Betrayal of a friend is the worst, especially when they're joining your worst enemy. In The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Saruman betrays Gandalf and makes the quest way more difficult for everyone. Peter Jackson applies his knowledge of everything he is in control of, Mise En Scene, in order to create the effect of us feeling the betrayal of Saruman as much as Gandalf is.
The first part of Mise en Scene that is utilized is visual design. The look of mostly the latter part of this scene is very deliberate and specific, and it really helps create a good effect. Firstly, there is no red. Everything is either black, white, or blue. Having only cool colors creates a calming effect, but one that is changed to sinister when Saruman makes known his betrayal. All the black walls, black stone floors, sharp points jutting out of the walls, makes the case for this tower being a dangerous place. The costuming aspect of visual design is also apparent here. Gandalf is wearing tattered gray clothing, and his staff is wooden and raw. Saruman’s costuming is much more smooth. His hair is straightened, and his staff is made of stone or metal with a perfect sphere in its tip. The contrast between the two costumes allows you to get a sense of the personality of the two characters, even if this is the only scene you’ve seen.
Cinematography in this scene is also top-notch. Easily seen are rules being both followed and broken. The rule that is followed the most is the Rule of Thirds. It is hard to find a shot of Gandalf or Saruman that is not off-center, especially so when they are conversing. The Rule of Thirds is a rule that simply says that subjects that are closest to a third of the way from an edge of the screen look better than subjects that aren’t. The scene looks really good because of this. Visual effects are also really good in this scene. There are no mystical particles or flying water effects here, only force-like tossing that looks very realistic. The reason it looks realistic is because there is no item that has been created specifically for the magic to look like magic. It simply happens. For this reason, the film won the oscar for Best Visual Effects. And for this reason, it’s possible to believe for a moment that Christopher Lee is actually doing these things to Ian McKellan, making the audience feel for the defeated Gandalf more and be scared of Saruman.
The editing of this film did not win award, but it is still very valid to talk about. The editing is done very well. The first few shots are an example of an Outside-In Establishing sequence, showing us the entire tower before showing Gandalf arrive at the tower. Later in the scene, within the tower, a static shot becomes rare. Most of the shots are moving somehow- first tracking into the small room where Gandalf and Saruman are conversing, panning from the orb, to Gandalf, to Gandalf putting the towel on the orb. Notably, at that moment, there is a cutaway to the Eye of Sauron, for a moment. This lets the audience know of the presence of this Great Eye that Gandalf is scared of, and first creates the feeling that something is really not right here. All the motion I mentioned more subconsciously creates the effect of uneasiness, perhaps being ever so slightly nauseating, like you’re on a ship that is rocking all the time in strange directions. All of the editing in this film improves the suspense and overall effect of the audience feeling what Gandalf does.
An entire scene has been created here, and a single effect has been created using at least 3 parts of Mise en Scene very well. Visual design is important, and done well, the shots are well-composed, and it is cut together masterfully. There's a reason this film won two oscars and was nominated for best picture, and that's because these parts of Mise en Scene were done extremely well.The scene where Saruman betrays Gandalf is a fantastic scene that employs all of these at once. Peter Jackson is good at his job.
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