Harris 1

Michael D. Harris
Philosophy 3: 2521
Professor Mulder
2
nd
December 2008
Inconsistencies in the Lord of the Rings movies
Most if not all moies! hae inconsistencies! some more then others. "his is
because each scene is shot more then once! they aren#t al$ays shot in order! the actors
and film cre$s do not al$ays remember e%actly $hat happened in the last ta&e. 'loppy
editin( increases the number of inconsistencies.
)n the *ello$ship of the +in(! durin( ,ilbo#s party! Merry and Pippin steal a lar(e
fire$or& and ta&e it into a tent to li(ht it. -s they are li(htin( it! $e see the tent has
dishes and miscellaneous thin(s in it! and then after they li(ht it! the camera cuts to
outside the tent! and all the thin(s inside the tent hae mysteriously anished! leain(
Merry and Pippin to stare at the camera $ith soot blac&ened faces. "he set cre$ did
not &eep the scene the same! leain( the audience to $onder $here all the other thin(s
in the tent $ent. .ater on in the moie! there are fie different shots of an enelope $ith
a $a% seal! and in each shot! the seal is different. "he first shot is $hen /andalf first
seals it! the ne%t is ri(ht after it! as he hands it to *rodo! third is $hen *rodo loo&s at it
after /andalf leaes! the forth is $hen /andalf returns and the last is $hen $e see
/andalf thro$ the enelope into the fire. )t $ould seem that the prop cre$ had more
then one enelope! $hich doesn#t ma&e sense! as they $ould only need one for the
moie.
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)n the "$o "o$ers! $hen Merry and Pippin are bound prisoners of the 0ru&1Hai!
their bonds don#t (et cut until after they hae escaped and (otten out of the fi(ht. -s
they are part $ay out! still cra$lin( $ith their hands bound! $e see a horse runnin( at
them! the scene then cuts to a close up of Pippin lyin( flat on his bac& $ith his arms
spread! clearly unbound! and then in the ery ne%t scene they are bound a(ain! and
remain so until the end of the escape $here the bonds are cut off. "his mista&e is most
li&ely caused by the director $antin( the arms spread to increase the impact of the
scene! and for(ettin( that the hands are supposed to be bound. )n a later scene! $e
see -ra(orn on the top of a $all2 ri(ht after Haldir dies! -ra(orn 3umps onto a nearby
ladder! and rides it do$n as it falls onto a cro$d of 0ru&1Hai. )n the close up $hen he
first 3umps onto the ladder! he has his s$ord in his ri(ht hand! $hen the camera cuts to
a distance shot of him ridin( the ladder do$n! his hands are empty. 4hen the camera
cuts bac& to a close up of him as he lands! his s$ord is bac& in his hand. 5ne possible
reason for this is because they most li&ely used a stunt double for the distance shot!
and the double $asn#t (ien the s$ord.
"he +eturn of the 6in(! the last of the trilo(y! (races us $ith an interestin( scene!
$here *rodo is poisoned by 'helob! a (iant spider. 4hen 'am first finds *rodo! he
thin&s he is dead! because he is not moin( at all. "he first camera shot sho$s *rodo
$ith his eyes fi%ed $ide open! $hile in the second shot! they are closed. 4hen the
camera cuts bac& for a third shot! his eyes are open a(ain. "his mista&e could be the
actors fault: it#s not really clear $hy the eyes are open or closed. -t the end of the
moie! $hen the hobbits are (oin( to the ship for the /rey Haens! $e can see 'am
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$earin( a yello$ est $ith bro$n buttons on top of a $hite shirt. 4hen *rodo and 'am
hu(! the est is still there! but as *rodo (ets onto the ship! and turns bac& to smile! 'am
isn#t $earin( the yello$ est. "he est remains missin( as the hobbits leae the /rey
Haens! but $hen 'am (ets home! and pic&s up his dau(hter! he is $earin( the same
yello$ est. )t is li&ely that the different scenes $ere shot on different days! and the
costume people for(ot that 'am had been $earin( a yello$ est! or decided to add it in
later! dependin( on the order of the shots.
)t#s ery interestin( ho$ our brains can notice these discontinuities! from scene to
scene! een in ery fast paced moies. 4e can still notice small! minor details that
escape the notice of most people. 'ome people $ill notice one type of mista&e! $hile
others $ill notice a totally different type of mista&e.