posted
(I still want the BBC to do a 3- or 4-part miniseries of each book after the crappiness of some of these movies has died down.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Synesthesia: If Q Tarantino did the movie, the HP kids would be cussing and shooting guns and then sitting around talking about Quarter Pounders and then ninja would appear with swords and stuff.
Well, there was a lot more cussing in this book.
Yes, but this would be REAL CUSSING. The sort of words that turn the air blue!
I want to know if O of the P is worth me seeing tomorrow since I have NO BUSINESS GOING TO SEE A MOVIE TOMORROW!
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: (I still want the BBC to do a 3- or 4-part miniseries of each book after the crappiness of some of these movies has died down.)
Why not make it like Pride and Prejudice?
Or perhaps why not start at the beginning and give each book (or perhaps pair them up) an entire season's worth of episodes on TV? Then EVERY single little nuance and incident could be documented. Heck if you REALLY wanted it to last long you could include little sub plots that happen incidental to the main story line.
Perhaps Rowlings encyclopedia when it's finished could be used.
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Or perhaps why not start at the beginning and give each book (or perhaps pair them up) an entire season's worth of episodes on TV? Then EVERY single little nuance and incident could be documented. Heck if you REALLY wanted it to last long you could include little sub plots that happen incidental to the main story line.
*Ahem*
quote:You know what? Can we just remake the entire Harry Potter movie series as a TV series? Books 1 and 2 can be a season, books 3,4,5,6 and 7 can all have their own seasons. And we can get Joss Whedon to do the whole thing. That'd be brilliant if you ask me. The movies have sucked near as I can tell because you just can't cram those books into 2 or 3 hours and do it right. But if you take a 22 episode season, you just about could. And I think they'd work fairly well in episodic format. After all they encompass an entire year each, they're pretty much written in episodic fashion -- each chapter's an episode.
Yes, I know you were being sarcastic, but I actually happen to like the idea. HP as a Tv series with all subplots and such included would, IMHO,be awesome.
Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
I didn't really like Alfonso's movie as much as I liked the others, though people stare at me for liking the first two movies.
I'll just analyze my opinion of the directors so far:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone: This movie may have had an overkill budget, but I thought it did exactly what the book did: expose the wizarding world and introduce the fresh ideas and wondrous concepts. I do acknowledge that some of the child actors weren't as great as they would be later on, but I usually watch movies pretending that they're really happening, waiting until it's finished to think of how everything was done and how the actors were thinking.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was also a very well-done movie, because it almost perfectly mirrored the humor and mystery from the book. I was impressed the first time I saw it with how the movie just flowed like the book. It didn't seem rushed, even though so much was crammed in, and it didn't seem too long; I enjoyed it all the way. Lockhart and Creevy were just perfect. Maybe I just like the first two the most because of John Williams' soundtrack.
I didn't like Cuaron's direction. It didn't really explain who Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs were, so it took me a couple of hours explaining to my father, who had not really read the books, what that was all about. The movie seemed rushed and it looked like it was trying to be a horror flick with all the dementor emphasis. Professor Lupin's character wasn't really depicted as I had imagined him. Plus, what did they do to Hermione? She turned into a babe or something? She's supposed to be a know-it-all whose knowledge isn't limited from social expectations.
I liked Goblet of Fire more, though I think whoever decided to make everyone's hair shoulder-length was taking it too far. It might have been a great movie if John Williams did the music and it had more of the Quidditch Cup.
I think Order of the Phoenix was perhaps on par with the brilliance of Harry's Wondrous World from the first two movies, and it was remarkably true to the book. I'm not going to say it's my favorite yet until I see it again, maybe in IMAX if I can find a theater showing it. But I was very impressed by David Yates's direction; the characters really were the ones from the books, and I really felt I was using legilimency on them, knowing who they are, although the subtleties are still key. I read Order of the Phoenix just before it came out, and I was so impressed by the way so many scenes were done almost word for word in the book and how even the more obscure subplots and ideas were included cleverly in the reels of different shots that show transition from Dumbledore's to Umbridge's Hogwarts, and those that show Harry's progress as a teacher and the development of the DA. Also of note, I'm pretty sure this film earns the Guinness world record for the most breaking glass in one movie.
One source says that Steve Kloves (sp?), who wrote every screenplay except for Order of the Phoenix, will direct Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but I read this before the book came out, so even if that was true, minds may change. I'm thrilled that the director of Order of the Phoenix will also do Half-Blood Prince.
Deathly Hallows reads almost like Lord of the Rings quest, only they are pursuing several objects before they face their final challenge. I hope the director will be able to show the internal struggle of Harry when he asks "Hallows or Horcruxes?" and make the march to Voldemort as beautiful as it was in the book. I also hope the director of Lord of the Rings can advise on the battle scene, but it should be a bit humorous with the many students and teachers doing what they do best. I hope the director of Deathly Hallows will have the wisdom of David Yates to keep it true to the book and still remarkably not seem like the movie is rushed and dizzyingly fast.
Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: BB, are you being sarcastic, or not?
I just really can't tell today.
*Mashes KQ's sarcasmometer's reset button*
You shouldn't be getting any blips. I actually think a Harry Potter TV series in a few years time with at least 1-2 years of planning could be brilliant.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I had previously seen this thread on the front page, and never opened it, because I had not yet read the book.
