Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

UK Theatrical Poster for Goblet of Fire
Directed by Mike Newell
Produced by David Heyman
David Barron
Written by Novel:
J. K. Rowling
Screenplay:
Steve Kloves
Starring Daniel Radcliffe
Rupert Grint
Emma Watson
Ralph Fiennes
Michael Gambon
Brendan Gleeson
Robert Pattinson
Miranda Richardson
Music by Patrick Doyle
Themes by:
John Williams
Cinematography Roger Pratt
Editing by Mick Audsley
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) November 18, 2005 (UK, US)
December 1, 2005 (AUS)
Running time 151 minutes
Country Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Language English
Budget GB£76 million (US$150 million)
Gross revenue GB£454.3 million (US$896,016,159)
Preceded by Prisoner of Azkaban
Followed by Order of the Phoenix
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy adventure film, based on J. K. Rowling's novel of the same name, and is the fourth film in the popular Harry Potter film series.

Directed by Mike Newell, the film concerns Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts has been selected to hold the recently returning wizard competition known as the Triwizard Tournament. Though Harry does not apply, the Goblet of Fire mysteriously selects him as a second representative of Hogwarts in the tournament.

Three days after its release, the film had grossed over US$102 million at the North American box office, the highest first-weekend tally for a Harry Potter film, and enjoyed an immensely successful run at the box office, earning over $896 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of 2005 and the 8th-highest grossing film of all time. It was the third highest grossing film in the U.S. for 2005 making $290 million. It is currently the 11th highest-grossing film of all time. The DVD went on to become the fastest selling DVD of all time. It is currently the third-highest grossing Harry Potter film, behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction, but lost to Memoirs of a Geisha.

This is the first Harry Potter film to receive a "PG-13" rating or its international equivalent (for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images), the preceding films having been rated PG or one of its international equivalents.

Contents

[edit] Plot

See also: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley enter their fourth year at Hogwarts school. First, in a graveyard attached to an old country house; the gardener Frank Bryce awakes in his cottage to see a light on in the house. He investigates the light, and finds Lord Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew discussing plans with an unidentified man; Voldemort kills Bryce. Harry awakes at The Burrow before departing with the Weasley family and Hermione for the Quidditch World Cup. After the introduction to the game, there is a temporal jump to that evening, when the camp is attacked by Death Eaters, who disperse when the Dark Mark is shot into the air by an unknown man.

Harry, Ron and Hermione arrive at Hogwarts, where they find that it will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament, a legendary event in which one wizard each from two rival schools and Hogwarts compete in three dangerous tasks. Dumbledore reveals the Goblet of Fire, a magical cup into which potential champions must drop a piece of parchment with their name on it. The goblet acts as an impartial judge to select candidates and reveals its results by shooting the relevant pieces of parchment into the air: Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang and Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons. The goblet then unexpectedly announces a fourth champion, Harry, although he did not enter his name and is in any case under the age limit set by the Ministry of Magic. Harry's entry into the Tournament incites jealousy and suspicion from his fellow students, including a breakdown of friendship with Ron, which lasts until after the first task. Dumbledore asks the new Defence against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor Moody, to keep an eye on Harry.

In the first Triwizard task, the four champions each battle a dragon to retrieve a golden egg. Harry casts a summoning charm to bring his broom into the arena, but the dragon breaks free of its chains and chases Harry through the Hogwarts grounds. Harry retrieves the egg, which is said to contain a clue about the second task, though only a horrible screeching emerges when he opens his egg. Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion, advises Harry to open the egg underwater. Harry does so in the prefects' bathroom and hears the clue clearly; it informs him that the merpeople will take something of Harry's and that he must retrieve it from the lake in the Hogwarts grounds. Harry follows a mermaid to where the merpeople have chained Ron, Hermione, Cho Chang, and Gabrielle Delacour to a rock with thousands of merpeople guarding them. When Harry arrives in the village of the merpeople, they do not attack Harry but they do give him a hard time by threatening him with their spears. Cedric retrieves Cho; Victor, the Durmstrang champion, takes Hermione. As Fleur was attacked by Grindylows and had to withdraw from the task, Harry rescues both Ron and her sister. On the way back to the surface, however, Harry is attacked by a herd of Grindylows who viciously attack Harry and attempt to drown him but Harry escapes by using his wand. Although this causes Harry to finish outside the time limit of one hour, his courage is rewarded with high marks.

