From Page To Screen (67) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This week on From Page To Screen I'll be tackling Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.

First let's discuss the book.
Here's a bit of back story in case some of you aren't familiar with the novel. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a novel written by Author J.K. Rowling. The book was originally released June 21, 2003 by Scholastic (US) and Bloomsbury in the U.K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix follows Harry in his 5th year at Hogwarts. Within the first 24 hours of the books release over 5 Million copies were sold. On the critical front The Order of the Phoenix released to mostly positive reviews with most negative reviews citing concern for the noticeable increase in violence and Harry's moral wavering as reasons they didn't find Order as enjoyable as its predecessors. 


Let's take a look at some of the characters

Main Protagonists
Harry Potter- A 15 year old boy in his 5th year at Hogwarts. Even though Harry was famous before he even knew he was a wizard, He steers clear of special treatment, flattery, and praise. Harry strives to live a normal wizard's life even amongst the chaos his life as The Boy Who Lived brings. Harry is very loyal to Dumbledore and also his friends. He also is courageous which sometimes leads him into difficult situations.

Ron Weasley- Ron is the youngest brother of the Weasley clan. Although Ron grew up poor he was deeply loved by his family. However his poverty is a source of contention and he is prone to outbursts of anger when teased about his tattered robes and hand me downs. Ron is a pure blood but doesn't let that status go to his head. Like Harry Ron is also very loyal to his friends and family. 

Hermione Granger- Hermione is a Muggle born wizard yet despite this she is top of her class at Hogwarts. Hermione is very self confident and loves to learn. While Hermione doesn't always approve Ron and Harry's actions she always stands by them out of love and loyalty.

Other Noteworthy Characters
Sirius Black -  James Potter's best friend turned escaped convict from the wizard prison Azkaban.  Sirius is Harry's godfather and an Animagus. His nickname is Padfoot (due to turning into a dog) and he is also one of the creators of the Marauder's Map. After the events in the Goblet of Fire, Sirius  . 

Cornelius Fudge - After the events in Goblet, Fudge is concerned that Dumbledore is a threat to his power and that he is planning to train the Hogwarts students to overthrow the Ministry.  Fudge orchestrates a vicious smear campaign through the Daily Prophet to present Dumbledore as a senile old fool and Harry as an unstable, attention-seeking liar. After Harry is acquitted and allowed to return to Hogwarts he passes a law placing Dolores Umbridge, his Senior Undersecretary, as a teacher at Hogwarts. After Dumbledore's removal he appoints Umbridge as Hogwarts' "High Inquisitor" giving Fudge through Umbridge ultimate control of how the school is ran.

Main Antagonist
Dolores Umbridge - Defence Against the Dark Arts and later takes over as Hogwarts High Inquisitor after Dumbledore is removed as Headmaster. Umbridge is described as being a short, squat woman whom resembles a large pale toad. She speaks with a quiet, childish, high-pitched voice, and loves kittens, chocolate cakes, biscuits, tea and other cute things, decorating her office with related paraphernalia. She has a tendency to speak to people she feels are her lessers in a very condescending tone, as if they are simpletons or very young children.

Now let's discuss the movie
In case some of you aren't familiar with the film, here is a bit of back story. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was directed by David Yates and was released July 11, 2007 by Warner Bros. Pictures. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix cost $150 million to create and went on to make over $930 million worldwide making it one of the Highest Grossing films of all time. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is also the first film in the series to be shown in IMAX 3D. Upon release Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoeni received most positive reviews with critics praising it for being action packed yet noticeably darker than the previous films.

Fun Fact: Even though the book is the longest in the series (over 700 pages), the film is 138 minutes long (2 hours and 18 minutes), the second shortest in the entire film series


