The Flint Solution

First, my apologies for the lateness in ending the 'quest'. Time has a way of getting away as they say.

Now, on to the answer to the Quest of the World's Greatest Flint:

At the end of Return of the King, Aragorn, Gandalf and company proceed on horseback to the Moranon - the Black Gate - in a feint to draw out Sauron's forces in the hope of making it easier for Frodo and Samwise to make it to Mount Doom.

Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry and Pipen ride out to parlay with the Mouth of Sauron, end negotiations, and as the gate opens ride back to the main body of troops. The camera then shows the "Men of West" charging forward to battle the hosts of Mordor. Only, now they are on foot. All the horses have magically disappeared.

Call me lightning, but I didn't notice this until last month. I told my daughter about the flint, and she later noted that the International Movie Data Base includes it in its list of 'mistakes'.

C'est la vie!

The World's Greatest Flint - Did You Notice It?

Recently I had the pleasure of spending a few quiet evenings watching Lord of the Rings Extended Edition again. Now this is a movie I've seen several times - a favorite - and I was shocked when it suddenly struck me that it features the greatest flint of all time.

The flint in question is at once visual and a basic continuity error in the telling of the story. It is not minor and is not one of those 'hidden in the background' errors (like some one facing one way in one shot and another way in a second shot). I will tell you that once you know what it is you'll slap your head and wonder why you never noticed it before.

As summer is a time that should allow for a bit of fun, I've decided to leave it as a 'quest' for any of you who want to look for it. If you think you know what it is, send me a comment. I moderate comments to avoid trolls (no pun), but I will post any and all serious guesses. If the flint is not guessed by the end of the month, I'll post the answer; if it is guessed, I'll concede the issue in the comments thread and amend this entry.

I'll give one hint - There, not there.

Happy hunting!

PS The flint in question has nothing to do with the attached video, but in the tradition of Fellowship of the Vuvuzelas, I thought you might enjoy it.

(For the uninitiated, a 'flint' is a mistake in continuity or a general error. The terms derives from a Harry Potter character who should have left the school after a certain 'year' but was still there the following 'year'. In some circles, the term has come to be used to indicate mistakes in movies and TV shows.)

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Kurt Luchs -- Things Politico and Frodo

First Things' On the Square today features humorist Kurt Luchs offering humorous but quite lucid and serious considerations on power, politics and the lessons that can be drawn from The Lord of the Rings. His analysis is entitled Frodo in a World of Boromirs. Read one excerpt here; then go read it all here.

It is no longer shameful to lust after power so long as one lusts for the good
of the people. In the words of Boromir, speaking of the One Ring, “For you seem
to think of its power only in the hands of the enemy: of its evil uses not of
its good.” The only rejoinder, in Frodo’s words to Boromir, is that “we cannot
use it, and what is done with it turns to evil.” Yes, it’s that simple. And as
you ascend the levels of authority, from city to state to nation, it only
becomes more true.