Passage of time in the movies.
 

Gollum had his ring stolen by Bilbo.He was then captured by Sauron and tortured.You hear him been tortured and he screams 'baggins', 'shire'!.So how long passes between Gollum's torture and the Wraiths leaving for the shire? It says that Gollum escaped from Sauron's torture chambers hundreds of years ago, but surely the Wraiths wouldn't have hung around hundreds of years?Please help to clear this matter up.

In the Books and the movies I think Gollum is captured, then set loose, around a year before Frodo leaves.

Yep, as the tale of years states, he was captured sometime from 3009 - 3017 and released from Mordor in 3017, one year before Bilbo's 111th Birthday.

Yup, the Tale of Years is pretty clear on the matter and I don't see anything in the film to suggest a different timeline.<P>H.C.

Gollum had only emerged from the Misty Mountains within the last sixty years or so (after Bilbo left them) so there's no way he could have been captured by Mordor hundreds of years ago. As has already been pointed out, in both book and movie it seems to have been about a year's difference.<P>I'm wondering if your question had more to do with wondering why, if Sauron had the "Shire" "Baggins" information at least a year before sending out the Ringwraiths, he waited to send them out instead of doing so right away. I think the answer to that would be that initially, Gollum's torturers would not have a clue what "Shire" and "Baggins" *were*. This was a very well-hidden corner of the world; they wouldn't be able to tell at first whether they were both place names, given names, or what. <P>After that they'd have to do a little research; probably send out a few subtle and expendable scouts, and ask around for information. I think the reason they wouldn't have the Nazgul do this is that, while the Nazgul are certainly good at terrifying people into giving them information, they're also very noticeable. The last thing you want is nine black riders asking questions in every possible location, because rumors about them would spread incredibly fast, and would risk warning "Shire" "Baggins" or whatever that somebody was after him - and he might well receive this news before the Nazgul even knew exactly who or where he was. The Nazgul are much better used a sort of strike force - once you know the location, send them out as quickly and quietly as possible, before rumor of their presence has time to spread.<p>[ 4:00 PM January 05, 2004: Message edited by: Kalimac ]

It's not really relevant to the film, but if you're interested in the Nazgul's movements after they left Barad-Dur in search of the Ring, read <I>The Hunt for the Ring</I> in <I>Unfinished Tales</I>.<P>Gollum's conceit led him to tell Sauron that the land of the Halflings was near to where he had once dwelt on the banks of the Anduin, and so the Nazgul set off on a wild goose chase there first. <P>There are then two versions of how the Nazgul learn of the exact location of the Shire. In one, they confront Saruman at Isengard, but he lies and tells them that he does not know where the Shire is. Later, however, they come across Wormtongue and, in fear of his life, he tells them. <P>In the other version, the Nazgul confront Saruman at Isengard while Gandalf is still imprisoned there. In fear and despair, he resolves to yield to Gandalf and beg his forgiveness and aid, only to find that Gandalf has escaped. Desparate to convince the Nazgul of his continuing allegience to Sauron, he tells them where the Shire is, hoping that they will be delayed by the river crossings and the Dunedain guard, giving him time to find it himself. The Nazgul later come across the Squint-Eyed Southerner (of <I>Prancing Pony</I> fame) on an errand from Saruman to the Shire, and obtain further information from him.<P>It's an interesting Chapter, and well worth a read (as is the whole of the book, of course).