Before we suffer through “Goblet of Fire”
I’ve never seen Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which makes it unique among the Harry Potter films. Before I ever picked up a Harry Potter book, I went to see Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of the Phoenix, and Half-Blood Prince in the theatres, the last of which encouraged me to read the series before the films ruined all the surprises for me. But without the books to keep the plots fresh and sensical, it was like I never saw any of them at all. While Sorcerer’s Stone stuck with me slightly (Harry’s a wizard!), the rest simply washed over me and made few impressions (as was made clear when I tried to predict where the story was going while reading). As an added bonus, without the key plot points of Goblet of Fire, the fifth and sixth films made no sense at all. I watched the pretty pictures dance across the screen last summer, but I didn’t really grasp what the heck was going on.
That said, I’m sure I saw five of the six films. As I read the books, fuzzy images from the films flashed in my head. They weren’t enough to figure out where the plot was going, but they confirmed that sometime long ago, I’d paid $10+ to sit in a crowded movie theatre, inhaling buttered popcorn and prying my feet off the sticky floor. I even had vague memories of seeing at least one film at the midnight release (maybe Order of the Phoenix?), because I recalled judging each and every person who showed up dressed as a wizard, complete with broom (or in the case of one amazing gentleman, complete with Swiffer Mop). Yeah, it was easy to judge from my comfortable place as a non-fan. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Reading Goblet of Fire was a little like reading Deathly Hallows – I had no context for it. Save for the spoiler that Cedric Diggory would meet his untimely demise at some point in the story, I had no idea what to expect in the least (and that spoiler only popped up when I leaned over to my friend during Half-Blood Prince and asked if Edward Cullen was in this film). Even as the plot unfolded, nothing seemed familiar. I didn’t have a single visual. Nada! Zip!
So it would be logical to conclude that I’m really looking forward to watching Goblet of Fire. Why wouldn’t I be excited to see what this mysterious film looks like?
Well for starters, I’ve heard absolutely awful things about this particular installment. Just atrocious things. Things that would make a Death Eater cringe.
Back in the days before I gave a lick about the Harry Potter series, I sort of laughed at how uptight fans got about the films. Every time someone whined that a “very important scene” was presented differently or left out entirely, I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breath “What do you expect? It’s an adaptation. Relax!”
“Whaaa! Whaaa! The director took liberties. Boo hoo! The film isn’t an exact regurgitation of the books. Gasp! Sob! I’m going to go cry in my butter beer.” I just couldn’t understand what the big deal was.
I still think that there is absolutely no way to redo a book perfectly on film. Something is always lost or changed. That’s the nature of the process. But now I’m a little more protective of the original work. I know what I want to see and how I want to see it, and if that’s not what I see, I may be seeing red.
There’s a lot about Goblet of Fire as a book that’s odd. The story jumps right on in with the death of Frank Bryce, a character we do not know yet in a location we are not familiar with. This uncharacteristic opening continues with the Quidditch World Cup, which keeps us away from Hogwarts far longer than usual. When we finally get to the school, we’re introduced to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, inundating the story with a whole new slew of young wizards. And from that point forward, the story pretty much centers around the Triwizard Tournament, which is a complete break from normal life at Hogwarts. Even the Moody/Barty Crouch Jr. plot twist is unpredictable and borderline pushing it. The whole book is weird. Not bad. Don’t misunderstand me. It’s not a bad book – just an unusual one.
Maybe I’m trying to give Mike Newell the benefit of the doubt. If I can punch some holes in the source material, I won’t feel so compelled to punch holes in him after seeing the film. It’s a faulty strategy and it won’t work, because J.K. Rowling is always right and the filmmakers are subsequently questionable, but you can’t blame me for trying.
Anyhoo…
I’ll be watching Goblet of Fire tomorrow night. And just for a change of pace, I will be blogging while I do so.
I won’t be posting each comment as it happens – that would result in an ungodly number of blog entries. But I’ll post the whole log, in order and with the appropriate time stamps, when everything is said and done.
That is assuming I’m still conscious after slamming my head against the TV in utter exasperation.
Yeah, I’m keeping my expectations low. From this point, I can only be pleasantly surprised.
There are plenty of reasons to enjoy this film. It is a fun film. As you say, all depends on just how much you care whether it stays close to the book.
And I agree with you that the whole start of this book is ‘different’; very busy with all sorts of characters and events that make it problematic to adapt.
So I imagine that it will come as no surprise to you that all the pre-Hogwarts events are hyper-compressed.
