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Demisemicenturian 
"Four ever European"
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 Posted - 10/14/2007 : 16:27:20
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To answer some other points from MguX etc.:
It may be the case that films or film franchises typically stand alone, but this does not mean that it is necessary in every case. The vast majority of the target audience (children) and a large proportion of the adult audience will have read the books. It is simply the case that this is an exception to the norm and it's fine for the films to rely on the books in this way.
I agree with M.B.I. that the Cho kiss is significant. It refers to a bigger story in the book, but it would also be odd to remove these sort of ordinary adolescent rites of passage and just leave the fight against evil behind. Even before I'd read the sixth book, it would be clear that there would be more of this coming (e.g. who will Harry ultimately pair up with? - my opinion on the matter is at odds with the sixth book, having not yet read the seventh...), and so it needs to be introduced.
My impression is that Fudge is supposed to be wilfully naive about Voldemort's return rather than actively complicit.
Umbridge's umbrage is that she does not get the respect that she feels she deserves from her position. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 10/14/2007 : 16:30:59
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Oh, and on Umbridge, yep, Staunton does a good job, but the character's facial expressions and manner are very clearly described in the book (more so than any other, I thought as I read it), so she did not have to come up with anything herself. Someone fatter and with a slacker face would also have been much better, although she does the best she can with the body and face she has.
I cannot now remember Percy in the film - is he in it at all? If he has been cut out altogether, that's a mistake that will have to be compensated for later. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 10/14/2007 : 16:40:35
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A couple of other things...
The fifth book repeatedly refers to Ron having shot up*, and the sixth to both Ron and Harry doing so - this is presumably to mirror the actors in the films, but it's a couple of books too late!
Also wanted to add that I think Luna is a great character and a much needed addition to float around the boundaries of the central group. She is very well done in the film, and her Irish accent and white blonde hair are an improvement to the unspecified background and dirty blonde hair of the books. In contrast, a certain character is introduced in the sixth book but barely developed at all - presumably more is shown in the last book, but it's still a bit strange. And talking of new characters - it always astonishes me that there always seem to be pupils that Harry et al do not recognise, and even ones in their year (of about forty pupils) whose names they still do not know!
*Grown quickly, not injected drugs! Having said that, they do seem to be allowed to drink alcohol from the age of eleven and in the sixth book Harry manufactures 'E'! |
Edited by - Demisemicenturian on 10/14/2007 16:42:47 |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 10/15/2007 : 11:52:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
And talking of new characters - it always astonishes me that there always seem to be pupils that Harry et al do not recognise, and even ones in their year (of about forty pupils) whose names they still do not know!
Rowlings initially said that there were about 1000 kids at Hogwarts at any given time. Even if the figure is more like 600, as she later revised it, that's still a whole lot of kids. I went to a High School of about 1000 kids - four years, 250 kids per year, divided into 4 'halls' - meaning there were about 62-63 kids in my year in my hall. While I knew some of the kids from the other halls (mostly from previous schools, and partially from combined classes and activities), there were lots and lots of kids I never knew by name until I got my yearbook, and even more that I never got to know since they were in classes below or above me!
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Edited by - ChocolateLady on 10/15/2007 11:53:19 |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 10/16/2007 : 11:47:16
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| Thanks - I hadn't seen/remembered the total figures. I was basing it on all evidence pointing to there being about five pupils of each sex in each house in each year, i.e. 5 x 2 x 4 x 7 = 280 altogether. Hhmmm, Maths obviously isn't her strong point! (And this isn't an instance where "Ooh, it's all magical" can cover it up.) |
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix/spoilers
