river is noticeably closer to the city than it is in "Return of the King." (00:26:25)
Continuity mistake: There's a shot of the back of Gandalf's wagon as he rides into the Shire. A scarf is on a lantern at the right side of the wagon. Gandalf sings the lines "The Road goes ever on and on, down from the door..." The next shot, a view of the wagon from the front, and the scarf is on the lantern at the left side of the wagon. The scarf switched sides because the first shot is flipped. (00:10:50)
Continuity mistake: When the Balrog's whip wraps around Gandalf's ankle and pulls him off the bridge in Moria, you can see that the surface of the bridge where he was standing is perfectly flat and smooth. We cut to Frodo screaming, then back to Gandalf, who is now hanging onto an easy-to-grip groove in the rock. (00:39:45)
Continuity mistake: As Gimli runs into the room of Balin's Tomb, he stops and says, "No!" and in this wide shot, the huge stone with skeletal remains on and around it is lying away from the wall, just behind Gimli, to his left. He kneels, and after he cries, "Oh no! No!" there is a wide overhead shot of the room. In this shot, that particular stone with the skeletal remains is right next to the corner of the wall now. This doesn't have anything to do with camera angle. (00:25:10)
Continuity mistake: When the Fellowship is sailing down the river (through the two statues) the foot of the left statue looks as if it's at the same level as the water. Then in the next scene (camera angle from above) the foot is not at water level; it appears to be on a rock. (01:08:35)
Continuity mistake: When Gandalf is facing off with the Balrog on the bridge, he is seen from a wide camera angle as having his illuminated staff directly in front of him. When the camera angle switches to a close up, the staff is no longer in front of him. The camera angle changes to a wide view and the staff is seen in front of him again. (02:07:33)
Continuity mistake: The hand of Saruman that is painted on the face of Lurtz is shaped differently in some scenes. The handprint changes throughout these shots. (01:08:00 - 01:25:50)
Continuity mistake: During the Prologue, after Sauron has swept some of the men away with his mace, Elendil (Isildur's father), brings up his courage and charges towards Sauron. Sauron quickly hits him with the mace and sends him flying towards the wall. His helmet is still on his head, although one side of it is drastically bent from the impact. Then, with a horrified look on his face, Isildur rushes up to his crushed father. When Isildur holds his father's head in his hands, Elendil's helmet is on his left. Isildur wouldn't have had time to take it off himself as the camera follows his moves and shows him falling to his knees before his father's still form. (00:03:35)
Continuity mistake: When Gandalf and Saruman are about to fight, Gandalf switches his staff from his left to his right hand. When Saruman smashes him against the wall, the staff is back in the left hand. (00:48:20)
Answer: The temptation of the Ring is directly proportional to the power and ambition of the bearer. To someone like Gandalf - a mighty wizard who wants to save the world - the temptation would, over time, prove to be too much, and he's realistic enough to understand that about himself. With an ordinary hobbit who only wants a nice meal and some peace and quiet, the Ring has a lot less to work with.