Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

Post by DC Fan »

I have a couple of questions.

1. How often do you watch the movies?
2. Do you feel sad when you reach the last one?

I started making the habit of watching them on Winter. Don´t know why. As much as I like watching them then I would also like to watch them on other times.

As for reaching the last one..yes, that has happened to me. For instance, when Deathly Hallows Part 2 was released. I got it. Watched all of the other movies and when it was time to this one didn´t want to watch it. In fact, I went back and started again.

...to make me feel better I think it´s a great story that I can always watch whenever and enjoy them all.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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I watch them whenever they’re airing on Syfy or Freeform and there’s nothing else on while I’m lying in bed… As for when I purposely pull my DVDs out to watch them, every few years maybe. I usually read the books once or twice a year, but I’ve always found the majority of the films disappointing despite the fact that they overall had a perfect cast (aside from Gambon). I like the films for PS, CoS, PoA, HBP, DH-1. The other three are nigh unwatchable they’re so bad. I was hoping extended versions of OotP and GoF might get released one day to bandaid them, but I guess that was a pipe dream.

I do miss the HP films being released though simply because Rupert Grint seems to have vanished. Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe have had a lot of projects, while I haven't seen anything with Grint aside from Driving Lessons (which was made while HP was still on top). He and Watson were my favorite of the students' actors. I always thought Grint was cute. I wonder if he hasn't been offered roles or if he has enough money he doesn't care about working anymore? Honestly, my opinion of Radcliffe is so much higher now than when he was playing HP. I didn't really have a positive impression of him based on HP, but everything else since then he's been amazing in. The HP films were lucky that nearly all the child actors grew up looking the same or better--except for Tom Felton. I wasn't surprised Draco's role sort of diminished as the series went along aside from when the story required him like in HBP.

Personally, I hope the series gets re-made as a mini-series one day where there’s much more detail and breathing room. Similar to GoT or His Dark Materials. I think a miniseries for Lord of the Rings is beginning to be made now, too.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

Post by JeanGreyForever »

I watch the films quite often especially if they're on TV. Typically the first few or some of the last ones.

Sorcerer's Stone is a great holiday film. Not just for the Christmas scene but because of how warm and magical the film is with the gold tones overall that color the film. Such a departure from the later films which get so bleak and are so dark onscreen, especially when David Yates takes over.

Even Chamber of Secrets can work really well as a Christmas sort of film as the direct successor to Sorcerer's Stone. There's something about the first two HP films under Chris Columbus' direction which make me feel like a kid again because of how inviting they are in their introduction to the Wizarding World. My personal favorite film is still Prisoner of Azkaban though.

TBH, with the Fantastic Beasts films, I don't get very sad anymore about the end of the film series because I know there are more to come. If anything, some of the middle installments from Goblet of Fire to Half-Blood Prince make me sad because of how much material they cut out. I don't like the direction for Goblet of Fire at all especially the take on Dumbledore. Order of the Phoenix was the longest book and shortest film and apparently there's about an hour or 45 minutes or so of cut material, most of which we've never even seen. Half-Blood Prince doesn't even try to be a book adaptation lol.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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It´s funny to think of them as "Seasonal". Especially to be watched on Christmas when each movie takes place during a whole year. But I guess, to me in particular, I enjoy more the beginning part of them. Always been a fan of introductory parts/movies (The first Hobb
it/Fellowship of the Ring).

Same can be said with Game of Thrones. Even tough there was a winter setting and a summer setting; and I´ve watched them in Winter as well, to me they feel like Spring/Summer movies. Maybe it´s because they were aired during that time and in Spain, Seville, where I currently live during those months you could almost feel like it´s summer because of the weather conditions; in fact, several of Daenery´s locations were filmed here.

As for the HP, yes, they aren´t as good as the books...I need to go back and read them, but still they´re great movies to watch and enjoy.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

Post by JeanGreyForever »

There's a lot of films that tend to get labeled as Christmas or holiday films just because they feature some prominent scenes in the winter. For example this recent list of best winter animated films. https://screenrant.com/best-animated-wi ... es-ranked/

That's neat that GOT filmed some scenes in your area.

