Thinking about the return of David Yates as director of the wizarding world yesterday got me wondering, how does his work as a director stack up against the rest of the Harry Potter directors? Potterphiles have celebrated the films endlessly, and they are, as a collection, a marvelous, unique piece of fantasy story-telling. But as movies, how do they compare?
So here it is: the 8 films of The Harry Potter series, ranked by achievement in directing.
8. Chamber of Secrets Dir: Chris Columbus.
Chris Columbus is not a great director. But Chamber is a pretty scary and highly entertaining movie for kids. It’s also really, really long, and occasionally cumbersome. The winsome nature of the kids and the delight that comes with the childish embrace of magic carries Chamber through some of the tediousness of the direction. Still, no denying that Chamber makes the most of its story, and sticking close to Rowling’s story hides much of Columbus’ bland direction.
Best Direction: The fight with the Basilisk. Chamber is a kid’s adventure film, and it is tough to beat a 12 year old kid in hand-to-hand combat with a giant snake. What could have been silly for everyone, was exhilarating and terrifying, mostly because the snake looked like a giant, awful snake. For that Columbus gets high-praise.
7. The Goblet of Fire Dir: Mike Newell
When I heard Mike Newell was making a Harry Potter film, I got fairly amped. He’s no Alfonso Cuaron (who made the predecessor), but Newell’s Four Wedding and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco are both high quality pictures. Alas. I thought Newell’s movie would be better.
Newell gets lost in the action and the magic of Goblet, but the point of this story is the dark turn it takes, and that he handles well. The kids become teens, and Newell does well directing the three mediocre child-actors into moderately skilled adolescent actors. With Cedric’s death (his father weeping over Cedric’s body is unbearable) and Voldie’s return (terrifying ritual including the crumpled flesh skeleton Voldemort), you know the kid-stuff magic has been left behind. Some of Newell’s trouble might also come from the fact that Goblet has the craziest plot in the series: Every single action and accomplishment Harry takes is manipulated by the false-Moody.
Best Direction: The Yule Ball. Newell captures the transition of childhood to adolescence with skill. Hermione’s regal walk broken by her giggle, Ron’s petulance, Harry’s cluelessness. A very nicely crafted scene.
6. The Half Blood Prince Dir: David Yates
David Yates’ least accomplished Harry Potter film is still the funniest of the series when the film is funny, and the saddest of the films in regard to the heartbreak of adolescence. But it never pulls it all together to make sense of its story. The first 90 minutes or so feel as though they are just pushing audiences to the final scenes with Harry, Dumbledore and Snape. Those are entertaining, dramatic, and expertly crafted scenes, but the film is structured around the revelation of the identity of the Half Blood Prince. And that revelation always struck me as the least important final reveal in history. Daniel Radcliffe has said he hates his performance in this one, and he’s not great. But Emma Watson and Rupert Grint shine, as does the final action sequence.
Best Direction: the astronomy tower. Yates gets uncharacteristically skilled work out of Tom Felton, whose Draco Malfoy had heretofore been asked to do little more than scoff and sneer at others. Also, the staging of the scene comes straight from theater, with Dumbledore and Draco on stage, and Harry and Snape carrying out the plot underlying the scene in the space underlying the action.
5. Sorcerer’s Stone Dir: Chris Columbus.
It is difficult to rank the first film so low. It really is a wonderful, magical movie that set the stage for everything that was to come. Chris Columbus is at his best dealing with the light-hearted wonders of childhood, and he manages to introduce Harry and the world of Hogwarts with all the wonder a child would feel. But who could have known the films would get better and better? Here, the kids are adorable, sure, but Snape, oh Snape, he steals the show. Alan Rickman saying “up to something” tells you everything you need to know about the career defining performance he would undertake for the next decade.
Best Direction: Directing the adults. Everyone involved in the series should feel lucky that the three stars of Harry Potter grew into pretty good actors. But it’s in the original film that Columbus sets the stage for countless gifted adults to uphold the reality of the wizarding world. With only the slightest hint of a wink, Rickman, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane give the kids the room to act like kids.