I don’t think you’ll *hate* GoF. At least, I hope you don’t. Having said that, there are moments in each film that I remember completely out of context for their loveliness: in SS, the child looking up at the individual (Voldy) holding the wand; in CoS, the shot at the end in the Great Hall where Hermione is walking in and Ron leans back to see her, and Harry leans *farther* back, big grin on his face; in PoA, well, pretty much the whole thing, from the flowers freezing when the dementors pass to the Whomping Willow snatching birds from the sky or sneezing its leaves off, to the fountains in the courtyard (why did we never see them before?), to the many, many shots of the mechanics of the clock (time in its most physical), to the patronus saving Harry and Sirius….. There are no such shots that come to mind from GoF.
Workmanlike. Hits the spots that must be hit. Not artistic. Not beautiful. There are many things that don’t even make any sense (at least to me — let’s see if they make sense to you).
We’ll chat.
Laura – I thought you might have liked the stained glass window shedding tears amongst the raindrops, or the crow merging into Harry’s dream?
{Whispers} We haven’t gotten there yet.
But no, while I liked each image you mention, they don’t come back to me unbidden, as the ones I mentioned did. And especially, believe it or not, the image of the infant staring up at the wand-wielding individual. Breathtaking.
The only spot from GOF that always sticks out in my brain is the scene with the trio discussing Cho and they burst into laughter. I love that Newell’s team had basically an outtake that they loved so much that they left in it. It’s my favorite scene from Goblet, partly because it’s really the only one I can clearly remember except the Yule Ball scene with Hermione screaming at Ron.
I hated GOF to be completely honest. Before HBP it was the only one of the series I didn’t enjoy watching.
This may be a very biased point of view on my part because Goblet of Fire is my favorite book of the whole series. Something about the mix of light and dark in it, and maybe the fact it was my first Midnight premier book etc etc.
But I hate the movie. I mean I guess some parts of it are okay, I would say the little funny bits added into it were what made it okay for me. Because it wasn’t what I pictured in my head at all, and I agree with the comment above that it seemed like they just tried to hit the main points and leave it at that instead of taking into account that in HP world, the most tiny of details may turn into the biggest of plots.
I guess the only thing I can say for sure was all the boys looked very attractive in this movie. Especially Rupert and the Phelps twins. Oh well, maybe you’ll enjoy it a bit more than me!
GoF marks the first book where Harry is really becoming an adult. In the first three, he’s a child growing towards adolescence. GoF is menacing in a very adult fashion. The spider’s chase through the maze was enough to blast my eyes open. And —
We’ll talk after Jess has seen the movie.
From viewing the GoF poster, I already have a few thoughts on the costuming and hair choices for the male contingency of this film. I might have to disagree with your opinions here
Actually, Jess, I wouldn’t be surprised if Goblet is your favorite movie of the bunch. Action where there wasn’t action in the book. Thrills…. Well, I have to refresh my own memory of the movie, but now that I did that with watching Prisoner of Azkaban again, I see the plot holes or inner inconsistencies better. That is the main thing that bothered me in the movies. If the movie could at least be consistent with itself, even departing from the book wasn’t bad. So maybe Goblet, even being my least favorite movie, “wasn’t bad.” Azkaban was bad, I realize now, because of how Lupin handled the bit about Harry and the Bogart in the classroom and later talking about it. It was inconsistent.
“Actually, Jess, I wouldn’t be surprised if Goblet is your favorite movie of the bunch.”
No way. No WAY. No BLEEPIN’ way will this be Jess’ favorite. I’ll lay a quid on it. Heck, I’ll lay a SQUID on it.
You heard me — it’s calamari for everyone if GoF is Jess’ favorite movie! {Cheers from the calamari-loving throng.}
It is perhaps true that my disappointment in the movie is so palpable because GoF was the first HP book I read (via audiobook, as a commute special), and I loved it so much. But having watched all the movies (I have the luxury of owning them, and watching them as often, and in the order, I’d like), as disappointing as OoTP is, it at least has visual style while not telling the story. GoF tells the story without visual style or any panache whatsover, an unpardonable sin, IMHO.
Oh man, there’s the threat of a throw down and that throw down involves a cephalopod (or numerous cephalopods as the case may be).
I would be mighty surprised if GoF turned out to be my favorite HP film. So surprised, in fact, that I’m willing to enter this seafood contest. Laura can mail squid, I’ll mail the sauce. We’ll have calimari in no time.
Taking into consideration what I adored about PoA (mainly, the skill of the director to be true to the story without carbon copying the text on to the screen), I just don’t think Newell has it in him. The grumblings from the masses of HP fans preemtively confirm my suspicions.
