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ForumsDiscussion Forum → Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban
2004-06-05, 4:58 PM #1
Great movie. You can seriously tell it's a different director.

It isn't as "fun" as the first two, it's a lot gloomier. They cut out some cool parts from the book, but not much. I didn't really care for the soundtrack in this. I liked the previous soundtracks, but overall this film was just as good if not better then one and two.

(BTW: Lupin was good in the film, so for all you fans of the book, don't worry)

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OSC Empire | A.H.N.U.L.D.
[Jim7 PING reply]: 666secs

[This message has been edited by SAJN_Master (edited June 05, 2004).]
Think while it's still legal.
2004-06-05, 5:12 PM #2
"A lot."

[http://forums.massassi.net/html/tongue.gif]

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Map-Review | My Portfolio | The Matrix: Unplugged

[This message has been edited by Thrawn42689 (edited June 05, 2004).]
2004-06-05, 5:15 PM #3
Every time I see that movie title, I keep reading, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Afghanistan.

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Frogblast the Vent Core!

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Are you finding Ling-Ling's head?
Last Stand
2004-06-05, 7:24 PM #4
One of our waiters in Cancun said that I look like Harry Potter.

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right." -Isaac Asimov
"Flowers and a landscape were the only attractions here. And so, as there was no good reason for coming, nobody came."
2004-06-05, 7:30 PM #5
I thought it was awesome, except for a few minor gripes [Spoilers, I guess]:

-They never explain who made the map
-They never explain the significance of the stag
-The design for the Lupin's werewolf form really sucked
-Likewise, Black's dog form was crappy. That dog looked nothing like a Snuffles or a Padfoot. Should've been a rottweiler.

Those complaints out of the way, I loved everything else. I didn't like the first two movies, but this one really excells. Thank you Chris Columbus for not directing this.

Oh, and a few things I really like:
-The Dementors were uber creepy
-The new Dumbledore actor did a great job and looked exactly like Harris. The voice was a tiny bit off, but he was a great replacement.
-Sirius Black's tatoos were incredibly awesome, although I don't think they were in the book. I don't really understand how he would get them, unless they give em to Azkaban prisoners (but not Hagrid...). Nevertheless, they look cool, and his acting was great.

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"I'd rather be hated for who I am rather than loved for who I pretend to be." -Janis Joplin

[This message has been edited by Vincent Valentine (edited June 05, 2004).]
2004-06-05, 7:34 PM #6
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by phoenix_9286:
Every time I see that movie title, I keep reading, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Afghanistan.

</font>


ROFL!

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I check my e-mail.

[This message has been edited by Mystic0 (edited June 05, 2004).]
2004-06-05, 8:10 PM #7
Dumbledore did a great job, but I was confused as to why they had his beared tied up and why he dressed differently then in the first two films. You'd think they would have had him the same. I know it's a different actor, but...I was wondering the entire film why the tied up beard? Also, his hair was a bit more grey and possibly short. I dunno. It really doesn't matter. It was a great film still.

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OSC Empire | A.H.N.U.L.D.
[Jim7 PING reply]: 666secs

[This message has been edited by SAJN_Master (edited June 05, 2004).]
Think while it's still legal.
2004-06-05, 8:20 PM #8
[http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0575074973.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg]

teehee.
Catloaf, meet mouseloaf.
My music
2004-06-05, 9:00 PM #9
Here are a few of my own gripes... probably some spoilers in here, and you may not understand them if you haven't read the book.

-This movie was the shortest one of the three made so far, but the book was about 1/3 longer than the 2nd. (this isnt a gripe, but its a point I want to bring up for some of my next gripes).

-It felt like the actors were talking so fast that they knew there was a time limit... If I hadn't read the books, I'd have a hard time keeping up with the story.

-Cuarone seemed to feel at liberty to just totally change things established in the first 2 movies, like the look and location of the whomping willow, and the same with the portrait of the Fat Lady and Hagrid's Hut. He also made Hogwarts extremely mountainous when in the first 2 the grounds look way flatter.

-The floating shrunken heads... wtf? I heard somewhere they are a big part of Mexican culture, and Cuaron is Mexican... but I don't think they really belonged in the movie.

-What happened to the Dementors "kiss"? Instead they were just flying around and Black's soul started leaving...

-The Firebolt was a mere footnote, and the Quittich cup was cut out completely, along with Cho Chang, and the ending was just... bleh, lame (I would say "compared to the book", but I'm trying to take into account that its a movie, and the book ending may have been hard to pull off).
Those are all small ones that I can live with... but here's the ones I feel there is no excuse for.

-Sirius's story was hardly explained. The scene in the "Three Broomsticks" was supposed to be a major one that establishes why Black was in Azkaban and why he was after Harry, AND why Harry ought to want to find Black and kill him. But they just flew through that scene, again, like they had a time limit. They also never mentioned the Secret Keeper spell... maybe 2 more minutes of that scene is what it would be, and its info thats very important to the story...

