Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
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Taglines:
- Something Wicked This Way Comes.
- Have you seen this wizard? Approach with extreme caution! Do not attempt to use magic against this man!
- Everything will change.
- The time has come.
- Cast Your Spell In IMAX.
- Mysteries will unfold.
- Character will be tested.
- Darkness will descend.
Contents
Synopsis
A mysterious convict, Sirius Black, escapes from Azkaban and sets his sights on Hogwarts, where dementors are stationed to protect Harry and his peers.
Cast
Locations
Some of the sets for the film were built in Glen Coe, Scotland, near to the Clachaig Inn. The indoor sets, including sets built for the previous two films, are mainly in Leavesden Film Studios. The Hogwarts lake was filmed from Loch Shiel in the Highlands of Scotland. Incidentally, the train bridge which was also featured in the Chamber of Secrets movie is opposite Loch Shiel and was used to film the sequences when the Dementor arrived on the train. A small section of the triple-decker bus scene, where it weaves in between many different cars, was filmed in Palmers Green in North London. Some parts were also filmed in and around Borough Market in London.Reactions
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban got generally positive reviews. At Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 88%; on the Internet Movie Database, it currently has a 7.8, tied with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the highest IMDB rating. Richard Harris, who played Albus Dumbledore in the first two films, passed away, and was replaced by Michael Gambon. While Gambon's portrayal in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was bashed, it was acclaimed in Prisoner of Azkaban. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter improved as well, though some went as far to say that his anger scenes were horrible. Though she acted well, Emma Watson's Hermione was not as in-character as in the first films, but her "embellished" character was generally accepted. Some say that Rupert Grint has nailed his portrayal of Ron Weasley, even though crucial lines were taken away from him, such as, "If you're going to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too," and instead given to Hermione. Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltrane were described as flawless, while Maggie Smith had less than ample screen time.
Trivia
- The film was released on June 4th, 2004 in the United States and Canada.
- Musician Ian Brown makes a cameo appearance as a wizard in The Leaky Cauldron reading A Brief History of Time.
- The score was composed and conducted by John Williams and released on CD on May 25, 2004.
- The costumes were changed slightly for this installment, specifically the house ties and scarves have a different pattern than in the first two films.
- The set of Honeydukes seen in this film is a redress of the set of Flourish and Blotts seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which, in turn, was a redress of the set of Ollivander's from the first film. This means the same set was used in all three films, but it was used as a different location in each.
- The film broke several opening records around the world upon its release, including the top grossing film in UK film history, and made approximately £20m in its first 3 days, totaling £90.3m British pounds in ten days. As of September 28, 2005, the film had grossed $US 785m worldwide.
- In the Netherlands the film was given a special rating of 9.
- The Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia) initially rated the film M for "horror elements" (recommended for audiences 15 and over years of age), but the rating was lowered to PG on appeal to "some fantasy scenes may frighten young children".
- David Thewlis, who plays Professor Lupin, originally tried out for the part of Professor Quirrell in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
- J. K. Rowling said she "got goosebumps" from seeing this film because it contained things that inadvertently foreshadowed information to be revealed in coming books. This comment has created speculation among fans as to what these things might be.
- The dementors were inspired by nightmares J.K. Rowling had as a teenager.
- The Runic symbols on the sign that Sirius Black holds in the wanted posters spell "PR," so the whole thing says "PR390" or "Prisoner 390."
- Director Alfonso Cuaron originally wanted to move away from CGI toward puppetry, and worked with master puppeteer Basil Twist, particularly on the depiction of the Dementors.
Alterations from the book
Backstory
- No explanation is given as to why Snape hates both Sirius and Lupin so much.
- The book explains that Sirius was supposed to be the Potter's "Secret Keeper" and thus he would have been the only one who could have told Voldemort their location. This is the reason why everyone so strongly assumed his guilt. At the last moment, however, he gave the task to Peter Pettigrew and only he and the Potters knew about it. In the film, it is only mentioned that he was one of the few people that knew where the Potters were living in hiding.
