by Lynda Mc Donald

Created on: July 26, 2009

As with most films that are based on books, the Harry Potter books are much more superior to the movies. This is because the books include so much more detail in terms of both the characters and the plot. It is almost impossible to convert any book into a film, making each scene as accurate to the book as possible; it would take an immense amount of time and money and would also result in a film so long that it would fail to draw a big enough crowd.

The casting director then also has to compete with, not only the author's description of the characters, but the readers' imagined image also. The actors also have to try their best to fit the director's, author's and reader's character profile, making it very easy for them to fall short.

The only film that ever came as close to the books as they physically could is, in my opinion, is the Lord Of The Rings Extended Edition. The only reason the extended edition sold so well, even though it was unimaginably long, is because the Lord Of The Rings has such a devout cult of fans. This is something that I think the Harry Potter Series could have benefited from; making an extended edition of the movies for it's loyalist fans to purchase. I am also pretty sure that the later instalments of the series could definitely have afforded this luxury.

One of the advantages that all books have over film is that they are only limited to your imagination, which, in reality, is limitless, whereas a film is subject to a budget as well as whatever special effects are available at the time. It is also impossible to replicate everyone's person imagining of each character, but during the process of reading this is a private image.

The characters in the books are also much more developed than in the movie, because they are so much more detailed. The book is also written in the third person, but includes Harry's thoughts and opinions; making him more more accessible to the readers. It is also much easier to become emotionally attached to a character from a book than from a film, because as we read a book we feel more emotionally attached because it is closer to having a conversation and feels more personal.

In short, there is nothing 'wrong' with the Harry Potter films, it is just that books, as a medium can be more powerful than films.

Learn more about this author, Lynda Mc Donald.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.