-The scene in the Shack, where all is revealed, did not contain enough explanation of how Sirius escaped Azkaban (dementors dont detect animals too well), and WHY he chose that time to escape (after seeing the rat in the newspaper). The matter of why they were able to get into the base of the Willow was left out, as well as the reason why 3 of the 4 friends were animagi. This explanation may have required an extra 2 minutes, maybe 3...

-The explanation of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, the fact that they made the map, and Harry's Patronus could have been summed up with one more minute in the last scene with Lupin and Harry.

So with about 5 to 7 more minutes added to the movie, things could have been made much clearer for the casual viewer, and wouldn't have pissed off so many HP fans (I'm not pissed, but this one guy in the theatre, at the end of the movie, started out complaining a bit to his family, and eventually worked up into a tirade saying "HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO ADVANCE THE PLOT IF THEY DONT EXPLAIN WHO THE 4 FRIENDS ARE?" Yea.. the guy was like 30 years old.

Visually the movie was great, Buckbeak was awesome, and it had a much gloomier, less childlike mood to it. However if you've not read the book and just seen the movie, it will probably leave you scratching your head (if you were trying to follow the plot).

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"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."
"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."
2004-06-05, 9:09 PM #10
That is true; there was a lot left out. I still think it was better than the first two, though.

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"I'd rather be hated for who I am rather than loved for who I pretend to be." -Janis Joplin
2004-06-06, 2:32 AM #11
Well, the third book IS gloomier than the earlier, so it's good that it is reflected in the movie.

I'm seeing it next week, hopefully.

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"For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."
-Robert Jastrow
"For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."
-Robert Jastrow
2004-06-06, 4:21 AM #12
Having been persuaded to read the books by my friends, i've read the first 3 books over the last 3 days. They're pretty good so far [http://forums.massassi.net/html/smile.gif]

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/fluffle
/fluffle
2004-06-06, 4:23 AM #13
No Quidditch..?! [http://forums.massassi.net/html/eek.gif]
Cho Chang isnt exactly integral 'yet', but I'm surprised they left that out. Especially since they've established Wood as a character in the movies and that was his last year at Hogwarts.

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The Massassi-Map
There is no spoon.
The Massassi-Map
There is no spoon.
2004-06-06, 5:18 AM #14
I loved it.

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When you expect the pain - nothing left to ascertain
When you respect the lie - Deadly chasm open wide
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2004-06-06, 6:03 AM #15
Yeah, I thought it was pretty awesome too.

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Bassoon, n. A brazen instrument into which a fool blows out his brains.
Bassoon, n. A brazen instrument into which a fool blows out his brains.
2004-06-06, 6:45 AM #16
I didn't find it that scary, I was hoping for it to scare the **** out of all those little kids.
2004-06-06, 3:11 PM #17
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Spork:
No Quidditch..?! [http://forums.massassi.net/html/eek.gif]
Cho Chang isnt exactly integral 'yet', but I'm surprised they left that out. Especially since they've established Wood as a character in the movies and that was his last year at Hogwarts.
</font>


Yeah, I really missed Wood. His voice is so sexy!

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"I'd rather be hated for who I am rather than loved for who I pretend to be." -Janis Joplin
2004-06-06, 3:34 PM #18
hary potr roxkkkkkkkkkkkkxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2004-06-06, 3:39 PM #19
The Dementors didn't fly in the book. It made for a nice effect, but they can't fly. Couldn't.

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Death awaits you with a pancake on its head.
2004-06-06, 8:05 PM #20
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Spork:
No Quidditch..?! [http://forums.massassi.net/html/eek.gif]
</font>


They showed about a minute of the Quittich match in the storm, and a little of Cedric Diggory. He looked too "punky" for me, cus his hair was all spikey (though that could have been because he got hit by lightning...)


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"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."
"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."
2004-06-06, 8:19 PM #21
Eh, I was disappointed. As far as movies go, it was quite good (though I think I'm like the only human that walks the earth that liked the first movie better than either of the others), but I desperately missed the things that KOP_Snake cited. Also, I would have prefered it if they'd shown a little more of Hogsmeade.

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-A Hallmark Birthday Card I Got
"My pet pig never jumps in the air and catches frisbees at the park. Actually, my pet pig never even jumps in the air. He's pretty much a ground pig."
-A Hallmark Birthday Card I Got
2004-06-07, 7:13 AM #22
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by phoenix_9286:
Every time I see that movie title, I keep reading, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Afghanistan.

</font>



I belive quite recently I saw a photochopped image to that effect.


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<Outlaw_Torn> you mean your related to that damned sasquatch, Mech?
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2004-06-07, 9:13 AM #23
The only question is, does the "great wizard" Harry do more than one spell in this film?

