Thank you so much for watching! PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING --> 1. I am not a "fan" of Mike Newell, I just think he is a better director than Yates 2. This video is my *personal* opinion. If you disagree, that is totally fine since we all have different tastes kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a5uXfd2lxJ7Tj40.html

What make the most impact with Colombus is how the castle is a character. The whole castle feel alive

I hate how for David Yates character emotion is achieved through having his actors awkwardly stare at each other for a few seconds. Harry and Ginny especially. All they did was stare!

Alfonso Cuaron had by far, in my opinion, the BEST cinematography of the series. Columbus did great filming all the best moments using the three camera setup of to compensate for the actors’ inexperience, but Azkaban’s camera has a life of its own, it feels like we’re being taken through the experience vs just watching it.

The thing I most hate about Yates films are the change on color pallet/mood in general. We got a Matilda kind of vibe with vibrant colors and adventuring score on the first movies, then Yates moved to a Twilight mood of green colors and teenage drama.

I wish I lived in an alternate universe where Cuarón did all the movies after the third one. As a kid I always loved the third one and I had no idea what made it stand out to me but growing up I soon realized it was all about director’s vision. I could literally rewatch the third one constantly and I probably would never get sick of it.

You nailed it! The man had no idea how to direct people. Every interaction felt awkward. He also made Ginny the most plain character in the movie series

I’d have loved to see what Cuaron could have done if he’d directed the two final films

It’s not bad filmmaking that makes people angry, I think it’s the feeling of lost potential. The grief that you feel watching something that could have been great, but is instead decent at best

Another disappointing aspect of the franchise is the music. How Doyle, Hooper, and Desplat ignored ALL of Williams' work was really insulting. Imagine if Fawkes' theme reappeared when he leaves Hogwarts in Half-Blood Prince. Or if A Window to the Past was used during the resurrection stone scene. For me, musical continuity is just as important as the script and acting. It's another way to connect with the characters.

I never realised how much david yates pissed me off until this.

Yates seems to _really_ like group shots. Getting as many actors in the shot as possible. Once you realize this you can't unsee it!

ok, but imagine, IMAGINE, how amazing the half blood prince would have been had it been directed by Cuaron? The oppressive atmosphere without having to establish a sepia colour palette that makes it difficult to see anything, voldy’s BACKSTORY of which we were robbed (not sure how much of that was the fault of the screenplay tbf), seeing the relationships develop and strengthen instead of having blank faces stare at each other, ginny with a personality.. THE POSSIBILITIES!!

No wonder Christopher Columbus is such a good director. It's an easy-peasy job compared to discovering America.

the hate crime he committed against ginny weasley: unacceptable

I love Chris Colombus' aesthetic/color palette/wizarding world decors/magical ambiances which really made us fall in love with the Harry Potter universe, and I love Cuaron's filming and editing and the emotions it brings (Also Harry's hairstyle was on point). A combination of both would have been perfect!

I felt like I spent years saying David Yates couldn’t block a scene for shit and felt like I was speaking to a brick wall. And here you are highlighting it and emphasizing how even the camera work was failing the story. Thank you. So much.

I've just re-read the books and I'm baffled at how the Order of the Phoenix scene in Dumbledore's office is so DARK. In the book, Harry returned to a brightly lit room filled with movement and wonder. As his rant and his talk with Dumbledore progress, the light outside changes and plays with the light of the room itself. Gold. Red. So much color. Harry saw the Quidditch pitch where Sirius once came to watch him play. Dumbledore's silver instruments gleam and twinkle. Portraits on the wall react to the events. Whenever I read the books, I picture the setting and characters after the Columbus films.

I can remember everything from the first 4 films. The last 4 just blur together in my memory.

Oh my god THANK YOU! I felt like I was the only one who couldn't bear Yates's characters just standing still in every scene, it was driving me insane!

i dunno if it was Yates or not, but whoever decided to cast Imelda Staunton as Umbridge , well that person was a frikkin genius!

