What I would have done...

[kchuplis]

I just saw GoF for the third time. I can't say how much I really thought they did a 
terrific job streamlining story and making it flow. My only quibble is the ending. I just 
don't understand why they didn't make more of an effort there to set up OoTP.

 IMO, they've made the transition to capslock!Harry tremendously more difficult for 
Dan Radcliffe and they did not set up the MoM conflict well at all. And all they would 
have had to do was some paralell editing during Dumbledore's eulogy for Cedric. 

Let's not have Harry smack in the middle of the student body, but rather, let's notice 
his absence. Keep the scene in every other way, including Ron and Hermione and cut 
in some parallel edits of Harry looking like hell in the hospital wing, perhaps with 
Molly at his side. Then seque into the scen with DD and Harry in the dorm. Add just 
one extra line like "We cannot convince the ministry that he's back, but the time has 
come when we must do what is right, not what is easy" or something similar. 

Then if we proceed to the ending scene as filmed (in which they did keep Harry from 
joining in the general goodbye taking, but I would have had him still a bit more 
separate, thoughtful) up to the point where Hermione says "everything has changed" 
and finish. That couldn't possibly have been more expensive and I don't think it would 
have added time and it would have been a much better frame up to OoTP and also 
really kept that feeling of an ending of the movie on it's own. 

Arrrrgh! OK, I just had to get that out of my system.

kchuplis