Now in 1997 a book was released. A book that had been bounced around most of the major book publishers and was finally taken on by Bloomsbury, who thanks to this book are now a household name, the books author had never published anything before and had been suffering from depression in recent years and this books name was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (and if any American tries to tell me its the Soccer's Stone i'll set my Blast-Ended Scrout on you!!). Fastforward 14 years, 6 books, 400 million copies, 8 films, almost $8 million at the box office and the grand honour of been made into a Lego video game! Things are very different now Harry, his friends, his enemies and his snowy White Owl are now arguably the most famous fictional characters on the planet and with the release of the final film of an 8 piece franchise released on home video its time for me, yes thats right me!! to pay homage to the specticle wearing young wizard who has been a part in so many peoples lives for the best part of 15 years!! Now where to begin?I think thats a good start =) Anyway smutty jokes aside you can't deny that Mr Potter has style (and lots and lots of money). The story is a simple one of a orphan boy who lives with his evil step parents until a half giant knows down his door and tells him he's a wizard and he has to go and live in an old castle, where he will befriend some ginger kid and a nerd as well as having a rather nasty relationship with a blond boy and and a teacher who seems to hate him but was actually in secretly in love Harry's mother, Also Harry must be the one who has to kill the most evil wizard of all time, although he dosnt have to worry about that until the end of book 4 when 'he must not be named' comes back from the dead but after he does that he can live happily ever after with his best friends sister!! Got it?
Now for my tritube i shall only be properly looking at the film series, although i do believe the books to be better and you should really read them!!, mainly because i dont have time to review the books as much as i'd love too!! I think we all know that this won't really be the end of Harry and that in 10, 25, and even 50 years we'll still be getting anniversary box sets of the films and reminessing about the old days when life was much simpler!! Infact for me the joy of the future of Harry Potter is been able to tell the stories to my future kids or if i dont have kids simply borrowing one of my friends to share the wonders of Hogwarts and the rest of the magical world with =D
Right well i think the obvious place to start would be by reviewing the first film but first a bit of context and history for you. In 1998 Warner Brothers bought the rights to the first four books in the series for a reported £1 million, i think we all know that ended up been a clever investment!! One demand was that the cast of the film be kept British except where character required a European Actor or Actress - can i get a cheer? No oh well then - i'm sure as good as Steven Speilbergs reported animated Harry Potter would have been it would have completely lost the essence of the book!! Right so the busy people at Warner went around casting and hiring and other what nots you have to do when making a film. By the time Harry Potter and the PHILOSOPHERS Stone was released, the UK had already read the first 4 chapters in the life of Harry Potter and thus the reviews begin:
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (2001)
Director Chris Columbus
Director Chris Columbus
8 out of 10
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret (2002)
Director Chris Columbus
3 days after the release of the first Harry Potter film and production had started on the 2nd instalment of the series Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. All the main players were back and just in case you needed a bit more star power Kennegh Brannah was brought in to play exentric Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher Proffessor Lockhart, who turns out to be one of the best transitions from page to screen of the entire series!! Also joining the cast was Mark Williams as Ron's Dad Arthur Weasley who for me is one of the best characters in the films. Now as far as the source material goes Chamber was my least favorite book, i still loved it but thats not the point! Which is why i was plesently suprised by the film adaptation, and also suprised that out of the early films it is the one which has best stood up to the test of time. That is in no small means down to the character of animated charcter Dobby, one of only two films the mischievus fans favorite apears in, It was a small disaster when Dobby was left cut out of the 4th,5th and 6th films in their transformation from books. The action special effects of Chamber are an impressive improvement from the already flawless example set by the first film and from here they could still only go up. Yeah Harry, Ron and Hermoine are still sqeaky voiced annoying teenagers but they've grown up slightly from the last film and seemed just about ready to show the world what they've got!! The final grace of the film was to add a sequence absent from the book and make it into a series highlight as Harry and Ron desperatly attempt to get out of the way of the Hogwarts Express ... in a flying car!!!!!!8 out of 10
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Director Alfredo Cuaron
A whole year and a half later and since the film release of Chamber of Secrets fans had been exposed to the fifth Potter book and were now eagerly awaiting the release of the thrid film, which featured several differences from the opening 2 films which would unltimately see a much needed darkening of the tone of the films. The first changed was inforced after the tragic death of Richard Harris, the films Dumbledore which saw the role recast with Irish actor Michael Gambon who preceeded to make the role his own. The other major change saw Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron take the main seat for Prisoner, which would turn out to be his only outing in the series. As always with Potter films more great casting addition occured with British icons Gary Oldman, Devid Threlis and Timothy Spall taking the roles of James Potters 3 best friends. As a film, the third instalment marks the difference in the stories of Potter series producing darker characters and the addition of the spine-chilling Dementors who sucessfully manage to bring the sense of fear that they did in the books. The film even includes a werewolf transformation showcasing the great visual effects available to the producers. The problem with the film is the principal cast still struggle to show muturity as actors, although that was about to change. In many ways this is one of the film with some of the most memorable scenes although who will ever forget the chilling moment we first meet the prison guards of Azkaban.8 out of 10
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Director Mike Newel
A year to remember for Potter fans, 2005 saw them not only get a new book but a new film to match as Goblet of Fire made its transition to the screen. In many ways this is the proper game changer in terms of the story of Harry Potter in terms of the films narrative and it seems that the producers were ready to show that by adding masses of talent to the cast with future Doctor Who David Tennant, future teen heartthrob Robert Pattinson, Irish star Brendan Gleeson, Blackadder's Miranda Richardson, Vicar of Dibley legends Dawn French and Roger Loyyd Pack aswell as a host of Europeon stars as foreign students and staff and off course the stand out villian of the films Ralph Finnes as the reborn Lord Voldemort. Mike Newel directs Goblet of Fire, which although having several stand out moments and cast that ouses talent, with the main trio finally living up to their potential, disappoints me as a fan of the books the most as it skips huge chunks of the story as well as cutting Dobby out of the film completely. Knowing the books story so well makes the film disfuntional and jumpy. However its still a Potter film and manages to keep the magic alive and for me shows how the series has grown up with a tear jerking scene as Harry arrives back at Hogwarts with the series first major casulty, a scene made even more ponienent by a fantastic score!!7 out of 10
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (2007)
Director David Yates
And so the war begins!! Order of the Pheonix was released to the UK audience just 10 days before the release of the final book, so all in all a good month for Potter fans. David Yates took charge for the first time in a move which would see him regain control for the final installments of the series and in the end see him as directing half the series. As you may expect this film is darker still as Harry waits for the Wizarding World to discover that Voldemort is in fact back. DA DA DA!! Despite been past the half way stage there was still room for more recruits YIPEE mostly villianous characters with Imedla Staunton and Helena Bonham Carter joining an already full to breaking point cast, yet the best casting comes in the form of unknown actress Evanna Lynch who brings to life the 'excentrict' character of Luna Lovegood perfectly. You'd have though that the longest book would be the most difficult to adapt, yet it makes the transition from page to screen pretty well with alot of the more tidious extracts of the book removed making the overall tone alot faster paced and more enjoyable as a whole. And finally the young cast seem to have made the step up to actual actors, at least in most parts of the film. And the film provides probably the best action sequence (apart from Deathly Hallows Part 2) of the entire series as 2 of the greatest wizards of the age, Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle face of in the Minestry of Magic.8 out of 10
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009)
Director David Yates
The opening sequence of the film tells you that the world has changed. As a London Bridge is destroyed you no that everyone is in danger and the tone is set for the sixth tale in the Potter series. Yates is back in charge and seems to want to up the anti in the Half Blood Prince with bigger action sequences and the greatest sense of threat yet as Voldemort moves out into the open and Dumbledore prepares Harry for his fate. By this point finding a British actor that wasnt already in the films must of been hard but the casting directors managed to bring Jim Broadbent in for the film as new potions teacher Proffesor Slughorn, however this gives the existing cast time to shine, unfortunatly the film is not long enough to give everyone their moment in the sun before the final showdown!! The scenes between Gambon and Radcliffe give you a sense of how far the story and the young actors have come since the start. The film also starts to give the sense of the importance of Alan Rickman's Snape, who is probably the most successful character of the series who keeps you geussing right to the end. The films final scenes change the course of the plot for good and give the that the end is coming as Harry, Ron and Hermoine leave Hogwarts for the last time, almost.8 out of 10
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)
Director David Yates
The initally unpopular choice to split the final book into 2 films actually provides fans of the books what they've always wanted, pretty much everything in the book makes it on to the screen. Although some have said that this makes the first part boring and slow for me it makes in into a sucessful road money were the central 3 characters get their chance to shine before their final bow. Despite the film focuing mainly on the main 3 characters 2 more British greats became the final major additions to the cast with Bill Nighy and Rhys Iffans playing small but important parts in the penultimate chapter of the film series. The problem with Part 1 is that it dosn't quite feel like a Potter Film with most of the supporting cast absent or roles kept to a minimum. Probably the most important absense is Hogwarts itself which dosnt even feature an interior shot of the castle my generation has growen up watching. You cant quite escape the fact that this film is constantly building up to the final chapter and even seeming to keep the real emotinal stuff to that film as Mad-Eye Moody and even Hedwigs deaths are quickly swept behind over the course of the story allowing little time to grieve. However the film is likely to leave any emotional Potter fan in tears as the brutalness of Rowlings writing is revealed as fans favorite Dobby dies a heros death at the hands of Bellatrix Lestange, who had already took one favorite in the form of Sirius Black.9 out of 10
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)
Director David Yates
The end is finally upon us! After 10 years of going to the cinema to see the most famous boy wizard of all time Deathly Hallows Part 2 sends us out with a bang and this time it was in 3D. The final film is essentially a war film as Voldemort sends his forces to once and for all take Hogwarts and the Wizarding World. Before all this we are reminded of the losses already substained in terms of the beautiful opening shot of Dobby's grave and then its stright into the action as the trio break into Grimgotts and then proceed to Hogwarts were the film really kickstarts and the battle we've been waiting for arrives. Once again its the cast that makes the film, although the special effects of the place we know and love been destroyed come pretty close, but it seems everybody returns (even half of those that have already said goodbye to life) but really three characters steal the spot light: Maggie Smith's Proffesor McGonagal turns bad ass, as does Matthew Lewis's Neville Longbottom who shows you can defeat evil wizards when wearing a cardigan and of course Alan Rickman gets his final moments of brilliance as he reveals his true colours once and for all. There are problems with the film, the deaths of Lupin, Tonks and Fred's deaths are barely given any screen time and the final fights fail to live up to their descriptions in the books, although thankfully the best line of series "Not my daughter you BITCH" gets its moment. But the film superbly ends the series in style and provides my favorite scene of all 8 film as Harry prepares for his death and finally gets to speak to his parents. LONG LIVE HARRY POTTER!! (i seriously didnt just say that did i :/)10 out of 10
Video for Azkaban doesnt work and also the picture on half blood prince. a few typos but hey after writing all that who cares ! and i managed to read ALL of it, which is more than can be said for them damn books !!!
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