Revealing mistake: Right at the beginning when Frodo and Sam are climbing up a hill, look at Frodo's left foot: One time he makes a step and his Hobbit-foot vibrates when it touches the ground. Both his feet vibrate as he walks, when he has his cloak wrapped around him. (00:08:30)
Revealing mistake: Legolas runs down the hill to kill the Orc scout. As he is slicing the Orc's throat, in the close-up of Legolas' blade, one frame shows the position of the sharp edge right up against the Orc's throat, but the next frame shows that the sharp edge of the blade was turned away from the Orc's neck, just before the slicing, so as not to harm the Orc actor. This can only be seen frame by frame. (00:09:10)
Revealing mistake: In the shot where the Rohan refugees are heading into Helm's Deep, the scale of the shot is wrong. On the right side of the screen, the refugees walk up the ramp into the gatehouse and on the left side of the screen, the Deeping Wall extends, with figures moving along the wall. The Deeping wall should be about even with ramp up to the Keep, if not a little bit forward, which means the figures along the wall should be at least the same size as the figures walking up the ramp. However, the figures along the wall, are much smaller, as if the Deeping Wall was pushed back further than the ramp. The right side shot was filmed as live action and the left side shot was filmed using the miniature of Helm's Deep and then the shots were merged together. (00:11:25)
Revealing mistake: During the Warg battle, as Aragorn slices off the head of a Warg rider, in the background on the hill there are two Rohan riders on horseback, one on a brown horse, one on a white horse, riding down the hill chasing after Orcs on foot. There are many shots after, including Aragorn throwing the spear into the Warg saving Gimli, and Theoden stabbing the Warg in his mouth. The next shots of Aragorn are when he stabs a Warg rider. The background plate is the same hill and the same two Rohan riders on horseback are still riding down the hill chasing after the Orcs on foot. Obviously these two pieces of footage were shot consecutively and were cut and separated, and other various shots were inserted in between them. (00:11:35 - 00:12:20)
Revealing mistake: When Aragorn saves Gimli from the warg, the spear he throws is CG. He barely tosses the thing with little more thrust than his forearm can allow, and it pierces straight through the warg's tough hide. (00:12:10)
Revealing mistake: In Emyn Muil, just after Frodo says, You will lead us to the Black Gate," Sam and Frodo are following after Gollum. You see Frodo, with Sam trailing, come around a large rock formation from the left of the screen, then Frodo passes a large round boulder on his right and starts to run down a slope towards the camera. As Sam passes the same large boulder on his right, you can see it shake from him brushing against it. (00:13:40)
Revealing mistake: The very first shot of the Uruk-hai running through the rock canyon is the exact same shot that is shown in the last shot of this scene, just after Pippin bites the Lorien brooch off his cloak. Even though in between those two shots, all the Uruk-hai have been running until they meet up with the Orcs. In between those two shots, the rock formation shown behind the Uruk who lifts his fist up is also quite different in the next successive shot, when the Orcs approach the Uruks. (00:14:40 - 00:16:50)
Revealing mistake: When the Uruk-hai are running through the rock canyon while carrying the Hobbits, the Uruk with the painted white hand on his face holds up his right fist. In the theatrical release and regular DVD, a second Uruk then asks of the painted one, "What is it, what do you smell?" and he answers, "Manflesh." The very next shot is of Pippin saying, "Aragorn," followed immediately by the second Uruk saying, "They've picked up our trail." The Uruk who should have the painted hand on his face no longer does. He gives a low growl, then all the Uruk-hai run again. However, in the extended DVD, same scene, when the painted Uruk holds his fist up, it cuts to the Orcs hiding behind the rock, and the very next shot is of those two Uruks, and just like in the regular DVD, the Uruk who is supposed to have the painted hand on his face, does not. It is that Uruk who later in the scene says, "Manflesh," and unlike the regular DVD, without the painted hand on his face. Side note: It may be a different Uruk standing next to the 'second Uruk', in the questionable shots and that's why he doesn't have a painted face, but either way, it's still a mistake between shots. (00:14:50)
Revealing mistake: When Treebeard throws Merry and Pippin they fall flat on the ground, at the feet of the White Wizard. In the shot when they both look up as they lie there, there are two circular bare earth mounds, right between each pair of their feet. These round areas of dark earth are surrounded by earth that is covered in leaves and bramble everywhere else. It is obviously where the actors' feet were positioned at the start of this shot, when they threw themselves to the ground. (00:41:35)
