The movies:Prisoner of Azkaban - Good movie, GoF - adequate?

[taraswizard]

In summer 2004 I went to see Prisoner of Azkaban and really impressed by what a good movie it was (Star Trek IV good). Then winter 2005 went to see Goblet of Fire and it was not so good. Can anyone explain this anomaly?

Doubting this is relevant, I've not read the books, and PoA was the first movie I saw of the series.

[Usivius]

PoA (the movie) got me to reading the books. Previously I has seen all the movies and had been increasingly impressed with them all. By the time PoA came out, I told myself I had to read these darn things.
So far for me the movies are moving along like the books. More mature themes relevant to their ages, etc. And although PoA was a really good Harry Potter movie, I would not say GoF was bad. I still enjoyed it very much, but PoA set the bar high.

I am very curiuos to see Order of the Pheonix as it is one of the darker stories and with a very frustrating and frustrated Harry...

[wayfriend]

The first two movies were directed by Chris (Home Alone) Columbus.

PoA was directed by Alfonso (Y tu mamá también) Cuarón.

GoF was directed by Mike (Four Weddings and a Funeral) Newell.

The upcoming OotP was directed by David (absoluetly nothing to put here) Yates.

(Conclusion: don't hold out for OotP to be as good as PoA.)

[Menolly]

I think Wayfriend hit the nail right on the head.

While I disagreed with some of the choices Cuarón made in the movie (letting the kids wear muggle clothes at school, having Hermione slug Malfoy), IMO the overall feel of the movie was the best of them all. For instance, I loved the use of the whomping willow to show the change of seasons and passage of time.

[Cameraman Jenn]

Well, so far PoA was my favorite movie too. Alphonso Cuaron is a genius. It didn't hurt that the actors have matured and are getting better as they go plus the addition to the cast of Gary Oldman and David Thewliss didn't hurt either. I liked GoF, especially Brendan Gleeson as Mad Eye. He was brilliant, hands down. However, I thought GoF was lacking a little in intrigue.

[Sunbaneglasses]

PoA is also my favorite. Having read the books I was really disappointed by some of the things left out of GoF. Much of the movie blew chunks to me, but I was very happy with the graveyard scene.

[dlbpharmd]

I agree that PoA was the best movie, but GoF is my favorite book out of the series.

[sindatur]

GOF was the largest of the four books, and only had 2 1/2 hours screentime. You gotta cut a whole lot out of 734 pages (American version) when you only have 2 1/2 hours screen time. The first two were actually 3 1/2 hours, I believe.

The beginning of GoF got butchered, and it was difficult for us readers to follow it, and even more difficult to explain to a non-reader. However, once it got to Hogwarts, I was very happy with it, personally.

Cauron's decision to have the kids wear Muggle clothes more often apparently was something JKR liked about his rendition.

OotP, be prepared to see even more of it cut, it's around 960 pages (American Version) so it's about 30% larger than GoF, and doesn't have the advantage of alot of repeat of things stated repeatedly in the first 4 books.

I like all the movies.

1st two movies are very bright and cheery looking, and everything looks so perfect and unblemished, and the smallest feats of magic are showcased front and center. To me, this depicts Harry's innocence and naivety in the Magical world, everything was so new and wonderful to him.

PoA, got a bit darker, the colors became more muted, the small feats of magic were relegated to the background, you see the scars of 1000 years of underage magic on the castle walls. Showing Harry no longer being so innocent and Naive, seeing things the way they really are, and no longer staring in awe at small feats of magic

GoF, of course proceeded further along the path PoA took us on.

[paradox]

Oh man, I think Im going to get a lot of flame for this... but I really hated PoA....

Although the small changes significantly altered the whole look of HP and it was for the better, the whole storyline sucked... I mean, how could they cram the whole story into an hour and a half? (is it? I don't really remember but it was so short)

I only saw it once, compared to the other movies which i repeated about 3 times...

[Romeo]

As sindatur said, it becomes increasingly hard to adapt the books to the screen as the books get so darn thick. GoF was so hacked that my kids weren't happy with it, even though I tried to explain that you have to look at it separately from the book. Given that they had to cut so much (or make a 48-hour movie), I thought they did a really good job. They did rush into the beginning part a bit, and the match was cut very short, but I guess the only things they needed to introduce in that part were Cedric, Krum, and portkeys. They never played up the veela part for Fleur, and they cut the house elves entirely. I was surprised we didn't see even a glimpse of the Dursleys, though - even if for a minute or two. I would have loved to see the scene with Harry getting picked up by the Weasleys via floo powder. That was hillarious!

After watching the first movie, I wanted to slap Harry upside the head. I was SO sick of "Harry this," and "Harry that." But when I finally read the books (I powered through all the available ones just before GoF hit theaters), I was overjoyed to find out that the book didn't leave the same impression as the movie. I really like that movie now that I read the book.

PoA was a good movie, but they left out the whole plot thread concerning the identities of Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. I thought that was extremely important - and in GoF they use "Wormtail" instead of "Peter," which kinda confirms my feelings. And PoA seemed more like a time travel thing in the theater than the book portrayed (so I like the more subtle approach in the book).

But I love them all - books and movies.

[sindatur]

I wouldn't say they left the Mooney, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs explanation in the PoA movie, the clues are all there, they just didn't "scooby Doo" an explanation pulling it all together. Admittedly though, to catch it, you have to know the books, or follow the movie pretty well, typically by seeing it repeatedly. Having said that, I don't see what harm it would've done to make the movie just 5 minutes longer to make that more clear, likewise, I think 5 more minutes in GoF wouldv'e made the beginning of it more smooth and comprehensive. The real bummer is, I understand OotP is going to be the shortest movie yet, so no Bogart scene, and no House Elves (I truly hope that only means no Dobby and doesn't mean no Kreacher, because he is extremely important)

[storm]

There is so much "important" stuff in OOTP, if there's no kreacher, they will be screwed for the seventh movie.

GOF was a colossal disappointment for me, the quidditich world cup was far too brief and they eliminated the explanation at the end about what happened in the graveyard...which told a lot and did some serious foreshadowing. GOF was my favorite book, they just chopped it to shreds in the film.

[Usivius]

regarding kreacher, JKR insisted the makers of OotP put him in! She claimed he was going to become too important to be left out.

ooo what a giveaway....

[sindatur]

There is so much "important" stuff in OOTP, if there's no kreacher, they will be screwed for the seventh movie.

GOF was a colossal disappointment for me, the quidditich world cup was far too brief and they eliminated the explanation at the end about what happened in the graveyard...which told a lot and did some serious foreshadowing. GOF was my favorite book, they just chopped it to shreds in the film.

The Quidditch itself I don't think was a problem to be cut, by GoF, Quidditch had already gotten plenty of air play. I was expecting it to still be going on in the background of everything else going on though. A couple scenes I really would've liked to see, but, understand them being cut was the Ton Tongue Toffee and the Fireplace scene at the Dursleys, and I was really, really looking forward to seeing Winky plastered on the Butter Beer.

[storm]

I think the Quidditch would have been cool...but the house elf thing killed me, they are such interesting characters.