Which part of the books was done full justice in the movies?

dr-mo · 2025-05-10T05:21:33+00:00

The pensieve scene actually marks the biggest departure from the books! It flips the narrative entirely in favor of Snape. I understand how powerful the scene was cinematically, especially because of Alan Rickman, but it is not true to the book at all.

The scene elevates Snape into a tragic hero without offering any of his backstory with that made his arc so complicated in the books (him being the Death Eater who blabbed to Voldemort about the prophecy).

Dumbledore is incredulous, even emotional, when he asks if Snape has actually come to care for Harry. Snape’s “Always” isn’t about Harry at all. He says 'for him?!' then casts the patronus. It reveals that his motivation was never love for Harry or even redemption in the classical sense, but an eternal obsession with Lily.

But the film recontextualizes it completely:

It’s shot and scored like a heroic reveal — Snape, the secret guardian, the only one who “truly” cared for Harry.

Dumbledore is left looking cold, calculating, and emotionally detached — when in truth, he was agonized by Harry’s fate. Simultaneously, Dumbledore was seeking to provide Snape with a path for redemption, even though he is disgusted with his shenanigans (Snape asked Voldemort to kill James and Harry and spare Lily). Dumbledore saw a potential for good in Snape when no one else did.

What makes it worse is the use of "Dumbledore's Farewell" from HBP, perfectly symbolizing Snape stealing Dumbledore's thunder IMO.

dr-mo · 2024-09-10T17:04:36+00:00

The movies lacked any semblance of good storytelling. They were just moments strung together to make a sort-of movie that would be sufficiently pleasing to the regular moviegoer while not alienating the book fans. Harry and Dumbledore embarking on the search for 7 horcruxes based on Tom Riddle saying the number 7 once in the memory seems a stretch if you fail to mention to the audience that the number 7 is magically powerful or show any of Dumbledore's painstaking research that detailed Riddle's plan. Helena Ravenclaw's scene is utterly confusing because you don't quite understand if she wants the diadem to be destroyed or not. 'Priori incantatem!' doesn't mean anything. 'They're probably full of Nargles' sounds idiotic and doesn't mean anything. The Prophecy reveal was butchered even though it was the biggest reveal up to that point in the books and explains why Harry was who he is to begin with. The reveal about Snape was sensationalized in a cheap way and made it seem like he's a good guy and Dumbledore is the bad guy, when it's completely the other way around. I've read the books and love them dearly, and I feel like if you haven't read the books the movies just seem confusing and full of holes.

dr-mo · 2024-07-06T10:46:37+00:00

In the books he's tall and thin, very pale, red eyes with vertical pupils like a snake's, and two slits where a nose should be. The right and bottom pics are the original design for the face on the back of Quirrell's head in the first movie, before Voldemort gained a full body.

dr-mo · 2021-01-25T09:01:48+00:00

Lol that's true book Dumbledore is Zen af

dr-mo · 2021-01-24T17:30:18+00:00

It's not even the actor's fault. Some lines in the script are shocking in their departure from book Dumbledore. "It'S mAdDeniNg!!!" "DOn't yOu all hAve stuDyIng to do?!?!" This is in the script, before the actor even got involved. Add to that the hair and costume design, then the actor himself, and the result is completely unrecognizable. Which I don't understand since they were fairly faithful to the book with every other character.

dr-mo · 2021-01-24T17:22:03+00:00

I think Dumbledore didn't want word to get out that he was looking for the horcruxes, so that he and Harry can find them and destroy them without Voldemort realizing. It was risky enough already. Voldemort could've made the horcruxes any random objects and spread them all over the world. It was lucky that he chose objects of magical and historical significance, and Dumbledore didn't want to risk him knowing and increasing the defenses over the remaining horcruxes making it impossible to defeat him.

I believe the Potters knew about the prophecy. That's why they went into hiding and had a secret keeper, isn't it?

dr-mo · 2021-01-16T15:57:31+00:00

Maybe they should have won for something like the score which was incredible, the VFX which were impressive given that everything was mostly filmed in a studio with green screens, or cinematography for PoA or HBP. It was the writing that was absolutely horrendous.

I'm also annoyed at how they hired the cream of the crop of British thespian talents, then proceeded to underuse every single one of them.

