1st Hour
3/31/15
Mr. Hill
Visual Design Analysis
The 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers directed by Peter Jackson, is a fantasy piece set in the fantastic world of Middle Earth created by J.R.R Tolkien. This movie is the sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and continues the quest of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), a hobbit from the Shire, on his quest to destroy the One Ring and vanquish Sauron, as well the stories of his many friends as they fight to free Middle Earth from evil. The scene that I am going to analyze is where the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) frees King Theoden (Bernard Hill) from the evil wizard Saruman's (Christopher Lee) deadly mind control. This scene utilizes many interesting visual design aspects to create an amazing scene. The goal of the director's choice in the scene is to show the new found power and magic of Gandalf the White, as well as show the healing and reverse aging of King Theoden.
One aspect of the scene that really made it awesome was its use of high key lighting when Gandalf threw off his grey robe to go from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White. When Saruman watched through Theoden's eyes as Gandalf approached him he was not concerned with the magical ability of Gandalf the Grey, an old wizard whose powers could not match his. But when Gandalf revealed he was no longer the "the Grey" Gandalf's power was too much to handle in his new more powerful form. The director emphasized this by using high key lighting as he threw off the robe to make him appear almost godlike in power and as a pure force for good. This clearly communicated to the audience that our dear old wizard has elevated power and is more powerful than Saruman now.
Another element that makes this scene amazing is its use of makeup and costuming to show the reverse aging of the King after Gandalf frees him from Saruman. The effects of Saruman's mind poisoning caused Theoden to grow sick and old, but after he was freed by Gandalf he aged in reverse back to where he should be. It was really amazing how they were able to take this actor and cause him to look 50 years younger in a matter of seconds by using: contacts that made his eyes milky and dull, face makeup to make him sickly frail and tired, and that his hair went from long and grey to clean cut blond. It was an amazing sequence and really looked genuine and authentic to any member of the audience.
Jackson's attention to the little details in the setting also made this sequence outstanding and made the scene feel authentic. This scene takes place in The Golden Hall of Rohan, which serves as the place of the King. We see the customs, moral attitudes, and codes of behavior of the people of Rohan by their armor and decorations, all the flags along the walls show horses running and the helmets of the soldiers have horses crowning them with horsehair running down the back indicating that these are a people who put great emphasize on horses and show great deals of respect for warriors who master the art of riding and fighting. We also see the social structures and economic factors of the scene when we look at the dress of the court of Theoden, we see that everyone there is dressed modestly and the most expensive looking wear is seen in the armor of the warriors, which reinforces their warrior way of life by showing that they value their fighters more than statesmen and advisers.
The way Jackson crafted this scene really helped create an authentic scene where we could see and wittness the magical powers as if they were real. The subtle use of visuals really gave the audience the effect that the magic of Gandalf was a real force (in that world of course) and was not just some cheesy special effect.
Jackson's attention to the little details in the setting also made this sequence outstanding and made the scene feel authentic. This scene takes place in The Golden Hall of Rohan, which serves as the place of the King. We see the customs, moral attitudes, and codes of behavior of the people of Rohan by their armor and decorations, all the flags along the walls show horses running and the helmets of the soldiers have horses crowning them with horsehair running down the back indicating that these are a people who put great emphasize on horses and show great deals of respect for warriors who master the art of riding and fighting. We also see the social structures and economic factors of the scene when we look at the dress of the court of Theoden, we see that everyone there is dressed modestly and the most expensive looking wear is seen in the armor of the warriors, which reinforces their warrior way of life by showing that they value their fighters more than statesmen and advisers.
The way Jackson crafted this scene really helped create an authentic scene where we could see and wittness the magical powers as if they were real. The subtle use of visuals really gave the audience the effect that the magic of Gandalf was a real force (in that world of course) and was not just some cheesy special effect.