A traditional part of the Triwizard tournament is the Yule Ball; Harry is especially concerned since, as one of the champions, he is expected to open the dance. Cho turns him down, as she's already been asked by Cedric Diggory, and Hermione also declines, though Harry doesn't find out until the Yule ball that it is Krum himself who has invited her. Eventually, Harry asks Parvati Patil, who accepts; her sister Padma partners Ron. Although Hermione greatly enjoys the ball, Harry and Ron do not; Ron, who is particularly jealous of Krum, accuses Hermione of "fraternising with the enemy," leading to a serious row between the two characters.

For the third task, the Triwizard cup is placed inside a large maze whose magical hedges are capable of attacking the champions as they attempt to reach it: the first champion to touch the cup will be declared the winner. Harry and Cedric reach the cup together and decide to claim a draw, both touching the cup at the same time. The cup turns out to be a portkey which transports the two to a graveyard, where Pettigrew appears carrying Voldemort. Upon Voldemort's command, Pettigrew kills Cedric and traps Harry against an enchanted tombstone. Pettigrew takes blood from Harry's arm and mixes it with other ingredients to restore Voldemort. Voldemort duels with Harry, but Harry escapes when his wand unexpectedly caused Voldemort's to disgorge the spirits of the people Voldemort has killed, who protect Harry as he escapes and takes Cedric's dead body back to Hogwarts. Moody takes Harry to his office and starts interrogating Harry about what took place in the graveyard. Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall burst in the room and stun Moody; he begins to change shape as they watch and quickly transforms into Barty Crouch Junior, who has been impersonating Moody all year in order to ensure that Harry was entered into (and would presumably die during) the Triwizard Tournament. The school year ends as the foreign schools depart after Dumbledore exhorts them to stand together against Voldemort.

[edit] Cast

See also: List of Harry Potter films cast members

Jarvis Cocker, Phil Selway, Jonny Greenwood, Steve Mackey, Jason Buckle and Steven Claydon cameoed as the members of the Weird Sisters.

[edit] Soundtrack

[edit] Differences from the book

With the Goblet of Fire novel almost twice the length of Prisoner of Azkaban, the writers and producers reduced certain scenes and concepts that made the transition from page to screen. Director Mike Newell described the problem as one of "compressing [a] huge book into the compass of a movie."[1] This was achieved by "putting aside" all the components of the novel which did not directly relate to Harry and his journey.[1] Even producer David Heyman admitted missing many of the scenes which were removed.[2] In particular, the game play at the Quidditch world cup was removed for timing reasons, leaving an abrupt temporal jump which some reviewers considered awkward or "rushed". Also, in the novel, Victor Krum catches the snitch, but his team loses to Ireland by ten points. In the film, it is implied that Ireland was defeated soundly in the match.[3] In the film, the caretaker that Voldemort murders in the beginning is not identified. In the novel, he is Frank Bryce, and his past is connected to Voldemort's. (He almost got the blame, in the mortal world, for Voldemort's murder of his father and grandparents, as they lived in house of which he was caretaker. This is the same house that he is killed in.) Heyman also regretted the removal of S.P.E.W., Hermione's Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare – this omission was continued in the following film.[2]

As in Prisoner of Azkaban, most of the classes shown in the book were removed, only the single lesson where Alastor Moody demonstrates the Unforgivable Curses making the final cut. However, in the lesson, he states that only Harry has survived the killing curse, but he does not state that this is because the curse is unblockable. (It is unclear whether it is still intended to be. After Harry's duel with Voldemort in the novel, in which Voldemort shot the killing curse at Harry at the same time Harry shot the disarming spell at Voldemort, it is stated that their wands connected because they both are powered by a feather from Dumbledore's phoenix. In the film, this is never stated and it appears that they connected merely because Harry and Voldemort shot a spell at each other at the same time.) Goblet of Fire is also the only film adaptation not to begin in Privet Drive; after the opening sequence, Harry awakens at the Burrow on the morning of the Quidditch World Cup. The arrival of Mr. Weasley in Privet Drive was also cut.[4] This makes Goblet of Fire the first and, to date, only film in the series in which the Dursleys do not appear. Other scenes are shortened and amalgamated to include only the most essential plot details; the three Death Eater trials Harry witnesses in the Pensieve are merged into one short sequence, and all of Sirius Black's lines are condensed into a single fireside conversation.[4] While in the book, Barty Crouch Jr. is portrayed as perhaps being innocent, or dead, in the film he is portrayed as being unremorseful and remarkably more vicious. The attack on the World Cup campground is depicted as a general terror attack against the wizards and witches in the film, whereas in the book the attack is confined to a small group of Muggles (although the book does describe damage of wizard property), and the graveyard scene is much shorter and confined than the scene in the novel. The scene involving Fred and George attempting to cheat their way into the tournament with an aging potion is changed so that Hermione's concerned warnings become smart-aleck scoffs, and Fred and George begin fighting with each other, rather than laughing along with everyone else, when they grow beards as a result. Many other sequences such as the Yule Ball and the romantic hate-love tension between Hermione and Ron were stretched out longer than they had been in the novel.

