Pots about Potter

Another movie !! All Potter fans going crazy again. (Not to mention the Radcliffe fans as well).

So on a lonely Saturday morning, I am sitting and flicking channels (basically timepassing) and I come across a few "audience reviews" of the movie. And, the amazing part is that most of the people on camera said that if you have read the book, you're gonna be disappointed with the movie. Now I havent seen the movie yet, but still, am gonna air my views about it !!!

Actually, I am not surprised with the review. And I have nothing against the makers of Harry Potter. I am a complete book worm and for any book-movie pair, I always feel that the movie doesnt do justice to the book. And, I have my reasons for that ....

The first and the foremost, when I read a book, I am imagining the settings in my mind. If the book says "it was a dark and stormy night, there was thunder and lightening" I have a mental image of it. Now when I see the same thing in a movie, my brain goes dead. It is not allowed to imagine a dark and stormy night with thunder and lightening. It is simply shown the backdrop of the scene of action. A movie adapted from a novel, is like watching a person (or a group of people's) perception of the book or the story.

The other reason why I prefer the book version is that when I read, I feel that the author is telling me a personalized story. That again is because I choose to perceive it differently. And when somebody discusses the book with me, I realise that the other person also was told the story personally and we differ on our interpretations of a few things. Its like drawing different lessons from the same incident. But, when you watch a movie and discuss it with a friend, you dont discuss what you percieved in the movie, you simply discuss who performed well, how lovely the special effects were, etc. Its not that you dont want to discuss the lessons/story of the movie, its just that there is none to discuss and dispute about, coz both of you have the same notions (the ones which were shown to you!)

Now I am not really against the movies adapted from novels, mind you. Sometimes the novels are just too thick and bulky and dragging on forever kinds. You have to watch the movie and appreciate that someone(s) actually went through the book, took in the minutest of details and re-created it all for you...

On a parting note, I want to just applaud the special effects of the movie - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Its sheer creativity that has breathed a life into the pictures I had in mind about the back drop of the story. If there is one reason why I love these movies, its this.

Cheers !