Pottermania: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – 7.7/10 IMDb

If you haven’t already, click the following links to read the previous three #Pottermania posts: Philosopher’s StoneChamber of Secrets, and Prisoner of Azkaban. This edition will cover the book-to-film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire based on J.K. Rowling’s fourth book of the Harry Potter series.

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The film begins as 14-year-old Harry dreams of an attack on a muggle by Lord Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, and another man. Harry awakes in a panic at the Weasleys’ abode on the morning of the Quidditch World Cup Final. He thinks nothing of it and attends the game with Hermione, the Diggorys, and the Weasleys. The Irish end up beating the Bulgarians even though Viktor Krum catches the Snitch and the fans celebrate into the night. However, a pandemic breaks out as a group of Death Eaters wreak havoc on the fans and the man from Harry’s dream conjures the Dark Mark into the sky.

The students return to Hogwarts and Dumbledore announces that Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody will be their fourth Defence Against the Dark Arts in four years. Also, on a more exciting note, Hogwarts is to host the legendary Triwizard Tournament and will open their doors to the boys of the Durmstrang Institute and the girls of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Any student who wishes to be chosen as their school’s champion are instructed to put their name in the Goblet of Fire. However due to the potential danger of the tasks, Dumbledore notes that only students aged 17 or older can participate. Soon after, Viktor Krum is named Durmstrang’s Champion, Fleur Delacour is named Beauxbatons’ Champion, and finally Cedric Diggory is chosen as Hogwarts’ Champion. Or so it seems, until underage Harry Potter’s name comes flying out of the goblet and is named the fourth Triwizard Champion.

triwizard-cup

The contract is binding so Harry must compete in the tournament which makes everyone in the school, especially Ron, extremely jealous. In the first part of the tournament the champions are tasked with obtaining a golden egg that is guarded by a fierce dragon. Each champion has a different strategy, but Harry uses some impressive flying work to capture his egg! A secret hint to the next task is hidden in the egg and each Champion must work to uncover it in the weeks leading up to the event.

To keep everyone’s mind off of the stress of classes, the entire student body is invited to the traditional Yule Ball dance. Harry misses out on landing his crush Cho Chang as his date because he took too long to ask, so she had already agreed to go with Cedric. He and Ron end up going with the Patil sisters after Ron epically fails at asking Fleur. But, the true Belle of the ball is Hermione as she arrives in a gorgeous pink gown and enters the hall with Viktor Krum on her arm. The ball begins with a traditional dance, which quickly turns into a mosh pit and like clockwork is ruined by Ron’s jealousy the moment Hermione takes a second to breathe.

yule-ball

Harry helped out Cedric with the first task by mentioning the dragons, so Cedric hints for him to submerge the egg in water to find out the clue. It reveals that the Champions will have to retrieve something that was taken from them at the deep centre of the lake. The true task is for each of them to figure out how they are to breathe under water for an hour. It turns out that someone they each hold dear was taken, therefore Viktor’s person was Hermione, Harry’s was Ron, Cedric’s was Cho, and Fleur’s was her sister. Harry arrives to the four hostages first, but he doesn’t want to leave with just Ron when he is unsure if the other three will be safe. Cedric and Viktor arrive soon after Harry, but when Fleur doesn’t show up Harry saves her sister. He receives second place even though he came out of the water third because he showed incredible “moral fibre”.

mermaids

Soon after, Harry comes across a deceased Barty Crouch Sr. and heads straight to Dumbledore’s office. When he is waiting for the Professor to arrive he comes across a memory container called a Pensieve. He accidentally activates the memory of Durmstrang Headmaster Igor Karkaroff’s trial where he names Barty Crouch Jr. as one of Voldemort’s Death Eaters. Everyone is holding their breath heading into the final task as the four Champions must enter a massive hedge maze to find the Triwizard Cup. They enter the maze and Harry comes across Viktor, who is under the Imperius Curse, attacking Fleur. He stops Viktor, saves Fleur, and finds Cedric just as the Cup is in sight. The two decide to claim a draw as they both helped eachother get to the finish, so they grab the cup together.

It turns out that the Cup is actually a Portkey, so the two are transported to a graveyard which Harry recognizes instantly as the setting of the nightmares he has been having for the past few months. Things turn from bad to worse when Pettigrew kills Cedric and performs a ritual that reincarnates Lord Voldemort. Moments later, Voldemort summons his old Death Eaters and challenges Harry to a duel. Harry attempts an Expelliarmus charm at the same moment Voldemort attempts the Killing Curse. But, because they share the same core the spells connect and images of Voldemort’s last victims appear, including Harry’s parents. This distraction allows Harry to grab Cedric’s body and the Portkey, which takes them back to Hogwarts.

graveyard-scene

Moody immediately brings Harry to his office to get him away from the chaos. He then reveals that he was the one who put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire, and he helped him throughout the tournament. But before Moody can kill Harry,  Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape swoop in to save the day. Moody is then forced to reveal that he indeed is not Moody but is Barty Crouch Jr., and he has been using Polyjuice Potion to infiltrate Hogwarts on behalf of the Dark Lord. Barty confesses to killing his father and notes that the real Moody is locked in a nearby trunk before he is shipped off to Azkaban.

