Simple poll: Whether you have or have not read the books, which movie do you think was best?
Determine “have/have not” read the books to your own satisfaction.
1, because it was the most accurate rendition from the book. but if i had not read the anthology, i would have to go with 7.2
Prisoner of Azkaban(I have read the series)
After that, I’d go with Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows(combined).
I voted for Chamber of Secrets, just as faithful to the book as # 1, but IMHO, the fight against the basilisk is more visually exciting than the fight against Quirrell, and the movie did it justice.
Voted PoA, but haven’t yet seen DH2
i’ve read the books multiple times, and i enjoy all the movies. hm. i guess i’d say 7.2 is my favorite because i got the most out of it emotionally. thanks to harry potter weekends on abc family i’ve seen 2, 3, and 4 multiple times, but they never seem to show the others. i need to give 1, 5, and 6 a rewatch (as well as 7), but i’ll stick with 7.2 as of now.
I’ve rewatched Prisoner of Azkaban the most, so it got my vote.
Without question, for me. I haven’t read the book and really despised the first two movies. This one, however, actually featured mature themes, an intriguing plot, and decent special fx (unlike the first two). This movie would be just as great outside the Harry Potter series.
Some friends of mine were at a special screening for HP VII.2 with the 3 main kids a few others.
When asked what was their favorite all of them picked HPIII.
Hmm, Prisoner of Azkaban is up there, but Half-Blood Prince edges it out for my favorite. I love just about any scene in there with Slughorn, Dumbledore, or Tom Riddle.
PoA just edges out DH-II for me, and that’s because it has the best bits of Oldman, Rickman and even Thewlis in the series.
This is the precise reason why I didn’t like it - since Philosopher’s Stone doesn’t have a real plot and is basically 80% exposition, they couldn’t tell a story and instead tried to cram every last insignificant detail into the movie, rushing everything and losing the essence of the book in the process.
As the books got longer, interestingly the movies got shorter (as a matter of fact, Phoenix, which is by far the longest book, is the shortest movie in the series) because David Yates didn’t include every last subplot - but they were better movies for it.
In Deathly Hallows, they finally had the time to linger on a few moments - the first ten minutes of Part 2 are actually very calm and introspective, the exact opposite of the rushed clusterfuck that was the Quidditch World Cup. See, the more they tried to tell, the less they actually did, because there was no time for the story to develop naturally.
I saw Prisoner of Azkaban before I read the books, and it was my favorite of the 3 movies, by many miles. Then I started reading the books, and Azkaban was still my favorite movie. Now I’ve read all the books and seen all the movies, and Azkaban is STILL my favorite of the movies. My favorite book is Order of the Phoenix though, for some weird reason.
most first installments are expositions. remember that a good part of potential movie fans found the book enjoyable, and will definitely want the flavor preserved on the big screen. in my experience, variance from the best-selling book rarely works.
i agree with this. it’s a learning curve to it, i suppose.
HBP is fast-becoming my favorite book. more revelations than all the other books put together. and the movie version didn’t disappoint. but movie-wise, the first and the last will still be my favorites.
I think Order of the Phoenix might be my favorite book too. It’s close between that and The Deathly Hallows.
PoA is definitely my favorite of the movies. It’s one of those rare movies that’s nearly perfect in every way.
For me, Prisoner of Azkaban runs a close second to Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. The thing that pushes it to second is the way they skipped over the whole Marauder’s history part–the emotional core of the book. Everything else about it is fabulous, though.
The latest movie hit the sweet spot, to me. They got the emotions just right, all the most important stuff was included, the actors were all at their best. Most importantly, this was the first Harry Potter movie I came out of that I didn’t feel like I had to explain a half dozen questions about the plot to my non-book reading husband.
I have read all the books (out loud, to my kids) and seen all the movies on original release, except the latest one. However, although I enjoyed the books, and can rank them fairly well, I really have no opinion as to which is the better movie. With the books already in my head, none of the movies made a huge impression on me (so I didn’t vote).
I know the critics’ favorite movie is Prisoner of Askaban (which I also think was the best book), and it seems to be winning the poll, but I also know that my kids, who are now teenagers and have (unlike me) seen all the movies but the new one on DVD multiple times, emphatically disagree (I am not sure which they think is best - possibly Goblet of Fire - but certainly not Askaban). For works like these, what kids think probably matters more than what adults think.
What readers and viewers think matters, no matter their age. A certain segment of kids grew up with the books and movies, but millions of adults of all ages were just as captivated. It’s a different experience, but no less valid.
I do envy kids who grew up with this series. I wish I’d had something like this when I was a kid, characters I liked that lived in a fantastic and interesting world, and that aged with me as I got older, and were plunged into deeper and darker situations. I’m positively green with envy! The Harry Potter kids are our next generation of writers and filmmakers, and what a way to kindle the spark of their imagination. It makes me smile.
Justin_Credible, I’m glad to know someone else likes Order of the Phoenix. Harry’s such an ass through much of it, but I still love it.
Put me on that train too. PoA is my favorite, but Order is strong in the running for second (with HBP and Hallows p2). Whenever it’s on TV, I keep muttering, “stop being such a dick, Harry”, but it’s another one where they’ve made the right choices on what to put in and not put in so that it flows well for a non-series-reader.
Me too! Love OOtP. Couldn’t name a favorite book, though. They’re all good in their own way.