Continuity mistake: 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. (02:02:10)
Continuity mistake: After Pippin retrieves the Palantir, in the close-up facing him, he stands directly in front of the center of the spokes at the wheel's hub, as he hands the Palantir to Gandalf. However in the next shot as Gandalf takes hold of the Palantir, they are quite far from the wheel. Next shot Pippin stands close again. (Extended Edition) (00:17:55)
Continuity mistake: 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. (00:21:45)
Continuity mistake: 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. (01:51:00 - 01:51:45)
Continuity mistake: 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. (00:42:30)
Continuity mistake: 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. (01:06:30)
Continuity mistake: 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) (00:51:25)
Continuity mistake: 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. (01:17:20)
Continuity mistake: 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. (00:34:50)
Continuity mistake: 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) (01:00:45)
Continuity mistake: When Shelob retreats into her lair, Sam runs to Frodo and lays Sting down on the ground. It lies on dirt that has white rocks showing through underneath, which is even seen in the last overhead wide shot of Sam holding Frodo. Yet in the next close-up of Sting glowing blue, it is lying on plain dirt. (01:52:40 - 01:53:30)
Continuity mistake: 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. (01:29:00)
Continuity 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. (01:24:25)
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)
Continuity mistake: 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. (00:21:30)
Continuity mistake: 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) (00:21:20)
Continuity mistake: 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. (02:02:10)
Continuity mistake: When Pippin first kills an orc in Minas Tirith, his blade has no blood on it but a second later, blood appears. (02:01:05)
Continuity mistake: Deagol stands up on shore, raises up his right fist and in the wide shot there are blades of grass on his fingers. In the next close-ups while there are no grass blades, the tips of his fingers are visibly much cleaner than in the next wide shot as Deagol stares at the Ring in his palm with extremely muddy fingers. Yet in the next close-up of Deagol's fingers closing over the Ring, after Smeagol says, "Give us that, Deagol, my love," the fingers look the same as in the previous close-up. (00:02:00)
Continuity mistake: 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.
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 ★