Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
"Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard."
Prisoner of Azkaban is a major fan favorite in the Harry Potter fandom. This is ultimately due to the godlike aesthetic the film has. The coloring has much darker and bluer tones than the first films. The lighting is also way darker, reflecting the darker tones of the story. The music carries a different kind of magical enchantment compared to John Williams' early work in the franchise. And the costumes are altered completely, also adding to a new freshness that we see in the 3rd movie.
Alfonso Cuaron essentially delivers one of the most unique Harry Potter experiences we've ever witnessed. All the aesthetic came from his creative input. He understood that the 3rd installment needed to see character growth of the main characters, and he worked with the cast on that. He brought on the idea that each character has a specific design of wands, rather than all wands looking the same. Everything about Prisoner of Azkaban stands out against the other movies and is such a huge tonal shift in the series. I'm absolutely in love with it. Thank you, Alfonso!
After carrying the first two chapters, Chris Columbus passes the torch onto Cuaron. He acts as a producer here, then departs from the franchise altogether. This is also the last we see of John Williams. Though he went out with a bang as this is one of my favorite soundtracks of all time from him. And Hedwig's theme, of course, continues it's reign as the iconic theme song in future installments.
Prisoner of Azkaban also saw a few first appearances by some legendary actors portraying iconic characters. Now Remus Lupin is my favorite character of all time and I will never get over David Thewlis's portrayal of him. I read the books and all I hear is his voice. The Prisoner himself, Sirius Black, is played by none other than Gary Oldman. A dissertation can be written about his career and talent. It's such a joy seeing him in these movies. We also get a new Dumbledore, as unfortunately Richard Harris passed away between films. Harris was the calm and soft spoken Dumbledore we all know in love. However, Michael Gambon comes into the 3rd film and brings that sense of loony air that Harris didn't have. There's a big debate about Gambon's performance, which I'll bring up again in my Goblet of Fire review. But in Prisoner of Azkaban, Gambon is fantastic.
Well Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite, not just in the films, but the books as well. This is the only year where some form of Voldemort isn't lurking in the background building up some diabolical way to kill Harry. It does, however, revolve around the story of the Marauders, which is the most heartbreaking tale of friendship ever (and a bit of inspiration to the folks of Tumblr). Just look at their story from Lupin's eyes, specifically, and then throw his friendship with Harry in the mix as he tries to learn more about what happened that one fateful night. Their story is legendary, and I still want to know more about it. Their mischief levels were apparently only rivaled by that of Fred and George. And in the middle was love and acceptance of each other. This is a common theme through Harry's story, a theme that begins in the generation before him.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★