I still cringe at that. Gambon is such a douche. I could probably have forgiven the thrashing that OotP took from the filmmakers were it not for Gambon's craptasticness. And that one scene from Goblet sums up perfectly how poorly cast he is. Blech...

Neph - Yeah, sadly that's about the only thing I'm looking forward to, but for the wrong reasons. If I do see it in the theater, I'll probably irritate everyone else by cheering when that happens, simply out of my disgust for Gambon.

To each their own ... I love him in the role.



Maybe just because he's such an improvement over Richard Harris, who always seemed (no fault of his own fragile self) that he could be blown over by a feather at any moment.

The screaming fit was a bit jarring. Do you think that was an improv by the actor? Um, blame the screenwriter if you must. Gambon did not make that up on the set, and then they loved it so much they kept it in. Pulease.

I'm sure the lines were scripted, but it was Gambon who interpreted them and turned them into such an atrocity. Take five different actors doing the same exact dialog and you'll get five completely different scenes. Gambon isn't any different, other than being terrible.

I'll agree to disagree about Gambon. It took a bit to get Harris out of my vision, who was perfect as the warm and fuzzy wizard, but I think Gambon is fine (and a fine actor, too). He brings a gravitas to Dumbledore that is really needed at this time when things are darkest.

I'm really looking forward to seeing/hearing more of Rickman as Snape in this film. All my Rickman festishing aside, he's another terrific actor and how I wish he'd do some reading (books on CD/download), he just makes me melt. :blush:

With the story that is there, this film could truly be a tour de force for Rickman to burn up the screen. If they actually let him, it would make this the best film of the franchise. Doubt they will, but it would be amazing if they did.

I think they would have been wise to tear a page from the East of Eden playbook and film just the last 50 pages as a great movie.


The preceding 1150 pages were a complete snore. I can't see how anyone expects a decent movie to be made from such a craptacular book.




As for the other, I'd have to go back and rewatch Goblet of Fire ... something I'm not eager to do ... but I believe the dialogue was forceful and angry as written, and could not have reasonably been interpreted by another actor as a soothing refrain sung gently while stroking Harry's hair.

I remember scenes with her in curvy jeans and cute tops that fit nicely, not to mention her perfectly lustrous hair. That's not Hermione.

Except that Dumbledore doesn't get agitated and yell. That's kind of the entire point of his character.

I don't care who's to blame - Gambon, director, screenwriter. It sucks, and it sure as hell ain't Dumbledore.

I'm siding with ISM on this one. I, too, think OOTP was butchered, if by butchered one means trimming the fat and removing a hundred pounds of offal. While I think Book 7 brings it home, I think J.K. Rowling went all Anne Rice after book 3. "Editor? Who needs one? Let me tell you another clever thing about this world." "Let's listen to my characters talk some more."

I'm a big Michael Gambon fan, but he took a little getting used to in Azkaban. He struck me as a bit too twinkly. Still, his characterization is more in keeping with what we learn about him in Book 7 than Richard Harris's somewhat more ethereal portrayal.

Oh, and which screaming fit are we concerned about? The one after the goblet spat Harry's name out or the "Cedric Diggory was murdered" bit?

The one after the GoF spat out Harry's name.


I agree it was the only thing I've seen Gambon do that seemed totally out of character, as that character was written in the books.


Why not have JK Rowling do all the voices for an animated version drawn by her hand if everything must adhere to what she wrote?



There were many a LotR quibble that things weren't exactly as written by J.R.R. Tolkien. What a bunch of rubbish masquerading as criticism.


Either things suck or excel on their own merits or they don't. I happen to like most of the Harry Potter film changes, and I'm not happy with others.


I lean towards the not happy side on Gambon's outburst. Sigh, it seemed out of character to me.

Not anything remotedly approaching, say, Faramir out of character. So as a filmic outrage to the memory of Dumbledore, I'd put Gambon's departure from canon in the mildly annoying category. But he did not write that exchange, and he's not personally at fault for playing it as written.