Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Director

What a lot of people don’t know is that it is because of Alfonso Cuaron’s film for Warner Brothers, “The Little Princess,” that made J.K. Rowling decide to go with the company with the Harry Potter series. So it’s only fitting that it comes full circle, so to speak, as Cuaron directs the third installment of the series.

What makes his work so extraordinary is his ability to recognize how a literary piece of work can grow with the film medium, plus his commitment to the magical world showed itself in the rich details. Watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on HBO Asia just helped me remember why I love this film so much. Try to catch it tonight at 11.35pm as you wait for the incoming New Year.

Controlling Emma Watson My primary fear for the third movie was Emma Watson, who plays Hermione, because of her predilection to show her attraction in real life for Daniel Radcliffe onscreen and her tendency for inappropriate emotional agitation even in the simplest of scenes, both bad habits rearing their oh so ugly heads again in the 4th Harry Potter movie, proving she didn’t learn her lesson.

For me, Cuaron’s ability to recognize her bad habits as an actor and guiding her very carefully over the treacherous path of being with Daniel without showing her true feelings was a major achievement, given the fact that this film partners Hermione with Harry for a majority of his adventures, since Harry was helped out by Ron mainly for the 2nd book—The Chamber of Secrets.

Establishment of the Ron-Hermione Romantic Relationship As readers of the book know by now, the 6th book, The Half-Blood Prince, cements the relationship between these two characters, their attraction for each other shown from the very first book, The Sorcerer’s Stone, albeit disguised as squabbling.

Visually, Cuaron shows (please forgive the term) kilig moments in the film such as the sudden clutching of Ron’s hand by Hermione as they both watch in fear for Harry’s safety as he attempts to ride Buckbeak, their “date” in Hogsmead as they decide whether to go nearer the Shrieking Shack or not, and when Hermione buries her face in Ron’s shoulder as Buckbeak’s execution commences.

The Twins’ Funny Side Comes Out Also with his guidance, the twins who play the Weasley brothers, Fred and George, finally get into their stride as the mischievous helpers of Harry, as they drag him off in order to give him the Marauders Map.

Note how the script was written like the two brothers can finish off each other’s sentences, a quality that shows a strong intimacy and bond between the two; plus, they finally relax enough to being impish to the point of being roguish, and happily, their understanding of their characters carries into the 4th film.

Bringing Back Some of Harry’s Physical Attributes, etc. Harry is known for his unruly hair that sticks out in all directions, that his Uncle Vernon, his Aunt Petunia, and even Mrs. Weasley, have all tried to comb into submission, but to no avail. A skillful haircut had Daniel’s hair taking on that quality.

And J.K. Rowling has repeatedly mentioned how Harry’s diminutive size belies his swiftness. Watch the Monster Book scene as Cuaron edits it in such a way that creates the impression that Harry is indeed fast, when Daniel is actually a bit sluggish, given his limited participation in sports.

And Hagrid’s cabin, which was described as being at the edge of the Forbidden Forest has been moved from the castle grounds (as shown in the first two films) to its proper place, as is the case of the Whomping Willow.

Excellent Casting I have watched the majority of Gary Oldman’s films, but he still managed to surprise me as the escaped Prisoner of Azkaban. And Emma Thompson’s addition as the bug-eyed Professor Trelawney is simply delightful.

Note, too, the beautiful and talented girl who’s always with Draco, and who, I think, is supposed to be Pansy Parkinson. I thought she was being built up as his date for the ball, but she was conspicuously missing during the event (I have a suspicious feeling that Mike Newell didn’t watch the third film nor the others to ensure continuity).

Another Draco cohort addition was the long faced boy who’s also part of his group, visually enhancing the meanness of Draco’s collection, since it’s harder to pull that off with the round faced actors playing Crabbe and Goyle.

The Wonderful Magical Details His commitment to the magical world is never more apparent than in the Leaking Cauldron scene when Mr. Weasley takes Harry aside to warn him about Sirius. Cuaron decided to shoot the long scene with them moving from shadowy corner to darker corner to evade eavesdroppers, and enriching the scene with magical occurrences in the background.

And there are the talking heads in the purple Knight Bus and the pub, which J.K. Rowling has said that she would have added in the book if she had thought of it. And there’s the boys’ dormitory scene when they had fun eating candy that made them produce different sounds, a visual counterpart to the dangerous All Flavor Beans.

And the scene where the Fat Lady’s portrait is slashed had my eyes flicking frantically all over the screen to catch all the paintings’ reactions, for Cuaron made sure they are all very distinct and interesting.

And using gigantic toads as musical accompaniment to a choir of boys and girls was simply a stroke of creative genius that had me chuckling appreciatively.

Tribute to Other Movies Cuaron pays tribute to other movies with details such as the tumbling umbrella in the wind before the Quidditch scene reminded me of Disney’s Mary Poppins, the use of an old-fashioned record player to accompany the students’ attempts of the Ridikkulus charm against the boggart was reminiscent of Dead Poet’s Society, and Harry’s outstretched stance as he rides Buckbeak can only be from Titanic.

Happy New Year!

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