PoA Film Discussion v3

[TreacleTartlet]

Originally Posted by Pearl_Took

Cuaron's beautiful and doomed bluebird is one of the most fun and memorable ways I've ever seen on film to show the passing of the seasons. Much preferable to a boring 'fadeout'.

Yes, I loved it too! I thought the bluebird was a very clever way to show the passing of time. Tempus fugit!

[mintyfrost]

^ Yes, I also loved that way of changing the seasons. The Whomping Willow was also part of the transition. It is really interesting to watch.

[lcbaseball22]

Originally Posted by MasterOfDeath

I think I'm starting to put my finger on why I prefer the first two films to POA, and it's not only because they adhere more strictly to canon.

POA was filmed in a very Formalistic style, while PS/SS and COS were filmed with a Realism style.

Some may not be familiar with these two terms but in the film-world, realism means not drawing attention to the fact that it's a film, while formalistic films are more stylistically flamboyant, filled with crazy shots and obvious artistic framing that draws attention to the filmmaking itself. Realism allows the audience to just focus on the story and the reality of the characters and not the ooos and aaaahs of the filmmaking itself. HBP strikes the best balance between the two, PS/SS and COS are extreme to one end and POA to the other. I prefer the Realism style thus I prefer PS/SS and COS over POA.

Most people who like POA praise it's rich cinematic qualities: it's cinematography, it's lighting, it's pacing, etc etc while labeling PS/SS and COS as very bland and banal. It's a clash of styles.

I tend to agree with MasterofDeath and I get what he is saying about SS/PS and CoS vs. PoA, but this is my brief thoughts on the matter-

The Columbus films had the best/most faithful scripts and captured the atmosphere and "magic" of the series perfectly but were lacking in other departments. PoA was visually pleasing but that sense of "magic" felt lost and the script changed the characters and events so much it hardly felt like a Potter film. Finally, with HBP they pretty much got it all right and it was like a combo of PoA and Columbus' films.

[Noldus]

Originally Posted by MasterOfDeath

I think you might be confusing the term Realism. It's not realism in the traditional sense of the word. It's a form of filmmaking.

Here's a better example: When an audience leaves a realism film, they are thinking about what happened to the characters and the story.

When they leave a Formalistic film, they comment on how beautiful the film looked and all the amazing shots.

Realistic films are actually more emotional since the audience is more focused on the characters.

Many people commented on the beautiful look/cinematography of HBP. With its brown/yellow colours and artistic camera movements I'll say HBP is a "formalistic" film, to use that term. Even more than POA. The empty shot of the Great Hall was just as "pointless" as the bird shots in POA. Neither of them were pointless as they had an emotional impact. The Great hall shot expressed sadness, loss at Hogwarts and hope. The bird scenes showed the atmosphere of the different seasons so we could feel a year has pased when the film is over. OOTP failed to do this.
I doubt a "realistic" film automatically is more emotional than a "formalistic" one. The cinematography and the colours is just a small, but important part of film making. If it's done properly it should add something to the film and affect the audience.

[Tonks_Animagus]

It was an awesome film. Propably the best HP one. I saw the cut scenes in YouTube, they were really great, even though I have to admit that if I was a director I would cut them too cuz they dont actually offer much in the general plot.

[jan74]

Master of Death wrote: "Some may not be familiar with these two terms but in the film-world, realism means not drawing attention to the fact that it's a film, while formalistic films are more stylistically flamboyant, filled with crazy shots and obvious artistic framing that draws attention to the filmmaking itself. Realism allows the audience to just focus on the story and the reality of the characters and not the ooos and aaaahs of the filmmaking itself. HBP strikes the best balance between the two, PS/SS and COS are extreme to one end and POA to the other. I prefer the Realism style thus I prefer PS/SS and COS over POA".

There are of course many different approaches to making and adapting a film, but still I think I understand what you're getting at, though I do not agree. Bear with me if this comment sounds preachy.

In my experience many directors prefer a style where you strip away visual details, artistic use of colurs and other material and tell the story mainly through the plot and what happens to the characters. This is very typical of many films, including Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone". In my view you need a director who is able to bring out some very good acting/and or a very powerful subject matter if you are to succeed with this kind of film making.

Many of the same directors might also want to create a feeling of realism, in certain scenes making the audience feel the rush when you're in the thick of the action or the bare emotions of a very tough or heartbreaking scene. In "The Chamber of secrets", you have the scene where Harry and Ron escapes in their car, which is concentrated only on the rush of getting away. In the Order of the Phoenix, the interaction between Sirius and Harry Potter is very much focused on the acting and the connection created between these two characters, focusing on their faces and their body without any extra visual details to show the emotions.

In "The prisoner from Azkaban" I think Cuaron used visual details and artistic scenes to underline and heighten the emotions of the characters and the general storyline. Showing the passing of the seasons can underline feelings like hope, loneliness, Harry's attachment to Hogwarts as his real home or just be a different way of telling how time has passed instead of for instance having a scene showing the students going away for christmas. The small details can also show you "subplots" which are not crucial to the plot/action, but which gives you a hint of the richness of Harry Potter's world.

I'm afraid I felt that Columbus' films were too straightforward and lacking in imagination, although I felt "Chamber of Secrets" was mcuh better than the first, which really consists only of a series of episodes.

[Pearl_Took]

I like both the luminous quality of Cuaron's film and the more 'realistic' approach of OotP and HBP.

As a rule, I do tend to favour Realism over Formalism (as far as this non-expert can judge) ... but I think Formalism can work really, really brilliantly with a director of quality. And Cuaron has that quality.

And some 'Realism' films can be pedestrian in their approach.

Originally Posted by jan74

In "The prisoner from Azkaban" I think Cuaron used visual details and artistic scenes to underline and heighten the emotions of the characters and the general storyline. Showing the passing of the seasons can underline feelings like hope, loneliness, Harry's attachment to Hogwarts as his real home or just be a different way of telling how time has passed instead of for instance having a scene showing the students going away for christmas. The small details can also show you "subplots" which are not crucial to the plot/action, but which gives you a hint of the richness of Harry Potter's world.

I'm afraid I felt that Columbus' films were too straightforward and lacking in imagination, although I felt "Chamber of Secrets" was mcuh better than the first, which really consists only of a series of episodes.

I agree with you.

Although I must be one of the few people who actually prefers CoS to PS/SS. (Minus the excruciating ending, that is!) But just because I felt it had a much stronger story, and conveyed that story pretty well.

Welcome to the boards, btw.