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Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire..Reviews (1 Viewer)

Yumbo

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I'm a score fan before a Potter fan, Doyle included.
as per my first post, the 2nd half of the World Cup cue is a variation on the 2nd half of the Barbossa is Hungry cue from Pirates of the Caribbean.

the iTunes sample plays it exactly. only reason why I downloaded it. :D

will watch the movie before deciding on rest of album, but the other samples didn't impress me, save the titular track/theme.

too generic.
 

Yumbo

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Similar...same instrumentation and beat.

POTC Track 7 1.50
HPATGOF Track 3 0.50
 

Jake Lipson

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Crouch Jr. is caught when his Polyjuice Potion wears off, but there is no explination of how the plan was pulled off. Dumbledore just says to send him to Azkaban because they'll find they're missing a prisoner, and that's the end of him; there's no Dementor's Kiss nor any refrence to that happening to him. Apart from *MAYBE* when Harry first comes out of the maze with Cedric's body -- I don't remember exactly -- Fudge never appears in the ending; none of his arguing with Dumbledore is present, nor Dumbledore talking about what he's going to do next, so they're going to have a bit of work to do to establish the groundwork for OOTP.) There is a brief scene with Dumbledore talking to Harry, and his speech in memory of Cedric. He does say that the Ministry does not wish for him to tell the Hogwarts students that Voldemort is back, but that's the extent of the Ministry refrences. We then have a fairly warm wrapup scene with Hogwarts students bidding farewell to those from the other schools and they leave; during this, Hermione talks about how everything is going to change and there's a little talk between the trio, but overall it is a much happier ending than the book had while still feeling subdued. Since it doesn't foretell the Dumbledore/Fudge dispute too much or any of that, it doesn't really seem to magnify the problem -- Voldemort is back and Cedric is dead, but we don't get the full scope of it as we do in the book. It's a prime example of how the book is richer than the film, but the film still manages to get most of its work done (though as I said this makes it harder for OOTP.) It's good, it works, it's just missing the extra oomph from the book. Mr. Diggory's cries of "Let me through, that's my son, my son is dead!" when they come out of the maze are simply harrowing, though. So, yeah, it's affecting -- just on a lesser level than the book, which is a general statement that can be made about pretty much all of the movie.
 

Sean Laughter

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Wow, the loss of all of that OOTP set-up is rather troubling though. I'm very able to forgive alot of what was excised from Azkhaban because alot of it played on subplots that are not really necessary when you're doing a film that is by necessity broader, but alot of that stuff is pretty plot crucial when the story continues in OOTP.
 

Carlo_M

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Just like LoTR, these books would have been better served by season(s) long episodes on something like Showtime or HBO. There's simply too much in the books to be included in the movie format. You can't ask an audience to sit down for that long.

And don't get me wrong, as standalone works, Jackson's LoTR and the HP movies have been pretty decent in my book. But for those who faithfully follow the books, a season long series of 1 hour (no commercials) episodes would have been better.
 

TheLongshot

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As I said in the P&P thread, movies are never going to be the book. That's fine, tho. As long as you can make a satisfying movie, you've succeeded. No matter what the movie is like, there is always the book...

Jason
 

BryanZ

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In cases such as this it would be wise to divide the movie into part 1 and 2. The book is a breathtaking 734 pages long. You can do 360 for part 1 and the rest in part 2. Of course, they could make double the money but let's not give Hollywood any more ideas.

I also disagree with the length of a movie being a problem. After all, The Lord of the Rings trilogy had a couple 3 hour movies that didn't seem that long and the third was just over 3 hours 20 minutes. Titanic as well runs almost 3 hours 15 minutes yet people watched that in theaters over and over again.

A great deal of movie length is in presentation. The public won't mind watching a movie that is very long if it is interesting. To do justice to the books directors should sacrifice and either make the movie longer or split it. Otherwise, especially in cases such as Harry Potter, you sacrifice needed material for sequels (see previous spoilers if you have read the book).
 

David Hobbes

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i look at it this way:

books are books

movies are movies

comparing them is fun, but futile...and can ruin what just might be an enjoyable movie in its' own right...

enjoy (or not) the movie for what it is.....
 

Brook K

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I saw it last night and try as I might, it's just impossible for me to divorce myself from the book. If you were happy with the other movies, you'll probably be happy with this one as well, but it is even more of a case of "the book on fast forward" than the two previous films.

I gave it a B- to reflect a sometimes good but flawed film. There were certainly things I liked. The ball scenes are just about perfect. Brendan Gleeson is a great Mad Eye Moody. Neville gets a bit of an expansion in his role even if it is at the expense of losing Dobby
which leaves me hopeful that he won't be cut out of OOtP. Fred & George are entertaining in providing comic relief, just as they do in the book. Perhaps best of all is how Emma Watson has grown as an actress. She really is quite wonderful, particularly in the ball sequence, and of the three has the best chance for a post-Potter acting career IMO.

