Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1 Viewer)

[oscar_merkx]

then again the book was twice as long as the two previous books put together

 

[Kenneth_C]

then again the book was twice as long as the two previous books put together

Prisoner of Azkaban is only a little longer than either Sorcerer's Stone or Chamber of Secrets.

Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix, on the other hand, are about double the length of the earlier books.

I just finished reading those 2; and, though I think you can cram most of Goblet into one movie, Phoenix is going to be a real challenge.

 

[Ricardo C]

Hopefully with the success of the one-long-movie-split-in-two method, as seen on Kill Bill and the Matrix sequels (ok, they took a pounding, but I still think Revolutions is the best of the three, dammit!), Warners will be less shy about the idea of splitting OotP into two parts. There's just too much good material that doesn't deserve to be cut out.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"I just finished reading those 2; and, though I think you can cram most of Goblet into one movie, Phoenix is going to be a real challenge."
If you cut out all the moments of Harry angrily whining to himself like your typical angst-ridden teen, Order of the Phoenix is 90 pages long.
Just kidding, put down the pitchfork. I think, of the five, the one film that is going to make the least-satisfying movie is Order of the Phoenix. It is a transitional book between the events of Goblet and the "war" that is about to break out in the next two. True, a major character dies and Harry learns an important factoid, but I felt like the book just couldn't top the "Duel" at the end of Goblet. I know there are important narrative events in "Phoenix", but it still felt like primarily expositional material for the next two books, and we are left pretty much where we started out - except, of course, a close friend of Harry's is gone and Harry has accepted his fate and his purpose in life.
I can already see the day coming when Snape will sacrifice himself for Harry in Boox Seven. All the groundwork is being laid, especially in "Phoenix". Dumbledore is going to be taken out, too, at some point, leaving Harry alone in his battle with Lord Laundromat (maybe that's the climax of book six - the death of Dumbledore). Hermione and Ron are clearly going to wind up together. Rowling said that the last word of the last book is going to be "scar". I wonder if Harry dies defeating Laundromat, but saving Ron and Hermione in the process, and then R & H have a baby born with a birthmark in the shape of Harry's forehead scar. Hmmm.
Umbridge should be a fun character, though -- I nominate Judi Dench.

 

[Max Leung]

Just kidding, put down the pitchfork.

Awwww come on Ernest...the PC people have gotten to you too? What's this world coming too?
For the record, I enjoyed all the books. HP having the (possibly cliche) teen-angst attack throughout OotP is what you'd expect considering the (scientifically proven? or cultural anamoly?) hormones raging through his system.
So please don't hurt me.
(And it looks like the latest movie is gonna ROCK!)

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

For book 5, they should produce a season of television and divide the book into 23 episodes.

 

[JonZ]

"Phoenix is going to be a real challenge."

I didnt care for this book - I think theeres alot they can cut out and fit onto a 2+hour film.

 

[Kenneth_C]

Out of consideration for those who haven't read the books, I think we should spoilerize any discussion of their plots.

Although I agree that Harry whines a bit too much in Phoenix, there's a whole lot that I'd hate to see excised or condensed to try & fit into one movie.

Dolores Umbridge alone requires enough screentime to fully develop into the hateful creature she is. Some of the best, most effective parts of the book involve how she gradually increases her totalitarian control over Hogwarts. Besides, I want to see McGonagall's defiance, Trelawney's meltdown, Dumbledore's banishment, and the raid on Hagrid's.

Then you've also got the Dementor attack in Little Whinging, Harry's expulsion hearing, the introduction of the Order of the Phoenix itself, Harry's dreams, the attack on Mr. Weasley, St. Mungo's Hospital, the Occlumency lessons, Dumbledore's Army, Hagrid's "guest", Ron & Quidditch, the O.W.L.s, the rescue mission to the Ministry, and the revelation of the prophecy.

Much of that is fairly significant, and even those that don't seem to be at the moment (like Hagrid's subplot), might have more importance in a future book.

 

[Galen_V]

Ernest, I completely agree with your assessment of Order of the Phoenix. To me, the transitory feel of the book sort of killed off the enjoyment that I had while reading the first four books, and in some ways frustrated me a great deal. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the previous four Harry Potter books were somewhat self-contained novels. While there are obviously some major plot points that continue on into Goblet from Azkaban, taken as a whole the first four books hardly mention anything that happened in any of the preceding novels. For example, I don't think that Harry's encounter with the Mirror of Erised or with the Basilisk is mentioned again even once in either Azkaban or Goblet. However, the second one picks up Phoenix it is really apparent that things are quite different this time around; the action picks up right where Goblet left off (give or take a few weeks) and every prior plot point gets brought into the mix. While this is not surprising due to the to the Goblet finale and the new focus on Harry's angst, it still is quite a jarring change from the usual pattern which the other books followed. Couple that with the book's lack of a definite conclusion and you get that Two Towers feeling, a book with neither a beginning nor an end. In essence, it is as if Rowling finally brings together the entire Harry Potter universe in Order, but it is at the expense of the feel of the previous four novels.

