I saw it tonight. To put it simply...it was AMAZING.
SPOILERS!!


Okay not many spoilers.
I love the part where Snape hits Harry and Ron with the book.
Ron was kind of a jerk in it when he was mad at Harry.
I love Ron dancing with McGonagall.
I love the Weasley twins. Period.
At the end when Cedric dies and Harry brings his body back...it was so hear wrenching to see Harry crying over him.
It was also very heart wrenching to see Cedric's father crying over the body of his son.
That's all. I need to go calm down now.

Saw it last night, too, and I second that vote of AMAZING. Daniel Radcliffe did an amazing job as Harry - this one really put Harry through the wringer emotionally (and physically), and Daniel pulled it off brilliantly.

Lots of excellent moments that add up to an excellent film.

(And yes, those Weasley twins! I them. )

I third the love fest for the Weasley twins.
My family and I just saw the movie about an hour ago. Just got back and thought to report it here.
I too thought that Ron was being a bit wrong for how he reacted to Harry. I couldn't even understand why, doesn't he know his friend? Anyways, atleast he still tried to help Harry with hints to the first game.
Anyhow, I thought the movie was amazing as well. It was also funny. The Snape swipes to Harry and Ron was funny too, mostly when he had to pull up his sleeves for the last one.
I must admit, there was some scenes that made me jump back in my seat out of shock, and that I like about movies. Seeing Cedric, and Harry's parents was neat. I too thought the scene when Harry brought back Cedric's body and him and Cedric's father crying over his body was extremely sad. Considering how serious the game was, I wasn't surprised at the outcome. I felt the whole move was very entertaining.

haha yes! That part of the movie totally reminded me of when in chemistry our teacher gives us the class time to finish a lab write-up. She tries to keep us from talking but fails miserably at it. But maybe if she were to hit us over the heads with a book....hmm...I hope she doesn't see that part of the movie!
and yes, those Weasely twins I adore. I especially love the part when Ron's dancing with Mcgonagall and Harry leans over to the twins and asks, "You're never going to let him forget this are you?" and they go, "Nope!"

I saw the movie today and enjoyed it, but I don't think it's my favorite of the four.

I will say that I'm glad I read the book. I'm sure people who haven't read the book can still enjoy the movie, but they're going to miss stuff. For example, something unexpected happens between two wands toward the end and the movie doesn't explain why. If you saw the first movie, you have an important clue, but neither movie spells it out. The book does.

I remember an interview during which Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint both confessed to dreading the "dress gowns" they'd read about in book four. Daniel dodged the bullet and was allowed to wear black, but Rupert's costume had to be every bit as bad as he feared.

I was surprised at how small Ralph Fiennes's role was. He is generally a leading man but in "The Goblet of Fire" he has one major scene and can barely be recognized through his make-up. His face is unfinished -- rather Odoish. I assume he'll have bigger roles in later films.

Carol

SPOILERS!









I saw it on friday. I think it was a better film than the third one but my favourites are still number one and two.

Okay, one should always start with something positive.
The three "kids" were good as always. Snape was good as always. The dragon was fantastic as was the maze at the end. And I loved the scene with Malfoy the ferret. I also liked the fact that the Weasley twins had a larger part. The scene when Harry comes back with Cedric's body was very good and emotional.
I think if I had never read any of the books (like the guys who were sitting next to me - they were really surprised what was going on ), well, I think I would have been really pleased with that movie. It was action filled from the very beginning until the end. I didn't realise that I had spent over two hours watching it - and this is usually a good sign because it only happens when something is extremely entertaining.

But I missed the special sense of humour for which I love these books so much. What have they done to Dumbledore? In some of he scenes he is not much better than Snape. When he shook Harry I just thought: Something is wrong here. Dumbledore has always a very special sense of humour - and it seems they have forgotten completely about it. I don't know who to blame for it - actor, director or screen writer. But I had that feeling already while watching the third movie. I didn't thought Michael Gambon was a very good choice but there wasn't much to do for him in the third part so I thought I'll give him a second chance.
Maybe you think I'm a bit too much in love with details but I think detail is what makes these books so special. And Dumbledore was always one of my favourite characters and I think they have ruined him.

Something else I disliked was the simplifying of the plot but I can understand that this was necessary. Although sometimes I ask myself if filmmakers think of their audience as "stupid" and that's why they try to make movies not too complicated.
But again, as in the third part, the mystery was solved long before the end of the film. A big part of the surprising end of both (book 3 and 4) is given away somewhere in the middle.