- The explanation of how Sirius escaped from Azkaban and his knowledge of Pettigrew's location is not in the film, unlike the book where he tells that he saw a picture of Pettigrew (in rat form) in The Daily Prophet.
- In the movie, there is a scene where Hermoine is attacked by a branch of the Whomping Willow. The first thick branch tries to trip her, but she leaps four feet into the air to dodge it. A second branch comes at her and though she tries to jump it, it catches her and in desperation, she wraps her arms and legs around the branch and holds on for dear life as it swings her around, and she eventually grabs onto Harry and throws him into the passage beneath the Willow. In the book, the tree attacks, but the whole fiasco with Hermoine is avoided and Crookshanks simply touches the knot of the tree to stop its movement.
Omissions
- In the book, Hermione experienced a small mental breakdown due to the fullness of her schedule and complexities of time travel.
- Sir Cadogan was cut from the movie, although he can be seen in deleted scenes on DVD. However, he was seen in a couple of pictures while The Fat Lady was still singing with Harry and his friends trying to say a password.
- The episode when Sirius sneaks into the Gryffindor dormitories was omitted, though events which happen afterwards are present in a deleted scene on the DVD, and in the background in one scene.
- Buckbeak had a series of trials and appeals that occurred throughout the year, only one is implied in the film. Also, there is no mention of Hermione helping Hagrid prepare.
- Unlike in the previous films, Professor McGonogall's Transfiguration class is not shown, nor is Snape's Potions class. Instead, the film shows only those classes taught by new teachers: Divination with Professor Trelawney, Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid, and Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Lupin.
- Harry's mirror in the Leaky Cauldron does not "speak".
Alterations
- Buckbeak was portrayed on the cover of the book with a more traditional griffin head, i.e. two tufts of feathers sweeping back from his head, and a face reminiscent of a Golden Eagle. In the film he is clearly portrayed as part Harpy Eagle instead.
- In the book, the Dementor's Kiss is a dementor clamping its mouth to its victim's mouth, while in the movie, the Kiss appears to suck out the soul without any physical contact.
- In the book, the Time Turner Harry's Patronus (stag) gallops across the lake and charges down the dementors, while in the movie, it emanates a force that drives them away. Furthermore, the Time Turner Harry does not attempt to pat his Patronus.
- In the movie, the presence of Dementors is shown to instantly frost over the surrounding environment; in the books, they were merely described as surrounded by a chill.
- A shrunken head, voiced by Lenny Henry, is added to the Knight Bus.
- Harry is caught with the Marauder's Map by Snape while wandering around at night trying to find Peter Pettigrew. In the book, it's after his second visit to Hogsmeade.
- In the book, Harry was caught by Malfoy using the invisibility cloak.
- In the book, the jug of milk in Hagrid's hut is broken because it is dropped while in the movie it is broken by a snail shell thrown during the time shifting sequence.
- Harry and Lupin get their first indication that Peter Pettigrew may be alive when Harry sees his name on the map, rather than in the Shrieking Shack scene.
- "Moony" is spelled "Mooney" as an in-joke referring to Karl Mooney, one of the visual effects supervisors. In the DVD subtitles, it is spelled "Moony" as it was in the book.
- Romantic tension between Ron and Hermione is more purposefully implied than in the book, despite many film critics falsely inferring the unintentional chemistry between actors Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson as a foreshadowing of a relationship between Harry and Hermione. J. K. Rowling approved of the implied Ron/Hermione relationship. One good example of romantic tension between Ron and Hermione in the movie is when they hear the axe fall, after leaving Hagrid, Hermione suddenly begins crying and hugs Ron.
- In Lupin's class, the boggarts are different from the book. For example, Ron confronts the boggart spider by giving it roller skates rather than removing its legs and Parvati Patil's boggart is a snake in the film, whereas it was a mummy in the book. In the book Lupin intercepts the boggart before Harry can face it. In the movie, Lupin's boggart took the picturesque form of an obvious full moon whereas in the book it was described as being a "silvery-white orb", leading the students to wonder why Lupin is afraid of crystal balls.
