Harry Potter: The Book and The Movie

The movie adaptation of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a very pivotal movie in the series. Like the book, this movie is crucial in setting up an understanding for the rest of the series. Therefore it is important that the movie complements the novel as much as possible. Using one of the most essential features of a movie; visual imagery, the movie adaptation of the fourth novel is a good accompaniment for the novel. The visual imagery in this movie emphasizes emotions and reactions that we cannot possibly obtain from the book. For example, the death of Cedric Diggory at the end of the movie strikes a powerful emotional response as a result of his father, Amos Diggory’s grief. Seeing him cry makes the audience more sympathetic than just reading about it. Rightly so, the loss of a child should not be any less touching.

As in the case of Amos Diggory, the movie does a good job of portraying the characters, especially those that make it a fantasy. The special effects of the movie do a good job of highlighting its fantastic elements. The leprechauns at the Quidditch world cup and the fire dragons of the Durmstrang students are some of the scenes that make the movie entertaining. The dragons look so real and scary that one can only sympathize with the wizards who fear them. Other characters such as Mad Eye Moody and Voldemort are very well defined in this movie. Voldemort’s white skin, slit like eyes and long skinny fingers make him look as scary as the book describes. Mad Eye Moody’s character makes the fact that he is that eccentric very believable too. The movie also portrays Harry and Ron as the teenagers they are. Seeing how Harry and Ron behave at the Yule ball gives us an understanding of how childish they...

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All in all, the visual imagery used in the production of the fourth movie is a great accessory to the understanding of the series. It provides the necessary depth to those who watch it by striking the same emotional response that the book provides. At the end of the movie like the book, it is clear that Harry’s encounter with his enemy has transformed him from a boy to a man. For those who have read the book, it is a great way to understand the emotions and darkness that surrounds this episode and those to come. For those who have never read the book the movie provides just what they need to know to keep them engaged in the series.

Works Cited

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Dir. Mike Newell. Perf. Daniel Radcliff and Rupert Grint. Wayne Studios, 1997. DVD.

Rowling, J. K. HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE. New York: Arthur A. Levine, 2000. Print.