NEWS: Chris Gore's Footage Fetishes: Harry Potter and a Film Fan's View

CULTURE: Chris Gore's Footage Fetishes: Harry Potter and a Film Fan's View

I have to admit something very embarrassing. I am a Harry Potter fan who does not read the books. There, I said it. In fact, I don’t read the books because I want to be surprised when I see the movies. I’ve been lucky enough to experience them all ignorant of most of the details. With the exception of knowing who dies in each particular film, I walk out of the movie theater relatively surprised.

Yes, I know it’s shocking. And I am constantly berated by friends who tell me that I should read the books as the magical story of Harry is so wonderfully told. I believe that. But I’m a movie guy, not a book guy, and if I know a movie is coming, well, I’m going to see it. I guess I’m sticking to the same philosophy I had back in school when seeing the movie was easier and less time-consuming than delving into the words.

Harry is a curious boy who seeks to learn about mysterious and magical things... like girls.

There’s no need to remind me that the books are better, in fact, the books are always better than the movies since those little details have a chance to flourish. I’ll take your word for it as this is a commonly held belief. So before you crucify me for doing something as heinous as not reading each chapter of the Potter bible, let’s all just accept the fact that the mediums are simply different experiences. In fact, I happen to believe that there are more Potter movie fans out there than many are willing to admit. So give me some credit for my embarrassing confession.

The benefit of not reading the books allows me to see the Potter saga as movies first and I do have personal favorite films in the series. For me, in order of best to worst (and by worst, I don’t mean bad, just not as amazing as others in comparison) of the series, I would rank the movies this way:
1. Azkaban
2. Stone
3. Secrets
4. Goblet
5. Phoenix

Of course, I expect many of you to chime in with your own thoughts. Here’s a Potter movie fan’s perspective on each film in the series.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001 - aka "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone")
Aw, those three were so cute back then. If the first film introducing us to Harry’s world were a song, it would be nearly perfect note for note. Most surprising is the young cast who perfectly capture the sense of amazement when exposed to all that magic. We learn that Voldemort is a bad dude who was responsible for Harry’s family tragedy.


Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
The second film follows the formula of movie sequel 101 success by making everything the same but on a larger scale. In fact, the second is pretty much a rehash of the first. Both Stone and Chamber are very similar in their “Scooby-Doo-solving-a-mystery” vibe. Now we discover that Voldemort may be more than just a threat from the past.


Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
The cast grows up and even sports some clothes that kids can relate to. Director Alfonso Cuarón creates a tone that departs from the child-like wonderment of the first two into a more mature Harry. The clever time-twisting and emotional climax adds weight to the series. Also, Voldemort is coming. Just a reminder.


Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Things are getting a bit dark as the Tri-Wizard Tournament results in the death of Cedric Diggory. Harry finally confronts Voldy and is far outmatched by his power. Watch out, Voldemort is here!


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Harry is haunted by dreams of Voldemort and no one believes the young wizard. The story hops around seeming to skip over important details. For the first time, I feel like I should be reading the books since much of the story seems to be glossed over. Oh, and Voldemort is coming! Why won’t anyone believe me that Voldemort is coming? Why is it taking so long for Voldemort to get here? C’mon already! This is like Darth Vader taking six movies to strike back!

We’re now at five Potter flicks, with two left to go and the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows set for release tomorrow. And some fans fear the films will fizzle when the fate of Harry is revealed. I don’t believe for a second that knowing the finale of the Potter saga will dissuade moviegoers from stampeding to the theater to catch the latest film. (Did Lord of the Rings fans stay away knowing that the ring would end up being tossed into lava?)

The sixth movie is already in production, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will see release in 2008 with director David Yates at the helm yet again. For the first time in the franchise, the fans, the filmmakers and the cast will know exactly where the story is going. But I will do my best to remain blissfully ignorant in anticipation of the next in the series. So fellow Muggles, do me a favor and keep those spoilers to yourself.

Gore gone.

