Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: A Director’s Interpretation
In November of 2005, Director Mike Newell was charged with painting his vision of the next chapter
in the Harry Potter series, with the intent of piecing the ”right” scenes in which to tell a tale worthy of a global
audience. As always, the studio brought on the author of the acclaimed series J. K. Rowling as a consultant to the
production staff. It is reasonable to assume that an author’s inclusion in the making of film adaptations is integral to
an effective and tangible reflection of the story being portrayed to an audience of advent book readers. It can also be
asserted that such collaborations are unnecessary for a film being targeted towards a broader, less versed in the
original story, audience. With the return of a consistent, though aging, cast, Newell had all the players at his
disposal.
What audiences take away from a movie’s introduction sets the tone and pace throughout the film. First,
the classic Warner Bros emblem fades in and is then accompanied by the more significant tone setter that is the
weather. In this installment, dark, ominous clouds foreshadowing of some ill fill the background. Following, a zoom
out of skulls etched out in a stone wall are shown. A large python exits a tunnel in the wall. At this point Newell has
done a fantastic job of incorporating the imagery of J.K. Rowling’s dreary epilogue. In succession, the first murder
committed by Voldemort, the story’s primary antagonist, is depicted in the opening scene as the unsuspecting
hunched, old groundskeeper stumbles across a secret meeting and is thus murdered when discovered peeping
through the doorway of the abandoned estate. Newell sets this scene with a focus on shadows that serves as a
metaphor for Voldemort’s hollow reflection of his former self. The lighting casts a shadow of the serpent as she
advances across the floor. The fire that illuminates the meeting room casts shadows on the loyal underlings of
Voldemort Finally, a the sudden flash of green light that signals the victim’s impending death casts his own shadow
on the wall behind him as his life is extinguished. The twisted pleasure the underlings display as the old man
cowered in fright s a credit to Newell’s direction of the actors. He can be imagined imploring the actors to treat the
scene as a solidifying sign that their master was returning to his former malicious and frighteningly powerful self.
The next major section of story involving complex imagery is the commencement of the Quidditch
World Cup. The director’s interpretation of this scene was of great importance to fans like me who relate the
mythical sport that J.K. Rowling created to that of modern day soccer. Newell possibly piggybacked some expected
festivities taking place during the FIFA world cup, as ideas for his sets, Segregated camps for opposing supporters,
pricey merchandise booths for excitable fans, over-the-top introductions for the teams, and of course the ever classic
commencement speech by the head of the government.
Above, is the image of envisioned field where a, literally, magical sport took place. Notice the dazzling
spotlights decorating the stadium at various levels from which fans watched from. A cover shrouds the stadium as it
acts as a deterrent for rain or sunlight, depending on conditions. A spectacular setup that pays homage to its real life
counterpart especially well is only slightly bruised by the director’s decision to not show the match at all, unlike J.K.
Rowling’s vivid account of it from start to finish in her story. For an event that meant a multitude of importance to
not only the characters in the story, but the readers as well, to be merely displayed in what was at best at teaser, was
alas quite the let down for anxious fans excited to see professional Quidditch played on the big screen. Some may
argue that the evens of the match were not integral to the telling of the story, but I would argue that they were of
significant importance to showing the wizardry world in all its cultural glory. It is rare to find detailed accounts of
wizardry culture outside of Hogwarts School for witchcraft and wizardry explored in film.
`As mentioned in the introduction, Newell had the nearly impossible task of weaving a believable story
around three primary cast members who by this point were seventeen to eighteen years old acting as if they were
just turning fifteen. By this age, Rupert Grint, who played the ever fallible, yet loyal wingman Ronald Weasley, was
and still is much larger than Daniel Ratcliff, the film’s star. At times he unintentionally overshadows him in scenes
where he, Ratcliff, is supposed to look superior, simply because the director has Grint wearing a fitting t-shirt that
highlights his impressive build in contrast to the slight frame of Ratcliff.
Fortunately, the illusion of an inspirational hero in Ratcliff was well-crafted with the help of the story itself.
The tale focuses on A disguised agent working for Voldemort submits Harry’s name in a tournament with a binding
contract for participation that is littered with tasks involving tremendous danger to the contestants. This is all a part
of Voldemort’s larger agenda to get Harry alone so he may use him in a ritual that would restore him to his former
glory. Revisiting the notion of building a movie around a cast, the casting of Ralph Fiennes as “He-Who-Must-NotBe-Named” was a pivotal decision. The molding of the villain whose name occupied the nightmares of every
magical being for years was a harrowing task to say the least. I credit a Newell for even attempting the project
knowing that he would be responsible for bringing a frighteningly realistic version of this fiend to the theatre.
Finally, I shall critique Newell’s approach to filming the various stages of the Triwizard Tournament,
which after all is the main storyline of the film. I shall begin by providing a link to the scene introducing the
competing schools. Notice Newell’s excellent interpretation of the rival institutions as vastly superior to Hogwarts in
by emphasizing beauty and elegance of French academy and the undeniable talent and physical strength of the
Russian delegation.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pnnlLHT92M&feature=PlayList&p=6BDBB8D20A1253FF&playnext_f
rom=PL&playnext=1&index=29)
The tournament was recreated almost verbatim. Many films have tried to bring the undying legend of
the dragon to the theatre and frequently leave audiences wanting more. However, Newell created a battlefield fit for
only the best classic medieval tale of a knight versus a dragon. Smoldering boulders, burnt flesh, a hero pushing
himself to his physical limits and one well-armored, angry parental of a dragon guarding a golden egg make up a
visually engaging first stage. I considered Newell’s handling of the second challenge quite admirable since it was
filmed entirely underwater. I would not be surprised if he ever felt conflicted in the direction he took the city of the
mermaids. After all, we have been exposed to many Disney inspired renditions of the mythological species that
leave us with much warmer feelings then those that instead left us frightened and weary of their existence. Instead of
shell-clad enchanting women with flippers, we instead are presented with a form clearly leaning towards a more
amphibian outlook. Gills, webbed hands and sharp, razor-like rows of teeth make up the primary features of
Rowling’s mermaid. Though, this was how Rowling intended for them to be portrayed, it still seemed to lack a
significant amount of flare and mystique that many tales of mermaids have well interwoven.
The third and final challenge was the most disappointing of the three due to the director’s difficult task
of choosing what supplementary scenes were unnecessary for telling a fluid tale. Time constraints and production
budgets always plague a director when try to cram all of what he feels are the particularly relevant pieces of story.
Half of the foretold obstacles never reached it to the final stages of production and thus a challenge lacking in
variety and quite honestly, danger, was the product.
All in all, as a adamant Harry Potter fan, I can honestly say I deeply enjoyed Mike Newell’s interpretation. He wove
a precise balance of gloom and adventure for an enticing tale. As stated in my introduction, bringing on the author as
a consultant whenever adaptations are being produced is an inexhaustible tool for pleasing the seasoned fans. A
serious adaptation scenario I will leave you with is the case in which a recurring cast member dies and must
therefore be replaced. This indeed occurred after the filming of the second installment to the Harry Potter franchise
as the actor Playing Albus Dumbledore died.