The funniest thing to me is how Yates failed at making his movies scarier than the first ones beside having scarier moments. Y’all gotta admit the scenes with the basilisk going around the castle saying: “Kill! KILL!!” Is a hell lot scarier than any scene from 5-8. haha

I wish Chris Columbus or Alfonso Cuarón could have directed the rest of the series

The first two movies will always hold a special place in my heart. Not just because of nostalgia and the childhood innonence those films portray, but also because of Columbus' directive vision for the movies. They truly feel magical, like being transported into a completely different world. Movies 5-8 (and if I'm honest, Goblet of Fire too) felt like a modern, realistic world that just happened to have a sidelined magical element.

Picture this: an alternate universe where Christopher Columbus and Alfonso Cuarón directed all the Harry Potter films _together_ Columbus has done an incredible job at world building and Alfonso's vision is stunning. The entire franchise would've been amazing.

What I want to know is who the hell at WB decided to let an inexperienced film director of TV soaps direct some of the important movies of the generation.

Imagine an alternate universe where Christopher Columbus directed all the 8 Harry Potter movies

Wow I never realized why I liked the first few movies more than the latter but now I see it. The movies felt alive and personal. The slow zooming camera literally drew me in as a kid even though I never understood why. Seeing these scenes reminded me why I liked the franchise at first and it sorta fizzled near the end.

Chris Columbus was by far the best director for this entire series and they should have let him direct every single one.

This is so on-point. I completely agree! But also can we add how annoying it is that Yates’s films are so over-the-top dark? You literally can’t even watch them during the day unless you have black-out curtains because the screen is so dark! Ugh

Thank you finally someone said it! David Yates lost the heart and soul of the characters. Also hated how the characters always were whispering and super quiet. I mean how in the world can you manage to make Harry Potter boring?!

I will never forget Yates for cutting Tom Riddles past from the movie and making HBP a romantic comedy.

I thought I was the only person who had noticed how in Yates' films the characters just frequently stand there doing nothing while saying their lines! I am glad someone else has pointed this out.

Just started rewatching the series, got to order of the phoenix and went "wow they really let this dude direct every movie going forward??" glad to know I'm not alone in that thought!

Someone should tell David Yates using a green Snapchat filter for half blood prince was stupid and unnecessary. That doesn’t make you a great artist or filmmaker .

The sixth one was so bad that I didn't even see the last two in theaters, and I didn't even get around to watching them until 2 years later... and this is coming from someone who stood in line to watch the first four on opening day. You're completely right about the lack of camera movement and dynamics between actors. It's just so... static and awkward. Cuaron made you feel like you were actually flying through the great hall, whereas the later films make you feel like you're awkwardly waiting around in someone else's house with people you don't know. Not to mention the lack of colour and lighting. Even when I watch the later movies in a completely dark room, it's hard to know what's going on. There's no magic. And then there are small moments that completely miss the mark.. for example, Draco and Harry are supposed to give each other a nod of acknowledgment at the train station during the epilogue, and that doesn't even happen in the movie... Draco looks over, but Harry doesn't seem to even make eye contact with him. Small but important story beats like that are completely missing and that's what's frustrating.

I loved the first 2 movies the most. Azakban had amazing cinematography and a beautiful tone, but the first 2; especially The Chamber Of Secrets will be my forever favourite HP movie. The styling, the mystery, the horror - everything is just perfect in the 2nd movie.

I’m also not a fan of the colour pallets with some of the later films, though I understand it’s to emphasis the tone of the films I still feel it could’ve been done better or had looked more interesting.