Chris_Gore is a Pothead.

azkaban is my first too!
im a movie potter fan too, my sisters always tell me to read the book but i want to be surprised in the movie, maybe ill read them some time when i dont remeber the movies so well

Prisoner of Azkaban is one of the greatest films I have ever seen. Ever. Really. Ever. Really! What amazes me about Cuaron is how thoroughly complete a filmmaker he is in every aspect. He makes contact with the kids in a way no one else does and is able to suck out the best performance from any actor, period; he is an amazing screenwriter (a la Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien); and he physically structures his films in a way that most other directors would never dream of. In Prisoner of Azkaban, one of the important thematic plot devices is the concept of time, which is an extremely abstract concept to say the least. But Cuaron gives time a physical space within the film to make it (at least subconsciously) easier to identify. He invents an entire clock tower that wasn't in the other films, which is a literal manifestation of the time theme, and which almost becomes another character itself in that film (as well as all subsequent films). Additionally, and I didn't notice this until about the tenth time I saw the film, the place where Harry, Ron and Hermione witness Buckbeak's execution is, in fact, a giant sundial. I about pissed my pants when I realized that. Pure fucking genius.

azkaban is by far the best so far. I didn't mind the addition of extra material not in the books because it was not really "Plot" material...

Beware, Half Blood Prince spoilers ahead!

only joking...spoilers go to the special hell with pdeophiles and people who talk during movies.

havent seen or read any potter yet - but I'm sure I'll experience it like Chris

I did not like Phoenix. Too much that was in teh book was not included in the movie. One of the best parts of the book was when Fred and George announced that they were dropping out, and they told Peeves to "give [Umbridge] hell for us..." It was absolutely hilarious what he did in response. That movie would have been fucking great if only it had shown Peeves terrorizing Umbridge, and McGonagall helping him.

FUCK! THE RING GETS TOSSED IN THE LAVA?

Thanks for ruining lord of the rings for me.

I actually can't get into the Potter books - I tried the first one more than one, and it read like a kid's book to me. Which of course is what it is. But it was just too precious (?) for me. But I *adore* the hell out of these movies. I have not seen the newest yet, but that's the plan for the weekend.

Azkaban is definitely the best! I'm glad others agree as well. I only have one complaint about the movie - Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs!

Thats my favorite part in the book too! Best Quote "It unscrews the other way"

I guess I'm the only one, but Azkaban was my favorite book, and my least favorite movie.

The Problem with Order of the Phoenix is that its all set up, set up, set up. With very little in the way of resolution. It was one gigantic Anti-Climax. When it actually starts getting good(the end battle), its over...it has a lot of good pieces, its just that they all dont seem to make a whole, its not very cohesive, and seems to merely move from one thing to the next with very little in the way of a throughline of plot to hold it together. It looks nice, but lacks that x-factor that made earlier entries stand on thier own.

Agreeing with the majority in saying Azkaban is clearly the apex of the film series thus far, however I feel that Secrets was clearly the turd of the crop. I personally would swap Phoenix and Snakes In A Castle on your little rank list.

As someone who has not read any of the books I have to ask if Draco Malfoy's character is simply omitted from the movie scripts and present in the novels, or did JK just decide to sort of ignore his character past the first few installments?

Well if they want the next movie to work, they better deal with Draco...

I do have to say the battle in Order of the Phoenix is just awesome in IMAX 3D.

I was rather impressed that they did a magic duel, did it quickly, did it well, and there was no gratuitous special effects. It wasn't the usual "hey, we'll have people waving hands and do all the effects we know how to do, plus some" - the effects were there to support the story, not the other way around.

However all the movies gloss over the character's motivations and most of the important subtle interactions (except for the first book, where there weren't any)

And yes, Draco is mainly just the token pain-in-the-ass in both the books and the movies.

christ, I have to work 9PM-1AM tonight for the HP release @ work...i don't understand those nerds who'll waste a whole day wanting to be the first in line...hell, there were 3 college-age girls who camped outside the store at 11PM last night, just to be the first ones

Nah, I think this is now a reality of the HP phenomenon, and I accepted it fully when the third film kicked giant amounts of ass (it's also my favorite book: 3, 5, 6, 1, 2, 4). They've done a reasonable enough job of editing the books in a way that, even though they're sometimes drastic, they've maintained the same tone and followed the same storylines through out all the films thus far. So as a huge HP book geek, at this point I have no problem embracing the films as being a different part of the same world. Maybe some people will never visit both places, but I don't believe that makes one any more or less valid than the other. It's still Harry Potter.

