MovieChat Forums > The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Discussion > Did anyone notice Gandalf talking in Sa...

Did anyone notice Gandalf talking in Saruman's voice when he first

posted 8 years ago by Daenerys-Stormborn
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made his appearance as the White Wizard in Fangorn forest? So I re winded and played that part again and I could have sworn I heard Christopher Lee's voice morphed to Sir Ian McKellen's. 

I think Gandalf did this to make Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli second guess that it was actually Saruman who stood before them. Personally I liked the dramatic effect when he stepped out of the light...never would've expected that it was Gandalf in the first place. I suppose its one of Gandalf's tricks to see how they'd react when they see a white wizard. Ha! 

Yúlallo nárë nauva coivaina, cálë lómillo tuiuva.
http://ow.ly/buqc302drQZ

[–] dijomaja-382-516639 8 years ago

It's a bit more involved. If it had just been a trick it would have been a particularly bad one to play on friends fearing for their lives. It's clearer in the book but the film has Gandalf say, "I Am Saruman - Saruman as he should have been." Gandalf has returned as the White Wizard - the position Saruman had held. The Valar (demi-gods - it's a long story) have "promoted" Gandalf to Saruman's old job. The Istari (Wizards) are spirits temporarily taking on bodies. That's why Gandalf says he was "sent back" but he returned as "the White Wizard" and would have initially seemed to have that form and voice.

[–] moundshroud 8 years ago

If it had just been a trick it would have been a particularly bad one to play on friends fearing for their lives.

Also a bit of a pointless trick considering that none of them were familiar with Saruman's voice (I know they heard Saruman's voice at Caradhras, but that was quite brief and very windy). Of course the movie audience recognizes the voice as that of Saruman, and the way they blended the voices was an effective cinematic illusion to make the audience believe that the Three Hunters had encountered Saruman, just as they initially suspected in the book. I thought it was one of PJ's more clever enhancements to the adaptation.

[–] magpie930 8 years ago

just for fun, here's the directors/writers commentary for this scene:

Philippa: You did some trickery here.

Peter: If you look very closely here, there’s a visual trick, because you see Christopher Lee’s eyes very briefly here – they’re actually glued on to Ian McKellen’s face: if you look on these first two or three shots, they are Christopher Lee’s eyes [screen cap], and you also hear Christopher Lee’s voice as well that’s blended in with Ian’s, because we did want people – the uninitiated – to think that this was possibly Saruman for the first few seconds.

Philippa: Actually you know, what was interesting was that Christopher Lee could imitate Ian McKellen better than Ian, I thought, imitated Chris Lee, because they both tried to sound a little like each other to blur the…

Peter: Right, yeah.

Philippa: … blur the things; and Chris Lee did a marvellous Ian.

Peter: There’s one tiny line here that I put back in the DVD that we took out of the theatrical cut because it was too obscure, but when he says, “I am Saruman, at least Saruman as he should have been,” which I… sort of, I kind of understand it [Philippa: Mmm.] but I love the poetry of it [laughs], and we thought it was a bit obscure for the theatrical movie, but I put it back in here because I like it.

Philippa: It’s one for the fans.

Peter: Yeah. One for me, really, I have to admit. [Philippa laughs]

[–] dijomaja-382-516639 8 years ago

Thanks for the additions & clarifications. I'd forgotten that the voice bit wasn't in the TE.

[–] Harold_of_Whoa 8 years ago

In the spirit of clarification and the defense of the TE, the voice morph happens in both versions; it's the quote about "Saruman as he should have been" that is only in the EE.

[–] dijomaja-382-516639 8 years ago

A clarified clarification!

[–] Decomposed 7 years ago

Shows how much care, love and attention to detail went to this trilogy.

For the Hobbit trilogy however...

For within each death there is always a new life, a new beginning - Dillon, Alien 3

[–] Daenerys-Stormborn 8 years ago

If it had just been a trick it would have been a particularly bad one to play on friends fearing for their lives.

Hahah true.  I just assumed that it was intentional when he was trying to sound as much like the previous White Wizard as possible (to highlight Saruman's position as a White Wizard) and then revealing himself was Gandalf with a dramatic effect.

Yúlallo nárë nauva coivaina, cálë lómillo tuiuva.
http://ow.ly/buqc302drQZ

[–] aliciarose-39022 7 years ago

Anyone who was familiar with the Silmarillion would have understood that it wasn't a bad joke on one's friends but had a deeper significance.

Anyone who was not in the know got clued in when Gandalf said that he was Saruman as he should have been.

I do wish they would have spent a little more time on Wizards in the movies. Gandalf and the other wizards were spirits inhabiting bodies-just like Sauron! It made sense to those who read the books why Gandalf was so adamant about himself NOT taking the ring-because he was closer to Sauron-they were both Maiar.