[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyfrenchman27 I liked the third one better. Voltimore is too effeminate for my tastes. He's a satanic dark wizard, not a vampire. -Matt

Voldemort is completely representitve of a vampire though. You don't see the parallels? J.K didn't pull that idea out of thin air.

Just goes to show, you have the blocking and the direction and the set design all done and the script is word perfect from the book, in your head and no one is going to top it becaue we're all such great directors.

 

[acs236]

I can't fault the cutting. Considering that there needed to be cuts -- I think it would be a distake to stray too far form the 2.5 hr cutoff -- I think they pretty much made the right ones. The subplots were not my favorites in the book. It's been a couple of years since I read it, though.

I give GoF a big thumbs up (though I wonder if ultimately, I'll still like 3 better) because I think the material of GoF was better suited to film than PoA (in my opinion). I thought the book could use a vicious editing job, and the film delivered in that respect.

I liked the graveyard scene, in particular, because it somehow managed to avoid the "cheese" factor (saved by LOVE) that I was quite concerned with.

 

[smuh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shesmylovernow I felt it was much weaker than the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was quite long at 2 and a half hours, and yet it felt rushed. The acting oftentimes took you out of the movie. It just wasn't as gripping or interesting as POA. It gets a thumb slightly pointing down from me.

I totally agree with that

Christopher Walken would have been my first choice as Lord Voldemort

I just hope there will be an uncut directors cut / collectors edition dvd!

 

[adhoc]

some trivia: the 'weird sisters' were originally meant to be played by Franz Ferdinand. Unfortunately, during filming they were busy recording the second album and had to decline reluctantly.

I mean... Can you imagine them playing 'Do You Wanna' during the yule ball? What a pity!

 

[mr.karmalicious]

Quote:

Christopher Walken would have been my first choice as Lord Voldemort

...


Hello.............HARRY. Howareyou... DOING TO....DAY?! WELL!!........... not FOR... long. Iam... GOING! To KEEL.... you, HARREH!!

 

[fureshi]

it'd be great if they come out with extended versions of all the movies, like what they did for LOTR. the extended versions of LOTR gave the movies so much more depth. i was pretty disappointed with the GOF movie and the book. in both, i felt like i was left hanging, like there's something else more to the story. yes the story continues with Phoenix but both the GOF book and movie felt incomplete.

 

[rsaavedra]

Here's my review of Goblet of Fire, which I just submitted to IMDB.

***** SPOILER WARNING *****

Saw the movie today. Just too many things in the book are missing from this movie. But I think not just details. Most importantly, there is a major underlying theme in the book that got completely left out from the movie. In this fourth movie there is no reference to discrimination and racism, themes that are omnipresent and very important in the fourth Harry Potter book.

The Harry Potter series, and in particular the fourth book, clearly describes the existence of racism and discrimination in the Wizard world. Death Eaters are, among other things, muggle-born haters and despisers. In the movie, however, they are presented basically as just followers/servants of the evil leader Voldemort. Even Hagrid and Mme. Maxime's ancestry of giants is part of the discrimination theme in the books, yet their argument about it, Hagrids humiliation about his ancestry etc., was all completely omitted from the movie. Hermione's SPEW initiative is also part of that underlying theme. Completely omitted too.

Details from the book missing in the movie are plenty, but this is not just another detail, this is a major underlying theme revisited in a lot of what happens in that magic world -in the books that is. Directors simply turned their backs to this topic for the movie. I think this represents a major and seriously detrimental omission. Because of this major omission, I don't think this movie does proper justice to the book.


As far as details in the book, there are quite many missing in the movie. Here a few of the omissions:

(WATCH OUT, SPOILERS)
* Dobby completely missing, Longbottom is the one who gives Harry the braquialgaes (Gillyweed), which is not the case in the book.
* Hermione's initiative to liberate the house elves (S.P.E.W.) is completely missing.
* Rita Skeeter never shown as a beetle.
* Jinx on Hermione making her teeth grow, never happened.
* Argument between Hagrid and Madame Maxime's because of their giant ancestors, missing.
* Hagrid's Screwts missing.
* Harry asking Cho not just to go to the dance with him, but also asking who she was going to the ball with, that last part was omitted.
* Harry's map of Hogwarts, and the scene when Moody asks him for his map, completely missing (and this was critical because it is a point in the book where Harry, unaware of it then, became fractions of an inch close to discovering who was the evil doer inside Hogwarts).
* Harry's dream in Trelawney's class, where Voldemorts gives Wormtail the crucio punishment for his error, missing.
* Apparition of Crouch in the forest highly incomplete and disconnected.
* Neither sphinx nor giant spider in the maze before the cup.
* Hermione catching Rita Skeeter, never happens in the movie.
* Discussion between Dumbledore and Minister after Harry returns, and also Minister's disbelief in Harry's alleged witnessing Voldermort's return, all missing.
* Sirius showing up in Hogwarts in the end, Dumbledore asking Sirius and Snape to shake hands, the shaking of their hands, all missing.
* Money from Harry's championship given to the Weasley's, missing.
* Attack on Draco in the train at the end, missing.

And details in the movie not in the books:
* Out-of-field battle between Dragon and Harry, even up in Hogwart's roofs. This I welcomed very much though. It was an understandable and well done stretching of an action episode and scene.
* Dumbledore being so nervous all the time.
* Harry using a spell to leave the water in the second test.
* Moody giving Harry a hint before he enters the maze.


But still, those omitted details and added ones are minor and really less important compared to the omission of the racism/discrimination themes.

Other than that criticism, the movie is very entertaining, I never felt the movie feeling slow or boring, despite its length. If anything, some things felt crammed. I liked Hermione's acting a lot in fact (but keep in mind, unfortunately I saw the movie translated/dubbed into Spanish). And for once, even with his eternal aloofness, Snape was a slightly likeble character.

I hope the true spirit of the books is better represented in the future movies. The social issues and crude realities chosen for themes in the books even have an educational purpose, and at least for the fourth movie, that purpose was completely ignored.

My vote: 7/10

 

[Trance-Fusion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.karmalicious ... Hello.............HARRY. Howareyou... DOING TO....DAY?! WELL!!........... not FOR... long. Iam... GOING! To KEEL.... you, HARREH!!

hahahaha... i almost fell off my chair reading that, i love christopher walken....