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Tazz
2004-06-07, 9:27 AM #24
I was suprised to see that it was actually pretty good. I thought it was much better than the first, which I didn't like. I never saw the second one, because it looked to be the exact same basic plot as the first.

Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by KOP_Snake:
However if you've not read the book and just seen the movie, it will probably leave you scratching your head (if you were trying to follow the plot).

</font>


Uh... The plot was very easy to follow. I thought it was very predictable. I knew almost everything that was going to happen, way before it actually did. If it weren't for the fact that it's a kid's movie, I might go so far as to say it was insultingly simple.

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2004-06-07, 9:38 AM #25
My father and I haven't read a Harry Potter book and we've thoroughly enjoyed all the films. There was a lot they didn't tell us explicitly, but they told us enough, and kept us guessing at details. Funnily enough, my mother and sister, who have read all the books, always came out complaining about the things that they missed out or got wrong. :-)

I really like films that don't tell you absolutely everything. American films tend to always end solidly with either a happy ending or moral message, but Japanese films tend to be a lot more open-ended (perhaps to keep the possibility of an unplanned sequel open?) and leave a lot more the viewer, which makes you think a lot more about the film. Films like that are great.
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. " - Bertrand Russell
The Triumph of Stupidity in Mortals and Others 1931-1935
2004-06-07, 10:09 AM #26
I thought it was pretty good. It was quite a bit different from the book, which I actually count as a good thing.

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I bet you think that's funny, don't you.
I bet you think that's funny, don't you.
2004-06-07, 10:49 AM #27
I refuse to watch it. Or read it. Because of Capitalism.Or the fact that the books are not good at all. Your choice.

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2004-06-07, 12:02 PM #28
The movie was awesome--better than the first two. I'm not a Harry Potter fanboy and have not read the books. [http://forums.massassi.net/html/tongue.gif]
"When it's time for this planet to die, you'll understand that you know absolutely nothing." — Bugenhagen
2004-06-07, 12:24 PM #29
For all those who have seen the movie, did you see where they put Harry's scar on the wrong side?

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2004-06-08, 11:16 AM #30
I saw it the day it came out (in the UK). :-D I liked it. Not as good as the book though.
I agree that they left a lot of important stuff out but most of the main things have been pointed out, except:
"Loony Loopy Lupin"
But its FAR to late to add 'him' in now.


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Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Matthew Pate:
GUY: "Mate, you really Australianed up your Ford!"
GUY 2: "Yeah, I guess it was pretty spowned."
</font>


[This message has been edited by JohnDoe#244 (edited June 08, 2004).]
Originally posted by Matthew Pate:
GUY: "Mate, you really Australianed up your Ford!"
GUY 2: "Yeah, I guess it was pretty spowned."
2004-06-08, 12:48 PM #31
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Chaz Ghostle:
Uh... The plot was very easy to follow. I thought it was very predictable. I knew almost everything that was going to happen, way before it actually did. If it weren't for the fact that it's a kid's movie, I might go so far as to say it was insultingly simple.

</font>


If you dont bother thinking about it, yea its simple. I'm assuming you havent read the book though. If you did, it might baffle you to see how many details and twists there were, and the big explanation at the end has you go "whoa it was there the whole time and I never saw it."

Aww heck, heres a huge spoiler, both for people who havent seen the movie, and those who have but havent read the book... its a lot of typing, so dont bother reading if you just don't care.

When Hagrid, McGonagall, Fudge, and Rosemerta were talking in the bar, they explained how Black betrayed the Potters. The Potters knew that Voldemort was after them, so they decided to use the "secret keeper" spell. Apparently this spell would have made it so that Voldemort could look right into the Potter's window and never even see that they lived there. This "secret" has to be kept inside someones soul, someone very trustworthy, because the only way for the information to be divulged is for the secret keeper to willingly tell someone. The secret keeper, of course, was Sirius Black. Of course, since he was a spy working for Voldemort, he divulged the location of the Potters, and Voldemort killed Harry's parents, and met his own demise as well...

Right after it happened, Hagrid showed up, and saw that Sirius was on the scene, very pale and nervous. So Hagrid took Harry, to deliver him to Dumbledore, and Sirius lent Hagrid his flying motorbike (seen in the first movie) because he "wouldnt be needing it anymore. Hagrid at the time didn't know that Sirius had just betrayed the Potters.

So later that night, Peter Pettigrew, the 4th friend (of James, Lupin, Sirius, and Peter...) encountered Sirius, and managed to corner him. Peter was normally very frightful, but the outrage that Sirius had just betrayed his best friend made him a bit bolder. So Sirius, now cornered, unleashed a spell that was powerful enough to blow a crater in the street, killing 12 muggles and Peter himself, leaving only but a finger behind. After the incident, Sirius only stood there, laughing, as he was arrested and taken to Azkaban.

