I have just watched the 4th instalment of Harry Potter Series on film, all 160 minutes of it all GV. Oddly, i feel a strong urge to pen out (type out rather..) my take on the movie, to be more precise, on the view of the movie. Here it goes, (i expect it to be a long one though...)
It all started with Xiaxue's blog. It was her scathing delivery of her verdict on the movie that first got me all hot and bothered. I was thinking," Is the movie really that bad? Should i cancel my movie stint to avoid marring my reader experience?" Thinking further in my office, i thought not. On hindsight, i am to be grateful to myself for that fateful decision.
However, those scathing words she said had made a definite imprint on me. There was a marked alertness in me, as though to really spot out any discrepancies in the movie that are incoherent to JK Rowling's massive tome of 760++ pages. Too bad, i guess... First impression did really matter.
She was not wrong though, admittedly. Barely 5 minutes into the supposedly critically acclaimed footage, i have already spotted at least 3 discrepancies. No mean feat, given those were glaring ones. For the record, Harry Potter got the nightmare of Lord Voldemort(in his frail form), Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew) and Naigini(the python, possible Horcrux??) in No.4 Privet Drive not in the Burrow. Secondly, Bart Crouch Jr wasn't supposed to be there in the Riddles' residence. Thirdly, Frank Byrce (gardener of the Riddles) was supposed to be hobbling on a stick.
Well, yes i was sore. Can understand how you people feel. But seriously folks, that's not a valid reason to write off the movie, is it? Well, i considered it not as one by vrtue of the fact that the movie is supposed to be an adaptation. The phrase print to screen was never intentionally iused to denote that the movie makers were highly intent to ensure integrity of the movie was not compromised. An adaptation is to be someone's take on the real thing, in this case, Goblet of Fire. If you are really truly searching for a exact print to screen, i'm sorry. You gotta wait for Saddam to call Bush daddy.
Please people,be reasonable. i'm sure you have done your fair share of summarising or making a synopsis. The fellas here are talking about condensing a tome into a 160 minutes footage. You are mpt just summarising though. You gotta make it eye candy. Easy task? Of course not... In fact if we speak purely on technical terms, they have done well to suss out the main points, that is the main events dotting the instalment in a chronological manner. But inevitably, the visual journey remains haphazard and fleeting as each main event fight for screen time. The "conjunctions" between the main events have not been strong, i concede.
But that's not all to go to say that this make should be absolved of flaws. A firm no, is my answer. In fact, there are two things i feel that have let fans including me down quite a bit. Like any good author, J. K. Rowling goes a great mile to develop the story (i'm in no position to comment about the plot...) The story has the hallmark of having many what i call mini dramas. These are interesting independent "tales" that developed in a loosely interdependent manner. For example, the eternal dislike between Harry and Draco, the intense dislike of Severus for Harry, the relationship between Hagrid and the Harry gang, the antics-filled interaction between the Dursleys and Harry himself, oh i could go on... My point is the maker failed to grasp even one of these and develop them. I say this because i'm always amused by the showdown between the Dursleys and Harry. All these mini dramas add a little flavour to the overall story giving an almost intoxicating but difinitely enjoyable experience.
The second thing that i felt that have let down the fans is regarding escape literature. Just let me touch a bit on escapism though. Almost everyone are attracted to escape literature. Chances are nearly every story dabbles on excape. It plays on the mind's desire to escape the reality with insurmontable parameters to the surreal where the limit is set only by imagination. In this case, J. K. Rowling played the escape game by engaging her readers in the schooling experience. Quite a good choice in my opinion as nearly everyone has experienced school... Now, she makes school sounds fantastic, almost like a fairy tale. The things students do, the interesting things that happen to students intrigue us. Compared to our educational experience, Hogwarts seems really like a dark desire.I, like the majority of people out there, regard the schooling experience merely as a drudgery of a time. Really its hard to describe this but i'm sure you'd understand...
Had the movie makers realised these, the outcome would have been different...
But there is no point talking about this now, don't you think? Let's talk about what caused the disappointment... Apparently, the lion's share of the moviegoers have to be Harry Potter's fans. Now, it is highly likely that they have most probably read the 6 books cover to cover already before the movie. Now, they are are fresh from their reader experience and they go on to the movie. Don't you think they ought to bring along with them some high expectations? They certainly did. You see, i regard the reader experience as a very wonderful one, something that will likely be unrivalled in its class. The greatest piece of magic working to make the reader experience unique is simply imagination. Every line we read, every paragraph we skim and every imagery we take in conjures up powerful images and even "mini video clips" within the mind. This is in one way or another, fulfiled what J.K Rowling wanted her readers to imagine. After all, she was banking on the most powerful media engine available in the world-the mind. That's very hard for any existing Open GL or special effects to match up to.
Ever since the fiasco and accompanying uproar of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, i have arrived at this particular decision of mine... I come to the big screen, not with high expectations or anything but with just one small wish. To see how would that highly surreal scene play out in real life or rather reel life. The movie media is one way which i can fool myself, albeit willingly into thinking that "hey, wow! that's for real" I have been craving to see how would that mysterious Pensieve look like, How would that showdown between a cowering Harry and the Hungarian Horntail be like? If i were looking forward to a strictly exact print to screen version of Harry Potter's, i might as well wait for a drama production of it which takes the magic out of the movie experience. The clamouring and the waiting is what makes it exhilarating i guess. I've clamoured, i've seen it and now i've penned it here... And now, i'm not afraid to say that i walked out from the cinema a happy fan. I've achieved what i wanted, to relive those scenes that i really want to see, to see if my mind was thinking in the same wavelength as the movie makers and at the same time, take a sneak at how others will envisage that same paragraph in the book. It is simply brillant for that.
Now as a true fan, i would like to post a constructive comment. If you are reading this, the maker of the next instalment whoever you are, please please kindly take note that Albus Dumbledore is not supposed to be a man who manhandles his students and throttles them by the neck. It seems that the current portrayal has shown Dumbledore to be highly flustered, animated and outspoken.
In my mind, he as an accomplished 2000 year old wizard is supposed to be a higly composed man who rambles slowly but in a witty manner. One who speaks when absolutely necessary but wisely. Unflinching in the face of crises, he never betrays his flustered self and execute actions in a decisive and timely fashion. I will really wish that the makers will make this change as this really differentiate him and Cornelius Fudge, bearing in mind that Dumbledore himself was once highly sought as a potential Minister...
Nevertheless, i shall push on with my agenda shouldn't i? Let's give the makers of the Goblet Of Fire the respect and accolades that are due to them... I'm sure you wouldn't boycott the next instalment just because this one left you out cold. Let's us not let the disappointment from this cloud our judgement for the next!
Cheers, folks
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