After so many years of wincing at the last four movies, looking for a platform to release all that pent up anger- finally found a resonating platform that echoes my frustrations. What you described is my exact problem with David Yates. Always was. While the way he left out grave plotlines- horcruxes, Dumbledore's back story and the lack of explanation about the elder wand at the end being the most important ones - that is not the absolute reason for my disgust. It is the pathetic lack of emotions and feelings in every film he made. Stony, expressionless faces, emotionless sequences - he killed the heart of the series. He murdered the message of love. Harry and Ginny's relationship, Dumbledore's funeral, him telling her he was gonna go away and that presumed last kiss, exploration of Voldemort's past- hell he turned them into dead films. Nagini attacks them in Godric's hollow - nothing. Silent background. Hell Voldemort dies and evaporates after a punching match - deafening silence. Nope nobody is thrilled and voldy didn't go mouldy. Even a puppet show has more adrenaline and excitment. For a book that made my heart crash and soar with it's twists and turns and eureka moments - the movies were soulless, dumb and an outright insult to this great work of writing.

Even though Alfonso Cuaron was the one who normalized muggle clothing for the main characters, which I hate, PoA is still my favorite HP movie by far. It's just so beautifully shot and the pacing is just right.

Oh my gosh! I have felt this same way for YEARS! Thank you for putting it all into words. The fact that they stuck with David Yates for this long communicates to me that they were no longer interested in making interesting adaptations of Harry Potter, but more interested in a more safe and bland product that would still guarantee them the most money in the end. And so they went with David Yates, the most bland and sterile director of the franchise. The worst offending scene to me is the last scene of young Harry Ron and Hermione standing on the bridge after Harry breaks the Elder Wand and throws it away. I would have loved if they would have done something like gather around each other in a hug, or something more human than what Yates went with. What did Yates go with? Them standing, holding hands, and looking out past the camera in the most robotic looking ending shot I have ever seen in my life! Worst Blocking EVER!!! This franchise deserved better than this. EDIT: Looks like I was 3 years late watching this. Hahaha!

The thing i so admire about the scene in the prisoner of Azkaban, when Dumbledore was saying his speech during the dinner: the camera work, the suspense, how the words of the character and emotions of those who listened to him were so perfectly showed, and him saying"even in the most darkest moments you can find some light" and magically removed and returned the light on the candle. That was so magical and impactful for me when I watched, that I remember the scene and even the words up until now. At the same time in the half-blood prince....I can't even remember the scenes not gonna talk about the words saying cuz they just didn't have any impact neither visually nor emotionally. The main problem with David is that all of the characters are just standing there!! Why to do all those broad shots where everybody standing still and doing shit nothing either with their body movements nor with their words or actions. So boring that I don't have any desire to watch those films again(6-8). The only one good from his was Order of the Phoenix, but mostly due to the color correction and the acting. Still half of the time there is static and no movements whatsoever from the characters.

I couldn't agree more. I always have the urge to rewatch HP 1-3 but 5-8 always feel like a chore to get through just to finish the series. One of the main appeals of Harry Potter is escapism. Hogwarts is a place you would want to escape to. But Yates suceeds in making the world completely boring and devoid of any magic. Everything is grey, brown and blue. And it's not due to darker source material, he even does it in scenes that are meant to be light-hearted and fun because it's his idea of making the world gritty, adult and 'real'. But this is the total opposite of the appeal of Harry Potter. He even made the magic less magical and basically turned it into gunfights. When McGonagall fights Snape in the book, she turns a attacking black serpent into smoke, transform them into daggers which dart to Snape. He then blocks them with a suit of armor. Any able director would jump at the chance to do something likes this. What does Yates do? He takes the Great Hall, turns down the saturation and fills it with depressed looking students that stand around awkwardly. A wide shot of McGonagall doing a few wand gunshots, Snape waves his arm and leaves. Does Yates even want to be director? He seems to be so bored by even the most exciting source material. He was just going through the motions delivering the most basic barely acceptable retelling of the story posssible.

I've never known anyone to hate colour and saturation as much as David Yates. It's like the man has a vendetta against vibrancy.

