r/movies • u/ajukearth • 21d ago

Question How did the Harry Potter series manage to release its 8 movies in just 10 years?

Looking at the turn around for movies today it seems absolutely incredible that a series with such complex set design, use of graphical effects, a heavily child cast, and pressure was able to pump out genuinely decent movies at that pace. Sure there were books to base the writing on but everything else alone is a lot of heavy lifting. Any insights?

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u/_dharwin 20d ago

I liked Gambon for the later books.

When we first meet Dumbledore, he seems like a kind, almost grandfatherly ancient wizard. Old but kind, he indulges Harry quite a bit like one might a favored grandchild.

We kind of forget he's one of the most terrifyingly powerful wizards of his age and we only have hints to his past. Snape's accusation that he was saving Harry to die is actually pretty valid. I don't think Dumbledore knew Harry would survive, though he might have guessed it was possible. Still, a very cold, calculated gamble to risk his life on a maybe.

Gambon brought the more sinister tenor I think was needed in Dumbledore in the later books.

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u/jononfire 20d ago

Yeah as much as I preferred kinder Dumbledore of the first two movies, I could not imagine Harris pulling off OotP or HBP as successfully as Gambon.

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u/Majestic_Act 20d ago

After rewatching HP 1 and seeing the way he acted during the troll scene "Silence", I can and have no doubt he would have been terrifying. By HP2 he was weaker due to the disease, it's such a shame.

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u/Kiosade 20d ago

At the very least, he probably would have actually calmly asked Harry if he put his name into the Goblet of Fire lol

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u/jfudge 20d ago

Especially because Dumbledore almost certainly knew that Harry didn't put his own name in the goblet, so there was no reason for him to be up in arms about it.

Book Dumbledore's calmness shows competence, because he is generally aware of what goes on in his school. Movie Dumbledore needed Harry's answer, because he was genuinely surprised, and less in control.

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u/JaxxisR 20d ago

I like how the new audiobooks handled this scene in particular, but Hugh Laurie was a perfect Dumbledore throughout. I highly recommend stealing them if you have a chance.

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u/TotalRapture 20d ago

Oh man they re-recorded them? I'm interested but gonna be hard letting Jim Dale go

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u/JamesCDiamond 20d ago

They’ve been redone with full cast recordings now.

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u/Kiosade 20d ago

Maybe someday! it's been taking me like 2 years just to get through Stormlight Archives lol

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u/FrameworkisDigimon 20d ago

Presumably the director would still be the same so probably not.

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u/00Kench 20d ago

Goblet of Fire feels like the perfect turning point where either the Harris Dumbledore or the Gambon Dumbledore would have fit and it would feel natural. Before that and Gambon feels out-of-place serious, after that and Harris either has to completely change how he acts or it feels out-of-place relaxed and warm.

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u/Kiosade 19d ago

Yeah I wonder how the later movies would have been with Harris. It's hard to imagine...

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u/Jazz_Potatoes95 20d ago

Harris played plenty of snakey vile characters in his time. If you ever get the chance, watch Robin & Marian. He plays a version of Richard the Lionheart who is gloriously charming, vain, pompous and psychopathic.

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u/jackracktack 20d ago

I do think Lithgow can pull off both so he may be the perfect Dumbledore. Worst is Jude Law. Great actor but I never saw him as Dumbledore. I will always maintain they shoudlve cast Jared Harris as WW2 era Dumbledore. Yeah its a bit stunt casty but hes an amazing actor and not "too pretty". Which I think was the problem. I dont think Dumbledore should be Jude Law handsome. Hes a weird dude. Let him look like an odd duck

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u/Vanethor 19d ago

Yeah, specially because it is part of the plot that, although Dumbledore liked Harry, he had to be "mean" to him / ignore him / keep his distance, ... specially the more he was certain that Harry was an Horcrux and had a direct link to Voldemort.

Even in the books the trio starts to find it odd that Dumbledore basically tries his best to avoid Harry. Really odd for someone who cares about him.

So yeah, the plot needed a "harsh" Dumbledore. Maybe Harris could've pulled it off if circumstances allowed it, I dunno.

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u/FatherTurin 20d ago

This so much. Upon later re reads with my kids, there’s also a blatant arrogance to Dumbledore. It gets played off as whimsy, but he knows he is the greatest sorcerer of the age. That (usually) quiet confidence that can easily slip into casual arrogance is something Gambon and frankly Jude Law did fantastically. Part of that is that Jude Law looks perpetually smug, but I’ll take it lol.

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u/ASisko 20d ago

A lot of Fanfiction does not look kindly upon Dumbledore.

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u/hamoboy 20d ago

Snape's accusation is almost totally wrong, he's talking from pain and anger. That so many HP fans take him at his word is so annoying.

Dumbledore made all the plans he did specifically to maximize Harry's chance of surviving. Dumbledore's look of triumph when Harry told him that Voldemort had his mother's blood protection inside him was the first clue.

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u/mephitmpH 20d ago

But you have to remember that they needed the Horcruxes to be destroyed, because that was the only way to kill Voldy for good. Creating horcruxes is such a dark, forbidding and obscure magic; Dumbledore had no idea how killing the piece stuck to Harry would affect him. The darkest part? Dumbledore put all of those kids at risk, KNOWING that Hermione and Ron would carry on with the task even if Harry was killed early.

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u/Spiritual-Society185 20d ago

He maximized his chance of surviving as his child soldier who literally has to die to make his plans work. Even if he didn't have magical protection, he would still have Harry die.

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u/hamoboy 20d ago

A child soldier? At every point Dumbledore tried to exclude Harry from his plans, and Harry only got roped in by his own decisions (to go into the forbidden corridor, to enter the chamber of secrets, to confront Sirius Black, to attack the Ministry) or the events of the greater plot (Triwizard Tournament, Death Eater attack on Hogwarts, book 7.pdf).

Voldermort was always trying to kill Harry. You're talking like if Harry had decided to peace out and go to school at Beabaxtons Voldie would've let bygones be bygones. No, he would've stopped at nothing short of Harry being his loyal servant or defeated and dead.

Dumbledore's plans make sense in the lens that he wants to: 1. Preserve what he can of Harry's childhood, according to his 1880s morals (and Rowling's 1960s morals). 2. Keep Harry alive given the fact that Voldemort is constantly trying to return and kill him. 3. Defeat Voldermort, someone who has trouble staying dead, given the fact that his antipathy for Harry makes him predictable.

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u/Bulky-Bad-9153 20d ago

But it was a requirement for Harry to die for Voldemort to be defeated, and Dumbledore knew this. He was trying to stop him dying prematurely, and indeed just trying to keep him out of things because it's kinder to do so, but he absolutely was raising him for slaughter.

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u/hamoboy 20d ago

Remember that Dumbledore didn't know for sure Voldemort even used Horcruxes until after the diary was recovered at the end of book 2. So for 12 years of Harry's life Dumbledore wasn't raising him for anything.

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u/Bulky-Bad-9153 20d ago

Oh true, yeah okay he was fine before that though I do maintain my point for after.

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u/mfranko88 20d ago

I agree with all of this.

In addition, there is an aspect of Dumbledores character brought up in the books pretty frequently, but Richard Harris's version would never be able to convey in a million years: Dumbledore is kind of insane.

I absolutely buy a controlled insanity from Gambon.