Harry Potter Movie (no spoilers!)
Vitriola — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 05:58
Well, I saw it yesterday. I took the afternoon off to get he $7.50 matinee price. :(
Two observations, neither is a spoiler.
1. I had heard that this movie would be a two parter. It was not.
2. I know the books well, having read them a few times. This movie was unrecognizable to me. It was so radically different that I found it difficult to follow from time to time.
The more you know and love the Harry Potter books the more I suggest that you give this movie a miss. If you have not read the books, you might like it.
IMHO
Movies Books LOTR and Salvatore
Dragon — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 13:06Dear people who watch movies that are adapted off of books. Specifically LOTR and Harry Potter.
The 4th Harry Potter book was about 700 pages long, the last book was somewhere in the realm of 900 pages long.
The average 2.5 hour movie script is 125 pages. Or to think of it another way. The average movie script is 1 page/minute of movie. Thus you will have to cut out some things in order to make it a movie. The best books turned movies are quite often short stories.
As far as LOTR goes. Sorry I love Tolkien and the writing but he needed a god damn editor. I live with authors and I see the development of published fiction quite often. Tolkein needed and editor and Peter Jackson was that editor. The books are still good but the LOTR movies are just as good in their own right. Minus the end taking 30 minutes in the 3rd movie.
As far as R.A. Salvatore, Drizzt Wulfgar and Dragons. Cromi is right when he talks about Salvatore and battles. He tries to be precise and not take things TOO over the tops. I tend to pick up his new book every October when it is realized. I really like him as an author, especially since we got past the Emo-Wulfgar series.
TL;DR: Average movie is 125 pages, sorry your 700 page books don't all fit on the screen. Tolkein needed an editor, his editor happened to be named Peter Jackson. Salvatore is amazing.
There is a difference between
Ardea — Fri, 07/17/2009 - 05:21There is a difference between movies leaving details out due to time constraints versus details and events in the movie being completely different than the book they are based on.
As for me I consider movies to be a completely different story than the book... it frees me from comparing the two and as a result I generally like both.
Wow, I hated the emo-Wulfgar...
I've had this argument with
Cdhabro — Fri, 07/17/2009 - 15:16I've had this argument with friends too often to invest much here...
If it needs to be considered a different story give it a different title and say "based on"
/endrant
I understand your point.
Vitriola — Fri, 07/17/2009 - 16:04I understand your point. With a movie like "Starship Troopers" that was possible for me. I, Robot also, but it was more annoying. However, where there is such violence to the story that there are holes in the plot that cannot be properly filled, that is something wholly other. I will not name them here as we are avoiding spoilers. In this case, I just do not see how the story can stand up after this.
IMHO
p.s. I do know that some people can enjoy movies that others cannot. It is just that, in this case, it was more than I thought workable.
Ya the Emo-Wulfgar was bad.
Dragon — Fri, 07/17/2009 - 08:28Ya the Emo-Wulfgar was bad. REALLY bad
I got through a chapter of
cromi — Fri, 07/17/2009 - 09:27I got through a chapter of spine of the world until I realized it was only wulfgar in melancholy and the people in another city I skipped over it. Already tells you what happens anyways in the book right after it,
It's not about the amount of pages per say but what happens in those pages. As a 4th book harry potter had in details that were essential to the 5th book and 6th book even. And then leaving those out of the movie for your quiditch world cup(first cup I think Ireland has won in a long time not counting lacrosse happy for that)1st task 2nd task 3rd task.(SPOILER OF 4TH MOVIE BUT SERIOUSLY PEOPLE IF YOU ARE READING THIS THREAD RIGHT NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE 4TH MOVIE OR READ THE BOOK ONLY THE 4TH MOVIE!!!!.) The ball, and then voldemort coming back along with the fight and moody's imposter. That was about it. It left out details such as rita skeeter, It didn't leave an audience guessing what would happen by crouch finding harry, IT was fail. The 7th book has alot of events in it too. But it is spread out farther.
One I finnally broke my
cromi — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 11:06One I finnally broke my I'm-no-longer-watching-harry-potter-movies ban last sunday at my aunts house because I had several hours to kill and the 5th movie was lying around.
1. A movie audience is different from the readers of a book I get that. Things have to be shown to a movie audience. But then you leave things out from the book that end up even leaving a movie audience confused because they haven't read the book don't realize that. The script lately seems to have been written by people who skim over the book. They don't understand the where the book is going. and it ends up leaving these plot holes.