So as I was reading the book this past week, I had the question in the back of my head. During the final battle, with all the chaos at Hogwarts, I thought to myself: "Whoever directs this should be good at showing the battle as being both terrifying and surreal, kind of like the last scene in Children of Men. Perhaps that director could direct the final movie..."
So I go and see who that director is, and it's the same guy who directed PoA! Which is my favorite of the books, as well as my favorite of the movies.
posted
If he turns THIS one into a horror flick too...
*imitation of Mrs. Weasley against Bellatrix Lestrange*
...which, by the way, is the one scene in the movie they had better NOT goof up, just as Fred and George's fireworks were the thing to look for in Order of the Phoenix and Malfoy as ferret was the thing to look for in Goblet of Fire
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posted
I just watched "Pan's Labyrinth" and I now think that Guillermo del Toro would be pretty perfect for the Harry Potter franchise.
Posts: 127 | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote:Originally posted by GForce: I just watched "Pan's Labyrinth" and I now think that Guillermo del Toro would be pretty perfect for the Harry Potter franchise.
That's what I said! He gets it about the darkness of faerytales and the underlying darkness of childhood.
It's tempting to watch it again, though it frightens me in parts.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Personally, I doubt anyone could do a good job directing the final HP movie. The last book was so dark, emotional and depressing--that I'm not even sure I'd like to see it played out. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the book... I'm just not sure if I'll be able to love the movie.
Plus I have serious doubts about any director bringing all that is needed in character depth, emotional drain (and stress) when the previous movie directors haven't really bother with any of that.
At this point I don't know if anyone is "good enough" to handle the dark side of Deathly Hallows. The series started with such a childish and magical theme and to end with so many deaths and adult related-themes-- makes me wonder if it'll simply flop at the bitter end.
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posted
I don't even know how they will make the last two movies and have it make even a bit of sense. I think with Order of the Phoenix, we've already hit the point where so much has been left out that we're really starting to miss some vital pieces of the story. When you hit Half Blood Prince, so much of that book is needed to set up the last book, that the last book especially you can't leave anything out because they tie up so many loose ends.
But these movies have already deleted so much, I don't know if I want to watch the last movie either. I worry less that a good director will be there, because there are plenty that excel at the darker stuff, like del Toro, Burton and I'd say Shyamalan too.
My bigger concern is the scriptwriter, not the director.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I don't see what the big obsession is over everything needing to be "dark."
I found Deathly Hallows a fun book, not at all depressing, that was gripping and satisfying and, though not cheerful, as the first few were, beautiful. I'd like to see the movie for Deathly Hallows portray the characters for who they are, portray the scenes the way the book did, and...
oh, man, this is so awesome...
JOHN WILLIAMS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN RETURNING TO COMPOSE THE DEATHLY HALLOWS SOUNDTRACK!!!!
That alone will make Deathly Hallows a great movie.
In truth, Deathly Hallows is the easiest book to convert to movie format, because it's written with a plot that isn't as dependent on the minor details as some of the previous ones were. I can see the moviemakers cutting the Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, perhaps limiting it to hints of who Aberforth and Grindleward are, and their relations to the Deathly Hallows. Otherwise, you have the following:
1. Bad Guy intro 2. Sniffly goodbyes (Dudley's finest hour, Petunia's worst) 3. Epic chase scene 4. Recovery from epic chase and discussion of ghouls and addled parents (+ stuff from Dumbledore) 5. Best wedding EVAH (+ it is Grindlevald's svastika) 6. Ron shot first (yes, this is a Star Wars reference) 7. Sirius's house, learning what happened to the Ministry, (possibly Lupin's sob story), and RAB 8. Kreacher power 9. Rowling couldn't help but torture Umbridge a bit more. This scene will be very fun to watch 10. Imperials discover the Rebel base and the Rebels flee 11. Ron's a wimp 12. Godric's Hollow 13. Escape from Godric's Hollow (this scene shall be plenty dark for you dark-side obsessed freaks) 14. Learning somehow about Dumbledore's relationship with Grindlewald and his swastika 15. Deer, more Radcliffe nudity, and Ron's return and heroism 16. Hermione goes ballistic 17. Series of discoveries about how awesome the Deathly Hallows are, how to kill the Horcruxes, and racism 18. ULTIMATE HOGWARTS BATTLE! 19. ULTIMATE MUSICAL SEQUENCE BY JOHN WILLIAMS WHILE HARRY IS WALKING INTO THE FOREST! 20. ANOTHER ULTIMATE HOGWARTS BATTLE WITH HORSES CHARGING OVER THE HORIZON AT DAWN JUST LIKE LOTR! 21. Molly 22. vs. 23. Bellatrix 24. Insignificant Harry and Voldemort blah blah 25. AVADA KEDAVRA! Oh, darn, I misse- hurk! 26. Surely there is another way to show that Harry lived happily ever after...
Not a bad movie. If you can get a director to make a movie that really is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and not Harry Potter and the Depressed Death Calamity Tragedy Stuff, or Harry Potter and the Creepy Dementors, or Harry Potter and the Teen Angst, or Harry Potter and the Long Hairdos (who on Earth decided to do that for Goblet of Fire?) (bring him back for Deathly Hallows, the book says they don't shave while camping), we might be fine. What we need is a director humble enough to acknowledge what he's making is not his, but ought to be an accurate visual synopsis of a work of great literature.
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