Spaceship Broken
Since I had only seen two of the films previously, it’s been good fun watching the first six Harry Potter movies over the space of a week, and its been interesting to see the last ten years displayed on film: the actors age (and get better at their trade), directors, with their respective styles and fashions, come and go, and the special effects progress from terrible to pretty decent; even the score has progressed over the years, with the epic feel of John Williams’ initial soundtrack giving way to more nuanced and stylised soundtracks. Overall it’s been an experience I’ve enjoyed and I now know why the films (and books) are so adored – they create a vivid, believable, detailed world with plenty of history and a vast array of characters, spells and vocabulary. Here are some quick observations on each of the films: The Philosopher’s Stone & The Chamber of Secrets: These are fun, entertaining children’s films. On the negative side Chris Columbus’ direction is merely functional, the kids’ acting is poor, and the scripts can feel like they’re simply joining the dots between plot points. However, they zip along at a fair pace, introduce the characters and mythology well, and are shot with a bright and colourful look. The Prisoner of Azkaban: Alfonso Cuaron’s take on the franchise is excellent. Digital colourisation creates a tone that is darker than the previous films but still vivid and cinematic, which, combined with expressive camera work, much improved acting, and moody costume and production design all adds up to a film which feels like it was made by a ‘real’ director.  Most importantly it works as a film – producing a standalone adventure which is truly thrilling whilst adding some character and depth to the overall narrative of the franchise. The Back to the Future style device works brilliantly. The Goblet of Fire: By far the worst of the films. It feels like most of the book’s substance was ignored, with Mike Newell’s first (and thankfully last) Harry Potter film comprised of (boring) action set pieces. Any narrative development is crammed in the last 20 minutes of an overly long film. Newell attempts to replicate Cuaron’s style but fails, pluming for staid camera work, forced hair styles, and a murky colour scheme of browns and greys which feels limp rather than dark and murky as (probably) was intended. The Order of the Phoenix & The Half Blood Prince: David Yates brings the franchise back to life with these two films. As with The Prisoner of Azkaban they feel narratively tight, well made, and exciting. The Order of the Phoenixups the emphasis on Harry’s inner conflict and well as his battle with Voldemort. It also provides depth to the story of Harry’s parents, to Dumbledore and to the Ministry of Magic. The Half Blood Prince also progresses the good versus evil narrative whilst introducing new mysteries, romantic subplots and further developing the supporting cast. These films are directed with an understated coolness, not attention seeking but nevertheless good looking. They also have excellent scores, with Nicholas Hooper reworking John Williams’ famous motifs in new and interesting ways. With David Yates again returning to direct the final two instalments my hopes are high, so, now that I’ve caught up with all things Potter I’ll be seeing The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 very soon. 

Since I had only seen two of the films previously, it’s been good fun watching the first six Harry Potter movies over the space of a week, and its been interesting to see the last ten years displayed on film: the actors age (and get better at their trade), directors, with their respective styles and fashions, come and go, and the special effects progress from terrible to pretty decent; even the score has progressed over the years, with the epic feel of John Williams’ initial soundtrack giving way to more nuanced and stylised soundtracks.

Overall it’s been an experience I’ve enjoyed and I now know why the films (and books) are so adored – they create a vivid, believable, detailed world with plenty of history and a vast array of characters, spells and vocabulary.

Here are some quick observations on each of the films:

The Philosopher’s Stone & The Chamber of Secrets: These are fun, entertaining children’s films. On the negative side Chris Columbus’ direction is merely functional, the kids’ acting is poor, and the scripts can feel like they’re simply joining the dots between plot points. However, they zip along at a fair pace, introduce the characters and mythology well, and are shot with a bright and colourful look.

The Prisoner of Azkaban: Alfonso Cuaron’s take on the franchise is excellent. Digital colourisation creates a tone that is darker than the previous films but still vivid and cinematic, which, combined with expressive camera work, much improved acting, and moody costume and production design all adds up to a film which feels like it was made by a ‘real’ director. 

Most importantly it works as a film – producing a standalone adventure which is truly thrilling whilst adding some character and depth to the overall narrative of the franchise. The Back to the Future style device works brilliantly.

The Goblet of Fire: By far the worst of the films. It feels like most of the book’s substance was ignored, with Mike Newell’s first (and thankfully last) Harry Potter film comprised of (boring) action set pieces. Any narrative development is crammed in the last 20 minutes of an overly long film. Newell attempts to replicate Cuaron’s style but fails, pluming for staid camera work, forced hair styles, and a murky colour scheme of browns and greys which feels limp rather than dark and murky as (probably) was intended.

The Order of the Phoenix & The Half Blood Prince: David Yates brings the franchise back to life with these two films. As with The Prisoner of Azkaban they feel narratively tight, well made, and exciting. The Order of the Phoenixups the emphasis on Harry’s inner conflict and well as his battle with Voldemort. It also provides depth to the story of Harry’s parents, to Dumbledore and to the Ministry of Magic. The Half Blood Prince also progresses the good versus evil narrative whilst introducing new mysteries, romantic subplots and further developing the supporting cast.

These films are directed with an understated coolness, not attention seeking but nevertheless good looking. They also have excellent scores, with Nicholas Hooper reworking John Williams’ famous motifs in new and interesting ways. With David Yates again returning to direct the final two instalments my hopes are high, so, now that I’ve caught up with all things Potter I’ll be seeing The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 very soon. 

Posted 1 year ago