LotR1-FotR-Seq04

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Not all goodly things come dressed in white...

We see Gandalf hustling along to Orthanc, to Saruman, to see what aid and comfort the head of the order can give. More great scenery. Not for a moment do I believe that Orthanc exists, yet here we see it stitched right into our reality. The aerial camera following Gandalf's ride yields an interesting viewpoint on Saruman's abode. Maybe this tower is not how you may have depicted it; to me it’s not far off.

And while I’m on the architecture of Orthanc, we see that as Gandalf passes the gate and enters the ring that the place looks much like the Shire – with trees. Book Gandalf enters a place that already has orcs and wolves and pillars and pits. PJ’s version actually makes more sense (did I just say that? ). Think about it: when Gandalf is rattling off his tale of confinement to Frodo in Rivendell, he says something like if he would have caught something in Radagast’s voice that he may have ridden into Isengard more warily and so not have been caught like the fly he was. But really, when Gandalf was going though the gate, couldn’t he have gotten a whiff of orc or wolf? What of Glamdring? Was it ‘turned off?’ I think that pride made Gandalf make claim to voice-analysis gifts while ignoring the obvious questions about seeing that much was amiss in Nan Curunir.

Anyway, here when Gandalf enters Isengard there’s no outward reason to suspect anything; unless, that is that you’re a bit paranoid and think that anyone with such immaculate landscaping just must be hiding something. On the other hand, in this version the grounds crew have a lot of work to do in a very short time.

But back to the DVD.

We hear Christopher Lee before we see him standing on the steps, and he clues us to what's going on. See Gandalf patting his horse? More positive character traits being shown as this wizard appreciates the animal's help. He could have grabbed the horse’s shoulder, but I guess that no thrill was needed here.

Did Saruman look dirtier than you expected?

Well, the Maiar meeting starts off well enough between these 'old friends,' but things don't stay that way for long. Gandalf bows his head in deference, something that you might have noticed that did not happen when he met old friends previously. Was Gandalf being polite? Or is Saruman snooty and so expected that kind of thing? Gandalf is chided regarding his use of the hobbit's leaf, so maybe this isn't an ad for the smoking lobby (plus we all know that Saruman, a duplicitous traitor scoundrel, is also a hypocritical closet smoker).

The close-up of Saruman's face might be more insight into this character. Gandalf's face is wrinkled with lines of care and laughter: Saruman has either discovered the art of Botox or is not like Gandalf. He’s more aloof and cold and appears to be able to view both bliss and hell without twitching - a soulless face with avaricious eyes. His staff too appears different than the wizened old prop carried by the Grey Pilgrim. Saruman's staff is metal, inorganic and has edges...sharp edges...hmmm. It appears more like a weapon.

Saruman's discussion of Sauron is really picking Gandalf's spirits up, and you can see him thinking, "for this I rode from the Shire? I could have gotten better from Ted Sandyman…" When Saruman cocks his head, saying "I have seen it," you just know that something's wrong. At least the real Gandalf comes back when we see the Palantir. Instead of just listening to Saruman's advice, beratings, admonitions, etc, Gandalf starts pushing back.

And the Palantir room actually makes sense as somewhere I read that you walked around it to use it; it wasn’t some ball that you used like a cell phone.

Ah-Oh! Another !shock! flash of the Eye. I think that everyone by now has figured out what's going on. Is it chance that Saruman now sits on a black throne-like chair?

But Saruman is a bit too happy about the Nine going after the Ring Bearer. I liked him better when he was selling out both the West and the East. PJ is making Saruman the movie baddie for FotR, increasing his power then somewhat, but on the other hand the White Wizard is pretty much Sauron’s flunky. You don’t get the feeling that even if Sauron is controlling Saruman that Saruman believes that he’s a free agent. Also, won’t this conflict later with the scene where the Uruks of the White Hand head for Isengard and not Barad-dur? I know that there may have been some confusion in the lower ranks, but PJ's Saruman could have saved a lot of postage by just having his Uruks head east.

Back in Orthanc’s stone walls the tension builds. Doors slam closed at a glance. I like that some of the 'prepared speech" from the books is started, but it's stopped too soon. And where did the bags under Saruman's eyes just go?

An insult starts the battle royale between these two ancient staff wielders. By the by, I never imagined that this is how the fight went down. As we may have no text to say otherwise, I concede that PJ’s vision is as valid as any other, I guess. PJ states that he didn't want the ‘electricity from the hands’ kind of fighting, and so has Gandalf and Saruman slug it out with staves that never physically touch the other. Different, but not my cup of tea/coffee. If only one of them could shoot a fireball or something.

An aside: Making use of the slo-mo and pause buttons, I was able to examine Saruman's hands and was disappointed to see that neither bore a ring. Not even a ring tan line. Sigh.

Anyway, after a fight that lasts too long, Saruman claims Gandalf's staff and so gains the upper hand, as the old saw about two staves in the hand…or was it heads…anyway. Pivoting Gandalf on his ear was just too weird, and I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean, but there’s another saying about standing one on one’s ear. I give up. Gandalf is launched skywards into the blackness. I don't think that he's killed, as the scene finish doesn’t feel that way.

Well, it now seems obvious that Gandalf isn't going to receive any help regarding the Ring from Saruman, and he may not even be able to go back and help Frodo and Sam. And these two are being hunted by the Nine, which if we didn't fear for their sakes enough before, Saruman just said that Sam and Frodo will be killed.

Just where are those two hobbits anyway? We'll get back to them next week.



*** Special off-topic note: The alatar tribe increased by one this past Sunday. Mom and new daughter are home and well. ***