In addition to large slices of the school year, many characters, such as Barty Crouch Senior, Rita Skeeter and Amos Diggory, were severely reduced in scope, or removed altogether, such as Ludo Bagman and Winky and Dobby, the house-elves.[4] In particular, the Skeeter subplot from the novel is all but eliminated, particularly Hermione's discovery of Skeeter's ability to change form and her later revenge on Skeeter (which sets up a subplot in the book, but not film, version of Order of the Phoenix). In the movie, both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang appear to be single-sex schools. All of the Beauxbatons visitors to Hogwarts are girls, while all the Durmstrang students are boys. In the book, both schools are co-educational and send both boys and girls to visit Hogwarts. Viktor Krum's lines, infatuation with Hermione and scenes with Hermione are extremely limited, as well as mentions of Fleur's veela-lineage and their parts are considerably smaller. (Consequently, Ron's abruptly asking Fleur to the ball is not a result of her accidentally using her veela enchantment on him while attempting to enchant someone else, but rather him childishly losing his head at the sight of her "walking".) The arrival of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students at Hogwarts is also treated with much more pomp and circumstance in the film than in the book, with both visiting groups performing drill team-like exercises, and their arrival is also shown to be overall more friendly than in the book (with references to Fleur being disgruntled during Dumbledore's greeting address, for example, being omitted).

While the three tasks of the Triwizard tournament generally remained true to the original novel, certain adaptations were included, and the details stating that the tournament is not deadly (at least prior to Voldemort's trap) are removed for dramatic effect. The first task, whilst contained entirely within the stadium in the original book, is extended into an extensive chase scene through the Hogwarts buildings and grounds. The second task was almost entirely faithful to the novel, although the Grindylow attack was moved to the end of the sequence as the effects of the Gillyweed wears off. Also, the fact that the prisoners in the second task were never in any danger is removed. Because Dobby is not present in the film, Neville instead gives Harry the Gillyweed, as was Barty Crouch Junior's original plan in the novel. The merpeople are depicted as being less friendly than they are in the book. For the third task, the scene giving the champions advance warning of the maze was removed, as were all of Harry's preparations for it. In the film, the maze itself is devoid of the magical creatures and enchantments that were present in the book; instead, Dumbledore warns the contestants "people change in the maze. Find the cup if you will, but be careful not to lose yourself". Apparently, in the film version, the only thing alive in the maze, besides the four contestants, are the bushes that the maze is made of, which attempt to grab the contestants several times. Krum, visibly under the Imperius Curse, still attempts to attack Cedric (although with the Killing Curse rather than the Cruciatus Curse and Cedric retaliates with a disarming charm that fails to disarm Krum but knocks him unconscious). Also the sphinx scene was removed. Another change was that in the book, the maze was built on the Quidditch Pitch. In the film however, it was built in the valley next to Hogwarts. It was also at least three times bigger than described in the book. In the book, Harry encounters several creatures such as a Boggart and giant spider; although these are not in the film, a game included on the DVD release of the film simulates the third task maze and includes these creatures.

The ending of the film is markedly different from the book, which has Cornelius Fudge refusing to believe Harry or Dumbledore regarding the Dark Lord's return and Dumbledore beginning to gather his forces (setting up the events of Order of the Phoenix). The film omits this (along with Harry's hospitalization) and jumps to Dumbledore's eulogy for Cedric, the farewells for the visiting students, and adds a film-specific exchange between Hermione and Harry about the fact "everything has changed."

[edit] Reaction

[edit] Critical reception

The film was received very positively by critics, garnering an 89% "Cream of the Crop" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. [5]This was the same rating that Prisoner of Azkaban received, they both are currently the most favorably reviewed Harry Potter films on the site. The New York Daily News praised the film for both its humour and its dark tone.[6] The young actors were praised for demonstrating a "greater range of subtle emotions",[7] particularly Daniel Radcliffe whom Variety described as delivering a "dimensional and nuanced performance".[8] New cast members were also praised: Brendan Gleeson's portrayal of Mad-Eye Moody was described as "colourful";[8] Miranda Richardson's scenes as Rita Skeeter were described as "wonderful";[6] and Ralph Fiennes's portrayal of Lord Voldemort was described as "sublime villainy".[9]

The maturity of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, among others, impressed most critics. While the major characters were portrayed as children in the previous films, "they have subtly transitioned into teenagers (in Goblet of Fire)" according to one USA Today reviewer. Harry has also physically matured since Prisoner of Azkaban. In the scene in the prefects' bathroom, Daniel Radcliffe's character is shown with significant axillary hair and muscle growth.

