Harry Potter: The Books VS. The Movies
By Raoucus
@Raoucus (41)
United States
February 8, 2010 9:29am CST
As most people know (at least people with an appreciation for literature :P), the Harry Potter movies don't come close to measuring up with the books.
BUT! That does not mean they are to be forsaken completely! I personally think the movie directors did a good job with the movies. Everyone says "They didn't get everything!" or "They left a lot out!" or "They didn't word things the right way!" or "The story and plot just weren't the same!" or "It wasn't as descriptive in the movie as in the book!"
Well, I am here to attempt to quell these hostile thoughts.
What a lot of people don't understand, is that for every second the director spends on making a movie, for every retake of a scene, for every little detail they attempt to fine tune, for every minute longer the movie lasts, for ANYTHING at all, it costs money. And lots of it.
Honestly, how do you expect a movie, which most only run an hour and a half to two hours, to capture every little detail within a 700+ page book? That's just an unfair request, and saying that the movies sucked just because they didn't follow the books to the letter is completely unorthodox.
I personally think, with the resources on hand, the directors and movie companies did an amazing job with the movies. Of course, the books beat them easily, but there are plenty of ups the movies have over the books!
One big "DUH" is, of course, visual enjoyment. All the special effects, like being able to see the spells has they wreak havoc or change things around, is extremely enjoyable! Another is the fact that you get to SEE emotion. When someone cries, you get to see it and feel it better! When someone laughs, you get to laugh along with them!
These are only a few example of why movies aren't as bad as so many people say.
So, tell me, what do YOU prefer, and why?
8 responses
@irishidid (8687)
• United States
8 Feb 10
The directors did a better job than Rowlings actually did writing the books.
@irishidid (8687)
• United States
8 Feb 10
Because her writing is mediocre at best. She spends way too much time telling her story rather than showing, she repeats herself constantly-by that I mean she has a scene and then later (usually through Dumbledore) she talks about what happened. She made a big deal about Voldemort and in the end a muggle could have defeated him.
I did admire her attention to detail. I just think she could have done a much better job and the editing was lacking quite a bit too.
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
9 Feb 10
Let's give credit to JK Rowling for giving us a good story. I am still apprehensive about magic but I suppose many of us could distinguish fiction from fact. Having written that, JK's prowess as a writer could only be tested by the passage of time. Personally, I do not find her writing style at par with, say Grisham or King or Ludlum. But her target audience was the children. 
But the adults responded surprisingly in the same manner as the children. Her HP is for the child in all of us.
But the adults responded surprisingly in the same manner as the children. Her HP is for the child in all of us.
@lexx87 (1707)
• Mexico
11 Feb 10
i really like the books because is not the same to see the movies , your imagination make u have more idea how is harry potter and describes everything so goo the writer and the movie is just the superficial description of some objects , or parts of the book, not all book is in movies so i don't like too much the movies of Harry Potter for that reason. One of the best films of Harry Potter was 3rd and 1st , it was so descriptive and the objects looked so magic.
@Raoucus (41)
• United States
11 Feb 10
All of that is true, but remember that the movies were created mostly for entertainment :P don't forsake them yet! It's hard to captures everything that is in a book in the image of a movie!
I personally thought one and six were the best. One was like... the creation of the whole world. And six has the best effects and such all that to date :)
@quixotecybercafe (130)
• India
8 Feb 10
as just because of that, the author of this worlds largest selling books j. k. Rowling has not came into movie direction, she is just writing the books, not the directing movies based upon him, her perception, realism, thoughts, orientations, feelness, that what we had get in books while reading, that we enjoyed definitely in movies but not up to that level, because before making this type of movies, scripts are little bit altered to according the cinematography, screenplay, editing, and various other technical requirements
@fairytale123 (334)
• China
10 Feb 10
I read all the books and watched all the movies It is really interesting.I enjoyed it very much.but I think books is much details than movies.something in the book not responsed in movies.But I think movie have its own trait.and every actor/actress have their own personality.
@Raoucus (41)
• United States
11 Feb 10
That actually brings up an interesting point!
With the books, when you are reading them, no matter how you flip it and look at each individual character, there is always something similar. Even if they are meant to be completely different from each other, they all have something in common. And that is because the writer exists in every character in some way, no matter what they do to avoid it.
In the movies, each actor/actress is their own person. Therefore, they all have their own different sets of attitudes and such.
@prongskill (2)
• Philippines
9 Feb 10
i would choose the book... in some books, there are some important part missing in the movie... and in movies the cycle of the story only focuses on the main characters and didn't give importance to the other characters in the book... for example, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, and some characters that haven't shown in the movie... in the first movie, they cut the part where harry would meet the friends of charlie because he will give norbert to them, and also neville is the one who has detention with harry, hermoine and draco in the forest... there are lot of things that they didn't prioritize in the book... i love reading, yet i love watching...
@Raoucus (41)
• United States
11 Feb 10
That is the most commonplace point when pushing against the movies. The movies didn't seem detailed enough to a lot of people. But that's actually to be expected, considering that the books were huge, and the movies were limited in a lot of ways.
The visual pleasure, though, you must admit was quite enjoyable!
@ajmclaw (22)
• United States
11 Feb 10
I just read the Harry Potter I book a few months ago. Yes, I am very behind -- been very busy raising children and running a business. However, the book was fabulous. What I missed out in the movie was the writer's ability, very concisely, to get to the point about each character and intrigue the reader right from the start. For the last two years I have been writing my own novel, and I completely appreciate J.K. Rowling's approach to character description and suspense building. She is truly an amazing author. Looking forward to Harry Potter II. These books are a good read for any age level, fourth graders and up. The movies were great, too. I saw the movies first, of course, with my husband and children. There was a tremendous amount of detail in the movies. They should definitely go together. So, if you have seen the movies and not had the pleasure to read the book, you might be very surprised.
@Raoucus (41)
• United States
11 Feb 10
I have read every book at least four times (don't make fun of me!) and watched every movie like... 10 times. It's a lot easier to watch a movie than read a book, lol.
You make good points! I love it when someone is pleased with both the books and the movies! Keep an open mind :)
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi! I read all the books. I enjoyed all of them. I watched all the movie versions and I enjoyed all of them. The complaints about the movies not being faithful to the books come only from the obsessive-compulsive HP fanatics. Just let them be. It is their prerogative to complain. Let us just enjoy what we have.
