wusmmik
11-24-2005, 09:22 PM
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire dir.Mike Newell, wr.Steve Kloves
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith
The fourth installment of J.K.Rowling's brilliant Harry Potter series is easily the best film yet. While I must confess upfront that I have only read the first book (I stopped because I honestly wanted to be totally surprised by the movies..but that first book was so good I read it twice), the films continue to get better and better.
Goblet of Fire is the first to really capture the epic storytelling of Rowling and function as a great film. Director Mike Newell ("Donnie Brasco" and one of my personal underrated favorites "Into The West") does a masterful job of handling this multifaceted story. He follows classic narrative rules (invoking Hitchcock in many places including one brilliant sound match that opens the film) and balances the action and character development in almost a chapter format. Unlike Chris Columbus' passable direction of "Sorcerer's Stone" and "Chamber of Secrets", Newell has a firm grip on everything taking the action to new, yet believable heights and then getting great performances out of all the actors developing characters and conflict.
And, oh what conflict there is in this one. Goblet of Fire marks Harry's first real tests..wait, I can tell you no more without spoiling it. All I can say is the children are having growing pains and change is constant in Year Four at Hogwarts. Steve Kloves is four-for-four on scripts now, with brilliant story development and dialogue that sounds like Shakespeare at times. Unlike, Alfonso Cuaron's "Prisoner of Azkaban", Newell gets magnificent performances out of the actors with few words.
The main trio is growing up and right before your eyes and so are the characters, while the supporting cast continue to lend their theatre presences to great material. In the case of the new Dumbledore, Michael Gambon, he is so brilliant in this installment that I completely forgot how much I loved Richard Harris in the role. Add the always reliable Brendan Gleeson as the new professor at Hogwarts and the sneering reliability of Alan Rickman, the matriarch Maggie Smith and more...but wait, again I can't tell you more because it will spoil the surprises.
With that I depart now, only to say if you are fan of the books you should not miss this one. And, if you are a neophyte..you should at least rent "Sorcerer's Stone" to get the backstory and then run to be quenched by "The Goblet of Fire"
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith
The fourth installment of J.K.Rowling's brilliant Harry Potter series is easily the best film yet. While I must confess upfront that I have only read the first book (I stopped because I honestly wanted to be totally surprised by the movies..but that first book was so good I read it twice), the films continue to get better and better.
Goblet of Fire is the first to really capture the epic storytelling of Rowling and function as a great film. Director Mike Newell ("Donnie Brasco" and one of my personal underrated favorites "Into The West") does a masterful job of handling this multifaceted story. He follows classic narrative rules (invoking Hitchcock in many places including one brilliant sound match that opens the film) and balances the action and character development in almost a chapter format. Unlike Chris Columbus' passable direction of "Sorcerer's Stone" and "Chamber of Secrets", Newell has a firm grip on everything taking the action to new, yet believable heights and then getting great performances out of all the actors developing characters and conflict.
And, oh what conflict there is in this one. Goblet of Fire marks Harry's first real tests..wait, I can tell you no more without spoiling it. All I can say is the children are having growing pains and change is constant in Year Four at Hogwarts. Steve Kloves is four-for-four on scripts now, with brilliant story development and dialogue that sounds like Shakespeare at times. Unlike, Alfonso Cuaron's "Prisoner of Azkaban", Newell gets magnificent performances out of the actors with few words.
The main trio is growing up and right before your eyes and so are the characters, while the supporting cast continue to lend their theatre presences to great material. In the case of the new Dumbledore, Michael Gambon, he is so brilliant in this installment that I completely forgot how much I loved Richard Harris in the role. Add the always reliable Brendan Gleeson as the new professor at Hogwarts and the sneering reliability of Alan Rickman, the matriarch Maggie Smith and more...but wait, again I can't tell you more because it will spoil the surprises.
With that I depart now, only to say if you are fan of the books you should not miss this one. And, if you are a neophyte..you should at least rent "Sorcerer's Stone" to get the backstory and then run to be quenched by "The Goblet of Fire"