Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on DVD

I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire first in the theater the night it came out. I purchased my tickets weeks in advance and still waited in line for over two hours. It was a midnight showing, and the theater was flooded with the widest variety of people I'd ever seen.

Even though Goblet was not in the same league as Prisoner of Azkaban, it was still a fantastic movie and well worth the wait. Now in anticipation of Order of the Phoenix, I recently watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire again and was even more impressed the second time around with this magical film.

The Plot

Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in their fourth year as students at Hogwarts. Before heading back to school, Mr. Weasley gathers up the family, including Harry and Hermione, and heads to the Quiddich World Cup. The kids are thrilled to be able to attend, especially Harry who was afraid Uncle Vernon would put the kibosh on his request to attend the event. Actually, Dursley is about to tell Harry to forget about it when Mr. Weasley shows up on his doorstep, or should I say his fire escape, requesting that Harry accompany them to the games. Of course Uncle V has no choice but to give in.

The World Cup is the wizarding world's answer to the Olympics, or at least part of it. Two countries, with the best of the best of Quiddich players, compete. The players, although mostly still of school age, are famous in the land of witches and wizards and the best is a player by the name of Victor Krum, who just happens to be Ron's Idol.

Although there is no shortage of fun and excitement at the games, there is also no shortage of drama. Voldemort's followers are slowly resurfacing as the dark lord becomes stronger. His return to power is imminent, and we see the first signs of this at the games.

Once the kids arrive at school they are in for a surprise when they find out this is the year of the Tri Wizard Tournament and that Hogwarts has been chosen to host the competition. Three schools are chosen to participate in a series of challenges, all very dangerous in nature, with a student from each school chosen to compete in the contest. The students must be 17 years or older to compete with no exceptions. Any student of age who wants to compete throws his or her name in to the Goblet of Fire and the students from each school are chosen at random.

The schools competing in this year's contest are Hogwarts, Bo baton, and Dermstrang. We know that Bo baton is French, but apparently the location of Dermstrang is a well kept secret. The only thing we do know is that Victor Krum is its top player, a fact which renders Ron speechless once he hears this news and realizes Krum will be at Hogwarts.

As the students gather to hear who the goblet has chosen to compete, they are all stunned when Harry's name is called. Harry is not old enough to compete and should never have been able to break through the age line Professor Dumbledore has created to keep underage students from entering their names. The problem is, Harry didn't submit his name, which means someone else did, someone who doesn't have Harry's best interests at heart. Who was responsible for putting Harry's life in such obvious danger? And, what was the motive? Although the answer may not surprise you, the fun of watching it all unfold is well worth any predictability.

My Thoughts

Up until I read Half Blood Prince, this was my least favorite of the Potter books, so I was not sure what to expect from the movie. The book was too long and tedious, and after anticipating Sirius Black's return and becoming an integral part of Harry's life, it was a letdown to have him so far in the background. So, although I was as excited about this movie as I was the others, my expectations weren't high. This made it all the more thrilling when I realized, within just a few minutes of the movie's start what a treat I was in for.

The Kids/Acting

Prisoner of Azkaban showed Harry, Ron, and Hermione in a new, more mature, and somewhat darker light than the first two films, and this was a continuation of that pattern. They're growing up and experiencing not only the darker side of being witches and wizards but also the more frustrating side of life as teenagers. In Goblet, we start to see the three finding romantic interests, Harry with Cho Chang, and Hermione with Victor. The romantic undertones of Ron and Hermione's relationship also come much closer to the surface in this movie.

Each of the three actors who played the main characters were fantastic as always and it was a relief to see how well they all acclimated themselves to more adult situations. Daniel Radcliff has come a long way since 11 year old Harry spent his first year at Hogwarts. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have also grown in to their roles nicely and the chemistry between the two is unmistakable. I can't wait to see how that relationship plays out when the story finally, sadly, comes to an end.

The Rest of the Cast

In this movie, we are introduced to Mad Eye Moody, played brilliantly by Brendan Gleeson, Katie Leung as Cho Chang, Harry's love interest, and Miranda Richardson as the awful Rita Skeeter. The most notable addition, though, is Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort. Fiennes was the perfect actor to be cast in the role. He plays the part to perfection both physically and characteristically.

Notably absent with no more than a flash of screen time are Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawney and Gary Oldman as Sirius Black. As I mentioned with the book, I had expected Sirius to have a more prominent role and was looking forward to it. He was seen even less in the film than in the book which was disappointing. Order of the Phoenix will make up for it, thankfully, as he is a major player in that story.

Why I liked the movie better than the book

I will preface this by saying when I read the book for the second time, after seeing the movie twice, I enjoyed it much more than I did the first time. But, in comparison, I still favor the movie for a few reasons. First, I thought the book was too long and not in a good way. I'm all for a long book if the story is exciting and thought provoking, but in Goblet of Fire, there were so many details that were tedious. The Quiddich World Cup, for instance, seemed to go on forever. In the movie, all the filler stuff was left out and we only saw what was necessary to whet our appetites and give us a glimpse of what was to come.

I did agree somewhat with the reviews that said the movie wasn't long enough and thought an hour could have been easily tacked on without being boring. But, there was plenty of information in the book that did not have to be carried over to the screen, and I'm glad it was left out.

Part of what makes Goblet of Fire such a wonderful film is the set design, the scenery, the costumes and most importantly, the brilliant special effects. All of these, of course, we had to use our imaginations for in the book, and it may just be that I'm not very creative, but the real thing far outdid my imagination.

There were a few things the book did better than the film. Hermione and Victor's relationship was featured more prominently in the book, and I missed it in the movie. I also think Harry and Cho's interactions were better in the book and set the stage more efficiently for what is to come in Order of the Phoenix.

I just looked at the imdb.com website and see that Half Blood Prince will be out in 2008 and Deathly Hallows in 2010. This means in less than three years, the saga will be complete, and it makes me sad. For the last five years one of the highlights of the year was the new Harry Potter movie. I'm not looking forward to the end.

DVD Special Features

I wasn't all that impressed with the special features of the DVD. There was a fun interview with the three main cast members, some deleted scenes, and an interactive game that I didn't try. There is also a behind the scenes look at the making of the Yule Ball and a piece on Voldemort. None of the special features are terribly memorable. They are worth a look but not the main reason to buy the DVD.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a worthy addition to a brilliant franchise. It has all the excitement and entertainment of the first three films, and although it could have been longer, I didn't feel cheated.