We are working on getting comments up on the site soon, so that everybody will be able to post about any of our recent reviews, blogs, etc. I’m really excited to finally be able to achieve a good level of interactivity opn the site. Until then, I’ll post some comments from my Lawrence.com Scene-Stealers blog that are responses to my review of the new “Harry Potter” film.
It seems like the never-ending battle between a novel and its adaptation is alive and well. As the HP series nears its end, it seems like there is an ever-increasing amount of stuff that keeps popping up in the movie series that makes WAY more sense if you’ve read the book. That’s well and good, but a movie shuold stand on its own, just as a book does. I don’t think it is a requirement that you must have read the book for the movie to be good. In fact, if that is the case (and many people seem to think so i here), then that’s a reflection that the movie– by itself– is somewhat of a failure.
Of course, once you’ve read a book, you can’t unread it. That may explain why I liked Brian DePalma’s “The Black Dahlia” more than almost any other critic out there. It captured the soul and spirit– as overheated and pulpy as it gets– of James Ellroy’s fantastic novel. In that case, though, it was the mood of the movie that impressed me, and it was easy to overlook the minor plot changes that anyone must make when adapting a novel into a screenplay.
With “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” it turns out that the very thing that discredited much of the film for me was a product of J.K. Rowling’s book and not the screenplay alone. Here’s some comments to my original review, also posted here on this site. I hope it sparks up some interesting conversation, and I hope to hear from some of you when we get the comments section rolling!
Enjoy:
Posted by jen82 (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 11 a.m.
You should get someone to review this movie who understand the plotline. This review has got a lot of the facts wrong. Most people seeing the movie will have read the books, and those I know who haven’t still understood it as it’s written. This reviewer doesn’t even make an attempt, regardless of the review of the movie itself.
Posted by Eric_Melin (Eric Melin) on July 11, 2007 at 11:08 a.m.
What facts, specifically, did I get wrong?
My point was that the story, as presented, was dramatically inert and frustrating to watch. Not frustrating in a challenging way either. Movies are different than books, and you shouldn’t need to read the book first to enjoy the movie. That means the movie has failed.
Posted by ihatejohntravolta (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 11:24 a.m.
jen,
i’ve never read any of the potter books but i’ve seen all of the movies, including this one. i think that the movies miss a lot of the details, large and small, of the book. i had to get a friend to explain a lot of what happened in this movie because you really can’t understand a lot of it from the movie. seeing as eric is a movie reviewer….and the movies miss a lot of the details, you can’t fault eric for missing those points. i thought it was a good movie but i was confused when i left the theatre.
Posted by crazyleaflady (anonymous) on July 12, 2007 at 8:20 a.m.
I find it amusing that the reviewer says “perhaps it makes more sense in the nearly 900-page book.” Although the reviewer may not have intended it that way, the tone of that line implies that reading the book is too much effort.
ihatejohntravolta and Eric have good points-indeed, the movie should be able to stand alone–but I too would like to hear from someone who has read the books, since that’s the category into which I (and jen and others) fall.
Posted by Eric_Melin (Eric Melin) on July 12, 2007 at 12:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
crazyleaflady-
I was trying to point how much they would have had to cut out to even make the film, not making a comment that 900 pgs was too long. My co-host at Scene-Stealers.com has read the book and he totally disagreed with me. Here’s a link to our video review of the movie:
http://www.scene-stealers.com/video-revi…
Posted by maclothier (anonymous) on July 12, 2007 at 2:21 p.m
Perhaps it’s the constant referencing of the books without actually having read them which is the issue here. It’s one thing to review a film while removing it from its original literary context. It’s another to constantly reference the film’s novel origins without actually having read the novel. Perhaps the plot DOES make more sense in the book. Perhaps it doesn’t. But if you haven’t read the book, then bringing the text up repeatedly in a review doesn’t contribute to the critique of the film.
As a sidenote, and in partial defense of the review, it is a bit strange that the characters in the novels haven’t quite caught on to the repetitive nature of their lives. Just once I want a character at Hogwarts to ask Harry at the beginning of the school year how Harry thinks Voldemort is going to try and kill him this term.
Posted by crazyleaflady (anonymous) on July 13, 2007 at 9:53 a.m.
I think maclothier is absolutely right. Add that to the title of this review and you’ll understand a bit better why the review might grate on those who’ve read the book.
I just saw this yesterday. All plot critiques Eric has made are just as relevant for the novel; they are by no means a function of the movie, and indeed the screenwriter has done a fantastic job, in my opinion, of streamlining the rather verbose book (Rowling has needed a bolder editor for the last 2 or 3 novels) and of capturing Harry’s teen angst without resorting to the constant yelling (rendered in the text in all caps) of the novel. The movie is visually darker and much more contemporary in feel than the first movies, and I would agree with Eric that Staunton’s turn as Umbridge is quite effective.
As for relying on past movies…perhaps I’m easier on this movie because I sat through the befuddling Pirates of the Caribbean movie, which made me turn to my companion and ask “remind me–who/what/why….?” every 5 minutes for 3 hours. This movie, on the other hand, seems perfectly clear.
I think fans of the earlier movies will enjoy this very much.
Posted by altheasus (Althea Schnacke) on July 13, 2007 at 2:23 p.m.
I read “Harry has an evil madam out to murder him” instead of “madman”. Maybe that would spice up the franchise?
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