I think the first two HP films are the most faithful by far. Prisoner of Azkaban is as well for the most part but it excludes the revelation about the Marauders which is usually the main issue fans have. Goblet of Fire is when the films really begin to diverge. The ironic part of the last two films is that despite being split up into into installments, they still miss out on some pivotal scenes like the fact that saying Voldemort's name is taboo and that can be used to track down the main characters. It's a deleted scene for some reason.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

Post by Disney's Divinity »

DC Fan wrote:It´s funny to think of them as "Seasonal". Especially to be watched on Christmas when each movie takes place during a whole year. But I guess, to me in particular, I enjoy more the beginning part of them. Always been a fan of introductory parts/movies (The first Hobb
it/Fellowship of the Ring).

Same can be said with Game of Thrones. Even tough there was a winter setting and a summer setting; and I´ve watched them in Winter as well, to me they feel like Spring/Summer movies. Maybe it´s because they were aired during that time and in Spain, Seville, where I currently live during those months you could almost feel like it´s summer because of the weather conditions; in fact, several of Daenery´s locations were filmed here.

As for the HP, yes, they aren´t as good as the books...I need to go back and read them, but still they´re great movies to watch and enjoy.
I think a great many family movies with snowy scenes get labeled holiday fodder for TV networks. I do really like the first two films and Deathly Hallows part 1, and the Prisoner of Azkaban film is alright. HBP is my least favorite of the books, which might be why I'm fine with the movie... Although it's the first one that left me wondering how non-book readers can understand anything at all. :lol:

And, speak of the devil, I saw a commercial for some show Rupert Grint's in on Apple TV tonight during The Great British Baking Show.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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JeanGreyForever wrote: That's neat that GOT filmed some scenes in your area.
I´m originally from Puerto Rico so the fact that GoT was part filmed in Spain and especially around where I live it´s much more exciting. For instance, the place where all the rulers of Westeros meet to discuss the White Walkers is not too far. And I´m DYING to visit the place. It looked cool as it is but now that it has that history even more so.

...Spain even has traveling tours for these places.

As far as Harry Potter again this is how I feel:

I agree that the first two are the most faithful and are blessed to having the best Dumbledore.

1. I think that Sorcerer´s Stone felt like 90´s family/fantasy movies (Matilda, Hook...even Christopher Robin has that vibe)

2. Chamber of Secrets feels like an 80´s family/animated movies because it has and obscure tone (in terms of atmosphere) and they place the kids in scary and even mortal situations (something 90s and 2000´s and forward movies didn´t do). In fact, Chamber is my favorite.

3. Prisoner of Azkabam it´s great but I don´t love it. However, I appreciate it as to me this is the last time the kids are actual kids.

4. Goblet of Fire is when they officially stepped into adult territory without getting forward. I used to not like it much but I´ve come to really enjoy it. One thing I don´t like, it´s hard for me, it´s when they present new characters after you get used to an established assemble (I feel the same with The Two Towers)...but something new had to happen after all and new characters were needed.

...and yes, this is when Gambon was at his worst. The time he yells to Harry for the name in the Goblet it´s awful. I can´t believe they thought it was fine to leave it in the movie. You know Dumbledore (the original and as established in the books) would never do that. I´ve since tried to internalize it to think he acted that way as he was worried for Harry...but still it´s difficult to watch.

5. Order of the Phoenix I also really like. But that´s just me. As said before I enjoy slow movies and ones that spend time just with the characters. Here it´s when the kids are no more. They are because they´re still minors but the stakes are higher and behind is the children time. I like when a movie is saturated by a color to reflect atmosphere. The SAW movies had a yellow tone and Harry Potter got a dark green forest tone that fit.

6. Half Blood Prince is pretty bad. And I hated it even more having read the book. It´s the one with more changes. Now this is a movie that nothing interesting happens in Hogwarts and the most important scene on it, and one of the most important in the entire series, just happens. Without any build to it or being filmed in a better way.

...of course, the dislike of Gambon´s portrayal didn´t help either.

Since it´s been years since I read the book and don´t remember it I learned to enjoy it as the last year in Hogwarts and the most obscure of all the movies (and I like those kinds of movies).

7. Deathly Hallows Part 1 is a bore with the exception of the first scene. I can´t believe Yates left off the Dudley scene and the explanation of why Petunia was like that towards Harry all that time. I love adventure movies where you get to travel to many places but this wasn´t The Hobbit or LOTR so the characters would just transport from spot to spot randomly and those locations were horrible/bland places. It didn´t need to be that long.

8. Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the worst. Yates again left off so many important scenes that´s unbelievable. To not highlight all the friends and allies fights and deaths. To have Harry fight Voldemort with nobody to watch it. And when he´s defeated Voldemort and goes back NOBODY CARES!!! No one went to hug him. To ask him what happened. Even if they weren´t all his friends or cared for him they should want to know what happened with Voldemort as he was behind this war and should be worried about him.