That was the story everyone believed before the truth was revealed in the end.

In the scene in the Shrieking Shack, when Lupin bursts in, and hugs Sirius, Hermione is outraged that she trusted Lupin, knowing he was a werewolf. So Lupin and Sirius explain the true story. When Lupin first came to Hogwarts as a student, they had no magical potion that allowed Werewolves to stay in there right mind when they transformed (which is was they are talking about in the movie when they ask "haven't you taken your potion tonight?"), so Dumbledore, being very sympathetic to Lupin, has the Whomping Willow planted over a tunnel that leads into the Shrieking shack, where Lupin would go every month to transform, out of danger to people. Sirius, James, and Peter eventually found out about this, being Lupin's friend and all, and decided that they should learn to become animagi. Werewolves are only a danger to people, so becoming animals would allow them to hang out with their friend, and go basically wherever they wanted around the castle (also with the help of James' cloak). With all this freedom, they found out a lot about the castle, all its secrets and everything, so the 4 friend created the "Marauders Map". Lupin was Moony, Sirius was Padfoot, Peter was Wormtail, and James was Prongs (who transformed into a stag, and hence why Harry's patronus takes that shape). Since they were illegal animagi, (legal ones are supposed to be registered with the ministry and whatnot), Lupin was too ashamed to tell Dumbledore that Sirius was sneaking into the castle as a dog, after all that Dumbledore had done for him.

Anyway, Sirius often had Cornelius Fudge visit him, and asked if he could have some old copies of the Daily Prophet to entertain him. Fudge did this, and on the cover of one edition was the Weasley family, who had just won a Galleon giveaway and spent it on a trip to Egypt. It showed the whole family in a picture, including Ron's rat, on his shoulder, with a missing toe. It was Pettigrew. What no one knew was that at the last minute, when they performed the Secret Keeper spell, Sirius had switched and allowed Peter to be the Secret Keeper, because Voldemort would have expected it to be Black, and certainly would have come after him. But no, no one would ever expect poor pathetic little Peter Pettigrew. Unfortunately, Peter was a spy working for Voldemort the whole time, always being one to keep friends who were "big bullys" to protect him (such as Sirius and James). Seeing Peter in the Daily Prophet gave Sirius an obsession... it wasnt a happy thought that the dementors could suck out of him. He knew now that Peter was staying with a wizard family, that would know when Voldemort was regaining power, and he would also know when the time was right to do a sneak attack on Harry Potter, proving his loyalty to Voldemort (because he wouldn't kill Harry unless there was something in it for him too..). Dementors also cant detect the strange "emotions" put forth by animals as well, so turning into a dog helped him escape.

So on the night that Harry's parents died, what really happend was Black found Peter, and Peter started making a scene "Lily and James, Sirius! how could you betray them?!" and cast his own spell, that blew a crater in the middle of the street, killing 12 muggles, and leaving one of his fingers behind, for evidence that Sirius had killed him.

That's basically all the details that the movie left out of Black's story.

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"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."
"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."
2004-06-08, 1:12 PM #32
That's an impressively complete account! ^^ [http://forums.massassi.net/html/smile.gif]

The only thing I was going to say in reply to those that say it could have been a touch longer to explain such details is that it might've made the final scene in the shreiking shack last for so long it took the pace out of the movie - the scene would've been like the end of an Agatha Christie novel with the whole plt being explained in anal detail...

To be honest, I would've much preferred a better account of the book, but I think the film was excellent at what it did and far surpasses the first two in making a decent film out of too much detail in the books! [http://forums.massassi.net/html/smile.gif]

*Unashamed big Harry Potter fan*

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If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards.
2004-06-08, 6:17 PM #33
Boy Hermione sure puts the "moves" on Ron in that movie...

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17
You could no more evade my wrath than you could your own shadow.
2004-06-08, 6:32 PM #34
That was a nice retelling. Just a sidenote, Black was able to escape from Azkaban by transforming into his dog form.

[Edit: Oh, and Hermione is going to get hot. I can't wait to see her in HP4, at the "ball" thing they have with the three schools. She'll be in her hot dress and she'll be getting snuggy wuggy with the uber-famous Viktor Krum.]

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"I'd rather be hated for who I am rather than loved for who I pretend to be." -Janis Joplin

[This message has been edited by Vincent Valentine (edited June 08, 2004).]
2004-06-08, 7:12 PM #35
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Vincent Valentine:
That was a nice retelling. Just a sidenote, Black was able to escape from Azkaban by transforming into his dog form.
</font>


Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by KOP_Snake:
Dementors also cant detect the strange "emotions" put forth by animals as well, so turning into a dog helped him escape.</font>


Not that I blame you for missing that little note in my post [http://forums.massassi.net/html/wink.gif]


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"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."
"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."

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