Revealing mistake: When Faramir has his sword tip around the chain holding the ring, the blade Faramir is holding is a dead blade i.e. it has no sharp edge. (00:42:15)
Revealing mistake: At the Dead Marshes, Frodo tosses to the ground a piece of Lembas bread, for Gollum to eat. However, Gollum doesn't reach for the 'tasty' food in the same place that Frodo tossed it. Extended DVD. (00:43:25)
Revealing mistake: At Helm's Deep, Theoden says, "I want every man and strong lad..." behind them is Gimli, who has a conspicuously reddish face, and his beard is split down the middle into two braids. Éowyn confronts Aragorn, she apologizes and hurries off, walking between Legolas and Gimli, who looks the same as in the earlier shot. It's obviously Brett (scale double) in both shots, the beard with its two thin braids are completely different when next we see Gimli, in a close-up at the armory. This time the beard is full, with hair between the two very thick braids, and his face is a normal color. (00:51:50 - 00:52:55)
Revealing mistake: Right after Gandalf gave warning that they would not be welcome at Rohan and jumped forward with his horse, next after him Legolas moved forward before Aragorn, you can see Gimli that rode with Legolas was a fake Gimli, the color of his skin was not normal, and he was too stiff. (00:53:45)
Revealing mistake: The braids over Legolas' ears on his scalp, change drastically in position, shape, amount of hair that's braided and how it is braided, as does the amount of his side hair that is swept up into the back braid, in consecutive shots! The hair differs considerably in the following shots. In the armory, when Legolas and Aragorn argue and when Legolas apologizes to Aragorn, for despairing. When Legolas watches Aragorn hugging Haldir. When Legolas stands with Aragorn and Gimli on the Deeping Wall, awaiting the Uruk-hai. As Legolas lets loose the arrows towards the Berserker Uruk-hai. In these two shots too. First, standing outside of Fangorn with Aragorn and Gimli (flipped shot). Then, in Fangorn, saying, "This forest is old..."(flipped shot). (00:58:15 - 01:00:35)
Revealing mistake: At Helm's Deep, in the 1st close-up, Gimli says, "You could have picked a better spot," and two particular Elves stand at his left. In the next wide shot as Aragorn approaches, the Elves to the left of Gimli are different Elves than in the previous shot. One of those Elves from the 2nd shot is seen close-up when Aragorn walks away. Also, the second row of Elves is much closer to the first row of Elves in the 1st shot. (01:00:25)
Revealing mistake: In the two scenes, when Frodo and Sam are both up on the rocks and later, down below, hiding out of view, the Black Gate is in front of them. Earlier, is the view inside the gate. The two Trolls are pulling and pushing the wood 'pulley', to open the gate, while walking on the tall ramp that curves around. When the gate is open, that ramp should be in full view, from the angle that Frodo and Sam are positioned, but it is not. (01:03:55 - 01:05:55)
Revealing mistake: At the Battle of Helm's Deep, just after Aragorn slices the leg off the Uruk and just before Gimli slides down between the legs of another Uruk and smashes his axe into his chest, look carefully at the Elf on the left side of the screen. He arches his bow and fires, followed by a specific shooting bow sound effect, but there is no arrow. (01:05:30)
Revealing mistake: There are quite a few times where the Uruk-hai fitted skin wrinkles, creases or bubbles up where they shouldn't. Some examples are, at Helm's Deep, while they fight on the Deeping Wall, as the Uruks climb the ladders and when Gandalf charges with the Rohirrim. (01:05:30)
Revealing mistake: Soon after the Uruk-hai breach the wall with the ladders, Aragorn uses his sword to slice the leg off of one of them. In the wide shot, the Uruk has leg guards on, but in the close-up of the leg being cut off at the knee, no guards are on that leg. Also, visible in the close-up, it is obvious that the 'leg' is prepped to be cut in half. (01:05:30)
Revealing mistake: After Haldir dies, Aragorn jumps onto the only ladder resting against the steps 'inside' the Deeping Wall. Hanging onto the ladder, he then falls on top of the Uruk-hai down below. The ladder is now lying on the ground perpendicular to the steps of the wall. However, when Aragorn runs up the stone steps on the side of the Keep, in the aerial CG shot of the wall below, the ladder is not lying on the ground where it should be, under the scurrying feet of the Uruk-hai. (01:14:35)
Chosen answer: "Do they give good sport" is simply a way of asking whether they're being kept alive to provide later entertainment; could they be used in some sort of organised hunt, could they serve as gladiatorial fodder in an arena fight, that sort of thing. The weird thing with the tongue really just seems to be a sort of odd tic, designed to emphasise his rather disgusting nature.
Tailkinker ★