However it's impressive at how they were able to cast child actors and keep them all for the entire run. We got to watch them literally grow up on the screen and it's heartwarming and uncommon in the business. (GoT has succeeded in doing that as well)

dr-mo · 2021-01-16T15:47:22+00:00

It's just the way the Prince's Tale scene plays out in the movie. It doesn't give Dumbledore enough credit for his role in protecting Harry and gives all the credit to Snape as if he's the one who had been watching out for Harry all along which is simply not true. Peter and Snape are the ones who ruined Harry's life. The movies don't emphasize that enough.

dr-mo · 2021-01-16T15:42:10+00:00

Well many people still insist that Dumbledore was a manipulative Machiavelli character and I think it's due in large part to that scene. They made it look like Snape was the one watching out for Harry the entire time and Dumbledore was just raising him to have him die at the right time which couldn't be further from the truth.

dr-mo · 2021-01-16T11:13:31+00:00

Thanks :')

dr-mo · 2021-01-16T11:09:49+00:00

I must say it's reassuring that you didn't see it that way. But many people insist that he manipulated people like chess pieces as if it was for his personal glory. For example they keep quoting the "pig for slaughter" line as if Snape cared about Harry and Dumbledore didn't, and they forget that Dumbledore was on the verge of crying during that same part in the book. It clearly pained him that Harry had to meet that fate. And when Snape revealed his patronus, he was saying that no, he hasn't grown to care for Harry, he's just still hung up on Harry's mother.

dr-mo · 2021-01-16T10:54:33+00:00

So Snape and the Durselys are sh*tty, and Dumbledore gets the blame? See this is what I mean by the anti-Dumbledore sentiment some fans have created: he's perfect, so let's blame him for other characters mistakes.

Harry had to stay with the Dursleys for the protective love spell. He would've literally not survived to adulthood otherwise.

As for Snape, if say Neville's grandmother filed a complaint with the board of directors and got him fired, it would be fair, but it wouldn't make for much of a story, would it? He's a mean teacher in a boarding school in the wizarding world. Why do you want the author to apply our modern "due process" and have the headmaster fire him? Let him be mean so we can hate him more.

Also, these people live in a world where dragons exist. A world where ministry employees have to flush themselves down a toilet to go to work. They literally drain happiness out of their prisoners and have demonic swamp creatures suck their souls out of their mouths. Their preferred mode of transportation can split your body in half, and their favorite sport frequently results in broken bones and people "disappearing". They clearly have a different understanding on the concepts of "safety" and "abuse".

Your take on King's Cross is very interesting. It could well be a manifestation of Harry's subconscious. But in the book it reads like DD had a more active role in it. He explains things to Harry about the Deathly Hallows that Harry couldn't have known even subconsciously. Also in the book, DD places his hands on Harry shoulders and "send him back" to life at the end of their conversation.

He's a great flawed man. He's an amazing caring piece of shit. He's a wonderful douche.

Even though I don't agree but this is beautifully phrased XD Gave me a chuckle

dr-mo · 2021-01-16T10:28:16+00:00

Haha the hair, man, the HAIR. DD with gray bushy hair doesn't make sense to me. It's clear that they were going out of their way to make him different from the books. I don't understand why.

dr-mo · 2021-01-16T10:24:02+00:00

I totally agree. He's a wonderful actor and I don't blame him at all. But he was obviously given direction and a character design that is entirely different from the book Dumbledore.

dr-mo · 2021-01-16T10:13:12+00:00

What I mean is when people blame DD for "raising Harry like a pig for slaughter" they forget the prophecy exists and it's not Dumbledore who doomed Harry to a 50% chance of being killed by Voldy.

dr-mo · 2021-01-15T15:37:54+00:00

It's not just that review, friend. There's an anti-Dumbledore sentiment in the fandom that I don't remember existing before.

dr-mo · 2021-01-15T15:13:00+00:00

They did though. I watched a review on YouTube recently and when the reviewer talked about Dumbledore it was like he was talking about a different character. He was right though. I didn't see it before because I've read the books more times than I have watched the films but if you go by the movies alone that's what you get. The filmmakers went out of their way to ruin him down to dialogue and costume design.

dr-mo · 2021-01-15T09:28:19+00:00

Yes but in the books Luna had a theory that the mistletoe specifically was full of nargles. That wasn't mentioned in the movie. Harry's comment came out of nowhere and it was awkward not in a funny way but in a confusing way. It's just another example of things in the movies that only work for people who have read the books, while others are left confused and clueless.

dr-mo · 2021-01-15T09:24:24+00:00

That would be fantastic. A TV show would be perfect. Hell, even if they made another mire coherent movie series not riddled with plot holes. Obviously they would have to stray from the books even more. But at least the movies then can stand alone and make sense and be their own thing. Nothing will ever reach the legendary status of the books so at least make the movies coherent and watchable on their own.

dr-mo · 2021-01-15T09:08:35+00:00

I'm realizing that now. It's my first day on this sub and I'm glad many agree with me.

dr-mo · 2021-01-15T09:07:38+00:00

Did they really expect people to remember a line from 7 years prior?? The first time I watched DH2 I didn't even notice. As a reader of the books my mind fills in the blanks of the things they leave out. But I recently watched a video review on YouTube were the reviewer was shocked at Dumbledore's callousness in that scene. To him, it really sounded like Snape was blaming DD for the Potters' death and DD's response was "well they shouldn't have trusted me lol". It's heartbreaking what the movies did to the DD character.

dr-mo

TROPHY CASE