Negative criticism included the film's pace which The Arizona Republic described as being "far too episodic",[10] while CNN.com described the film as "clunky and disjointed".[11] Another criticism was that the many supporting characters did not get enough screen time.[11][8] Some fans criticised the film for changing and leaving out too much of the source material, particularly those parts that developed character,[12] and those parts of the story that set-up events that occur later in the series.[13]

[edit] Box office performance

After an opening day of $40m at the North American box office and staying at #1 for three weeks, Goblet of Fire enjoyed a successful run at the box office, running for 20 weeks in theatres and closing on April 6, 2006. The film set numerous records including the highest non-May opening weekend in the US and the most successful opening ever in the UK, earning £14.9m in its opening weekend. Goblet of Fire then drew $102.7 million from 3,858 locations its opening weekend at the North American box office, setting a new opening high for the franchise and selling about as many tickets as the first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, did in its opening weekend. The debut marked the fourth $100 million weekend in history and to this day stands as the ninth largest opening weekend ever, behind Spider-Man 3's $151 million, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's $135 million, Shrek the Third's $121 million, Spider-Man's $114.8 million, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End's $112 million Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith's $108.4 million, Shrek 2's $108 million, and X-Men: The Last Stand's $102.8 million. In Mainland China the film generated 93 million yuan.[14]

Japanese poster for the film in Tokyo, Japan
Japanese poster for the film in Tokyo, Japan

Goblet of Fire has earned US $896 million worldwide, making it not only the highest grossing international and worldwide release of 2005, but also one of the few films to have ever passed $600 million in international box office receipts. It has joined ten other titles that have passed the $600 million mark, including Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and the first, second and fifth Harry Potter films. Its worldwide total includes $290 million from the U.S. and Canada.

The film was also released in IMAX theatres and grossed a total of US $20,033,758 worldwide for a cumulative per screen average of $188,998 thus setting a new record and a new milestone for a digitally remastered 2-D IMAX release.[15]

In January 2006, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire surpassed the box office takings of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, to become the eighth highest-grossing film worldwide, during that time, and the second highest-grossing film in the Harry Potter series, behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Today, it is the third highest-grossing Harry Potter film behind The Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The film ranks third in the North American box office (domestic) behind Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for 2005 though both films rank lower than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in worldwide terms.[16]

[edit] Awards

Award Person
Nominated:
Academy Award for Best Art Direction, lost to Memoirs of a Geisha Stuart Craig
Stephanie McMillan

[edit] Wyrd Sisters lawsuit

In the run up to the movie, Warner Bros. approached a Canadian folk group called the Wyrd Sisters to obtain permission to use the name THE WEIRD SISTERS for its Harry Potter Band. When a deal could not be made, the Canadian band filed a US$40-million lawsuit against Warner Brothers, the North American distributor of the film, for the misuse of their group's name. The Canadian band also brought an injunction to stop the release of the movie as it contained a performance by the improperly named Harry Potter band. An Ontario judge dismissed this motion.

Before the film was released, Warner Brothers claimed that it had never used the name THE WEIRD SISTERS in any way in the film or otherwise and that it would not do so in the future. However, since this turned out not to be true, the Canadian band is continuing its action in the Federal Court of Canada where Warner Bros. and some of its major licensees are being sued for misuse of the Canadian band's name in Harry Potter merchandise along with misuse in the film and soundtrack. In the Ontario Court, Warner Bros. and its counsel on the injunction are the subject of contempt proceedings relating to alleged violations in Warner Bros.' testimony on the interlocutory injunction. The judge that heard the matter, Mr. Justice Colin Campbell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, is the subject of a complaint to the Canadian Judicial Council arising from allegations of judicial misconduct relating to the injunction hearing itself and interference with the action in the Ontario Court in the months following the injunction hearing.[17][18]

[edit] DVD

The film was released on DVD in North America on March 7, 2006. It was available in one- and two-disc editions, as well as part of an 8-disc box set that includes all four films to date.[19] The bonus disc features three interactive games, as well as seven behind the scenes featurettes. The film was also released in UMD format for PSP.

