POA Movie - view from a non-reader

[Marci]

I can post something along this line too.  I have a friend who 
supports (and often supplies) my Potter habbit, but she is patiently 
waiting for the series to be complete before picking up a book.  
However, she has seen each movie with me.  She said by far, POA was 
the best one.  She too had no trouble following, and found the 
locations of the Whomping Willow and Hagrid's Hut, without reading 
the books, to make more sense.  She can't wait for the next one and 
would actually like the POA DVD for herself when it comes out 
(November, by the way).

Marci

 AnitaKH <anita_hillin at y...> wrote:
> My sister would kill me if she saw the title.  In fact, she's an 
avid reader, and anyone who wants to know everything about the Civil 
War should contact her.  However, she has not read any of the Harry 
Potter series, hence the title.   We attended Prisoner of Azkaban a 
week ago, so I thought I would share her perspective.  (As you may 
imagine, I grilled her mercilessly after the movie.)
>  
> My sister, whom we will call "Janet," has seen the first two 
movies, and she was looking forward to seeing POA.  She tolerates my 
mania for the books and movies, although I try not to give away 
critical plot points.  Her younger son has read the books, but he is 
not prone to discussing novels with his mother, being 17 years old 
and in possession of his own car.
>  
> First off, I am pleased to report that Janet loved the movie, and 
after the above-mentioned grilling, convinced me she followed all the 
plot points.  She said it is important to pay attention, and bathroom 
breaks could be fatal to understanding the plot, but she was on top 
of all the twists and turns.  She said her heart sank when she saw 
Lupin hug Black, since she really liked him, but she was suspicious 
that he had a secret.  She was actually relieved to find out his 
secret was that he was a werewolf.  She also picked up on the 
antagonism between Snape and the other two, especially Sirius.  
>  
> Janet accepted without question that Lupin knew how to work the 
map, and she loved the idea that Ron's rat has been Peter Pettigrew 
all along.  She had no problem whatsoever with the changes in 
Hogwarts; even after we went home and watched "Sorcerer's Stone" on 
DVD, she found the visuals to be stunning in POA.  She just took the 
changes to be indicative of the passage of time at Hogwarts.  
>  
> Now, while Janet's not a rabid film buff or in the business, she 
has seen quite a few movies and is a fan of the genre, so she is not 
reluctant to make her displeasure known (e.g., we watched "The Big 
Chill" at my insistence, and she did NOT like it).   Therefore, I can 
say with confidence that she truly enjoyed the film and is looking 
forward to seeing Goblet of Fire.  She also knows she (or my nephews) 
will get the POA DVD from me, if it's out in time for Christmas.
>  
> I make no claims for Janet's response as the definitive "non-
reader's" viewpoint, but I did want to share that some non-readers 
are pleased with the movie and do not find the omissions puzzling.  
>  
> akh, who loved the movie but does miss seeing Herimone read a book 
upside down in the Firebolt scene from the book