Major Differences Between The Book Film
BookFilm
When Harry and Dudley are attacked by Dementors,Harry fails on his first two attempts to summon his patronus. It isn't until his third try that he is successful.Harry struggles to summon his Patronus but he successfully defeats the Dementors on his first try.
As Harry explains how Dudley was attacked by a Dementor to his Uncle, Vernon asks what that is, it is Aunt Petunia who blurts out the explanation, leading both Harry and Vernon to wonder how she knows this.This is omitted.
Harry receives several letters after the Dementor incident. One from Sirius, one from Arthur Weasley and two from Mafalda Hopkirk.While Petunia is sent a Howler from Dumbledore telling her to"remember his last" which is a reference to a letter sent 14 years previous. Harry only receives one letter and that is the one informing him of his expulsion. The Howler and Sirius's letters are omitted although the contents of Arthur Weasley’s letter and Mafalda Hopkirk’s second letter are relayed to Harry by Kingsley Shacklebolt when he and the rest of the Advance Guard prepare to leave Privet Drive.
Harry has been grounded for days after the Dementor attack.When the Dursleys leave to attend the "All-England Best-Kept Lawn Competition" the Advance Guard arrives to take Harry with them back to the Orders headquartersAfter the Dementor attack the Dursley leave to take Dudley to the hospital. After they leave the Advance Guard arrives.
Perkins informs Arthur Weasley that Harry's hearing has changed. When Harry asks when the hearing starts, Mr. Weasley says,"We should have been there five minutes ago!".Mr. Weasley is told by Kingsley Shacklebolt that the time and venue has changed. When Harry asks when the hearing starts, Mr. Weasley says, "In five minutes."
Hermione and Ron become Prefects leaving Harry having to sit with Luna, Neville and Ginny on the train to Hogwarts.Hermione and Ron being Prefects is omitted and they all ride together as usual on the train.
Umbridge removes Harry, Fred, and George from the team. Ron joins as Keeper and Ginny joins to replace Harry. The Quidditch season is removed entirely. Ron joining the team doesn't happen until the next film.
Dobby tells Harry about the Room of requirement.Neville finds the Room of requirement while walking alone.
Harry witnesses Nagini attack Arthur Weasley at the Ministry. Afterwards Harry and the Weasley's visit Arthur in St. Mungo's Hospital. During the visit we see the re-appearance of Gilderoy Lockhart and find out what happened to Neville's parents.St. Mungo's is completely omitted.
Harry takes a Portkey back to Grimmauld Place and is told about his impending Occlumency lessons. Harry doesn't start the Occlumency lessons with Snape until after the Christmas holidaysStraight after Harry witnesses Nagini's attack on Arthur Weasley, Harry has his first Occlumency lesson with Snape.
Hermione blackmails Rita Skeeter into writing articles that support Harry since the rest of the Wizarding world denies his claims about Voldemort returning.This is omitted.
Dumbledore's Army is discovered because Marietta Edgecombe, a member and close friend of Cho Chang, tattles to Umbridge. Afterwards Dobby informs Harry that Umbridge is on her way giving most of the DA time to flee. Cho is duped into revealing the truth by Umbridge via Veritaserum. Afterwards Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad break into the Room of Requirement capturing Harry and his friends (although most members flee to safety).
Cornelius Fudge's Aurors and Dolores Umbridge try to take Hagrid away, and as a result, Professor McGonagall gets hit by four stunning spells. This scene was reportedly filmed but later removed for time. Shame really as it's quite a pivotal moment.
After being caught breaking into her office Umbridge reveals to Harry and his friends that it was she who had sent the Dementors to Harry discreetly without Fudge's knowledge as a way to discredit Harry. Umbridge's revelation is omitted.
The curse Bellatrix uses to kill Sirius is not named and is not even implied to have been the Killing Curse. The Killing Curse causes a green light whereas the light that came from Bellatrix was red and non-verbal, suggesting it was a mere Stunning Spell or an Impedimenta Jinx. Bellatrix Lestrange kills Sirius Black with the Killing Curse, which then causes Sirius' body to fade away into the veil in the Death Chamber.
At the close of the school year Draco attempts to attack Harry on the Hogwarts Express along with Crabbe and Goyle to get revenge for their fathers' arrests. They are stopped by the members of Dumbledore's Army backing up Harry. Sadly this is omitted.

Well that about wraps up this weeks From Page To Screen. I'm sure I could easily nitpick the differences but instead chose to focus on those which were most noticeable to me when viewing the film. So which do I prefer? You know, I love the book, I do but the film slightly pulls ahead because I love the acting by as Dolores Umbridge. Perfectly cast in the role (in my opinion anyway). Definitely read the book if you haven't already. Lots of lovely details missing from the film can be found as well as clues to events bound to happen in the next book/film. Make sure to check out the film as well. Sure it might not be a perfect adaptation but the scenes with Dumbledore's Army not to mention the battle at the Ministry make up for most of that.

Still not convinced? Check out the trailer below!
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Well that about wraps up this weeks From Page To Screen. Have a recommendation for an upcoming From Page To Screen, let me know in the comments below!

Have you read the book or watched the film? 
Which did you like better? Why? 
What is your favorite quote or scene from The Order of the Phoenix?

Leave your answers in the comments below, I love to read your responses. Like what you see? Please share!

Comments

  1. Love your comparison. I think that around the time of this movie is when I finally decided to pick up the books. This *might* be my favorite movie in the series, but it's not my favorite book. :)

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