Here is my story about how I got involved with Harry Potter. -- First book came out -- I ignored it because it was a children's book and whole school systems were banning it because of the witchcraft content. I thought "Uh-Oh, someone didn't use good judgement" and didn't give it another thought. 2nd book came out, same thing. First movie came out, by then HP was being acclaimed the nation over as the series that had children reading again, the naysayers forgotten, the 1st movie hit with a bang. After I saw that, I thought, "hmmm pretty good", and decided to break down and read the novels. I started with the 2nd book, since I had just seen the first movie-- not bad. Then I read the 1st book, definitely a children's book and not too much for adult interest except for backstory and universe setup. Read the 3rd book -- really liked it. Read the 4th book - Wow! Read the 5th book-- fell in love, waited impatiently for the 6th book release, now waiting for the 7th book and for the conclusion of the story.
I have decided not to bore you with a summary of the story, you can get that information on one of the websites below or on the back cover at any bookstore. What I want to do is tell you my opinions and what I've learned about the series. First of all, the author, JK Rowling was a College English Literature professor and knows her subject. Therefore there is not one wasted name or reference in the books. Everything is based on either a latin root, historical figure, ancient alchemy, mythological creature, or a common monster that british children have been fearful of for generations. She has brought the monsters out of the closet and given them logical explanations so that we understand (wink wink) what they really are, and that they are no longer scary. As far as witchcraft practices or incantations, they are window dressing. This is not the children's witchcraft directory that it was initially accused of being. Instead it is a series based on friendship, bravery, and the ongoing fight of good vs. evil!
So here is where I compare books to movies with brief comments. You can get into plenty more detailed discussion on the websites below. Here goes:
Book 1: This is where it started. By the time JK Rowlings wrote this book, she had boxes of material, backstory galore, and had worked on the concept for 5 years. There are some cute things that happen, but all of that pales to the introduction of the story arc and universe. There is alot of foreshadowing of the future, and the concepts introduced here are but a glimpse of the future Harry Potter.
Movie 1: Here we have a wonderful introduction of the Harry Potter Universe, with lavish sets, costuming, some makeup and CGI to bring the story to life! It is dark with the child actors looking cute as cheribs-- just getting started on their acting careers, rounded out by the best of the best in british actors as the school teachers, etc.
Book 2:The first book I read, I thought it was so-so until I saw the movie. It gets into some of the history of Hogwarts, which is important for later, and we get our first detailed insight into the ultimate bad-guy: Lord Voldemorte. That's one thing not lacking in this series, we know everyone's motivations and viewpoints.
Movie 2:Same as movie 1, nearly every scene is there, good acting by the adults, I never tire of the dueling scene, though the parseltongue stuff is better dealt with in the book. I very much like the opening of the chamber of secrets, and the twist the story takes when they realize where it is. The dungeon scene in the end is a wonderful climax, with our first inkling of who Lord Voldemort really is.
Book 3:At the time my favorite book of the series, though the later volumes have surpassed it. It has a time travel plot, which might make some eyes roll, but it's handled very well and we get some good background into Harry's family history which is not covered in the movie.
Movie 3:This is where the path diverges. The idot who directed this
movie, responding to complaints about the first two movies being too long
and boring, decided to "add" new characters to the plot, and compensate by
cutting other scenes that were intregal to the plot! Idiot! The worst
parts are Harry's arrival at the Leaky Cauldron, some of the time travel
scenes which really drag! and the part where we get the big explanation,
except that it was cut too short compared to the amount of time that scene
gets in the book!
In all fairness though, there was some good stuff too. The Hogwarts grounds
look better than ever, and more believeable. We finally see the cast wearing
something besides their school uniforms. Every scene with Prof. Lupin in
it rocks, as well as the rest of the mauraders. Also the final climax
takes things a bit beyond the book, but JK says that it only foreshadows things to come!
Book 4: Book four was the first foray into an adult length novel. At 700 pages it was definitely a read. It varies between some really good scenes and silly scenes involving minor characters, and teenage angst. Whatever happened I couldn't get into the plot until I saw the movie. Maybe there were too many subplots to keep track of for me. I honestly don't know. However on readthroughs it really shines. What I especially like is how well the bad guy keeps his secrets until the very end. Also pay close attention to Voldemorte's speech in the graveyard. There is no, I repeat no evil overlord dialog. Instead we get heavy duty plot driven info that will send you rifling through previous volumes for the references. Nuff said.
Movie 4: Movie four is awesome in my opinion. They finally hired the right guy for this, and he deals with the teenage angst, the major plot points, etc. and did very well. There are absolutely divergencies from the book, but this time someone used common sense. As a result, the sillier, non-plot driven stuff was eliminated, the important lines given to someone else, and as a result, one character in particular is developed more in the movie than the book. Also the movie is darker than the book because of the above eliminations and plot tightening. Final word: excellent work!
