The Lord of the Rings was in many ways the original modern cinematic universe. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels, Peter Jackson and his team put decades of love and hard work into creating a trilogy of films that most agree to be nearly perfect in every aspect.
But then, no piece of work is really perfect, and there are plenty of issues, small and big, with the films that fans have discovered over the years upon countless rewatching. Here are 10 continuity errors, anachronisms, and similar issues you might not have noticed before in Fellowship of the Ring:
Changing Ring Finger
During the final act of the movie, Boromir finally succumbed to the power of the ring and tried to take it from Frodo by force. Frodo managed to make his escape by placing the ring onto his middle finger and turning invisible. After he gets away from his former ally, Frodo crouches behind a rock, invisible to Boromir but visible to the audience. That is when we see that the ring has switched fingers and is now nestling on Frodo’s index finger.
The Car Cameo
During the beginning of the movie, Sam and Frodo and shown leaving the Shire to begin their quest. We catch a glorious view of the countryside representing the Shire, which was actually a regular, present-day countryside, with a regular, present-day car driving on the road in the far right of the screen, blowing up smoke and blissfully unaware of its unwitting cameo in one of the most celebrated films of all time. Too bad the hobbits didn’t notice the vehicle. Their journey to Mount Doom would have been a lot more comfortable in the backseat of a Camaro than backpacking barefoot across Mordor.
Modern Bandages
In the battle against the cave troll, Sam gets thrown against a wall. In a few brief scenes, the sleeve of Sam’s shirt slips back, and we are able to catch a glimpse of modern bandages on his wrist. Considering the difficult shooting conditions for the entire trilogy, it is understandable that the cast suffered some injuries and needed to be bandaged up to keep on filming.
In-universe, however, we prefer to believe that Sam had a private stash of modern medicine that he shared with no one else, which is why he was the only one who was able to finish the quest in one piece.
Vanishing Fireworks
At Bilbo’s birthday, we are introduced to Merry and Pippin for the first time, when they sneak into a tent in order to set off the fireworks belonging to Gandalf. A rocket shoots away and carries the tent with it. In the previous scene, the tent had been filled with crackers and other incendiary material. But after the tent is carried away, all the materials have vanished. Maybe the fireworks had a spell imposed on them that was designed to make them all vanish if anyone other than Gandalf tried to set them off. Or maybe the set production team goofed.
Boromir’s Wandering Hands
After Boromir comes back to his senses, he regrets trying to take the ring from Frodo, and tries to make amends by fighting off the waves of Orcs, getting mortally wounded in the process. It is in this state that he is found by one of the two main heroes of the story, Aragorn, who becomes the sole witness to his confession and last words. In that scene, Boromir places his hand on Aragorn’s shoulder. But in the closeup of Aragorn’s face, we find his shoulder quite bare and missing a dying man’s fingers. Yet another example of how incredibly difficult it is to keep track of these little things on such a massive production.
Changing Wax Patterns
The LOTR story properly begins when Bilbo leaves an envelope sealed with wax for Frodo to find before disappearing. Later Gandalf discovers the envelope, and eagle-eyed audience members notice the shape of the wax seal over the envelope has changed shape. Then the envelope passes hands between Gandalf and Frodo a couple of times, and each time the wax pattern changes shape. Maybe there were an entire bunch of sealed envelope props made for the movie, and each new take had the production screw reaching for a new one to use.
Disappearing Ax Remains
The One Ring is brought to Rivendell. And before everyone decides to take a road trip to Mount Doom to get rid of the mystic item, they try to get rid of it through conventional means, namely Gimli attempting to break the ring into pieces with his ax. It does not work, the blow reducing the mighty weapon to pieces instead.
In a few shots, we see the ax remains lying on the ground next to the one ring, but in the final shot, the remains have disappeared. Either this was a production mixup, or a super eager servant elf interrupted the council of Elrond to sweep up the pieces with an enchanted broom and put them in a magical dustbin.
Disappearing Pony
When the fellowship finally embarks on their quest, one of the first dangers they encounter is a flock of crows sent by Saruman to spy on them. The Fellowship only has a few moments to scramble for cover, but there is no time to hide their pony Bill, stocked with their belongings and plodding faithfully behind them. But, when the crows finally do arrive, the pony is nowhere to be seen, and the Fellowship is saved from detection.
The Confusing Ride
In one of the first scenes, Gandalf allows Frodo to hitch a ride on his wagon back to Bilbo’s house. It is a short ride, yet it must have taken a long time to film, considering how details in its setup keep changing in almost every scene. Gandalf’s staff is particularly slippery, appearing in separate scenes near Frodo: in the back seat, sticking out of the rear, next to Gandalf, and then back next to Frodo. There is also a scarf hanging from a lantern in their path that appears and disappears seemingly on a whim.
The Fake Hobbit
When Arwen takes an injured Frodo to Rivendell on the back of her horse, they are being chased by ringwraiths. Naturally, speed is of the essence, and they travel at full speed, with Frodo bumping wildly next to Arwen. In some scenes, if you look closely, you can see it is not actually Frodo, but a dummy dressed up to look like him.
