HARRY POTTER AND the order of the phoenix
book 2003 movie 2007 first read 2003 first watch 2007
A fifth-in-a-row return to the school of wizardry and witchcraft, where I realize the upside of growing up and that Professor Umbridge is really Goebbels.
ZOOM IN.
Something strange happened last night: I fell in love with an old enemy. Not Professor Umbridge, if that's what you're thinking. Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough there: Order of the Phoenix has never been an enemy but it's always been my least favorite of the series. I remember when it came out, two years after the previous movie, and the raving reviews started getting published. "The best Harry Potter film so far", "The first Harry Potter film adults love" and similar irritated me before the movie had come out - hadn't the other Harry Potter films been good enough for adults? How good could this movie be, compared to Prisoner of Azkaban? When I watched the movie, my suspicions were confirmed - Order of the Phoenix was a solid yet not overly exciting adaptation and by no means better than the previous two movies. Everything in the movie felt rushed, since so much was left out and so it was just like listening to a friend recounting the book - nothing hurtful, still something I enjoyed, yet nothing very extraordinary at all. Somehow, I managed to re-live this feelings even during later re-watches.
Seven years later, here I am: loving the movie to bits. Loving it perhaps even more than the book which already intrigued me so much more this time over. The similarities to the situation in Germany just before World War II that stroke me while reading - in a good way - were perfectly echoed in the movie. Professor Umbridge outshone even Voldemort in this installment, Imelda Staunton being 100% perfectly cast in the role. I know that she has talked about the irony of people telling her she was perfect for the role of a horrible, ugly, sadistic woman - but in my opinion it's her outer sweetness that makes her a wonderful villain. From the pink costumes to the kitten decorations in her office to her awfully sweet smile, Professor Umbridge is the Devil in Disguise. Her speeches remind me of Goebbels if anything.
ZOOM OUT.
Make sure to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS THOROUGHLY before next month to read about the SIXTH entry in the Harry Potter franchise; The Half-Blood Prince.
Previously...
Yup. Love this movie. It's pretty damn close to a perfect adaptation, considering it's one of the shortest movies and it's the longest book. The book is a bit bloated to me. Half of it is quidditch (which was cut completely from the film). There's a lot of foreshadowing in the book, but there's also a lot of unnecessary bits. Rowling herself has claimed this would be the one book she'd go back and heavily revise and trim down on. That's why I feel the movie works so well, because it grasps the most important aspects of the book and brings it to the film.
ReplyDeleteThere are two exceptions to this, and they both revolve around the same person. The first is one you've already mentioned--the hospital scene. It's one of the best (and most heartbreaking) chapters in the book. Second is Dumbledore's speech to Harry at the end. They really eff up on talking about the prophecy, cutting lines out of it, meaning that it could honestly be talking about *anybody*, not just Harry or Neville. And... they didn't mention the Neville connect to the prophecy, which was like one of my favorite moments in the entire series. I even remember where I was when I read that bit of the book. Oh, and I wouldn't have minded an extended battle sequence in the ministry going through all the wacky rooms. Maybe even just for an extended edition. Oh well.
It's SO good! The book is good-ish but not the best, I agree, but I guess there was just a lot of things Rowling wanted to squeeze in there. The Quidditch parts are a bit long but I like the rest. Yeah, the hospital bit is weird because one moment Arthur is close to death and the other moment there's that happy Christmas dinner. Neville definitely got cut out a lot but so did Malfoy... it's kind of a shame. Also, for that last bit: I wanted to see that baby-face bell thingy!!
DeleteOrder of the Phoenix was my favorite until the Deathly Hallows films came out. Probably because Steve Kloves didn't write the screen play. I absolutely loved it, I thought adaptation-wise, it did well. That was a lot of book to condense. Sure, I had a few gripes here and there, but I always did with the films.
ReplyDeleteI think you were a bit wiser than me when you first saw it then. Can't wait to see the Deathly Hallows movies again - actually I don't remember much from The Half-Blood Prince.
DeleteYESSSSSSSSS! This is my favourite movie in the series. I didn't like the book so much (or well as much as it is possible for me to not like something HP-related) so I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved this. I loved Umbridge, the duel at the end is perfect and the "teaspoon" scene is probably my favourite scene in all the Harry Potter movies. Also, this was the first HP movie in which I cried. The part when Voldemort possesses Harry was so overwhelming, man.
ReplyDeleteAnd and, Luna is perfection.
I knew it was your favourite and a lot of other people's too and never understood - but now I've been enlightened. I have joined the Order of the Phoenix fanclub. The book is good, I mean Harry Potter can't be bad, but I agree that it's a tad too long. I didn't cry in this one because I was very sleepy but I think I was close during that scene, actually.
DeleteConcerning Luna, I'm just re-reading book 6 at the mo and I forgot she's the Quidditch commentator! How could they leave that out of the movies?!