scenes in harry potter that the movies did better?

Cafe Society
1

overall, i enjoy the books more than the movies, just because there’s no time constraints and we get all the details the movie doesn’t have the time for. there are certain things, though, that i think the movies did better. my examples:

pretty much the entire goblet of fire movie. this is the one out of the seven where i prefer the movie to the book. the book is just so…well, long. i mean, ludo bagman, barty crouch, barty crouch junior? an awful lot of effort was put into fleshing out these characters, and, from what i recall, they’re never even mentioned in the books the follow. it seems strange especially that crouch jr, who was revealed to be that book’s bad guy, is never mentioned again. he was sent back to azkaban at the end iirc so presumably he broke out with the other death eaters at some point, but we never hear anything about him.

the other is from deathly hallows, part 1. in the book, the scene at shell cottage after escaping malfoy manor has always bothered me in re how harry treats ron and hermione. he’s almost cold to them, especially hermione who was recovering from being tortured by bellatrix. he gives her a brief “you did great now let’s go talk to ollivander” kind of thing. maybe it was rowling’s way of showing that harry is fully committed to the quest at this point, no matter what stands in his way, but that scene never rung true to me.

in the movie, after escaping, harry races towards ron and hermione and they’re doing the hugging/sobbing thing. in my opinion, that reaction was a little more organic to harry’s character. he’s always put ron and hermione first, even in front of ginny, and while i can understand he’s becoming a man and fighting this fight to the bitter end, the emotional response of the movie made more sense to me.

anyone else?

2

Crouch Jr. was never mentioned again because he’d had the Dementor’s Kiss and was therefore no longer in any condition to do much of anything. As for the 4th film, I actually thought it was a bit too rushed. I liked that they cut a lot, but I thought they went a little overboard.

But as for stuff I thought the films did better: Order of the Phoenix–the entire thing–if just because the movie had less of Harry being a pain in the ass. Was a bit disappointed that they left out the scene with Neville’s parents, but I understood why they had to cut it.

3

I didn’t like the Goblet of Fire movie because it had to cut out so much from the movies. The entire thing was too compressed and we never get a good explanation of who Baty Crouch Jr. is and what happens to him.

Yeah they spent a lot of time developing him, and Barty Crouch Sr. but one was dead by the end and the other without a soul, so not like there was they could have done in later books anyway

4

that’s right, i’d forgotten about the dementor’s kiss. i’ve read the series a few times through, but goblet of fire is the one i’ve read the least. i don’t disagree with you entirely about the film, either. it was a bit rushed because they had so much to cover. it’s not perfect, but the book is a bit of an endurance test, so on the whole i prefer the film. order of the phoenix is long, too, but that one actually kept my interest all the way through.

5

I thought Prof. Slughorn was an excellent character in the 6th movie and he was what Rowling intended him to be in the book. In the book I didn’t feel nearly as strong of a connection to him, however.

6

The fourth movie was nothing but a bunch of action sequences duct-taped together… There wasn’t room for any actual story.

But for things I liked, I absolutely loved the way they made the Marauder’s Map in the movies, especially the way all the “lines” of walls or whatever were composed of words. It had a feel of real magic, that way.

7

good call. i rather liked the scene with him describing the gift lily gave him of a fishbowl(with the floating petal which transformed into a fish), right before he gives the memory over to harry. the scene didn’t exist in the book, but it was a nice addition.

8

I’d say the end of Goblet of Fire was better in the movie. In the book, Voldemort is like, “I guess you’re wondering why I’ve called you all here. Well, it all started 13 years ago in a little town called Godric’s Hollow. Wormtail, the slides, please.”

(recap of the plot of the previous three books)

“And now that we’ve got Harry Potter tied to this gravestone, disarmed, and surrounded by Death Eaters, what are we going to do with him?”

“Um… kill him, sir?”

“No, Wormtail! We’re going to untie him and give him back his wand!”

“But… but we’ve got him right here! Let’s just kill him already!”

“Oh, Wormtail. This is why you’re not a Dark Lord. You’re the Diet Sprite of Darkness. Clear and refreshing, but not dark enough.”

Whereas in the movie, they have no time for any of the above, so we can go directly to:

“If they speak of you at all, they’ll speak only of how you begged for death — and I, being a merciful lord… obliged.”

Now, admittedly, there was a slight flaw. In the movie, Dumbledore mentions Priori Incantatem, but never tells Harry what that is. Presumably, he knows the audience has already read the book. :slight_smile:

Also, was I the only one who thought “Don’t cross the streams!”