Yes! Or Peeves saluting Fred and George. That shit was awesome.

Hahahhahahaaa!! So I go to the bookstore, right? And there are lines everywhere, they had people "sorted" by last name. I went to the local small guy, and there was SOOOO many people there, 500 at least, but it was really well organized. Anyway, my last name starts with an S, right? There were 12 people in the Q, R, S line! Hahahaahaa!! I walked past so many WAY TOO SERIOUSLY pissed off people on the way out. Aahhhhh geez. Good times, good times. Off to read it! Woo!

I will say this about Phoenix... They might have cut out half the book (the INTERESTING half, no less...), but Evanna Lynch was perfect for Luna Lovegood. Absolutely perfect.

Other than that, this movie was a steaming pile of hippogriff shit, as far as the Harry Potter movies go. They need to start splitting the books into two movies.

*sigh*

I was watching BBC News 24 last night and watching CROWDS of people in central London, swarming to get the new book. Apparently it sold 12 million copies as midnight hit. You'd think it was the second coming, or something - it's one of the most flagrantly ridiculous sights I think I've ever seen. I love lots of stuff, but queuing from midnight? In costume? Oh deary me. Having once worked at a bookshop where it opened at midnight to sell the HP books, I can tell you, it's just painful to experience.

I was just about warming to Harry Potter (I liked film 5) and then this book came out, and now it's all in your face coverage along the lines of 'if you don't like Harry Potter then there's something seriously wrong with you' from the media and the most insane amount of hype the world has ever known. The book is of course going to get insanely good reviews, largely because the people reading it don't want to believe it could be anything other than. I think I heard NY Times say it was an epic ending 'worthy of Lord of the Rings'.

I was just starting to like it, too...

Or it could just be a good book. The books have always, with the exception of maybe book two, been very good. And it's not like the anticipation made the Star Wars prequels reviews good. My point being, you don't know, and it's silly to let other people's silliness affect your views.

The first one and the second are fairly kiddie. I started the first with the express purpose of hating it, and knowing that the fantasy books I read as a kid (Chronicles of Prydain springs to mind) were so much better. And I was feeling fully superior at first - the opening of the book is a straight Roald Dahl knockoff (Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia could easily have been traded with Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge, Harry traded with Matilda or James) - but by the middle of the book, you'll undoubtedly be hooked if you liked the movies. I can't fully justify it. Something about the books is extremely addictive.

The only stumble, as I mentioned, is the second. The book is similar to the movie, in that it reads like the same basic idea. And there are some really noticeably clunky plot devices. But if you decide to read the books, you could, if you wanted, start with the third. That one, while being the best of the movies, is where significant things start getting left out. And my impression of book five was that Rowling had consciously decided to make the book as unfilmable as possible, so people would know they were missing out on something.

Point being, if one was too kiddie, you might want to start on three. If you've seen the first two movies, you've missed out on a little, but not horribly much. Not to imply that I think this is terribly important or that Harry Potter books are the must-reads of the century. They aren't, but they're fun and getting a new one to read in your hands is always a treat.

Draco is a constant irritant in all the books. The importance of his character varies somewhat from book to book, I don't remember all of the details. But yes, he had a lot more time on stage in the book Order of the Phoenix. I believe he spent some time abusing his role in the Inquisitor's staff, where the movie simply shows him joining up and pretty much ignores him from then on.

But really, as fragmented and loose a conversion as Order of the Phoenix was, I did like it quite a bit, and I don't see how you could possibly turn the book's 800-some pages into a single child-friendly movie without doing the sort of wholesale stripping of stuff that they did.

I'm certainly not going to chide you about that. I had exactly the same idea at first - movies always make me happier when I've never read the source material, because the movie inevitably suffers in comparison when one has. I lasted through the second movie, and then I absolutely had to read the real thing and every bit of it they had on hand. (It didn't help that they haven't been coming out as regularly as originally predicted.) So I rather commend you on your fortitude in holding out this long.

Only two more to go!