In the end, they settled on Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, know for such films as the critcially acclaimed Y Tu Mama Tambien, which is known for its extreme sexual content, and the film adaptions of A Little Princess and, afterwards, Children of Men. To me, he didn't really seem to fit the expected mold. There was just something about the way he adapted A Little Princess that never sat well with me. It always felt like it went way to far away from the source material, but not in a terrible way, just enough hat it felt like it was only giving slight nods to the book. I was more than a bit worried.
Chris and his films felt a bit tired after the second film. Chamber still had too much presentation in it, it still had that weird paint by numbers feel, it still has very little in the area of surprise. In some ways, it was getting dull. This was apparently an assessment shared by others.
After the second movie, somebody felt the need to want to re-launch the series, even taking it as far as redesigning parts of the established school buildings and designs. Alfonso's Hogworts, while still very similar to its earlier versions, have changed just enough to be quite noticeable which is both frustrating and interesting. Still, they are good changes, some welcomed, in fact. An example of this being Hagrid's hut is further away from the school and down a hill. Such a simple change that makes the grounds, and therefore the castle, feel that much more spread out. Hogwarts isn't just a little place for students to go and study. Hogwarts is now a huge and spread out compound where people go to learn magic.
After the second movie, somebody felt the need to want to re-launch the series, even taking it as far as redesigning parts of the established school buildings and designs. Alfonso's Hogworts, while still very similar to its earlier versions, have changed just enough to be quite noticeable which is both frustrating and interesting. Still, they are good changes, some welcomed, in fact. An example of this being Hagrid's hut is further away from the school and down a hill. Such a simple change that makes the grounds, and therefore the castle, feel that much more spread out. Hogwarts isn't just a little place for students to go and study. Hogwarts is now a huge and spread out compound where people go to learn magic.
The kids, thank god, have started to really grow into their roles, and this is more than reflected in their acting. Emma Watson alone goes from being a line regertating character, to actually giving her character some depth. Tom Felton gets to grow Malfoy from just your normal snotty bully into a reprehensible pest of a person. The change as no longer slicking his hair back helps loads to prove that he is an actual person, and not just some weird action figure. And of course, Rupert and Dan finally become strong actors and begin to really live and breath these characters. All in all, everything in the acting department is much improved.
We get new characters to go along with this setting. We get Sirus, played by the brilliant Gary Oldman, we get introduced to Professor Lupin, played by David Thewlis, a teacher who actually teaches Harry and the gang about the Dark Arts and how to defend themselves against the horrible creatures that could attack. He is also a werewolf. And you get Sybill Trelawney, played by the great Emma Thompson, a terrible Devination teacher who.
The Special effects have grown up too. Buckbeak, the Hippogriff looks amazing. While he still feels CGI, he doesn't always move like it. And when Harry gets to ride him you don't get that sudden realization that he has become a video game character. Most everything is much better in this department, with the exception of Wolf Lupin, which looks ridculous and idiotic. It's a character design that immediatly takes you out of the movie and makes those high tension scenes almost laughable. Thank goodness it is only seen for a short time. the Dementors, on the other hand, are geniuly creep creature that really bring dread wheneven they are screen.
Alfonso's nack for working in the time metaphor is a massive plus and the different background elements that happen are fun to spot upon different viewings. All in all the movie takes on a totally different feel from the last two, a reboot of sorts, while keeping the familar characters we love and hold dear.
With one small exception. Michael Gambon is added to the cast as Dumbledore. This is not the sickly old man that Richard Harris was in the original two. He doesn't sit there handing out advice like the kindly crazy old man that smells of pee and sits next to you on the bus. No, Michael Gambon is a rougher edged version of the character. He is an actor who can move with the character as he becomes more and more relied on in the series. This is a powerful wizard, one who has seen it all, and wants you to know it. He might not be the perfect Dumbledore, but he is a much better addition to the cast, and that makes up for a huge difference in the film.
Prisioner is a pretty loose adaption of its source material, which, if you love the book, is going to drive you crazy. It's still well done, and has grown on me in the numerous viewings since.
Until I get around to writing a much bigger take on the scores for the movies, I will touch base on the fact that this is the last time John Williams scores the films. This is also the one film where his score and the movie fit together perfectly. In the other two we have moments where the music is so important, it takes away from anything else in that scene. In this one, he tones it down to the point that it makes the scenes so much more accessable. There are a few snippets here and there that have a bit too much going on, but he still keeps it under control. This was his best score for the films.