I liked Order of the Phoenix but other than that Yates destroyed the rest of the movies. I can´t believe he got chosen for Fantastic Beasts.

And this last one you didn´t need to have read the book. You could tell that many things were missing or strange. For instance, yes, a war was happening...but do you get to see it? Just like the second part of the last Hunger Games movie.

I think these last two movies benefited from the public loving the books/movies and the cast, the years to get to this point and that back then people weren´t as nasty has how they´ve become now in the Internet. Because if not for that people would have destroyed these movies...and this time, rightfully so.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

Post by JeanGreyForever »

That's neat that you don't even live in Spain but now are so close to where they filmed. You should definitely check it out one day when you get the time. I can imagine the tours are very popular with both the locals and tourists.

You make a really good point about the tone of the first two films and how the first one especially felt like a 90s family film. I never thought about CoS feeling like an 80s film but I can see what you mean. I never understood why people felt that PoA was the first film in the series that transitioned into a darker tone because CoS did to an extent as well, especially compared to the first film.'

I despise that Gambon scene in GoF as well. It really takes me out of the film entirely and I blame the directing because Dumbledore is still pretty quirk and chill in PoA. His version was different from Gambon's but it still felt like the character in PoA so I'm not sure what happened in GoF besides Mike Newell's directing. I'm fine with the Quidditch World Cup being cut but I would have liked to have opened the film with Mr. Weasley meeting the Dursleys and Crouch Jr.'s backstory shouldn't have been cut out completely. Introducing Winky would have allowed Dobby to return to the films rather than be weirdly shoehorned into the penultimate film.

Order of the Phoenix is a good film but I'd like it more if we had that extra hour or so of cut material. It really needed to be longer to play out Harry's angst. For example, there's nothing about Hermione and Ron being prefects and Harry feeling left out by that, or Harry's confrontation with Dumbledore in his office where trashes everything (this was apparently filmed). Other major scenes were cut like Umbridge sacking Hagrid, McGonagall getting injured in the process, and her in a sling afterwards. I'm not sure if St. Mungo's was ever filmed but I would have liked that focus on Neville's parents (we briefly get it in the final cut of the film) and especially how he could have been the one in the prophecy if Voldemort had picked him. It would have been great to see Lockhart cameo in St. Mungo's as well. Not sure if Firenze was filmed either. Cho's story was also dropped because unlike in the book, she is still sympathetic because she didn't actively betray Harry and the DA. Harry even learns this but there's never any reconciliation or any reason why they still can't be friends but have to break up. I think more scenes at the Ministry for the battle were filmed but cut as well, especially Bellatrix and Sirius dueling. The film also failed to set up some major plot points like the mirror Sirius leaves to Harry, the importance of Kreacher and how Sirius' treatment of him is what lead to Kreacher essentially betraying him, as well as Harry's conversation with Nearly Headless Nick about ghosts and why the dead people in his life aren't any. And of course, the Occlumency lesson really needed an extended flashback because the few seconds we get from Snape's mind in the final film. I heard more was filmed here as well but cut. And I'm not sure if they ever filmed anything with the Quibbler and Harry's interview in that but in the final film, we do see that the Quibbler is banned but not context behind that. I would have loved to have seen more of Luna, her family's devotion to Harry and believing his story, and more Rita Skeeter for sure.

Half-Blood Prince I used to enjoy but I have little love for it now. It's basically relishing in teen drama but cuts out all the importance of Voldemort's backstory, like his conception and hatred for his father, how the horcruxes are all items important to him, etc. What's worse is that time is spent on manufacturing entirely new scenes like the Burrow one which break the film's continuity. I would have liked the funeral scene as well although I can agree with why they didn't include the battle sequence. The opening where Dumbledore is encouraging Harry to flirt with that waitress was also very awkward and I can't believe we missed out on the Dursleys for this (especially since they don't even get any prominent moments in the next film). Lupin and Tonks' relationship is really just glossed over which becomes an issue when they suddenly have a baby in the next two films. We see them together in one scene, presumably as a couple, but there's no buildup or context behind it.

