List of my favourite Harry Potter Movies

        Four years after the final book came out, the film adaptation of Harry Potter also came to an end. For a devoted fan like myself, it's rather bittersweet seeing my beloved characters on the big screen for the last time. But, as they say, all good things come to an end. So, now that it is all over, it's time for me to put all these films in an order from least to most favourite. My decisions change from time to time and it's true that throughout the years the order has changed many times, but now, (having re-read the books quite recently - something that has also affected this list) I think that this might be the final list. So here we go:

6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets / Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

        

  These two films are both in last place because I don't dislike one more than the other but, also, none of them is fullfilling enough in my opinion. Firstly Chamber is much too faithful to the book (and being a fan of the books, that's saying something). Chris Columbus does a good job in bringing the dream team together in the first film, but his second attempt has nothing new to offer and this is why Chamber feels like more of the same. This is a terrifying book, attacks are happening in a school, students might get injured, there is a giant snake hiding in a secret room under the school, even ghosts are in danger, yet, in the film nothing feels scary enough. Now, this doesn't mean that this is not a fun film. It is just not as great as the others even though it introduces us to Dobby, one of the sweetest creatures in the Harry Potter universe. I just find myself wanting to press the "fast forward" button almost every time I watch it watching only the moments that don't drag too much and don't feel too long.

    The Order of the Phoenix is a whole different case. There is one basic reason why this film is in last place along with Chamber. Unfortunately, it is based on my least favourite book of the series. I remember reading the book and thinking "oh, God, the film is going to be much better" and it is in a way better. The fifth book's plot is really weak and even the greatest director in the world wouldn't be able to fix it. It is a year in Harry's life when almost nothing happens in front of him. The Order has been reistated but we see none of this, Harry has one of his worst years at school because one of the most irritating women is his new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, the Dark Lord has come back to life but no one has seen him and thus, no one believes Harry and unfortunately, everything (along with Harry's behaviour) leads to the death of a great character. Now these are my problems with the book but they also exist in the movie. David Yates on his first attempt manages to compress one of the longest books in a movie cutting the parts that were really boring (and also some other parts that were delightful) but using a great Imelda Staunton he takes away all the magic that was established in the previous films. Now, this might seem wrong. My opinion of a film is affected by the book that it's based on. However, the plot problems are there on both means. On a lighter note, there is some great acting in this one. Staunton (Dolores Umbridge), Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore), Daniel Radcliffe, the newcomer Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) are all great and so is the rest of the cast.

5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Before the release of the 4th Harry Potter movie in 2005, the book on which it was based was my favourite. And how couldn't it be? This book had everything: adventure, mystery, humour and an amazingly unexpected ending. Our favourite characters came back with their biggest story yet...(literally, at the time of it's release, this was the longest book of the series). The movie was about to be the best of all. And even though for many people it indeed is their favourite, personally, I think that it is the only movie that hasn't captured even the slightest Harry Potter feeling. It is an adventure, yes, and a good one indeed with great visual effects (the dragon scene is one of my favourites of the whole series) but it doesn't feel like a Harry Potter film. Maybe it's the music, or the direction, or the awful haircuts, but the Goblet of Fire is missing something quite unexplainable and for that reason alone it has landed on the 5th place of my list.






4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Half-Blood Prince is a really good film. It could easily be in 3rd place or in second for that matter but it isn't because of three reasons: Firstly, and I want to get this out of the way as soon as possible, if you've read the book you know that almost half of it is missing in the film. I hate to be a book purist and I like the way they managed to cover up the things they didn't introduce in this film, however, there were some memory scenes that would look really good on the big screen even if they wouldn't move the plot forward. After all, I've noticed that the audience gets particularly quiet whenever they see a scene that doesn't include Harry himself. Which means that they wouldn't mind seeing those scenes. Secondly, the Prince is half a movie. I always felt that the 6th book/film of the series is the preparatory chapter that needs the last book/film in order to be completed. The film (as the book) ends at a point when a major character has just died and Harry (along with Ron and Hermione) decides to leave school in order to begin the hunt of the objects that will finish off both the main antagonist and the series. It is a story that begins something which will end at the end of the 7th chapter and even though every movie so far had that feeling of incompletion, the Prince (and the Order) has it even more so. However, for everyone else but the purists, this is an excellent film. The cinematography, the music, the acting (Jim Broadbent, I'm talking about you) make it an excellent addition to the series and it is true that every time I rewatch it I appreciate it even more. The third reason why this film is not in 3rd place is that the film that has that place is there for some sentimental reasons.