When J.K. wrote this book, it was a monster. It was the longest of series. It was also the most grown up, dealing with putting Harry in real danger, lies, deciet, the return of the Dark Lord, death, loss, anger, and hatred. It took the story that was building in the Harry Potter universe and pushed it up to a new level.
When making the movie, Alfonso did not return. Mike Newell was brought in to take the reigns of the film. Much was taken out and much was changed. Some of these changes are for the best, some don't work at all. And yet, this is my favorite movie of the bunch (so far). And now, after watching it again, I can explain why.
This movie has the most character building going on. Not just for the main characters, but some of the secondary characters get their chance to rise, the Weasley twins being great examples. Humor is used so well that you actually care about these characters and their world. Sure, you have had three movies before this one to get to know them, but now you can get comfortable with them. They are almost real now. You can almost go down to the store and meet these people. It's good. In fact, I feel that this movie is very important to the rest of the series, because without the loads of development that happens in this movie the rest would still be having trouble getting a focus on many of the smaller characters.
This movie does have its flaws, though, as the source material is very long and, at times, drawn out. They have taken most of the fat off and left what they could, but a lot gets lost in the transition. Mad Eye Moody, for instance, suffers greatly. His character is an amended version of the person who is in the book. It still works for the movie, but you hardly get any real feeling of closeness to him. Also, the whole Barty Crouch, Barty Crouch, Jr. subplots that run deep in the book, are all but ignored leaving them feeling incredibly incomplete and confused. Krum is not developed, but that is because of time. There are no house elves, which play important roles in the later books (SPEW, on the other hand, is mercifly gone). I miss Winky, the drunk house elf.
Still, with all the flaws come greatness. One of my favorite scenes takes place in this movie. It is a simple scene of Snape having to oversee the students in study hall. It's wonderful, as it shows teenagers being teenagers, and a teachers frustration with that fact. There is no magic in this scene, and yet it works perfectly.
Let's talk about the music. Patrick Doyle brings a type of romantic classical feeling to the score. When he's doing the dancing music, it feels familiar and old. When he's doing the action scenes, however, it does seem to be too loud and too in your face. This is Doyle's only outing in the films, which is bittersweet, because we are left with such a wonderfully mixed bag of music, but it would have been interesting to see how it would have developed over a few more films. It also breaks away from the Williams' score in a very jarring way.
So here we are at the end of these two movies. Both were interesting takes on their prespective books. Both took a chance that worked at certain times, and failed at others. Debate will always happen if these two movies are good, bad, horrible, awesome, etc. My least favorite is coming up, and these two pass my test.
So until the next two.
--MGS
This movie does have its flaws, though, as the source material is very long and, at times, drawn out. They have taken most of the fat off and left what they could, but a lot gets lost in the transition. Mad Eye Moody, for instance, suffers greatly. His character is an amended version of the person who is in the book. It still works for the movie, but you hardly get any real feeling of closeness to him. Also, the whole Barty Crouch, Barty Crouch, Jr. subplots that run deep in the book, are all but ignored leaving them feeling incredibly incomplete and confused. Krum is not developed, but that is because of time. There are no house elves, which play important roles in the later books (SPEW, on the other hand, is mercifly gone). I miss Winky, the drunk house elf.
Still, with all the flaws come greatness. One of my favorite scenes takes place in this movie. It is a simple scene of Snape having to oversee the students in study hall. It's wonderful, as it shows teenagers being teenagers, and a teachers frustration with that fact. There is no magic in this scene, and yet it works perfectly.
Let's talk about the music. Patrick Doyle brings a type of romantic classical feeling to the score. When he's doing the dancing music, it feels familiar and old. When he's doing the action scenes, however, it does seem to be too loud and too in your face. This is Doyle's only outing in the films, which is bittersweet, because we are left with such a wonderfully mixed bag of music, but it would have been interesting to see how it would have developed over a few more films. It also breaks away from the Williams' score in a very jarring way.
So here we are at the end of these two movies. Both were interesting takes on their prespective books. Both took a chance that worked at certain times, and failed at others. Debate will always happen if these two movies are good, bad, horrible, awesome, etc. My least favorite is coming up, and these two pass my test.
So until the next two.
--MGS
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