9

Definitely the escape from Aragog’s lair in Chamber. Ron should forget about magic for a few years and join the RAF, the way he piloted the Anglia.

10

I think the way Ron and Hermione’s relationship built up over the course of the movies was better handled than in the books.

11

I thought the movies were far better than the books and that is a surprising thing to say. The screen writer keeps faithful to the general course of things but cleans up all the stupid bits that were out of character in the books. The most notable thing was the insane lack of knowledge of the muggle world. They lived among them and are always surprised at stuff. The other thing would be the lack of complexity among the characters. Ron is a complete jerk throughout the books. Neville can’t tie his own shoes up to the last year of school and then becomes Errol Flynn. Snape’s full time job appeared to be Harry’s personal tormentor in the books. Considering his role in the end it should have been more developed.

The one scene I didn’t like in the movie was the opening scene from the final book. I thought the snake jumping out at the audience pandered to special effects and not to the well written horror of the scene.

I think the collaboration between writer and screenwriter would have worked equally well in writing the books in addition to the movies.

12

it’s definitely less obvious in the books. the movies show awkwardness between them as early as chamber of secrets (i don’t think there were many hints in sorceror’s stone, but hermione doesn’t become their friend til like halfway through), and there are some hints in the books but it’s a lot more subtle early on.

i don’t think you’re giving neville enough credit. in order of the phoenix especially, the book makes it a point to say that neville was improving by leaps and bounds compared to the other members of the da. when they go to the ministry towards the end, neville is the only one aside from harry who manages to stay on his feet and not get cursed or otherwise injured like the rest. he also leads the other students at hogwarts rebelling against the death eaters in the last book and endures being tortured and roughed up, but doesn’t back down. his moment with the sword and the snake is well deserved, imho.

i do agree with you about the opening scene of the deathly hallows movie, though. the subject matter is creepy enough without the dumb 3d gimmicks.

13

The scene in the last movie when Ron has taken off and Harry and Hermione are alone in the tent, dancing…

It’s a great job of showing two people nearing the point of turning a friendship into a romantic one, but backing away. Frankly far more subtle emotionally than anything Rowling ever did.

14

i read that a lot of people hated that scene, but i liked it. there are some moments in deathly hallows where it seems like they’re growing closer (the cemetary scene in godric’s hollow comes to mind) but it’s a blink and miss it kind of thing, and a lot more open to interpretation. i liked the inclusion of the dancing scene because it explores that aspect of harry and hermione in a way the book never quite does.

i don’t know if i agree with your last sentence, but as for the rest, i’m with you.

15

When Slughorn and Hagrid are drunkenly eulogising Aragog, in the book Slughorn steals Aragog’s venom. In the film, he asks Hagrid’s permission and Hagrid’s fine with it because it’s not much use to Aragog now. That made more sense to me.

16

I didn’t have any problem with Slugworth in the book feeling that discretion demanded he take the venom surreptitiously. Anybody but Hagrid wouldn’t have bothered with a burial in the first place; he’s certainly likely to view venom-harvesting as disrespectful to his friend’s corpse.

17

The whole Felix Felicis thing was great in the books, but I thought the movie did it even better. That side shot of Harry mimicking Aragog’s pincers with his fingers leaves me in stitches every time.

18

i’d forgotten about that scene, but i agree, it was hysterical.

19

In the books he can’t do anything right starting with flying and virtually every potion that he does in Snape’s class. The author does sow the seeds in the first book when he wins 10 points for standing up to his friends. And he does go after Malfoy in the Order of the Phoenix for the insults he made (only Harry knows it has to do with Neville’s parents in the hospital). She obviously intended to build up the character from the beginning but it seemed like a french curve of progress to me.

For some odd reason Neville gets assigned the parts of Dobby in the movie. Neville solves Harry Potter’s breathing problems in the Goblet of Fire and suggests the room of requirement in the Order of the Phoenix. I guess it was cheaper than animating the elf.

20

neville suggesting the gillyweed wasn’t out of left field. in the book, the imposter moody gives neville the magical water plants of the mediterranean book with the intention of neville discovering the plant’s effects and passing the info to harry. dobby ends up being the one to discover it, but it was meant for neville to find.

as for the rest, i guess i just don’t agree. yes, he’s not very good at flying or potions, but he excels at herbology, and seems to do well enough in his other classes. his problem, as stated by professor mcgonagall in order of the phoenix, is a lack of confidence. that combined with an intimidating teacher, and of course he doesn’t do well in potions.

he does a lot more than just attack malfoy in order of the phoenix, as my previous post said. we don’t see a lot of what he’s been doing in the final book, we’re only told about it, but it’s there.