4. Deathly Hallows, Part 2 Dir: David Yates
For the finale to be a success, Yates had to make a film that looked great, hit the pivotal plot points with conviction, and most importantly, carry the emotional weight of 15 years of devoted fandom. He did, and more. Hallows part 2 depends on Harry and Voldie, and they live up to it. Radcliffe is surprisingly capable carrying the emotional resonance of the Forbidden Forest, and Ralph Fiennes performance as Voldemort was terrifically, delightfully evil (his Draco hug? awful and awesome). The dragon at Gringott’s was a remarkable CG creation, and the battle for Hogwarts didn’t disappoint. Not much to complain about, except maybe the Epilogue, but what are you going to do about that?
Best Direction: The dragon escape. The emotional conclusion is powerful, but Harry, Ron and Hermione’s escape from Gringott’s on the dragon’s back is a reminder why Yates is being called back in: he can direct really incredible fantasy. The scene seemed to go relatively unremarked upon, but the integration of digital and live-action, and the shift from the bank and Diagon Alley to the lakes of countryside is a stunning directorial achievement. As fine-looking and detailed as any CGI I’ve seen.
3. Order of the Phoenix Dir: David Yates
Mike Newell handled the transition of the kids to teens, but in Order of the Phoenix, the kids become Actors, and are aided along by David Yates drawing the best performances of the ensemble adult cast in the entire series. Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge might be the best performance of all 8 films. Her evil is so well worn in her teeny little giggle, and her office of cat-plates might be the creepiest set of the series. She is so much fun to hate, and Yates’ embrace of this fact makes for some of the best scenes in any film. The office of Umbridge is captured by Yates better than my imagination read it in J.K. Rowling’s novel. Grawp was a bit of a disappointment, but no director can win all the CGI battles.
Best Direction: The battle in the Department of Mysteries. There are a lot of actors in this scene, each with something to do. That they are all managed purposefully is no small feat: the six kids from Dumbledore’s Army, the Death Eaters they encounter, and the Order of the Phoenix who come to the rescue would be enough to make this scene an achievement. But that it all moves purposefully (and circularly around Harry, by the way) to the arrival of Dumbledore and Voldemort, who will duel around Harry, until Voldemort’s possession of Harry’s body. It’s a demonstration in how to handle keeping actors involved as action centers on someone else.
2. Deathly Hallows, Part 1 Dir: David Yates
The most lovely, dramatic, and heartbreaking of the films, Hallows part 1 also takes some of the biggest risks as a film. From the animated sequence of Beadle the Bard to Bellatrix torturing Hermione in the Malfoy Mansion, Part 1 makes a strong argument for the title of best movie of the bunch. Which is a surprise given that so little happens in the film. Another testament to how much Yates manages to pull from his actors. Especially, in this instance, Emma Watson, who gives in this movie the best performance from any film, from any of the three stars.
Best Direction: The first 3 minutes. Open extreme close-up on Rufus Scrimgeour’s (Bill Nighy) eyes, as he declare the Ministry’s commitment to the fight (“we, ever your servants,”). That public act of politics is played against the intimate, unknown act of Hermione erasing herself from the memory of her parents. It’s not just the sadness of what is literally happening, as Hermione watches herself disappear from her childhood photos, that makes this scene special. It is the dignity and strength with which Watson and Yates allow Hermione to carry out the action, turn from her home, and stride into an empty street. Paired with the Ministry’s bravura and Harry’s final, cold departure from the Dursley’s, Yates indicates that, finally, Harry Potter will be driven primarily by drama and acting, and not the wonders of the wizarding world.
1. Prisoner of Azkaban Dir: Alfonso Cuaron
The most beautiful and unique of the films. Alfonso Cuaron brought a magic that rivals the magic of Hogwarts, and the film still stands out as something special, not just as an installment in the Harry Potter series, but as a piece of family entertainment in the new century. Watching it is a different experience than any of the others, and reminds the audience that, despite how good the series as a whole is, Alfonso Cuaron is on an entirely different level. No moment is lost for Cuaron, which is what makes a Cuaron movie unique.
Best Direction: That Cuaron style. He designs sets and stages bodies in such detail (he’s a master of mise-en-scene). The image I gravitate towards in Azkaban is in the opening sequence at the Dursley’s. Harry has blown up Aunt Marge and the Dursley’s watch her float away. The house is in chaos, and the camera pulls in through the window, past Dudley who is watching a small television and then into the dining room, where there is another television playing the same channel. The image holds for about 1 second, allowing viewers to be wowed by the visual information before moving us along. It’s the mundane beauty that makes Cuaron brilliant.