Voldemort - I'm sorry, but I don't think he was very scarry. I had imagined him much more snake-like. As for Ralph Fiennes, I think it would have been better for him to give him another make- up. I was really looking forward to him playing Voldemort but I think he didn't have much of a chance to show how good he is. (maybe his voice was impressing - I read a few reviews about how good he was while giving his little speech. You have to tell me, for I have no knowledge of his original voice.)
I think this is no real critizism because it's very personal. I just had a certain picture of Voldemort in my head and obviously the director had a different one. Same goes for Moody.

The Quidditch stadium: When I saw it I just thought: "WOW!!!!" And then they didn't play! I was so disappointed. They spent work and money and computers on that fantastic stadium and then they don't even show a bit of the game. I hope there will be a bit more on the dvd.

The maze: Like I said, it was amazing and I think, really scarry. But I had really liked to see the giant spider or the sphinx or one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts.

The Death Eaters looked a bit like members of the Ku Klux Klan in black robes. But I think that was a very good choice, given their activities.

Now, it maybe seems as if I didn't enjoy the film at all but that's not true. I had a lot of fun watching it. It is definitely a very good film but given the amazing and complex book I was a bit disappointed concerning the storyline.
Yes, I know, I concentrate way too much on details. But sometimes I think a movie needs them.

Ulli

Now here we disagree. I thought Brendon Gleeson was perfect as Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody. I could hardly take my eyes off him -- though part of that was his amazing make-up. Such convincing scars! You'll recall Brendon played Reynald in Kingdom of Heaven -- another role etched deep in my memory. He is definitely an actor I'll be looking for from here on out.

Carol

Apparently there is also an unintentional joke/pun regarding the David Tennant character (Barty Crouch Junior) When the character first appears onscreen there is some kind of line similar to "Who is he?" (or something to that effect, which has extra relevence due to the actor being cast as the new Dr Who.

Can anyone confirm this.

Jude

Ulli, I agree that this one felt "off" as far as the relationships between the characters, but I remember thinking that about the book, too. It was frustrating to not have the same level of friendship and camaraderie that we'd experienced in the previous 3 entries in the series. However, if you think about the age the kids are (14-going-on-15), then it all falls into place. That's an age when children are wrestling with issues of identity and feeling misunderstood and not feeling like they can trust adults/parents. So the fact that we ARE frustrated is, in my opinion, better than if all of those roiling tensions had been glossed over.

I agree with ullie, I didn't like how Dumbledore behaved. Now, I haven't read the books, I did start the first one, but even in that first part, and Harris's portrayal, I felt that Dumbledore had a wizened calm and wit about him and I thought Harris captured him perfectly. I think it was Gambone's portrayal, in my opinion, that didn't seem right. He was more erratic. The part of confronting Harry about putting his name in the cup, that didn't seem like how I'm use to Dumbledore behaving. I would think he, and as Harris portraying it, would calmly know, and yet asked Harry quietly if he put his name in the cup. I really thought Dumbledore wasn't really Dumbledore in this one.
TOC is right, for one who hasn't read the books, I thought this movie was entertaining.

And today at work, a bunch of us were all talking about the movie, three of us had seen it yesterday in different theaters, and we all agreed, how we loved the Weasley twins.

Excellent movie! I saw it last night on an IMAX screen and it was my first IMAX experience. It was awesome! I wrote my thoughts in my LJ and it's late at night here. I don't feel like posting all that again, so if interested, go here-----> http://www.livejournal.com/~liztown/


By the way, it totally dominated at the box office as predicted this weekend. As of tonight it has already grossed over $101,000,000.00!!!


Go Harry!

I have no problem with the actor. I just thought his eye was well done but rather funny than scary. The actor was great.
And maybe to make his character more funny than scary and menacing was not so bad at all.



I was actually only disappointed with the relationship between Harry and Dumbledore. Yes, it was a bit, well, frustrating to read about all those fights the teenagers have but at least that was something which made it in the movie. And actually, I agree, that's something that happens at that age. And it led to some very funny moments which I did really enjoy.

Ulli

I thought the chemestry between Dumbledore and Harry was a bit wierd in the movie. I don't get the same chemestry with Michael Gambon that I did with Richard Harris. I also didn't like when he grabbed Harry after his name came out of the goblet. He was angry, was he angry in the book? I got concerned in the book, in the movie he seemed angry.