Wal-Mart had a special bonus disc available for purchase alongside the single-disc editions that features extra features and a sample of the Harry Potter edition of the Scene It? DVD game.

On its first day of release in North America, over 5 million copies were sold, recording a franchise high for first-day sales. Within its first week it sold over a total of 9 million units of combined sales of both the widescreen and full-screen versions of the DVD.[20]

The UK edition was released on DVD on March 20, 2006 and became the fastest selling UK DVD ever, selling six copies per second on its first day of release. According to the Official Charts Company, the DVD sold 1.4 million copies in its first week alone. It is also available in a two-disc edition with special features similar to the North American two-disc edition.[21][22]

The DVD currently holds the Guinness World Record for being the fastest selling DVD of all time. The achievement is added to the 2007 edition of The Guinness World Records book which includes a picture of the award being presented at Leavesden Film Studios in April.[23]

Future Shop has an exclusive promotion including a holographic cover for the two-disc edition.

Warner Home Video announced the HD DVD edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was to be released on April 11, 2006; however, due to the delayed release of Toshiba's HD DVD player, the HD DVD edition of Goblet of Fire was pushed back to April 18, 2006.[24] This deadline was also missed.

In the United States, the first five Harry Potter films were released on HD DVD and Blu-ray disc on December 11, 2007. They are available individually or in a gift set containing all five films and a set of collectible cards and bookmarks.[25] The Chinese DVD edition was released 2 weeks before the North American release as an effort to combat DVD piracy in the country of China. The DVD was sold at a low price of $2.73 USD.

The Indian Version of the DVD was a two-disc special edition, which was released by Saregama home video on April 7, 2006. Instead of VHS a VCD was released. The DVD priced Rs.699 INR($14.86 USD) and VCD priced Rs. 299 INR($6.37 USD)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b (2005, November 19). Harry Potter: Behind the Magic. Grenada Television.
  2. ^ a b (2005, November 14). Goblet of Fire Red Carpet Interviews, Part 2: Interviews filmed with Tolga Safer, David Heyman, Miranda Richardson, and Dan Radcliffe on the red carpet of the US premiere. (QuickTime). The Leaky Cauldron, MuggleNet. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
  3. ^ Burr, Ty. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie rewiew", The Boston Globe, 2007-11-17. Retrieved on 2007-09-15. 
  4. ^ a b c Dadds, Kimberly; Miriam Zendle. "Harry Potter: books vs. films", Digital Spy, 2007-07-09. Retrieved on 2007-09-14. 
  5. ^ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  6. ^ a b "A blistering 'Goblet of Fire", New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. 
  7. ^ Stephanie Zacharek. ""Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"", Salon.com, 2005-11-17. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. 
  8. ^ a b c Todd McCarthy. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", Variety, 2005-11-09. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. 
  9. ^ "The Young Wizard Puts Away Childish Things", The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.  (Requires membership)
  10. ^ Bill Muller (2005-11-18). Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  11. ^ a b Paul Clinton. "Review: New 'Potter' tries to do too much", CNN.com, 2005-11-21. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. 
  12. ^ PotterCast #14. PotterCast. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  13. ^ Who's seen GoF and what did everybody think?. Fiction Alley. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  14. ^ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/07/content_4269696.htm Xinhuanet.com Retrieved on 05-29-07
  15. ^ YahooFinance http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060418/to193.html?.v=22 YahooFinance Biz.yahoo.com Retrieved on 05-29-07
  16. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2005&p=.htm Boxofficemojo.com Retrieved on 05-29-07
  17. ^ "'Wyrd' lawsuit against new 'Harry Potter' movie", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 
  18. ^ "'Wyrd Sisters' cannot stop Harry Potter", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 
  19. ^ http://www.mugglenet.com Mugglenet.com Retrieved on 05-29-07
  20. ^ http://www.panandscan.com/news/show/Harry_Potter/433 Panandscan.com Retrieved on 05-29-07
  21. ^ http://www.dvdactive.com DVDactive.com Retrieved on 05-29-07
  22. ^ News.bbc.co.uk Retrieved on 05-29-07
  23. ^ http://www.hpana.com/news.19410.html Hpana.com Retrieved on 05-29-07
  24. ^ http://itvibe.com/news/3993/ Itvibe.com Retrieved on 05-29-07
  25. ^ EyeCraveDVD.com - Harry Potter: Years 1-5' Blu-ray, HD DVD Suitcase Exterior

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Chicken Little
Box office number-one films of 2005 (USA)
November 20, 2005December 4, 2005
Succeeded by
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe