(hopefully new) Movie Comments

[frantyck at yahoo.com]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., codex79 at y... wrote:
> And speaking of potions class ... what on earth was that grand 
> entrance about?! It was positively fake, overly dramatic, and the 
> lines Rickman delivered seemed incongruous and lacking in context. 
I > always imagined him menacingly whispering those lines, not 
raging and > half-shouting. Alright, I do admit it was darned cool 
though.

Yes and no... a dangerous whisper *would* be more like the book-
Snape, but I imagine Snape has a natural sense of drama, in the film 
(the billowing robes) and in the books (all that black). Snape 
leaping almost eagerly into the classroom was too perky, though, and 
detracts from his threatening aura somewhat. It's also a little out 
of character, given that he normally moves so silently, coming upon 
people by surprise. (You touched upon this sense of drama further 
down in your post, "closet drama queen," <cackle!>)


And > that part where he favours Malfoy with a glance - was it to 
make up > for all the cut-out scenes where he displays favouritism 
or to set up > for the plot in later films?

This bit seemed hammy... I don't think Snape would gaze quite so 
lovingly at Malfoy, or at least so obviously. He can't have met the 
boy often. His father, sure, but hardly the boy.


> Another aspect that served to confuse Snape's relationship to 
Harry > are his expressions.

Also confusing for me was that moment when Snape stops behind Harry 
at the Gryffindor table during breakfast before the Quidditch match, 
to wish him luck. I don't understand the utility of that, except to 
offset his later 'jinxing' of the broom, show his concern for Harry. 
A "huh?" moment for me.


> Perhaps, as other people mentioned > earlier, Rickman had studied 
the post-GOF Snape persona and tried to > hint at it in his role.

That's possible! Still, softening Snape does throw the balance of 
the first book/story. There's no villain left.


> Like others, I also noticed the use of first names during 
the 'Dark' > Forest segment.
[snip much] Harry > and Draco Malfoy are on the same side in that 
moment, united in their > fear and their common experience.

That's a thoughtful explanation. Still, weren't they using first 
names before they had reason to be truly terrified?


> Overall, the movie was darker and more grown-up than I expected, 
> especially for book 1.

It oscillated a bit. Some of the humour and twitches were obviously 
designed for kid-laughs and cheers (the wrong-wand disasters at 
Ollivander's; Biggerstaff' silly, un-charged look at Flint when he 
blocked that goal; Finnigan's exploding jape; Hagrid's line, etc.), 
and the scary stuff was disappointingly uncerebral, unlike the 
books. There was no growing sense of tension, the rat-in-the-maze 
claustrophobia of being confined in a school where some awful danger 
lurks and strengthens, of the universal scope of this danger... this 
turns up only at the end, and imperfectly. The viewer should enter 
the last chamber along with Harry, purged and shriven almost, with 
everything focused on the do-or-die moment. This is really what is 
scary, the sheer absence of second chance. Tough to show, despite 
Grint's urgent speech just before he gets knocked off his stone 
horse.


> A final comment I would like to offer is that the movie was, in a 
> way, Rowling's opportunity to go over the material in PS/SS and 
make > any changes she may have wanted to make in light of how she 
had > further developed her characters.

This is a very interesting point. We know that she read the script 
and at some level okayed the sets and props and details, but whether 
she had a role in the weighing of the film as a whole, I wonder.


> And the chess game ... yeah, I loved it too. But, doesn't the 
chess > board seem much smaller than normal (i.e. fewer squares 
between the > two sides)? And, while the destruction is certainly 
impressive and > all, I preferred the book-version where they just 
get knocked down. 

Yes, did anyone compare the chess board which Ron and Harry were 
using in the Great Hall with the one in the chess task? I agree with 
your other chess points.

Thoughtful post.