I think Ron was a perfect Git to Harry, just like in the book. That is how 14 year old boys act.

My impression of the books is that we're seeing everything from Harry's perspective, so I saw the way Dumbledore was portrayed in both the book and film for GOF as how Harry perceived him. Harry felt frustrated and even a little betrayed that Dumbledore thought Harry would put his name in the cup. This is also the book in which Harry seems most frustrated by what Dumbledore won't tell him, the secrets he won't divulge. After everything that happens in GOF, though, Harry earns the respect and trust of most of the adults and they begin to give him more information.

In short: yes, this is a frustrating book/movie regarding the previously "easy" relationships, but by the time book 5 comes along, the relationships have been strengthened and all 3 of our main characters show that they have matured. Well, in certain areas. They're still idiots when it comes to romance.

I loved that scene in the dining hall, when Harry smiled back at Cho and his drink went down his chin. My husband laughed hard at that one.

Two scenes that had me in a chuckle.

When Snape was bopping them in the head.

And when Rita was interviewing Harry.

Harry: It is a broom closet.

Rita: Oh well, you should be used to that.



And when she kept saying he was 12.

Okay, okay, okay.............

Harry was frustrated with still being treated like a child. Harry was frustrated people around him seemed to know more and didn't tell him although it concerned him and was probably important.
(In book 5, Dumbledore confesses that he hadn't told Harry everything because he wanted to protect him from the truth. Well, okay, that wasn't a good decision.)

But I think Harry always had Dumbledore's respect. At least since the moment he defeated Voldemort again in the first book.
And as far as I remember Dumbledore stays calm and just asks him if he had put his name into the goblet. Harry says "no". And Dumbledore says that he believes him. (I've only read book 4 five or six times and I still can't memorize every single line.... But it was at least something similar, I think.)
Dumbledore always believes him.
At the end, when Harry is in Moody's/Crouch junior's office and Dumbledore comes through the door and disarmes Moody/Crouch, Harry understands for the first time why people are so frightened by Dumbledore. But I had the feeling that, in the movie, Harry himself was frightened by him in certain situations.

Somebody used the word "erratic" - I think that describes Dumbledore's (or Gambon's) behaviour in the movie quite well.

Anyway, in the books Dumbledore "chuckles" a lot, he is just a pleasant man with a sharp wit. And I missed that (his) very own personality.

I can imagine that it is difficult to transform a book into a movie, especially when you have only limited time.



I spilled my own drink. There should be a warning everytime something funny happens.


Ulli

Ulli I have to agree with you regading Dumbledore. I have not liked Gambon's portrayal of him from the get-go. In my opinion, Richard Harris had Dumbledore perfect. Right down to the twinkle in the eye. I really miss him. Everytime I read the books again I visualize Harris as Dumbledore, which made book 6 even more difficult to bear.

Changing lanes a bit here, did anyone catch the Behind the Scenes of GOF last night on A&E? I know it was on a week or two ago and last night was a rerun, but I purposely didn't watch it because I didn't want to see any spoilers then. I hope they include this with the DVD when that is released. I really enjoyed it!

I just got back from seeing the movie and I'm definitely going to go again. I loved the fact that it was darker than the first two but funnier as well because it was a good contrast. It was definitely my favourite movie of the three. I think Voldemort wasn't scary enough as well. I think he should have looked slightly more reptilian than he did, with longer fingers and toes (just to be random). Poor Cedric. Like you guys, seeing Harry and then his dad crying over him got me all choked up. Can't say enough about Snape because he always rocks (is it bad that I have a crush on him?) and I thought Ron (is it bad that I have a crush on him as well?), Hermione and Harry's interaction was really good.

The only bad bits in my mind were that the film ended too soon and I was a little disappointed that after Malfoy's Dad had been revealed as being one of Voldemort's minions that nothing happened with him. I wasn't expecting much, maybe just Harry telling Dumbledore, 'Malfoy is working for him,' and then maybe a stunned silence or something while it sinks in.

Does anyone know when the next film is out because I don't think I can wait!
Catpea

Catpea, I know they start filming the next one in Feb. of 06.
I also don't really like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. Before he replaced the other guy, I saw Sleepy Hollow. Gambon's in that and he gets his head chopped off by the headless horseman. So then when I noticed that he played Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, it just kind of got me riled up. Whenever he's on the screen in the HP movies...all I can see is him getting his head chopped off and I can't see the nice friendly Dumbledore in him at all.
Manda

I wonder if they are going to film back to back. According to IMDB Pheonix will be released in 2007 and Prince in 2008.

