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Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Jun. 19th, 2004 07:44 pmThis entry contains spoilers.
I saw POA today. It was positively briliant. I loved it. I made a deal with my step sister beforehand, who hd already seen it. "You don't tell me 'this next bit is a good bit', and I promise not to make little incoherent noises of pleasure every time Alan Rickman speaks." We were both as good as our word.
It was a brilliantly crafted film, very different from the previous two, but ingeniously crafted. It seemed to cater perfectly both to those that had read the books and those that hadn't. It left out quite a bit of the dull explanations in favour of action, which was perfectly fine with me. I have read the books, I didn't need it all rehashed, and those who haven't read the books weren't missing anything crucial to their enjoyment of the film.
I have heard mixed opinions of this film, but tried to avoid reading reviews, wanting to see it first without any of that stuff in my head. And I was impressed. I think those people who give it a negative review as a film are those that are expecting it to be a visual recreation of the book, which really is not what it is at all. It is one person's interpreation of the book, their own spin on the story, their own selection of what is important and what is not. Like a fanfiction written in pictures, for the masses, with lots and lots of money.
I must admit, the very beginning made me think 'oh, god no'... opening with Harry casting spells in is bed at the Dursley's, but then the films have always seemed to ignore underage magic wen it suits them, so I didn't think it was much different. A bad beginning for book fans, perhaps, but then it righted itself as the film wore on.
I didn't think it mattered that the castle was somewhat different, that Hagrid's hut was down the hill a little, that the whomping willow was in a different location. I suppose I went to see the film expecting something quite different, and those seemed like minor differences to me. Actually, I loved the realism of the castle, the feel of the film being more organic and physical. The real locations seemed to give that to me, being able to see the stone and the moss growing on the castle, rather than the honing in on the CGI buildings.
I loved the scene in the boys dormitory, as brief as it was, loved the glimpse it gave us of the boys growing, like some kind of wizarding game of truth or dare. It was a wonderful short shot, I thought.
The dementors were quite well done, I think, as was the Marauders map. The little feet were wonderful. Wormtail, well, he loked nothig like I had ever imagined him, but that didn't matter, nor did Lpin, because he captured the part with the same melancholy cheerfulness that we sensed in the book, I think.
Michael Gambon was a different Dumbledore. I don't think I could say he did it as well as Richard Harris, but I don't think I could say he did it worse. I think I just loved the air and voice that Richard Harris gave to the chracter, that powerful but soft tone that seemed to capture every single aspect of Dumbledore, his lightness as well as his depth. Gambon's Irish accent seemed to lend a harshness to the character that Harris' version did not have (which is odd, coming from me, given how much I adore Irish accents).
If there was one thing it could have had, it was more Snape. But then I don't think even a film made entirely ABOUT Snape would have enough Snape in it. I loved the boggart scene, and the 'abnormally large nose' scene. I can see that shot of him slding sensually from the wardrobe being the stuff of fangirl fantasy and music video footage to keep us going until the next film.
I think Couran must be a fan fic reader, because, as a friend said to me, there was something for evey shipper there. All the main ones, anyway. Generous not so subtle hints of Ron/Hermione, lots of hand holding and the like between Harry and Hermione, an impressive kick for Sirius/Remus shippers, and even some Hermione/Snape for me, the way she seemed to fall back upon him in the warewolf scene. Was he holding her? I would love to have had a closeup of that. And even the way she lashed out at Draco could have been seen as shipper stuff, but then perhaps I was just reading everything into nothing.
I felt as though it could have gone on for another three hours, there seemed to be very little of the school year itself, and not a lot of sense of time passing. I cannot wait for the DVD, and to see everything that they filmed and then took out.
I want to see it again and again. Even the fact that I had a PMS headache and three quaters of the way through the film that particular un-magical curse decided to strike me couldn't marr the experience, nor move me from my seat. Truly a brilliant cinematic expeience.
I saw POA today. It was positively briliant. I loved it. I made a deal with my step sister beforehand, who hd already seen it. "You don't tell me 'this next bit is a good bit', and I promise not to make little incoherent noises of pleasure every time Alan Rickman speaks." We were both as good as our word.
It was a brilliantly crafted film, very different from the previous two, but ingeniously crafted. It seemed to cater perfectly both to those that had read the books and those that hadn't. It left out quite a bit of the dull explanations in favour of action, which was perfectly fine with me. I have read the books, I didn't need it all rehashed, and those who haven't read the books weren't missing anything crucial to their enjoyment of the film.
I have heard mixed opinions of this film, but tried to avoid reading reviews, wanting to see it first without any of that stuff in my head. And I was impressed. I think those people who give it a negative review as a film are those that are expecting it to be a visual recreation of the book, which really is not what it is at all. It is one person's interpreation of the book, their own spin on the story, their own selection of what is important and what is not. Like a fanfiction written in pictures, for the masses, with lots and lots of money.
I must admit, the very beginning made me think 'oh, god no'... opening with Harry casting spells in is bed at the Dursley's, but then the films have always seemed to ignore underage magic wen it suits them, so I didn't think it was much different. A bad beginning for book fans, perhaps, but then it righted itself as the film wore on.
I didn't think it mattered that the castle was somewhat different, that Hagrid's hut was down the hill a little, that the whomping willow was in a different location. I suppose I went to see the film expecting something quite different, and those seemed like minor differences to me. Actually, I loved the realism of the castle, the feel of the film being more organic and physical. The real locations seemed to give that to me, being able to see the stone and the moss growing on the castle, rather than the honing in on the CGI buildings.
I loved the scene in the boys dormitory, as brief as it was, loved the glimpse it gave us of the boys growing, like some kind of wizarding game of truth or dare. It was a wonderful short shot, I thought.
The dementors were quite well done, I think, as was the Marauders map. The little feet were wonderful. Wormtail, well, he loked nothig like I had ever imagined him, but that didn't matter, nor did Lpin, because he captured the part with the same melancholy cheerfulness that we sensed in the book, I think.
Michael Gambon was a different Dumbledore. I don't think I could say he did it as well as Richard Harris, but I don't think I could say he did it worse. I think I just loved the air and voice that Richard Harris gave to the chracter, that powerful but soft tone that seemed to capture every single aspect of Dumbledore, his lightness as well as his depth. Gambon's Irish accent seemed to lend a harshness to the character that Harris' version did not have (which is odd, coming from me, given how much I adore Irish accents).
If there was one thing it could have had, it was more Snape. But then I don't think even a film made entirely ABOUT Snape would have enough Snape in it. I loved the boggart scene, and the 'abnormally large nose' scene. I can see that shot of him slding sensually from the wardrobe being the stuff of fangirl fantasy and music video footage to keep us going until the next film.
I think Couran must be a fan fic reader, because, as a friend said to me, there was something for evey shipper there. All the main ones, anyway. Generous not so subtle hints of Ron/Hermione, lots of hand holding and the like between Harry and Hermione, an impressive kick for Sirius/Remus shippers, and even some Hermione/Snape for me, the way she seemed to fall back upon him in the warewolf scene. Was he holding her? I would love to have had a closeup of that. And even the way she lashed out at Draco could have been seen as shipper stuff, but then perhaps I was just reading everything into nothing.
I felt as though it could have gone on for another three hours, there seemed to be very little of the school year itself, and not a lot of sense of time passing. I cannot wait for the DVD, and to see everything that they filmed and then took out.
I want to see it again and again. Even the fact that I had a PMS headache and three quaters of the way through the film that particular un-magical curse decided to strike me couldn't marr the experience, nor move me from my seat. Truly a brilliant cinematic expeience.