- Snape (who was going to bring Lupin his Wolfsbane Potion) discovered him heading for the Whomping Willow. He used Harry's Invisibility Cloak to follow Lupin in the book but wasn't wearing it in the film.
- In the Quidditch match in which Harry falls from his broom, he sees the image of the Grim in the clouds; in the book he sees Sirius in the crowd as his black dog alias.
- While in the Shrieking Shack, only Harry attacks and knocks out Snape, as opposed to Harry, Ron, and Hermione together.
- In the film, when Lupin is teaching Harry how to perform the Patronus Charm, the happy memory that allows Harry to be successful is Harry "just talking" with his parents (which was actually a dream Harry had, not a memory); in the book the memory is of Hagrid telling him he is leaving the Dursleys' to go to Hogwarts.
- Originally Harry spent two weeks at London and bought all his books by himself except for Monster Book of Monsters which was his birthday present by Hagrid. In the film, Cornelius Fudge provides Harry with his books the night he runs away from the Dursleys.
- In the book, Mr. Weasley did tell Harry about Sirius Black, but Harry had overheard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking about Sirius Black first, which is how Harry found out about him.
- In the book when Harry was caught with the Marauder's Map by Snape, Lupin was called using the fireplace (floo powder network).
- The Three Broomsticks scene where Harry learns that Sirius is his godfather is set differently. In the book, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in the Three Broomsticks and overhear the conversation while hiding under a table. Eventually Ron and Hermione just looked at Harry, lost for words. The movie has Harry use his invisibility cloak to eavesdrop on the conversation, which is held in a private room of the Three Broomsticks.
- In the movie, Harry threw snowballs at Malfoy while they were near the Shrieking Shack, in the book this scene happened in spring, Hermione wasn't with them and Harry threw mud.
- In the film, when Lupin transforms into a werewolf, Snape appears to instinctively shield Harry, Ron, and Hermione, placing himself in danger.
- In the book, Lupin's wolf form is described as being extremely similar to a true wolf's. In the movie, he was given a humanoid form, similar to other movie werewolves, except he was rather skinny and under nourished looking. His transformation scene in the film involved Sirius trying to make him gain control. In the book, Sirius merely leapt in to fight him the moment he transformed. Also, after his fight with Sirius, in the book, Lupin merely ran into the forest. In the movie, he managed to sneak up on the children and was about to attack when Buckbeak appeared and drove him off. This may foreshadow the idea of the hippogriff being loyal to Harry.
- In the book, when Sirius is captured at the end, he is locked in Professor Flitwick's office. The film has Sirius locked in a high tower.
- At the end of the book, Ron receives, Pig, his owl from Sirius. He does not receive the owl at the end of the movie (nor does it appear in the sequel).
- In the book, a letter sent by Sirius tells Harry that he sent the Firebolt at Christmas. But in the film the Firebolt makes its only appearance at the end, and it is sent with one of Buckbeak's feathers giving Harry and friends a clue as to who sent it.
- In the book, Hermione slapped Malfoy, whereas in the film, she punched him.
- In the book, Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs within the Marauder's Map each had individual replies to Professor Severus Snape's inquiry of the Map. On the other hand, the film portrays the Marauder's Map as exchanging only one comment from the collective Messrs.
- In the book, before Hermione and Harry travel back in time, they cannot take Ron because he was rendered unconscious by Peter Pettigrew, while in the movie, they don't take him because his leg is broken, though he is fully conscious.
- In the book, Hermione turns the Time Turner only three times. In the movie, the Time Turner is turned well beyond the required number, even though Dumbledore tells Hermione that only three turns should do the trick.
- In the book Harry performs the patronus charm alone when he sees himself in the past with Hermione and Sirius at the lake when the dementors attack them all, whereas in the film when Harry performs the patronus charm in the past he is with Hermione and he sees himself with Sirius at the lake.