Deathly Hallows Part 1 is pretty boring to me as well. The Dudley and Petunia scene definitely needed to be in the final cut, which reminds me that we don't even get Dumbledore's howler to Petunia in Order of the Phoenix. That was another major missed moment in that film to setup the scene here. I would have liked to have seen Krum and Hermione reunited at the wedding since that was filmed and I don't feel like enough time is dedicated to Harry wondering if he really knew Dumbledore at all after Rita Skeeter's book. Also, as glad as I am that Dobby was finally brought back, it was a huge issue that this was the first film we saw him in since Chamber of Secrets. They really needed to include him more in the middle installments, mainly Goblet of Fire. He should also have been the one to tell Harry about the Room of Requirement in Order of the Phoenix, not Neville. It's funny that two of Dobby's moments were stolen by Neville in the films since from what I remember, Dobby is the one to tell Harry about gillyweed in Goblet of Fire, at least in the book. I also miss Lupin trying to go with the trio on their journey and Harry getting furious at him for abandoning his child but they really dropped the whole Lupin-Tonks storyline.

For Deathly Hallows Part 2, I wish there was more consistency with the ghost of Ravenclaw and her appearance in the first film. I also feel like ghosts were dropped in general after Moaning Myrtle in Goblet of Fire. We never see Nearly Headless Nick for example after the first two films. I can see why they dramatized the ending battle more but I would have preferred the more book accurate version (which apparently was filmed but cut for what we got because it wasn't dramatic enough). Harry not fixing his broken wand with the Elder Wand got a lot of complaints as well as Voldemort hugging Draco. Draco's redemption scene of tossing Harry his wand was cut too for some reason. I also would have liked to have seen the house-elves at the Battle of Hogwarts led by Kreacher but I can see why that wouldn't work when we never see the house-elves in Hogwarts and Kreacher's redemption arc was cut, one of my fav parts from Deathly Hallows.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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I can't remember everything from the books, but what I didn't like was Mrs. Weasley subduedely saying "Not my daughter, you bitch", when in the book it was yelled, "NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!"
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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A lot of people have complained online about that moment not being powerful enough. The final battle in general gets a lot of criticism.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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Hm so a lot of people are in agreement.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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DC Fan wrote:1. I think that Sorcerer´s Stone felt like 90´s family/fantasy movies (Matilda, Hook...even Christopher Robin has that vibe)

2. Chamber of Secrets feels like an 80´s family/animated movies because it has and obscure tone (in terms of atmosphere) and they place the kids in scary and even mortal situations (something 90s and 2000´s and forward movies didn´t do). In fact, Chamber is my favorite.
I agree, CoS is definitely the best one.
6. Half Blood Prince is pretty bad. And I hated it even more having read the book. It´s the one with more changes.
Eh... I don't think there's as much cut or changed as with OotP. They treat Umbridge like some British governess who's mostly concerned with people not wearing their uniforms correctly and chewing gum in class. :lol: They ruined the battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort, and then cut the best scene of the book and one of the best of the series, imo (Harry and Dumbledore in Dumbledore's office).

I also hate that they didn't show the Dursleys' final scene, but they did the same thing to the foreshadowing of that moment in OotP. Overall, I wonder if film-only fans even understand why Harry had to live with them at all, or that Petunia forcing Vernon to keep him was for his own safety. And I can't believe they never killed Wormtail in the movies either. :lol:

The way Voldemort and Bellatrix die both have always bothered me. Aside from looking dumb, I remember reading an article once that made me understand why: the fact that Voldemort has a visually exciting death is antithetical to what the books were trying to say, that at the end of the day he was just a man running away from death, nothing special.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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'Harry Potter' Live-Action TV Series in Early Development at HBO Max (Exclusive)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live- ... -exclusive
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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I knew it would happen eventually. :dance: I hope the casting is perfect. Hopefully this will succeed where the films (imo) failed.
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Re: Regarding the Harry Potter movies...

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DC Fan wrote:I have a couple of questions.

1. How often do you watch the movies?
2. Do you feel sad when you reach the last one?

I started making the habit of watching them on Winter. Don´t know why. As much as I like watching them then I would also like to watch them on other times.

As for reaching the last one..yes, that has happened to me. For instance, when Deathly Hallows Part 2 was released. I got it. Watched all of the other movies and when it was time to this one didn´t want to watch it. In fact, I went back and started again.

...to make me feel better I think it´s a great story that I can always watch whenever and enjoy them all.
I watch them once a year, usually around this time. I make sure to start on a Monday and watch one of them for the rest of the week. During that week, I become possessed by the HP universe as well as I often go researching on Youtube things related to the whole thing.
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