By Graham Osborne
Today we start a series of articles that revolves around one of the most significant film series of the past decade; Harry Potter.
The Harry Potter films are unique, never before had a film used a core cast of actors that we would grow up along side the series. The first film was also made when only the fourth book had come out, leaving us with an unfinished story, and the numerous directors choosing what they thought would be the most important plot points and disregarding others. Because of that, and with the gift of hindsight, these films are ripe for fixing in post. Some of these could be considered little niggles that are just nitpicking (heck, some people say that’s the entire purpose of these articles), but I think that these could still be fixed and turn the series into an absolutely incredible tale of magic that’s even more akin to the books than the films already were.
Today we start a series of articles that revolves around one of the most significant film series of the past decade; Harry Potter.
The Harry Potter films are unique, never before had a film used a core cast of actors that we would grow up along side the series. The first film was also made when only the fourth book had come out, leaving us with an unfinished story, and the numerous directors choosing what they thought would be the most important plot points and disregarding others. Because of that, and with the gift of hindsight, these films are ripe for fixing in post. Some of these could be considered little niggles that are just nitpicking (heck, some people say that’s the entire purpose of these articles), but I think that these could still be fixed and turn the series into an absolutely incredible tale of magic that’s even more akin to the books than the films already were.
Finally, before I start, I would just like to say that the Harry Potter books are (in my opinion) one of the best book series out there, and nothing I say here should be taken as a critique on them or the films as they are. They are very well made, and faithful to the source material, but there are some things that could be changed/improved.
We’ll start off with a minor plot hole that really doesn’t make sense when you think about it. During the flying lesson, Madame Hooch tells the students to kick off from the ground on the count of three. Neville is the only person to do this, and gets told off for doing exactly what he was told. If it were to be remade, the film would have Neville kicking off from the ground before Madame Hooch starts the countdown. This would help to show Neville as an incompetent character, and develop his personal story-arc throughout the films.
On the subject of plot holes, Dudley’s tail is never addressed past Hagrid and Harry’s meeting. Aside from a quick comment by Hagrid reminding Harry that he could threaten Dudley with a new pair of ears to go with the tail. The tail helps show Dudley’s distrust of the wizarding community, further compounded by his parents views. The Dursleys are a point of contention that I will address later in this series. But suffice to say, there are differences between the books and films that are quite jarring.
We’ll start off with a minor plot hole that really doesn’t make sense when you think about it. During the flying lesson, Madame Hooch tells the students to kick off from the ground on the count of three. Neville is the only person to do this, and gets told off for doing exactly what he was told. If it were to be remade, the film would have Neville kicking off from the ground before Madame Hooch starts the countdown. This would help to show Neville as an incompetent character, and develop his personal story-arc throughout the films.
On the subject of plot holes, Dudley’s tail is never addressed past Hagrid and Harry’s meeting. Aside from a quick comment by Hagrid reminding Harry that he could threaten Dudley with a new pair of ears to go with the tail. The tail helps show Dudley’s distrust of the wizarding community, further compounded by his parents views. The Dursleys are a point of contention that I will address later in this series. But suffice to say, there are differences between the books and films that are quite jarring.
Dumbledore’s speech at the beginning of the school year would be better if he were to use “nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak” as his opening words. This would characterise him as an eccentric and allow Harry to ask Percy if he is mad, thereby providing a bit of exposition for some of Dumbledore’s reactions throughout the books. Whilst on the subject of Dumbledore, his appearance at Harry’s first Quidditch match means that Quirrell and Voldemort would not attempt to throw Harry off his broom as they would have been discovered very quickly, especially as Dumbledore is able to locate trace magics and identify certain wizard’s styles, Voldemort’s in particular. This is even referenced by Quirrell during his speech at the end of the book. Quirrell should also have been knocked over by Hermione when she is rushing to set fire to Snape’s robes. The way it happens in the film in comparison to the book suggests that had Snape been distracted before Quirrell had been knocked over, he would have been able to get Harry off his broom.
Finally, during the climax of the film, Quirrell has Harry in the room with the Mirror of Erised and reveals Voldemort to Harry. At no point does Harry try and run away from them, despite the fact that we can see that there is nothing preventing Harry from running away. In the books, he is restrained by ropes, it could be argued that Quirrell/Voldemort could have restrained him before he got too far, but it seems foolish that he wouldn’t try and escape from the maniac who was hosting the spirit of his parents murderer.
And whilst we’re on the subject of the gauntlet, it would have been nice to see the potion puzzle from the books, the puzzle was a nice break before the final confrontation and allowed Hermione a chance to shine. It is completely understandable why it wasn’t used, the time to describe the scene and have Harry and Hermione solve it would have probably added another five to ten minutes to the run time, and is not a necessary scene in the long run, but still, it would have been fun to see.
Well, there you have it. The Philosopher’s Stone fixed. Come back next week, when I’ll be fixing the Chamber of Secrets. Let me know what you think in the comments, or give me some things you think I should fix, I welcome all views. Until next time...
Finally, during the climax of the film, Quirrell has Harry in the room with the Mirror of Erised and reveals Voldemort to Harry. At no point does Harry try and run away from them, despite the fact that we can see that there is nothing preventing Harry from running away. In the books, he is restrained by ropes, it could be argued that Quirrell/Voldemort could have restrained him before he got too far, but it seems foolish that he wouldn’t try and escape from the maniac who was hosting the spirit of his parents murderer.
And whilst we’re on the subject of the gauntlet, it would have been nice to see the potion puzzle from the books, the puzzle was a nice break before the final confrontation and allowed Hermione a chance to shine. It is completely understandable why it wasn’t used, the time to describe the scene and have Harry and Hermione solve it would have probably added another five to ten minutes to the run time, and is not a necessary scene in the long run, but still, it would have been fun to see.
Well, there you have it. The Philosopher’s Stone fixed. Come back next week, when I’ll be fixing the Chamber of Secrets. Let me know what you think in the comments, or give me some things you think I should fix, I welcome all views. Until next time...
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