Comparison to preceding films in the Harry Potter series
The third film departed from several conventions set in the first two movies, and had several stylistic changes. This is mostly due to the introduction of a new director to the series, but may also be explained by the fact that the third book of the series was significantly longer than the previous two books, and the director was given more freedom to adapt the book in the interest of screening time. Overall, this film is about ten minutes shorter than the previous films.Darker tone
The Prisoner of Azkaban introduces a tone that is darker than the previous Harry Potter films. This change is attributed to both Alfonso Cuarón and the source material. There is also greater degree of physical darkness in the third film than in the first two.All the Harry Potter books contain scenes relating to the mystery/adventure aspect of the stories along with emotional scenes designed to explore the characters. The first two films had a tendency to focus mainly on the mystery/adventure aspect, leaving out most of the emotional scenes, which inevitably bred criticisms of a lack of character development and related issues.
In the third film, the paradigm was reversed with more emphasis on Harry's angst than on the plot mechanics and literal faithfulness to the narrative. Some felt that this created a murky plotline (see "murky" plotting below,) but most film critics and many fans were more than pleased with these changes, believing it made the film stronger and the characters more interesting and believable than the two previous.
Continued changes to Hogwarts Castle and surrounding landscape
Some fans felt upset with minor continuity issues between the two previous, including the landscaping and layout of Hogwarts. Despite the fact the Harry Potter films are not considered canon, some fans found the lack of continuity irksome. These contradictions include:
- Hogwarts Castle continues to change design and landscape. In this film, the "Dark Tower" and the "Clock Tower" were added to the castle.
- In the first two films, Hagrid's hut is a short distance from the castle across a meadow, but in the third film it is much farther away and surrounded by hills.
- In the first two films there are no mountains surrounding Hogwarts, but in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Hogwarts is featured in an enclosed mountainous valley, which is closer to the actual description in the books.
- In the first two films, the Fat Lady's portrait was at the end of a long hallway, but in the third film it's moved to the room with the moving stairs.
- Hagrid's hut is larger than in the first two films. However, this is consistent with the original description in the book.
- In the second film, the Whomping Willow is right next to the castle, whereas in the third film it is now farther away from the castle, and is on a hilltop.
- The hospital wing is moved to the top of a clock tower, with a view of the clock's face just beyond the doors. In the first two films, only a blank wall is visible beyond the doors.
- There is a large wooden bridge that didn't appear in any of the previous movies, but is suddenly (and conveniently) there.
- The Trio's wands have changed from the previous first two movies and it seems as they are going to stay the same throughout the film franchise. Ron had to have a new wand which is 14 inches in length. Hermione's wand is now vinewood with vine carvings throughout the wand and is 15 inches in Length (J.K Rowling has confirmed that hermione's wand is Vinewood). Harry's now 14 inch wand is the most changed, the handle appears to be made from a tree branch with bark while the shaft appears to be either redwood or rosewood and is not polished but rather rough.
- The Fat Lady is a different actress portrayed in the previous movies and is given a touch of personality.
\"Murky\" plotting
Detractors say that, in contrast to the smooth and detailed rendition of the book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban features a hasty and fragmented succession of often unconnected events, creating a plotline Roger Ebert described as "a little murky" in his largely positive print review. Entire patches of the original plot have been either left out or significantly altered. This is mainly due to the necessity of reducing a vast and ever-growing quantity of facts in a relatively short length of time. Obviously, the worry is that viewers who had not read the book would be at a loss to understand what is going on.DVD
External links
- [Official site]
- [UK official site]
- [Official trailer]
- [Mistakes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]
- [Film Sculptor] Special Effects
| J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Philosopher's Stone | book | film | game |
| Chamber of Secrets | book | film | game |
| Prisoner of Azkaban | book | film | game |
| Goblet of Fire | book | film | game |
| Order of the Phoenix | book | film) | |
| Half-Blood Prince | book | film) | |
| Unnamed seventh book | book) | ||
| Other books | Other games | ||
| Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | |||
| Quidditch Through the Ages | |||
| – Characters – Places – Translations – Fandom – Related articles | |||
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