Nope, he only read the HBP book because he knew he had a really big role in it. But didn't you notice a big difference from OOP to HBP? He really changed, by reading the book, he understood a lot more of his character and did it much better. I wish he'd read all the other books as well, before he was cast. He would've been so great.
richard harris didn't read the books either - he mainly took the role because his grandkids begged him to.
i don't think the difference is whether or not actors read the books - it's simply whether you like one actor's interpretation of a character over another. for example, richard harris brought in 'silent, watchful, wise, but not demonstrative or involved' dumbledore across, which was needed for philosopher's stone and chamber of secrets. his performance in philosopher's stone was spot on... but then he was very sick all through chamber of secrets, so the cast and crew had to change things in order to accommodate his illness, so a lot of dumbledore's inert power was lost. dumbledore, to me, is the type of person who just needs to stand up for people to quiet down and turn their attention to him. that charisma was sadly lost in chamber of secrets.
then came michael gambon. personally, i thought his performance was spot on in prisoner of azkaban. he was very... hippie-like. he wore some strange hats, and had the little string with metal balls on both ends to keep his beard from getting in his way, and i thought that was perfect. like - no other wizard could dare to hope to pull this look off, but since it's dumbledore, nobody even comments.
then came mike newell. who, frankly, made a bad decision with goblet of fire by making it simply an action/adventure film. in such a film, a character is needed who will... how do i put this?... push along the reluctant hero. unfortunately, newell and the screenwriter for gof thought that person should be dumbledore. so instead of dumbledore's power shining from within... we have a dumbledore who slams harry against a cabinet and shouts at him. in an action/adventure film this is perfect; it portrays the urgency of the situation, because we're to understand that dumbledore doesn't often act this way so this is really sirius, guys, pay close attention.
alas, it is the polar opposite of what the actual dumbledore would do, and so michael gambon became the big, bad dumbledore.
i think he's making up for it in both the fifth and sixth movies, as david yates has managed to create a balance between the peaceful and unconciously amusing dumbledore, and the dumbledore who will fight - but only if he is required to do so.
i think he was perfect in the sixth - all the dignity in the world when he told draco 'you aren't like them, draco,' and all that. but then we see genuine fear as he tells severus "please, severus, don't..." which of course, we're supposed to take as "please, severus, don't kill me."
but really is as we find out in deathly hallows, please severus, don't break your promise to me.
dumbledore has soooo many facets to his character that at time it's just plain ridiculous to expect any actor to play him, but the people that have tried have gotten a few to almost all aspects of him 'right.'
Wow, can I like hire you or something to explain my thoughts? Cause you always manage to say everything spot on, just the way they are. I absolutely agree with you. It's very true that the director has a lot to say when deciding how a character should be portraied. And I also think he's great in the third one. I think most people really reacted in GOF, with the "HARRY POTTER!!!?? DIDYOUPUTYOURNAMEINTHEGOBLETOFFIRE???" thing.
Gender: Female Location: The box in the middle of the street
See, I prefer Richard Harris's performance over Michael Gambon's.
I always saw Dumbledore as a sweet-hearted, kind-natured person, who you don't expect to be so powerful when you hear of him or see him.
However, I'll admit it, I only ever read the last two books. Simply because once I see a movie, I can never finish the book. Maybe because I see no point to it, because I know the storyline possibly. For example; I was reading Angels and Demons just before the movie came out. When I saw the movie, I now can't bring myself to read from where I left off.
So I don't know what Dumbledore was like in the first 5 books. However, I can't see Richard Harris's performance ever doing the stunts that Dumbledore does in the later books/movies.
Overall, I would say that Richard Harris had the best performance towards the family genre, but Michael Gambon's performance suited to the action genre better.... if you guys know what I mean.
__________________ <3**I want (c)Andy**<3 <3 Short Stack <3
book one : ah, welcome harry. i really like you for some reason that may come up within the next seven years. or, indeed, at the end of this year when you go through the maze/six flags attraction of a lifetime.
book two : welcome back, harry. i trust you have had an awful summer with your muggle relations? let us laugh about it. hahahahahah!! now, just so you know i have complete faith in you and your actions and by the way if i'm telling you something just consider it told to ron and hermione both. okay? *bad things start happening* i have complete and utter faith in harry potter. i have complete and utter faith in harry potter. there you see? another six flags ride gone wrong and he still makes it through brilliantly. i told you, i was right about harry potter, wasn't i?
book three : flibbertygibbetyflimsyflumsyhoopsiepoopsiewordsofw
isdomthatflyoverathirteenyearold'shead.
oh, and by the way outside the building are the lovely soul-sucking and happiness eating dementors. mind the rules, won't you please?
[minister of magic, i INSIST that you remove these evil beings from the school. why, just the other day...]
oh harry, you silly boy. you may have messed up a bit but look to your friend granger there who i shall now give a cryptic message to *gives cryptic message* and off you go!
there, you see? i was right in having complete faith in harry potter.
book four : i have been diplomatic. yay for diplomacy! now no one is going to die this year, correct? because harry potter will be staying out of trouble, won't he? yes, he will, because i'll be doing the age line myself and no one can possibly get past my....
DAMN! someone got past my enchantments.
... but i have total and complete faith in harry potter...
WHAT? voldemort's back? well first thing to do is get harry to recover and then we'll think about what to do next but get the poor boy out of here so he doesn't end up with even more post-traumatic stress disorder. all right then. *planplanplanplanplanplanplanplanplanplan[allbehin
dthescenesoverthesummer]planplanplanplanplanplan*
book five : *... and plan. very good*
harry you shall have lessons with me. not because i think you're bad, heavens no. i have complete and utter faith in you harry potter. it's just that there are some things you should know about and i'd love to teach it to you but i'd also like to put you with an expert who will teach you the best.
*plus i'm not too sure what's going on, and maybe voldemort is looking out through your eyes, and i don't want him to see me doing something for the order* so off you go harry, it'll be hard but i have complete faith in you...
ZOMG!!! you did NOT just attack six of my students TOM. yes, i said the name. TOM. nanananabooboo. oh, so you're going to take it like that, are you? well then *KABLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMDUMBLEDOREPOWERACTIVATESW
ISHWHIRLSPELLSPELLBLOCKSPELLSPELL* *voldie goes off licking wounds* *harry gets very angry* oh no harry it's fine. i completely understand your need to get out your anger and... no, go ahead and throw that five thousand year old crystal ball i can totally get another...
are we good? good. so here's some information that i maybe should have told you a bit ago... yes go ahead and grab that fragile object because i know you'll be angry. *fragile object crashes* *book is resolved*
hmmmm... well first i need to figure out how much my brain is worth and i'll have to factor in education and every book i've read... which is a lot. and then i'll need to figure out how much every thought costs.... and then the transformation to word form... hmmmm, should i charge per word or per idea?
Haha sure thing it was, sw successfully explained everything perfectly once more! Please get back to me about the hire thing, I'm really considering it.
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Oct 31st, 2009 02:59 PM
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