3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

The first film of the series is not my favourite at all. The book that it is based on is not my favourite either. Then why is this film in third place? That's because whenever I find myself thinking about Harry I remember the first time I saw Hogwarts, the first time I heard "You're a  wizard, Harry", the sorting hat ceremony, Hermione's great phrase "I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed, or worse expelled", Ron's unsuccessful incantation on the train to school, Ron and Hermione's first row about the "Wingardium Leviosa" spell and of course the first time I heard the beautiful Hedwig's Theme by the great John Williams. Let me clear this up: this is by far not an excellent film. It has many flaws (from acting, to adaptation, and even to direction) and it could be much better, but it all began there. It is a sweet, lovely, magical film and they are all so young. We grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione and as they (and we) grew up things would get darker and more dangerous but at that moment, during the Philosopher's Stone we would get happy just because the children won the House Cup at the end of the film and not because they defeated a dark wizard. Everything was simpler as everything is simpler when you're younger. And that feeling of innocence is what gives the 3rd place to the first film of the series. And just imagine that the first time I watched it back in 2001 I was utterly disappointed.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

     After the first film of the series we go straight to the last. For me, the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2 are one nearly-5-hour film, and for that, I can't judge them separately but as two parts of a whole. This is the film that everything comes to a conclusion. Every plot point that was left mysteriously unfinished finds an end, and almost every character makes a final and crucial appearance.
     Hallows is a dark movie. From a reader's point of view it's a nearly excellent adaptation that has the feeling and the soul of the book. It was the first time after 10 years that I was finally watching a Harry Potter film and I was having the same emotions as when I was reading the books, and that is saying something. From a moviegoer's point of view this is at last a film that has a beginning, a middle and an end. A satisfactory end, that is. The acting is top notch, Alexandre Desplat's score is moving, touching and haunting, David Yates' direction has finally reached that thing that was missing from his previous efforts, Stuart Graig's production design is -as always- perfect and for the first time a Harry Potter film "breathes". What I mean by that is that because this is a two-part film Yates has the time to give us both action scenes and character development scenes without hurrying to finish quickly. And that, has made a whole difference. It makes me think what some other movies of the series would be like if they were divided in two parts too. It's a pity, however, that because this is a film separated in two, it won't likely be nominated for many awards as it would possibly be if it was one whole movie.
      Deathly Hallows hasn't got the first place in my list because it wasn't able to surpass my all-time favourite Harry Potter film. It also lacks the "magic" of the previous installments. This is a rather dark period for the characters, there are no happy moments, wondrous spells, tournaments or Quidditch. And for that reason alone it can't have the first place.

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Magic. This word alone can be the description of this film. I love this movie. I love Alfonso Quaron's version of the Harry Potter universe. I love his cinematography, his camera use, the small magic details that he has added on the background of every scene (moments which didn't exist neither in the previous nor in the later films), the way he shows the passing of time (with shots of the Whomping Willow). I love the moving paintings, John Williams' medieval music, the hippogriff, the way the Weasley Twins talk, ending each other's sentences. I even love the Dementors and the feeling they give to my stomach every single time, as if they came out of the book's pages. I love Professor Lupin's discussions with Harry. I love the Marauder's Map, the Time-Turner sequence and I adore Gary Oldman in the role of Sirius Black. This is the only film that made me change my mind about a book. It actually made the Prisoner of Azkaban my favourite book of the series even though it isn't the most faithful adaptation. But that is the point of adaptation in my opinion. It needs to bring forward the emotions of the book thus creating a unique movie, without having every single detail in, something that makes a film boring. My complaints with this movie are just three: the werewolf which didn't seem real enough (especially after the Hippogriff effect which was excellent), Timothy Spall's make up (really? this was James, Sirius and Remus's best friend?) and the last shot which is a freeze frame of Harry. It is funny that my favourite film doesn't present Voldemort as the main antagonist. Maybe that's another reason why it is my favourite. I would love to have seen what Quaron would have done with Goblet of Fire if he could have found the time to direct that too. I would like to see what new things he could bring to the table. But maybe it's all for the best. Seven years later, Prisoner is still the most unique film in the Harry Potter series and it will always have a special place in my heart.

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