What do you think?

Busy, over at danradcliffeonline.com there is an article posted about Steve Kloves, the writer of all the current movies, including GOF, in which he says he gave over the writing responsibility of OOtP to someone else and has since regretted doing so. He has been welcomed back for Halfblood Prince with open arms and because of this it appears that both the 5th and 6th stories can be written simultaneously for the screen. Since this is a possibility, they are trying to be able to film both movies back to back. You can read about it on the site.

I left the theater not sure how I felt about the movie, yet with little thought I just felt I liked it the best of all of the Harry Potter movies so far. It has a completely different feel to it. It goes to show how much a change in director can make! And the music was different, too. I liked it better as well. Of course there was a lot of the book that didn't make onto the screen, but then it was as big book. Still I felt that the story was completely understandable, so the story editing was pretty good.

I didn't recognize Brian Gleeson (is that right? He played Moody) at all, thought I had no problem recognizing him in the Kingdom of Heaven. He did a great job in HP

How about Narnia? Anyone going to see it?

I didn't even realize Steve didn't write GOF.

It is good to know they will film them both back to back. It makes since to me. Can't have the kids aging too much. By the time #7 gets to the screen Draco will be 22 or older. He already looks like a man. Not that I'm complaining. LOL!

Sancha yes I'm going to see Narnia. I'm reading it right now, I've never read it. It will be interesting to see how they adapt it.

I'm going to open up a new thread for Narnia. I will be going to see it as well!

He DID write GOF. He won't be writing #5 so he can write #6 while #5 is being written. This is what will allow those two movies to be filmed back to back.

Carol

I think filming the two movies back to back is a good idea. There wouldn't be so much interruptions. I read somewhere that the "kids" sometimes think it would be nice to have a "normal" life again.
Filming Harry Potter is probably a lot of fun most of the time but I can imagine it doesn't allow a life teenagers at that age usually have.

Ulli

OH OK, that makes sense.

Sorry I'm late on posting my thoughts on this film, I've only just got back from seeing it. I have to say it is an excellent film, it really is! I don't think the whole film has sunk in yet so I don't have any real comments as yet (sorry!), either way well done to all three child actors and the other supporting actors too.

I finally saw this movie and I like it a lot!

I love the Harry Potter book series. It created a world that was believable... and I went bonkers on it. I dreamt that Peeves invited me to go to Hogwarts and I used to Hope and Wish that it would happen to me.
Nowadays I'm still obsessive but I find the films to be not enough like the books to satisfy. The Movie of GoF I thought cut out all the story. Just the bare meat and bones. The tasks. Christmas at Hogwarts is always a great feeling to read, but they skipped it. A lot of the inner workings were skimmed over or not mentioned. I felt like it was a snack. Or a preview for the whole thing. I'm at the conclusion that it should have been filmed in two parts. The books are getting steadily HUGER, and the movies will need to grow to compensate. Yes, GoF did last a bally long time, but it didn't feel like it for me.

And it didn't feel like Harry Potter to me. I don't know. I don't think I could have ever been satisfied with the actor choices. I like the actors themselves, and their acting is superb, they just don't feel like the world I'd imagined. And... the small details were missing. And the sense of time passing. But then, I tend to have supremely high standards with movies and always judge too harshly.

Either way, I think, for a 13 year old this is a blast of a spectacular film. And for parents a delightful romp.

I do however, worry about how they're gonna do HBPrince. There is a scene where Dolores Umbridge forces Harry to write with a quill that carves "I will not lie" into his hand, which bleeds and eventually scars. I don't know... it'll be interesting to see how they manage this one.

As for the child actors, I feel sorry for them, as they each have large fan and anti-fan pages. Must feel like Deer caught in headlights.

Hi Lexx:

I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for my birthday. It was different, you know. Nevertheless, I love it. It is because the characters are growing up and each movie depicts a year at Hogwarts. And I think that they wanted to make every movie different at the beginning, so that it does not fall into a boring routine. I have all the books except Half Blood Prince, but as soon as it comes out in paperback, I will buy it. But wait, you were wrong in one thing: The next Harry Potter movie will be the Order of the Phoenix, not HB Prince. And the scene that you described with Dolores Umbridge is in Order of the Phoenix. Check it out, please!

Xiomalis

That would be Order of the Phoenix Lexx.

ooh, meep! Shows how recently I've been reading the later books. I always prefer the first and third.