Trying not to get into spoilers here, the film is just too fast. There's no rhythm to the editing. The film leaps ahead to the next scene or action before you have a chance to digest the previous one, meaning that certain things just don't have the impact they should. The 3 Task scenes are rather lackluster in their execution and include unnecesary alterations. Besides the expected excising of characters and scenes, there are a number of changes made that are simply lazy.

My wife enjoyed this more than I did, as she has the other films. The film got a healthy amount of applause when it was finished, so I know I'll be in the minority. I want to like these films more, they just lose so much flavor that I don't think they are as special as they could be. The casting has been exceptional for the most part, I just wish I could say the same about the direction and writing. Still, there is enough good here that I will see it again
and perhaps my opinion will grow more favorable over time as it has with Chamber of Secrets.

Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!
Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master!
Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe!
 

Tino

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That's certainly understandable, and perhaps explains your
mixed reaction to the film. I'm sure others will share your sentiment.

I'm just glad I am able to divorce myself from the book....or maybe just separate. ;)
 

Mark E J

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JakeLip

I have one last question. You said in your spolier text that there is a brief talk between Harry and Dumbledore, and a few words about Cedric's death. Do either of these scenes have the line about choosing between whats right and whats easy?
 

Jake Lipson

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Mark E J - I am 95% sure that the line is there, I think it is. It was in the Cedric speech in the book, and that is VERY closely recreated in the movie, so I think so, but my memory for specifics like that is waning since I have been busy with other things since Saturday; that's why I wrote my big review as soon as I could when I got back from the movie so as not to lose things. I know Hermione's line about everything changing, which is also in the trailers, is there. So, yes probably, but I wouldn't swear to it until seeing it at least one more time to confirm (which for me won't be until it is released officially.)
 

Ricardo C

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So if the Parting of the Ways
is out, does that mean that Dumbledore asking Snape to rejoin the Death Eaters is also cut?

I guess it's not too big a deal, since the revelation can be fit neatly into OOtP, but it was a nice moment nonetheless... "You know what it is I must ask you to do... If you're ready"
 

Jake Lipson

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Yes, that's gone too, there's no Dumbledore dishing out assignments at all. None of the Parting chapter makes it.
 

Simon Massey

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Just got back from seeing this so thought I would include a non-spoiler review.

I should say that I was not a big fan of the HP books until I got to the fourth one. They were ok but I never considered them to be anything but well-written childrens books. However, I really enjoyed the last 3 books though and I am impressed with the way Rowling books themselves appear to have matured with the age of her main characters. Filmwise, I thought that, apart from a few bits, most of the first two films were poorly handled and badly directed and I was mainly bored. The third film was an unbelievable improvement from this largely because it made me actually care about what happened to these characters unlike the the first 2 which seem to rely on the audience caring for the characters due to having read the book.

Anyway onto Goblet of Fire. I have read the book and I can see the a lot has been cut out. (I can recall only seeing one lesson at Hogwarts in the film, and this was a great scene and important to the plot), Having said that, like the third film, it works and I dont think anything was cut which detracts from the main plot of the film! If you were a fan of Azkaban, I think you will enjoy this one. Certainly the look and feel of the film is the same as the third one. Apart from the first scene, the opening is a bit shaky and rushed largely because the "World Cup" sequence is fairly pointless IMO, but once the kids are on the way to Hogwarts, things pick up and I really enjoyed it. I would say it is on a par with Azkaban if not slightly better, largely because the last 30-45 minutes of this one are great. The humour in the film is also much better with the interaction between the pupils of the school feeling far more natural and not staged. I didnt really like Dan Radcliffe in the first 2 films but I think here, as in Azkaban, he really makes you feel for Harry, especially in the final parts of the film. Its also nice to see Michael Gambon make the role of Dumbledore his own. I thought Richard Harris was one of the best points about the first 2 films and was a little unsure of Gambon in Azkaban, but here he nails Dumbledore for me.
Of the other adult roles, Brendan Gleeson was fantastic as Moody.

My only real problem with the film is that I think it needed more of Cedric Diggory character. There is nothing inherently wrong with what is shown, but given his role in the film, I thought he wasnt really in it enough. Would have been nice to see him interact more with Harry and there were definite moments where they could have done this.

HP and Philosophers Stone 4/10
HP and Chamber Of Secrets 4/10
HP and Prisoner Of Azkaban 8/10
HP and Goblet of Fire 9/10
 

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