Book 5: This is my favorite book. I loved it from day one, and if you re-read this book and the fourth book, you will find my favorite plot device of JK Rowlings and it's so cool the second time through. All the books contain some degree of misdirection, which you may believe the first time around, but for the record, just because Harry (or Hermione for that matter) thinks he knows what's going on, doesn't mean he's right. If you read between the lines, you can see when/what is actually happening once you know the ending. This is not to say you should read the ending first. It's more fun the other way. This book also starts dealing in earnest with the story arch, and there are some wonderfully dark scenes having to do with the whole world as we know it being torn apart! We get more good insights into what's going on between Harry and Voldemort, wizarding politics, conspiracies, wizarding society, discrimination, etc. etc.
Movie 5: Since the 5th movie came out awhile ago, I thought I'd review it. I've seen it twice in theaters, besides being my favorite book, I've read it so many times that I've practically memorized it. Therefore, when I saw the movie, the shortcuts they took were really glaring to me. Don't get me wrong, it is a really good movie, with really good acting and special effects. What I miss is the subtle humor that is inherent in the series. They somehow cut out almost all of it out. This makes the movie very dark and suspenseful. What I missed was almost all mention of Hogwarts activities! No mention about the Quidditch dissasters, classroom conversations including my favorite scene with Snape ("can you read Potter??") The twin's fireworks, although included were cut short (I really missed the swamp). The scene between Snape and Serius at Grimwald Place...cut! Nothing about the Owl exams or Harry's triumph there. And of course the ministry scene was again shown without any of the humorous stuff. What rocked was the ministry setting, the fight at the ministry once the adults arrived, and Dumbledore calling Voldemort, Tom. It would be nice one day, if someone made a movie including all the stuff that got cut out. It could easily make another complete movie. Oh well!
Book 6: At this point, the books are getting darker and darker, as the the story arch plot thickens. Harry is nearly an adult, but that is almost a side plot, as he has been thrust into adult responsibility since book four. Dumbledore takes him under his wing as a sort of apprentice in his fight against the evil doers, and we get a detailed account of Voldemorte's history that was reportedly cut from the 2nd book for length. It fits in well here, and although the action sometimes drags as we get detailed explanations, if you have followed the series so far, you will be on the edge of your seat just to find out what is really going on.
As a Movie, this will be interesting as most of the action takes place outside of Hogwarts. School activies are barely covered in the book, as Harry is living in almost a different world than his classmates. Also as a children's series, this contains ugly, dark, sinister behavior, and violence; which will make for some chilling and shocking moments on screen. The right director should be able to pull it off, but it's going to be like walking a fine line. Let's hope they don't mess it up when the time comes.
(Book 7 ***: This is the book we are all waiting for, the last book in the series, and JK has said main characters will die. Since she has killed a main character in all but one installment, we know she is NOT KIDDING! I only hope that Harry is alive at the end of the series! Of course sometime during this book will be the ultimate battle of good against evil with Harry and Voldemort locked in mortal battle. Otherwise it will be a distopic universe as evil overshadows good in the beginning of the story. I expect Harry to be alone and isolated during most of the book. Simultanously preparing for his adulthood and possible demise at the same time, his friends will stick as close as he lets them but his enemies will be around every corner. Release date July 21st.)
Book 7 **** I left my pre-release comments on the 7th book up to see how close
I came in my predictions. Well, I was really wrong!
First of all, JK never seriously thought about killing off Harry...
or Ron... or Hermione, like I thought she had. The character she had given
a reprieve to was Arthur Weasley. I have to say that a good portion of this
book was a bore and not up to her usual standards. Instead of exploring the
wizarding world, we only learn a little bit more about the HP universe this
time 'round. The first one half of the book was basically waiting around for
the ending. And what an ending it was. When I went to re-read this book, I
only re-read the last five chapters, twice! Six months later I am just now
considering slogging through the rest of it just to see if there was anything
interesting outside of goblin philisophy and Snape backstory. Yes it was more
adult than any of the other books, and that's what makes it more boring I
suppose. I really, really disagree with Ms. Rowling about not showing anything
about what's going on at Hogwarts til the end. It would have been really nice
about halfway though to have a chapter or two at least about Ginny Weasley,
Neville and the rest. I think she thought it would tip her hand a bit, but
again I disagree. The last few chapters are absolutely what we have been waiting
for and no fan should be disappointed with the wrapup of the series.
As a Movie This will be an easy one. Even though it may have 700? 900? pages, most of the beginning is dull as mud and can easily be summed up so that proper time can be spent on the last few chapters. I hope the body count isn't tinkered with, as JK did want a real war feel to it. Face it, nobody dies in Lord of the Rings except the bad guys.
Mugglenet - The Ultimate Fan Site
JK Rowling - The Author's Official Site
Wikipedia - A most
thorough examination of the HP Universe with all the details. Great info
for writers!
Red Hen Publications - The best fan fic site for longer stories.
Back to my Fan site