About Gambon as Dumbledore

[Steve]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at yahoogroups.com, "sionwitch" <sionwitch at y...> wrote:
>
> ...edited... 
> I don't want to be dramatic, but ... I was sad ... there was
> no Dumbledore in it, there was some hippie jumping around, 
> screaming all the time, attacking Harry, and afraid of the 
> little sparks that came out of the goblet ...
> ...edited...
> ...edited...
> Can you picture Gambon playing the powerful Dumbledore that 
> fight Voldermot in the MoM in OoTP?, or can you picture Gambon 
> accepting stoically his amount of guilt in Sirius death and 
> making the mistake of not telling Harry about the prophecy 
> earlier?. I definitely can picture Harris doing all of that,
> and Gambon performance only makes Harris death all more sad.
> ...edited...
> 
> Sionwicth
> "Never insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me" PS/SS.
>

bboyminn:

While I am not particularly fond of Gambon as Dumbledore, I can live
with it. I think I would personally prefer Partick Stewart (Captain
Picard - Star Trek NG) who I think has both the ability to express
power and the quiet dignity necessary to create a believable
Dumbledore. None the less, the die (an actor) is cast, and is likely
there for the long haul.

As a further note, we must make some allowances for Gambon's portrayal
of Dumbledore. Ultimately, all he can do is read the script and follow
the Director. I'm sure he has some say, and some suggestions, for his
portrayal, but ultimately it is the Director's responsibility to get
it right.

It seems important to the story that Dumbledore NOT start shouting at
Harry. In fact in most cases, Harry finds Dumbledore's calm quiet
intense stare far more guilt inducing that any shouting. In most
cases, we see Harry wishing Dumbledore would shout at him; it would be
much better than those cold accusing eyes. I think this calm intensity
is what Harris brought to the roll. He seems like the kind of guy that
could indeed make people quail and cower with nothing more than a glance. 

Perhaps Gambon could do the same thing if he were given the proper
direction. Perhaps in some sense, he is playing Dumbledore differently
that Harris on purpose, so that, in a sense, he makes the roll his own
rather than merely an extension of Harris's version of Dumbledore.
BUT, and this is a very big BUT, his primary obligation is to play his
role independant of Harris, and to be true to the character as he
lives in the books. To do the opposite of Harris, in a sense, is to
still let Harris dictate Gambon's version of Dumbledore. It's the
books he needs to stay true to, but that is very hard if he has never
read the books. 

Since he hasn't read the books, Gambon is completely dependant on the
writer and the director, to create the character for him. So, while we
may not like Gambon's portrayal, let's remember that he doesn't create
that portray by himself. 

Personally, I'm voting for Peter Jackson (LotR-movie, King Kong) to
direct the final book. That man knows how to get to the heart of a
story. Not just to the central theme or central story thread, but to
the heart of the story.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn