Favorite Harry Potter Movie?

[DarthSkywalker]

No Emma Watson, I no care.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

I'm hoping for new adaptions of the books 25-50 years from now.

Maybe better planned out and consistent throughout.
Also more true to the books.

I know the HP changed alot of stuff from the books, but i'm so tired of the films being these blasphemous objects to the fans. The HP fans are like the SW camp, the whole lot of em'. I've seen so many changes in so many book-to-film, comic-to-film...out of all the ones I've seen, HP is probably some of the least worst of them. The JP films are some of the worst i've seen when it comes to adapting the source material, yet the film based upon them are great. (At least the first, YMMV on the quality of the second.) CBM's do it too. I suppose we should wait 20-30 years for a GOTG reboot with the actual, original GOTG, for example? Not blowing up on you necessarily, I just need to rant about some of the fanbase.

 

[flickchick85]

Yeah, it seems like before the 2000's, book adaptations used to take HUGE liberties with the source material and get away with it with very little controversy. I think the rise of internet fandom has given people communities of like-minded fans with whom they can debate, nitpick and tear adaptations apart to their hearts' content, and that's led to a general audience attitude that's much more critical of deviations from the source materials than they used to be.

I don't think the HP films were great film adaptations, but they weren't unfaithful to the books. Not by a long shot, imo.

That said, my ideal adaptation of these books would be a premium cable or streaming TV series: one season per book, and 6 to 10-episode seasons depending on the length of the book being adapted. Part of what I feel is missing from the movies, and it's really not their fault, is the way the books really captured the day-to-day operations and happenings of Hogwarts. Reading the books, you could easily feel like you were living there. The way the months/seasons passed and the subplots evolved across the school years, the little details that really fleshed out the universe and that general sense of spending a year with these characters each time couldn't be captured in a 2+hour movie. Each book would need several hours devoted to it to properly capture that feeling, so I think a TV series would be better. If they did one season/book a year like they kinda do with Game of Thrones, the child actors would still grow up with the roles just like they did with the films, which I think would be even cooler to witness with a TV series than it was with the films. Not anytime soon of course, as the movies are still fresh in our memories, but maybe in a decade or so.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I always wanted an animated series or an HBO adaptation for Harry Potter. It would fit the material best imo. But I will always love the films. They are why I got into Harry Potter in the first place.

 

[Lord]

Why HBO? Even CW is more suited for Harry Potter IMAO. Either way, there's no point in ever doing Harry Potter movies again, instead i also vote for a tv series, that format would also help expand upon certain elements in the books, and each book is pretty much divided into one season, so you already have a giant series bible and long term plan to follow, while the writers and Rowling could plan on some detours in the middle.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Why HBO? Even CW is more suited for Harry Potter IMAO. Either way, there's no point in ever doing Harry Potter movies again, instead i also vote for a tv series, that format would also help expand upon certain elements in the books, and each book is pretty much divided into one season, so you already have a giant series bible and long term plan to follow, while the writers and Rowling could plan on some detours in the middle.

HBO has money, can hire quality filmmakers, and would actually produce something worth seeing.

 

[Lord]

But HBO is usualy after more adult content.

 

[Doc Ock]

I enjoyed all the Potter films, grew up with them and the books. I see Prisoner of Azkaban as a masterpiece though, I'm also a sucker for time travel stories. Order of the Phoenix is my favorite book but the film adaptation Azkaban just wowed me despite some changes made.

 

[Daltonio]

Chamber of Secrets has been my favorite for as long as I can remember and probably always will be.

I still get creeped out just imagining being in the chamber with the Basilisk at the end.

 

[Kirmit]

Hmm a Harry Potter TV show? I'd love it!

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I always wanted an animated series or an HBO adaptation for Harry Potter. It would fit the material best imo. But I will always love the films. They are why I got into Harry Potter in the first place.

Another straight adaptation of the books is something I'm not interested in. The Radcliffe series was both good enough and accurate enough.

Something different like an animated series focused more on their school life and different plots is something I would be interested in though.

 

[mclay18]

I know. William Ross adapted and conducted William's work. The Fawkes theme and the Chamber theme are very nice, but the score as whole feels a bit underdeveloped. It's a bit of a Philosopher's Stone 1.5. I still consider it a William's score tho.

It's similar to how Shore handled Hobbit. He wrote the music, but Conrad Pope actually conducted and adapted the score in New Zealand, and Shore stayed in the States and helped via Skype. I assume that that's how the score for COS would have been handled had they had Skype in 2002.

I think the actual task Ross did was conducting the sessions in London, because Williams was busy working on Catch Me If You Can and couldn't conduct both. I read an anecdote about Ross talking about it, how Williams just kept writing and sending new material during the sessions and joking that "they would confiscate his [Williams]' pencil".

I do remember seeing a brief scene of Williams conducting the orchestra for Moaning Myrtle's scene in one of COS' making-of featurettes. Maybe he wasn't able to conduct all the sessions?

Busy with GOF, Yates wanted Hooper for OOTP & HBP, and he was supposed to return for DH1/2, but his schedule didn't align. Besides, say what you want about Hooper (which, his stuff was great), but Desplat wrote the best music in the franchise, bar none.

I read an interview with Nicholas Hooper -- that wasn't the case. He said that the pressure of scoring OOTP and HBP was stressful and took a toll on his personal life, and he bowed out of scoring DH because of that. It wasn't because of scheduling conflicts, a la Williams back in 2005, but the composer's decision.

I was so happy when it was announced Desplat would score DH back in January 2010. He was able to write his own scores but stay true to the sound Williams established in the third film. I can see where some fans would compare it to Hooper's scores, in terms of the lighter sections, but Desplat eclipses him on the frenetic action and dramatic writing alone. Some of the cues in DH 1, especially "Fireplaces Escape" and "Sky Battle" are furiously exciting. Desplat did a fine job with both films, but I prefer his DH 1 score. I've played the CD numerous times, as much as Williams' POA score.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

I was talking about Williams, I know about Hooper's reasons - basically because of the hate he got and having to leave his family.

 

[mclay18]

I'm glad Hooper got the opportunity to score two big Hollywood films and I'm glad David Yates campaigned for him. I just wish his work was up to par, and his HP work is decently enjoyable. I revisit the OOTP and HBP soundtracks, and there's some wonderful music but a lot of it feels 'smaller' and lighter than the stories demand.

If his scores were on par with Williams, Desplat, or even Patrick Doyle -- Hooper wouldn't have gotten the amount of hate he did.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

To be fair, to go from scoring documentaries to big budget films like HP, that's a massive, massive leap. I think he did a pretty good job in OOTP, and love his HBP score. I really don't get the hate for any of the Potter scores, tbh.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Hopper's scores have their moments, especially OotP. The music during Harry's possession in OotP is fantastc imo.

 

[Doc Ock]

I liked Hooper's scores, but man it's difficult for anyone to follow in the footsteps of John Williams. I amazed any of the scores post PoA were as good as they ending up being.

 

[mclay18]

I personally thought Desplat came closest to Williams' level. Desplat also had one of Williams' orchestrators, Conrad Pope, as part of his team too. Certainly some of the more Williams-esque flourishes in tracks like "Fireplaces Escape" and "Broomsticks and Fire" really help that sense of cohesion.

 

[Daltonio]

I've really gotta have a marathon rewatch of these one of these days. It's been quite awhile since I've seen some of the movies.

 

[Nemeres]

For a while I was obsessed with the idea of a Disney-style animated Potter. This fanart artist made it seem like the best idea ever.