This is also where I shoot dagger eyes at anyone who says PoA was bad. PoA was genius! Genius, I tell you! (((shakes fist)))
But we’ve covered that already.
Viewing tonight of GoF. Let’s see what happens when I comment off-the-cuff as the film unfolds.
PoA *was* genius. Beautiful.
And, um, Jess, *cough, cough* make sure I don’t have to mail that id-squay, okay? Thanks….
I guess it is pretty amazing that I could have followed your blog for so long, including going back and reading them all from the start, and still not know you very well! Ok, I’m willing to eat my sorting hat if you don’t love my least favorite diversion from the book. I liked PoA, but it also failed to be true to the book. And the thing I am most curious about is: How did you have any motivation to see more of the movies if the first ones failed to help you get much connection with the story.
I love that you are sort of assuming that if you didn’t like a film for a certain reason, I have a good shot of loving it for the very same reason. Haha! I’m not saying that assumption if off base, but it may not prove itself with THIS particular film.
But hey, if I’m wrong, not only do you get to gloat, but you get squid in the mail, possibly internationally.
Laura, are you from the UK? (I’m going off the quid comment here). Oh man, the postal service is going to hate you if you have to mail squid to everyone who read this entry. I’d say start stocking up, but it ain’t over until the fat lady guarding the Gryffindor common room sings.
Is Fern right? Am I right? Only time (and an unbiased viewing of GoF) will tell.
I promise to be honest. If I like it, I’ll like it with my tail between my legs.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…….
Ha ha, you make me laugh, Jess! Actually, I thought I was being rather cagey and non-committal by saying “I wouldn’t be surprised if…” And I said “…of the bunch,” which means of all the Harry Potter movies made so far, not just of the ones you will have viewed by tomorrow. So, I am not really making a wild prediction, it is just admitting that you might not agree with my opinion. And the pay-off of Calamari won’t be due right away….
I also wanted to comment on your writing style, Jess. I really liked this blog, but there have been others where your spice has really come through.
I especially liked this comment: “…fuzzy images from the films flashed in my head. They weren’t enough to figure out where the plot was going, but they confirmed that sometime long ago, I’d paid $10+ to sit in a crowded movie theatre, inhaling buttered popcorn and prying my feet off the sticky floor.”
Aw, thanks Fern! I love writing, which is why I love experiencing the skill of a talented writer like Rowling. One day, I hope to publish some fiction myself, but for now, I’m enjoying commenting on the wonderful fictional world created by someone else.
I don’t *hate* the GOF movie. I don’t love it either. I was annoyed that so much plot was left out, but enjoyed some of the funnier bits. My fellow HP-reading friend and I spent probably an hour or so after the movie trying to explain the plot to another friend who hadn’t read the books.
However, my over-arching memory of watching the movie was that the whole time I kept thinking “cut your DAMN hair!” to the boys. Egad – such bad hair-non-cuts. Barf. Maybe it was because I was what…23, nearly 24, when I saw the movie (and not say, 14). When I saw the first OotP poster my first thought was “thank God – shorter hair!”
Have fun watching the movie.
I’m very curious to see your reaction of this movie. To me, it’s mostly “meh”. Someone here called it workmanlike, unfinished, and I’d have to agree with that. It feels like… not a movie, but a (overlong) summary of a movie. Scene after scene that are only there to hit the plot points, not tell a story.
So it’s just meh.
However.
There is one scene in this movie I uterrly LOATHE with a fiery passion. And that scene is the entrance of the foreign students.
They decided not to show the giant carriage and do away with the ship (WHY?! A ghostly ship rising from the depths of the sea always struck me as a haunting image when reading the books. Could have been so awesome! Anyway, that’s just a minor quibble, so…) and the two students groups simply march into the great hall.
Durmstrang is suddenly an all-boys school and they march in to an awesome drumbeat, with flames and firebreathing. Beauxbatons is suddenly an all-girl school and they march in with sighing and curtsying and sparkles and butterflies.
RAEG
Er.. they do show both the carriage (with Hagrid trying to act as flagman) and the ship emerging. They just do it very briefly.
They do? Huh. It’s been ages since I watched it, I guess in my memory it must have been overshadowed by what followed.
GoF does show the carriage landing (and Hagrid directing their landing) — the odd bit is that they show it *first*, before the entrance of the students, and explanation of the tournament. I’ve always been a little puzzled by the flip in sequence.
–And I, too, R-Tam, am annoyed by the all-boy Durmstrang showy entrance, and the all-girl Beauxbatons “ooh la la” entrance. Give me a break.