Mostly (but not entirely) MOVIE: Sunday Times

[dfrankiswork at netscape.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 27469

I know that it's online and therefore in theory you have all read 
it.  But still I thought there were some interesting things in the 
text that we have not discussed.

1. Dumbledore's vanity.  The costume designer said that JKR sees 
Dumbledore as having personal vanity - he dresses up a lot, so there 
are frequent changes of clothing.  This was new to me, and thinking 
about it, and, while not inconsistent with what we already know about 
him, still gives me, at any rate, a new take on his character.  Is 
this a genuine addition to canon (if proved)?

2. The article more or less confirmed that the school uniforms in the 
movie *are* different from what is envisaged in the books. (I see 
that since I wrote this it has now been discussed.)  I am puzzled by 
the entrenched views about whether they wear underwear only or 
ordinary clothes beneath their robes (in canon).  I always get 
suspicious when people find reasons that mean their interpretation 
can be borne by the text, after all, rather than stepping back and 
trying to work out from scratch what might have been intended.

3.  Likewise, it was confirmed that Privet Drive in the movie is 
different from the thirties setting JKR envisaged.  I had always felt 
that the stills didn't fit my impression (see my message 22728 for 
why canon Privet Drive is thirties).

4. The movie (including trailer no 2) seems consistently to refer to 
the Forbidden Forest as the Dark Forest.  Why?

5.  Chair and benches.  This has pretty much been done to death, but 
I just wanted to say that at my college we all sat on benches, while 
the Fellows sat on chairs at the High Table.  The benches were about 
long enough to seat 6 - 8 people, and yes, there were various 
practical problems:

- one end would be too close to the table while the other too far 
away, requiring a synchronised jerk by all sitting there.  If not 
synchronised, it wouldn't move, and we'd have to try again or give up 
and be uncomfortable.

- they would move laterally too, so that you might be sitting on two 
benches, straddling a gap, or perched on the end, at the end of the 
table.

- yes, when we all got up, it would be noisy, and if just one of us 
got up, awkward (knees into the next guy's elbow, etc).

That's life; we got over the horror of it, and so too I'm sure will 
Hogwarts pupils (if indeed they sit at benches).

David