In the morning, Dumbledore informs the entire student body that Lord Voldemort is indeed back and he is the reason that Cedric is dead. This is against a direct order from the Ministry of Magic but he does it as a sign of respect to Cedric’s memory. Dumbledore then visits Harry and notes that when his spell connected with Voldemort’s at the graveyard it was called “Priori Incantatem”. Dumbledore says that although he saw his parents that night, no spell can awaken the dead. As the school year concludes, the students from Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons bid their farewells and vow to come together in future times of need, as the world begins its shift towards dark times.

beauxbatons

Favourite Parts of the Film

  • I loved the opening sequence when Harry, Hermione, the Weasleys, and the Diggorys travel via Portkey to the Quidditch World Cup. It was exciting to see the concept come to life on film, in both the beginning and at the end when Harry and Cedric transport to the graveyard.
  • I loved the arrival sequences by both the Beauxbatons and the Durmstrang schools from the sky and out of the lake. Also, I felt the casting of Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski), Fleur Delacour (Clemence Poesy), Madame Olympe Maxime (Frances de la Tour), and Igor Karkaroff (Predrag Bjelac) were excellent choices.
  • Brendan Gleeson was exceptional as Professor Alastor ‘Mad Eye’ Moody. He reprises his role in the rest of the series, but to see him play the role of Moody with the hint of Barty Crouch Jr. in this particular film was highly impressive.
  • The Yule Ball has always been one of my favourite parts of the film as it is a great set of scenes where we get to see everyone get dressed up and let loose. Also, Ron’s terrible dress robes were something I was thoroughly looking forward to when I read the book, and they did not disappoint! Lastly, Hermione looked absolutely STUNNING in her pink dress.
  • Neville once again stole my heart during a few scenes as he continued to be his adorable self. Specifically, he looked precious when he was practicing dancing for the Yule Ball alone in his room, as well as when he thought he killed Harry in the second task!
  • Lastly, I thought the tasks were very impressive to watch on film. The dragon chasing after Harry on his Firebolt, the Merpeople hostage situation, and the terror of the maze were all visually captivating.

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Plot Changes from the Book

  • I was sad that the game play of the Quidditch World Cup was not in the film but I understand as the film was already fairly long. However, I was more upset that it meant we didn’t get to see the team mascot interaction between the Veelas and the Leprechauns.
  • The storyline for Barty Crouch Sr. was fairly different in the book. His house elf Winky and her involvement with helping to conjure the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup was removed altogether. Also, in the book Senior was not dead when Harry came across him, he was instead confused and trying to find Dumbledore to tell him about how he had broken his son out of Azkaban.
  • For the second task, in the book Harry was woken up by Dobby only minutes before the event was to commence and that’s how he acquired Gillyweed instead of Neville helping him out.
  • Ludo Bagman the Quidditch World Cup organizer was not in the film at all. Therefore, his storylines of cheating out Fred and George of their winnings and his attempts to help Harry were absent. However, in the book Harry made up for this by giving the twins his winnings from being Triwizard Champion.
  • The ending of the film was nice as it showed bounding between the trio. But, I was let down that Hermione didn’t reveal that Rita Skeeter was in fact an illegal unregistered animagus and that she was planning to  blackmail her with that knowledge.

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Favourite Quotes

1) “We never use transfiguration as a punishment. Surely Dumbledore would have told you.” – Professor McGonagall “He might have mentioned it.” – Professor Moody

2) “But I’m not allowed a broom.” – Harry “You’re allowed a wand.” – Moody

3) “You have no business here! This tent is for champions, and friends.” – Viktor Krum

4) “Oh my god! I’ve killed Harry Potter!” – Neville Longbottom

5) [Moody takes a drink form his flask] “What do you suppose he’s got there?” – Seamus “I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s pumpkin juice.” – Harry

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6) [to Harry] “I never liked those curtains. I set them on fire in my fourth year. Accidentally, of course.” – Albus Dumbledore

7) “Hey, my eyes aren’t glistening with the ghosts of my past!” – Harry

8) “Try saying that five times fast.” – Fred Weasley “Babbling, bumbling band of baboons.” – George Weasley

9) [to Ron] “Don’t you look … dashing.” – Padma Patil

10) “I love magic.” – Harry Potter

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Bonus Items

As usual I have added a few bonus items for the hardcore Harry Potter fans that want a little extra. First off, click here for Dan Dalton’s fourth Buzzfeed Article about watching the film for the first time in adulthood. Secondly, take a look at the below photos for a little walk down the Yule Ball memory lane. Finally, check out the video link for all deleted scenes from the fourth film of the series.

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cedric-cho

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