Continuity mistake: 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. (02:18:35 - 02:19:20)
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. (02:18:45)
Continuity mistake: 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. (02:18:50 - 02:21:10)
Revealing mistake: 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! (02:19:00)
Continuity mistake: 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. (02:20:00)
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. (02:20:10)
Continuity mistake: 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.) (02:20:30)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Aragorn suggests attacking the Black Gate in order to draw out the orcs and give Frodo safe passage, the amount of Gandalf's hair hanging loose from his pony tail varies from shot to shot. (02:24:25)
Revealing 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. (02:28:25)
Continuity mistake: While walking in Mordor, Sam yells "Frodo, get down!" and in the first wide shot Frodo turns his body towards Sauron's Eye as Sam drops down. In the next shot Sam is in the background, Frodo's arm is in the foreground and Frodo has not turned yet. Also, in the shot of him facing the Eye, Frodo's face and neck are cleaner than in the shots before and after. (02:28:55)
Continuity mistake: 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. (02:29:00)
Continuity mistake: When Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf, Gimli etc, ride up to the gates of Mordor, the main characters go up to the gate on their own to demand it opens. The trails the horses leave on the way towards the gate are different to those that you see in the shot when they retreat after the gate has opened. (02:29:40 - 02:31:20)
Continuity mistake: 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. (02:30:00)
Revealing 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. (02:30:30)
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. (02:31:00)
Continuity mistake: 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). (02:31:05 - 02:34:00)
Continuity mistake: 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. (02:31:20)
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. (02:32:05)
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. (02:32:55)
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. (02:33:15)
Answer: There are only five wizards. Saruman and Gandalf are heavily involved, as we see. Radagast, while not mentioned in the film, has a particular affinity with the birds and animals - it is he who sends the Eagles to the last battle, and to rescue Gandalf from Isengard. The final two, Alatar and Pallando, known as the Blue Wizards, went into the far eastern regions of Middle-Earth and never returned. Tolkien felt that they would ultimately have fallen from grace, much as Saruman did.
Tailkinker ★