2. Everything is based on action. It isn't about action the demographic they are trying to reach though only seems to understand action and american movies always seem to turn out the same way. Action is all it is based around and all commercial but action isn't a large part of a book. I think the movies should have been done by a bbc because american producers always seem to do this to any movie. Put in tons of action and hopefully they will realize how much we screwed up. It was done and then it ends up ruining the movies because you center it around action which is the wrong place for it to be. The only action needed is at the end.
3. two part 7th movie? Really? two parts in the last movie is only so that they can exploit it as much as possible before throwing it away and picking up the billions of dollars they will be getting. The 4th movie should have been done in two parts and they didn't and only showed what the 3 events and it was over? Plot holes then arise because they don't understand what needs to be shown.
4. They don't understand what rowling is getting at. She doesn't care about action or anything of the sort. I think the book has some actual meaning pertaining to it is set in brittain has alot to do with a persons blood and that seems to alot about anglo-saxons blood. Everything is out of the norm.
5. The 5th book was a bit dark. Not crazy dark though. It had its good part. Not every movie has to be in this crazy dark way like the director does to the movie. It doesn't need to be dark to be good or to showcase the book. The book seems dark because the people against voldemort seem to be the only ones against him. But other than that it just doesn't lead you in the right direction to have a movie that is all gloomy.
I stopped watching movies really after the 4th movie it got to a point where I told myself to watch it again would ruin it. And I did watch the 5th movie and I was dissapointed again. they are not eragon bad to where everything in the book has been changed and you can't go through 10 min of the movie (seriously I walked out of the theater 10 minutes into the movie) But they fail to see what theyre doing wrong in the book and half the time they leave a person more confused about the movie than they started. The first and second movies were good and on the point. The third, fourth and fifth movies left me at a point where I was wondering who approved the movie and were they drunk when they did so.
d'accord!
Vitriola — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 11:17"they are not eragon bad to where everything in the book has been changed and you can't go through 10 min of the movie (seriously I walked out of the theater 10 minutes into the movie) But they fail to see what theyre doing wrong in the book"
I thought the same thing about the remake of Tolkien, many oscars notwithstanding.
Was the Eragon movie really that bad? I never read the book(s) though I saw the movie. I just thought that it was star wars with medieval magic and moved on. Perhaps I should give those books a shot. (I assume that you recommend them.)
Ya they are good books. I do
cromi — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 11:42Ya they are good books. I do warn you though the plot is a little teency bit like star wars. If you are going for any great books that you haven't read I suggest R.A Salvatores forgotten realms books. The drizzt ones I would say. The guy knows combat and can write it. They are not corny at all.
The movie really was that bad that I walked out 10 min into it.
LOTR. I looked the other way kind of. Like when the elves show up at helms deep kind of ticked me off a bit. And when he gets the sword at the very end.
LOTR! :(
Vitriola — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 11:50Don't get me started on the LOTR movies. No Bombadil? Arwen replacing Glorfindl? And elf out drinking a dwarf? (Remember, it was elves that could not drink that got the dwarves out of the fortress of the elven king in "the hobbit".) Saruman dying in Eisengaard? Hobbits returning home and no one knowing the difference? GRRR!
ok. /deep breath
I have read the books about Drizzt. Actually, I liked them a lot, though a ranger and a barbarian taking down a dragon by themselves was a stretch. Menzoberranzan is a scary place. I would never have survived.
I wouldn't say so. In the
cromi — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 12:40I wouldn't say so. In the books if you notice drizzt knows when to run, and when to attack. When he goes through the lair of the dragon on his way to icewind dale in sojourn they don't take down the dragon. The only reason He is able to take out the dragon in that is because of a large icicle. I can see that working. Part of what is great is that R.A Salvatore gives infinite details on the combat and his character thinks as his self. Almost like Drizzt is not just an extension of R.A salvatore but his own living breathing seperate creation.
Yes I could go into more details on LOTR. But for what I've seen in my fair share of movies. I'm just glad they got 85% of the book right.
disregard
Vitriola — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 11:51Somehow, this got duplicated. Sorry
Having read the books several
jaibyrd — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 07:36Having read the books several times, I still enjoyed this movie Vit.
Rumor is a lot of the stuff
Ewiges — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 08:32Rumor is a lot of the stuff in this movie that was missing will be in part one of the last book.
it was the final book thats
Lunchbox — Thu, 07/16/2009 - 06:06it was the final book thats going into two movies not this one.
ANY DISCUSSION OF THIS MOVIE IN GAME WILL TAKE PLACE IN DFHP. please do not ruin it for the rest of us even if we have read the book.