Unlike others who are perfectly happy with movies 3 and 4, I felt that the magic was there only in the first two, the plots were both linked to a continuous story and complete within themselves. Warm and whimsical. The third movie was good as well, but strange in that Harry seemed to get attached to Sirius really fast. It made more sense for him to grow closer to Lupin given the amount of screen time they had together. I also felt the mood change from gold and warm to silver and cool-- the grim scene and the doubledecker bus scene. Fourth movie put me off because everyone was massively awkward already... Harry became sort of passive and the interactions made him look like a complete snob, the rest of the people hating him or doubting him all the time. Dumbledore who is such a whimsical and mysterious character in the book just not being himself. And then the last 4 movies were just plain boring. They took us out of the mood of the magical, warm fantasy world and pushed us into some cold, young adult dystopian story with magic as a side. Everything is linear and the viewer can no longer engross in it but just go through it all passively.

I always felt like Order of the Phoenix & Half Blood Prince were just going through the motions as opposed to doing anything special. Now I have a better understanding why. Great job!

I hate how he normalized wearing Normal clothes for the wizards, and normalized NOT saying spells out loud.

I always rewatch the first 3 HP movies year after year because of how much unique style and heart each one had. Such a shame it can't be said for the rest.

I agree wholeheartedly. I remember when I came out of the cinema after Order of the Phoenix and then after Half-Blood Prince, I was so disappointed and shocked. It didn't feel like I've just seen a Harry Potter movie, it felt like the magic was lost. Everyone was so still and awkard, there were hardly any emotions portrayed, even the castle felt "dead". Everything was so dark and green, I hated it. To this day, I only rewatch the first 4 films. Even Daniel Radcliffe said he wasn't satisfied with his acting in the last films, that he didn't progress as an actor. I also didn't like how Yates portrayed magic, it suddenly felt like they had guns that only have to be pointed at the opponent to shoot him with either red or green light, and the effect is almost always the same. I agree that the Prisoner of Azkaban was the best, I can still feel the danger outside of the castle, even though I know Sirius is a good guy, it takes a really good director to get this effect.

Chamber of Secrets is so underrated! Definitely in the top 3 HP films.

Lets also not forget the fact that death eaters becoming literal dark clouds (in place of apparating) started in the 5th film.

Such a shame we don't have an entire series made by Columbus

I used to watch a lot the third movie, I was obsessed with it, I felt it so good, and it’s my favourite one.. now I understand why: direction, the rhythm, and THE MUSIC omg it’s so good! And the photography.. the relationship with nature and the environment was great. And we got “sassy harry” too, when piton caught him walking in the castle by night and he says “I sleepwalk” lol. Such a great Cast deserves a great direction. It’s depressing how it went from the goblet of fire to the last one 🙁

He stripped all characters of emotions and it really felt like he was trying to finish the movies as quickly as possible.

After watching this video, I realized now I never really cared for Yates's films that's why I never give any of them critical reactions. They're nothing special. I thought I have a strong dislike for Newell's GoF but at least his film is engaging (over the top even if I could describe it that way). That film left a lot of impression on me thanks to the cinematography. But with Yates's last 4 films, they're just... sort of there. They're just that forgettable. Just like you said, they have no personality. Everything was so perfect up to 2004. I can't see Cuarón directing the first two films, just as I can't see Columbus directing the third film onward because of all the tonal change. It's a regret. I had hoped Cuarón would continue directing all the later films. PoA with no doubt, the best Harry Potter film.

I think you’re right on the nose with how underwhelming it was to see their reactions in the Yates films.

We just finished our yearly Christmas HP binge and it is always eye-opening to watch them back to back. Something we discussed was that in PoA, every single scene has meaning and adds to the character and plot development. There are no filler scenes, even the funny scene with the boggart lesson quickly turned dark. The acting is excellent, some of my favorite HP characters are introduced like Sirius and Remus. The atmosphere is foreboding and the dementors were terrifying. We understand how high the stakes are for Sirius and Buckbeak. Truly a masterpiece. The final 2 movies had some great scenes but I also felt like important plot points were left out from the books that explain so much. Great analysis!

