Summary
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabandirector Alfonso Cuarón explains the film’s different depiction of Hogwarts. Released in 2004, the third film in the hitHarry Potterfranchisesees Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to continue his education, this time while the school deals with the escape of notorious criminal Sirius Black (Gary Oldman). The movie, which was a critical and commercial success, features a noticeably different visual style to its two predecessors, including a big evolution for Hogwarts.
In a recent interview withTotal Film(viaGamesRadar), Cuarón discusses the change in approach to Hogwarts that he takes withHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. One of the big changes involves more on-location shooting for various sequences in the film, with many of the backdrops for Hogwarts being filmed in Scotland. Cuarón was also interested in making Hogwarts make more sense geographically in terms of where various locations were in relation to each other. Check out his comments below:
“I can’t do anything unless I have the freedom to do what I do. I wanted to stretch things. Open up the universe. To feel that Hogwarts is set in a geographical place, where you can have nature around your universe, and to make your universe one with that nature. And to create a geographic logic to Hogwarts.
“You know, the Great Hall is here, and then the stairs are next to the Great Hall, and if you take the stairs you go to the bedrooms… If you go to the Clock Tower, the hospital is a corridor away, and you may see the courtyard, and from there you see the bridge… and below that is Hagrid’s hut, and the Whomping Willow on the other side, then the forest…”
Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban Changes The Franchise For The Better
How The Third Film’s Influence Lived On
While the first two movies in the franchise were filled with a sense of childlike wonder and whimsy,Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabantakes the franchise in a darker direction. As characters like Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione enter their teen years, the world around is portrayed as a much more grown-up place.The danger in the third film feels real and there are sequences that have distinct aspects of horror to them, including theHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanending.
The central franchise villain, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), isn’t featured inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but the new direction that the film takes the franchise in allows him to be presented in a much darker fashion in future films. Cuarón doesn’t return for any subsequent installments in the franchise and his film remains something of an outlier visually and in terms of its storytelling and tone. ButHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’s influence carries onand essentially charts the course forward for the entire series.
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Hogwarts' appearance and layout continues to evolve over the course of the franchise, butsome of Cuarón’s design and geography decisions live on. The location of Hagrid’s (Robbie Coltrane) cabin in relation to Hogwarts, for example, remains relatively unchanged, as does the castle’s more gothic architecture and the inclusion of a rickety wooden bridge across a gorge. While other directors would eventually come in and put their own stamp on the franchise, Cuarón certainly made a big impression withHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Cast
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: In Harry’s third year at Hogwarts, he faces more complex magical challenges and encounters fear-inducing Dementors. The escape of the notorious wizard Sirius Black from Azkaban casts a shadow over the school year, presenting new threats and mysteries for Harry and his friends to unravel.