However, the most ironic thing to be about Order is that it really seems to be the most 'Hollywood' of all of the books. You have the surprising opening sequence followed by slower, settling dialogue followed by the mystery which grows and grows until the eventual epic confrontation and climax (which seemed straight out of Attack of the Clones in my opinion), and then the" twist" revelation at the end (which sort made me laugh because I kept on picturing Dumbledore as the Architect from TMR-I'll stop there). The problem, as stated earlier, is that the middle section is just too drawn out that an audience would probably get bored of Umbridge by say, Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight; if you had been told after finishing Goblet for the first time that a 500 page satire of education is what was in the cards for the next installment, you probably would have thought the person was crazy.

Anyway, Azkaban the movie is looking really sharp in those trailers and I don't think June 4 can come around fast enough (although I am still trying to figure out what those flying ghosts are...).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I agree that Order was almost completely different from the first four. But unlike you, I think it's right under PoA as the best. It couldn't top the emotional connections established in Book Three, but the tale itself was much more complicated and satisfying as a journey. It was J.K. Rowling's best written work as well, with far less "said"s and the adverbs kept to the minimum. Scenes like Harry's first train ride alone put a new, more bittersweet spin on familiar events. Unlike GOF, it wasn't three hundred pages of filler amongst the mystery leading to shocking conclusion. It was a slow, uneasy build-up - like 'Vertigo.'
The characterizations were solid, and some scenes (like the gumwrapper one at St. Mungo's) were heartbreaking. In fact, to properly translate OotP, it would be by far the hardest since it's the least simple in ideas.

 

[Ernest Rister]

"...and then the" twist" revelation at the end (which sort made me laugh because I kept on picturing Dumbledore as the Architect from TMR-I'll stop there)."

(laughs)

Yeah, but my problem was...this is the big twist? Rowling leaked a sentence from that scene to hype the book (something like "I'm going to now tell you something I should have told you a long time ago -- the truth") so, HP readers are all in a gush, and then Rowling drops the other shoe, and I was...well..."very not-stunned".

Umbridge was great, though. Loved the detention scenes. I'll bet she's back in the next two, she's too good a villain.

By the way, why doesn't Laundromat just go buy a freaking machine gun? Harry Potter's not bulletproof. Laundromat should stop trying to kill his juvenile enemy with magic and just go rat-a-tat-tat up and down Privet Drive.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Wouldn't neccessarily work. The laws of science don't neccessarily apply to Hogwarts for instance. No saying the laws of physics would neccessarily apply to a magically protected house.
Plus, it would make Voldemort look like a wuss

 

[RobertR]

Also, the books make it rather clear that wizards and witches never use muggle technology, and are sometimes baffled by it, just as muggles would be baffled by the use of magic.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I tend to agree with ER more on this one. At the completion of book 4, I was in tears, and unbelievably excited about the remaining three books. In short, EVERYTHING had changed. Much to my surprise, except for the surprising opening of OOTP, not much had changed. Book 5 felt like filler. Lots of exposition, though. Good writing and Rowling wrote Harry, at that age, under those circumstances, quite well. I just didn't connect with the events, and some of the characters seemed out of sorts. I also agree that the big reveal at the end was a DUH. I thought that stuff had either a) already been revealed or b) was fairly obvious.

I have great hopes for Book 6, the Empire Strikes Back of the series as you will.

And this movie is going to be amazing!

Take care,
Chuck

 

[Kevin Grey]

I thought Book Five was far and away the best of the series which is saying a lot considering how much I loved the previous four. The teen angst stuff didn't bother me at all- it seemed very much earned based on what Harry had been through and would have felt a bit dishonest it had been ignored or glossed over.

I wasn't expecting a twist at the end so that wasn't a concern for me. The final sequence with Dumbledore was the most emotionally wrenching of the series so far IMO.

I didn't find the book to be filler at all either. It felt very dense as far as plot goes even if there wasn't as much of a clear cut story as the previous books (in particular the first three).

 

[oscar_merkx]

Hi fellow muggles
an exclusive interview with HP himself
http://www.empireonline.co.uk/site/f...ws.asp?IID=126

What’s your favourite scene from what you’ve seen so far?

there is much more

 

[Anthony R]

I can already tell that Shrieking Shack scene is going to be INTENSE on the big screen.

 

[Adam Portrais]

I've got my review up for anyone intersted.
My Review