Feeling like a Gryffindor

Last Chance. Relive the Magic.

 

Since AT&T is my internet provider, I have access to HBO Max. Other than re-watching some Studio Ghibli classics, I have hardly taken advantage of what else is available. This is my first streaming service, so pardon my ignorance – I was surprised that opportunities come and go. All eight Harry Potter movies, probably contracted to build subscription when the service launched, are in the Last Chance category. HBO Max is telling me that I have a limited time to Relive the Magic.

 

I watched all eight movies when they were released on the big screen, but that was a while ago. And since I had been feeling like a dinosaur, and I wanted instead to be feeling like a Gryffindor, I thought this a good opportunity to revisit the movies before the new semester begins. Having re-read the books this January, I was reminded of how excellent they are!

 

Almost two decades ago, shortly after the first movie was released, I talked to one of my friends who had seen the movie, but had not read the books. I remember his remarks to this day: He thought the visuals were good, but had trouble following the story – he felt there were bits and pieces stitched together, but not necessarily well connected, and that the story seemed to jump from one event to another. It made me realize what a different experience watching the movies might be if you haven’t read the books. For me, it was cool to “see” Hogwarts. You get some sense of the school and its grounds, but there is some movie magic seeing it on the big screen. It was also interesting to see and hear the different characters, and be immersed in Harry’s world through a different medium.

 

This time around, I decided to skip the first two movies, partly because I remembered my friend’s remarks, partly due to my finding Lockhart in Book 2 annoying, and partly to avoid the dissonance when the actor playing Dumbledore switches from Richard Harris to Michael Gambon. Also, my favorite book is Book 3, and I had a vague memory that while the movie deviated considerably from the book, the depiction of the parallel key events that form the climax was cleverly done. I enjoyed the movie, although I found it “darker” than I remember (i.e., less suitable for kids), and I had forgotten how much the movie differed from the book. Having recently re-read the books, I was regularly surprised in many scenes, and thinking to myself “wait… that’s not how it happened”.

 

Now I do understand that when you adapt a book to a movie, you have multiple considerations: leveraging the different (visual) medium, the reduced time to tell the story, making hard choices to streamline the plot, and accounting for an audience that might not necessarily have read the books. I had given this issue a lot of thought when Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies were released. I’m somewhat of a Tolkien geek, having read the trilogy close to twenty times. Of the five DVDs I own, three of them are part of the boxed set extended-version. I’ve watched the movies maybe three to five times total, and I have many a bone to pick with Jackson’s choices, but I think I understand some of the choices made when deviating from the books.

 

But back to the Harry Potter movies. I contemplated skipping #4 and #5 on the list, because they are in the lower half of my book rankings. But then I talked myself into watching them to see the kids grow up. Also, Book 4 is a pivotal turn in the series; we get to see students from other schools, the behind-the-scenes “faithful servant” storyline is clever, and there are the spectacles of the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard tournament. The only vague memory I had of the movie was that the First Task was theatrically over-done and the Third Task was disappointing with moving hedges and wind blowing. My fresh viewing experience was disappointing indeed. My vague memory not only proved correct, I was unimpressed by the simplifying shortcuts that turned a rich story into a drab one. The simplified or modified portrayal of key characters was, I thought, poorly done.

 

Still I shouldered on. I couldn’t remember anything about the fifth movie, which should have been a Grim omen. Book #5 is lowest in my ranking. (It’s still good.) Yet it does have scenes of St Mungo’s and the Ministry of Magic, and if anything, the movie could take advantage of its visual medium to immerse the viewer in these settings. However I was even less impressed re-watching the fifth movie. No St Mungo’s. And I had the strong feeling of a story being chopped into tiny bits and strung along. I think it would be incomprehensible, or misleading, to someone who hadn’t read the book. Ugh. There’s much I could rant about, but I won’t. After watching it, I remarked to my spouse (who was also disappointed with the movie) that I can’t believe I paid money to watch this the first time around. She had a good reply: When you’re watching it for the first time on the big screen, perhaps you ignore some of the flaws. But on the small screen, there was no worthwhile magic to relive in this movie.

 

The sixth movie was a breath of fresh air. I had almost no recollection from my previous viewing, and I found the present viewing rather enjoyable! The story arc was well-maintained, and deviations from the book to streamline the key plots were, in my opinion, well done and effective. The new musical score, and judicious use of humorous scenes, kept the movie lighthearted and brisk, while taking seriously the darker parts of the plotline. There was only one significantly extraneous scene that I thought highly unnecessary, but as a whole, the movie held its own very well. I would even rate the sixth movie above the third movie (although I rank Book 3 higher than Book 6). I plan to watch the two movies covering Book 7 during the coming weekend. Back when they were released, I remember holding the minority view that the less action-packed Part 1 was as a movie, better than Part 2. We’ll see if I change my mind.

 

Overall, throughout the movies there were some cool Gryffindor scenes including being in classrooms and common rooms, the Quidditch pitch, and other areas in Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. For brief moments, it was feeling like a Gryffindor. As I apprehensively approach the online semester, I’d like to be a Gryffindor. Some of my students will probably think I’m a Ravenclaw. Others will think I’m an evil Slytherin. But I’m happy to be Hufflepuff. Just gotta keep putting in the hard work!

 

*Images from Google Web Search for Hogwarts House Banners. Not sure who first designed them.