Harry Potter 4
Dec. 3rd, 2005 10:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe weekend after Thanksgiving, Other Kenjari and I went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Although the director is different, this film is much more like PoA than the first two movies. This is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned.
The visuals were great. The special effects were especially well integrated with the rest of the movie. And the sets (for locations that weren't in the other movies) were terrific. I particularly liked the set for the flashback scene in which Barty Crouch Jr. is revealed as a Death Eater. It had a nice combination of the medieval and the Dickensian. And I loved the costume design for the Death Eaters. They were vaguely reminiscent of KKK robes, which I thought a good representation of the equation of Voldemort and his faction with white supremacists and Nazis. It was especially nice since the movie didn't have time to do the full Death Eater scene at the Quidditch World Cup, which makes that whole equation fairly clear.
As an aside, now that the series is up to book 6, I see a lot of parallels between what the wizarding world is going through and what Britain and Europe went through at the onset of WWII. Voldemort has clear parallels with Hitler: he views wizards as a superior race and muggles as second-class at best, he's aiming for world domination, he's charismatic, etc. And, although my knowledge of the British homefront during the lead-up to and early stages of WWII is rather limited, I can see where the atmosphere and goings-on in the wizarding world after Voldemort's reappearance might be meant to mirror Britain in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Back to movie...
My only substantial criticism is that the film seemed a little hurried and a little like it was just skimming over the plot. Of course, GoF is a rather long book, and there's a lot going on, so cuts would be necessary in any case. I just wish there could have been some way to give the Quidditch World Cup sequence a little more time, and to include the Hermione vs. Rita Skeeter subplot.
I was, however, pleased with the way the director highlighted the relationships between the characters and the way those relationships shifted and developed. Some of the nicest moments in the film were those that focused on people making some sort of connection or disconnection.
I was also quite impressed with Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort. He was terrific: he created the perfect mix of creepy menace and charismatic power.
On a marginally related subject, I would like to point out that the residents of my hometown are some of the rudest moviegoers I have ever encountered. The people around us talked through large portions of the movie, despite a few gentle "shhh"s and a few glares. This is not the first time it's happened to me there, either. Folks, if you want to converse with your companions, perhaps you should spend your evening at a coffee house, not a movie theater. And if you're having difficulties following the dialogue or the action, perhaps the solution is to shut up and pay more attention to the film, not constantly ask your companions what's going on.
Although the director is different, this film is much more like PoA than the first two movies. This is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned.
The visuals were great. The special effects were especially well integrated with the rest of the movie. And the sets (for locations that weren't in the other movies) were terrific. I particularly liked the set for the flashback scene in which Barty Crouch Jr. is revealed as a Death Eater. It had a nice combination of the medieval and the Dickensian. And I loved the costume design for the Death Eaters. They were vaguely reminiscent of KKK robes, which I thought a good representation of the equation of Voldemort and his faction with white supremacists and Nazis. It was especially nice since the movie didn't have time to do the full Death Eater scene at the Quidditch World Cup, which makes that whole equation fairly clear.
As an aside, now that the series is up to book 6, I see a lot of parallels between what the wizarding world is going through and what Britain and Europe went through at the onset of WWII. Voldemort has clear parallels with Hitler: he views wizards as a superior race and muggles as second-class at best, he's aiming for world domination, he's charismatic, etc. And, although my knowledge of the British homefront during the lead-up to and early stages of WWII is rather limited, I can see where the atmosphere and goings-on in the wizarding world after Voldemort's reappearance might be meant to mirror Britain in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Back to movie...
My only substantial criticism is that the film seemed a little hurried and a little like it was just skimming over the plot. Of course, GoF is a rather long book, and there's a lot going on, so cuts would be necessary in any case. I just wish there could have been some way to give the Quidditch World Cup sequence a little more time, and to include the Hermione vs. Rita Skeeter subplot.
I was, however, pleased with the way the director highlighted the relationships between the characters and the way those relationships shifted and developed. Some of the nicest moments in the film were those that focused on people making some sort of connection or disconnection.
I was also quite impressed with Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort. He was terrific: he created the perfect mix of creepy menace and charismatic power.
On a marginally related subject, I would like to point out that the residents of my hometown are some of the rudest moviegoers I have ever encountered. The people around us talked through large portions of the movie, despite a few gentle "shhh"s and a few glares. This is not the first time it's happened to me there, either. Folks, if you want to converse with your companions, perhaps you should spend your evening at a coffee house, not a movie theater. And if you're having difficulties following the dialogue or the action, perhaps the solution is to shut up and pay more attention to the film, not constantly ask your companions what's going on.
