"Very odd, what happens in a world without children's voices."

[swashbuckler332]

One of the things that made Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban such an effective and entertaining film is the very experiential quality that Alfonso Cuarón imparted to the material; that is to say, everything that occurs in the film does so within Harry's range of perception, using the visual and aural qualities of the medium to emphasize his

Comments

[jailnurse]

I've written a companion piece on my livejournal. It's okay, I admitted I cried. Almost uncontrollably. On the bright side, we ate awesome Korean BBQ (ALL HAIL KOREAN BBQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

[swashbuckler332]

HAIL! HAIL!! HAIL!!!

[heybishop]

Once again you have written a review that exactly echos my feels. I too saw it the other day and have been thinking about it ever since.

As a filmmaker who likes to capture everything I can in one un-cut shot whenever possible, the complete action sequences in one takes was intensely satisfying. It's really inspired me to want to go out and shoot something right now just so I have and excuse to see if I can execute a lengthy-well conceived shot like that. Even if I can pull it off half as well, I'd be satisfied with myself.

We should also mention how haunting the music and lack-of-music was in this film. Sometimes the "score" consisted merely of a sustained note/sound. Very well conceived in that arena as well.

Kudos on your review man, you write very well. I quite enjoy reading your reviews and insights.

[swashbuckler332]

Thank you for your kind words.

I myself am not taken with the overuse of fast cuts these days. I don't mean to sound like an old fogie; I think that quick cuts can be fantastic if they are justified by the style of the film. I think that it tends to make for a slightly more fragmented experience; it may work for the film, but it isn't always the best approach. Cuarón's use of long takes to convey information and eschewing close-ups except as punctuation for a shot is something that I felt made Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, from a stylistic point of view, the best match for the IMAX format I've seen yet. As good a film as I think it is, I felt that the tight close-ups and lighting montage in Batman Begins makes the film much more satisfying on the small screen than on the large. Cuarón's use of the film frame is always fascinating - think of the lighting in Great Expectations and Y tu mamá también - and I really feel that his movies flow very well on the big screen precisely because he falls firmly in the mise-en-

[heybishop]

I'm no old fogie either, and I agree with you eye to eye on editing. 9 times out of 10 the fast/flashy editing really ruins the film going experience for me. It's funny you should bring up Batman Begins, because I too often site that as an example where it does work. I've seen that movie three times. First at a regular 35mm theatre, then at an IMAX theatre, then more recently at home. The IMAX theatre experience was my least favourite for the same reason, the big flashiness didn't work on such a large screen. Now, watching it at home is still a big screen experience for me, but much better suited

[swashbuckler332]

I have an identical reaction to my viewings of Batman Begins - which were identical to yours, save an additional trip to see it in the theater in 35 millimeter (after I'd seen the IMAX and decided I wasn't about to do that again). I don't want to say that there was an overuse of cutting in that film - as we agree, it works great on a home theater - but it just didn't lend itself to the size.

While this is often attributed to MTV, I wonder if this isn't more of a reflection of the shift of cinema from being an event to being in the home, which is what I attribute the widespread use of such low-resolution formats such as Super 35 in film production. Granted, Kubrick might be considered an extreme example, but quick cutting does seem to work better on a small screen than a large one - note that the shot length of the 70 millimeter epics tended to be longer than those of contemporary 35 millimeter films as well.

I really liked Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on several levels. One of the things I particularly liked was

[neurotic_jen]

Good take on the film! I saw this last night with my boyfriend. I honestly haven't even been paying attention to what's out in the theaters, and he wanted to see this. The basic concept of it sounded odd to me.. then when I saw that Cuarón directed it I agreed to seeing it, especially once I scanned the reviews. Not exactly a date movie, but I really enjoyed it, even if he found it bleak and odd. It was a movie that got me thinking in a deeper way than your average mass destruction movie does, because it could very well happen, and in this way. In it's own way, I think it made me appreciate life and its fragility.

Definitely liked it. :)

PS. How are you??

[swashbuckler332]

Bleak absolutely... I don't think the movie is about mass destruction, certainly not the way that something like Independence Day is. Rather, I think it falls into the category of dystopian future, like Brave New World, 1984 or Brazil, but unlike other dystopian futures, this one is set within our lifetimes and looks frighteningly plausible.

I'm all right. Things got a little hairy there towards the end of the year, but everything is ambling along at a fairly decent pace now.