Yeah I gave up when he prioritized teenage angst over the actual plot of "The Half-Blood Prince" Oh, David Yates. Who ever recommended him? On the other hand, I respect Chris Columbus choice of leaving so that he could spend more time with his children but he is one of the reasons why the first two movies are the only ones I can always rewatch. I believe "magical" is the word that describes them best. Everything felt new and fantastic, Richard Harris, may he rest peacefully, was a perfect Dumbledore, I had him in mind when I finally read the books years later. But the one thing that really put me off aside from abysmal writing was the choice in lighting. Who told Yates that a darker tone must equal literal bleakness. They removed all the colors aside from grey, white and black. There is a scene in the last movie where Snapes flees Hogwarts and McGonagall ignites the torches in the great hall. I was thinking, maybe now they would add some colors. Nope. Still dark. I could go on all day (by that I mean, I'm running out of stuff to complain about) but you have summarized it perfectly. "boring, lackluster and unimaginative" indeed

I agree with almost everything here except that I don’t cut Yates any slack on Deathly Hollows because I think a few of his worst fumbles are in that one. In the book, Molly Weasley taking out Bellatrix (Not my daughter you b****!) was such a rousing moment I actually pumped my fist in the air and exclaimed “Yes!”-not something that happens often when you’re reading. In the movie, though, the pacing and blocking of that moment is dead on arrival. Flat, static, muted. It’s ridiculous: Molly and Bellatrix are just standing there looking at each other, and the Molly just points and shoots, with Bellatrix doing nothing really. That should have been so much more of a dynamic last minute intervention scene. And the final battle with Harry and Voldemort is blown, too. The book gives us that great, personal showdown in the great hall with Harry finally in charge, dramatically lecturing Voldemort in front of the whole cast. The movie replaces that with a stupid, effects-laden series of avid farts in and around the courtyard, with the dialogue stripped and nobody else there. What an idiotic choice.

the worst parts are 1) the costumes got boring. no whimsical wizard robes. just formal suits like its the Prom dance. 2) the desaturation, no color in the the films, basically black and white movies, 3) The abandonment of John Williams' various iconic themes :(

What I noticed in David Yates' Harry Potter films is that when he starts a HP film, there was no introduction or a "starting point", the films just start and you have to get in the story straight away without any introduction or whats really going on. I think the only movie that had a bit of a introduction was Deathly Hallows Part 2, has it took the audience time to see whats going on and see the situation rather then just getting on with it and starting immediately.

wow. you put word to some feelings i've had about these last few movies for a bit. my sister once joked to me that after goblet of fire, you "never see sunlight again" in harry potter movies. but i think what she meant (whether she knew it or not) was that they're kind of lacking in life. in my opinion each of them have some great moments, but they're more like moments that were stumbled upon instead of put together with any kind of deliberation. it's such a shame, because book wise, these stories have moments packed with a lot of passion.

Finally! Yes! It drove me INSANE how flat everything felt from the Order of the Phoenix onward! The emotions just weren't there. And it was MADDENING! TBH, Dumbledore after Chamber of Secrets always stuck in my craw.

I thought this was one of the more creative video essays I've watched in a while! I think you made some very interesting observations; I also appreciate that you acknowledged good parts about the Yates films.

Lets just say it, Alfonso should have directed every film after 3. It’s the best for a reason.

The later films always bugged me for some reason and I could never explain why, apart from deviations from the books. But your explanation now makes so much more sense. Perhaps even more confrontational 😂

What a great video!! I loved your essay and the editing, really nailed it.

I never understood why the other films felt so bland in comparison to the first 4 but seeing the camera work compared to David's still shots really did make me realize how something so small can totally change a scene, I always thought the writing was what mattered and those films were fine...but they could've been so much better had they switched to a more artistic director!

Another issue with David Yates is his music choices. The producers let him choose his television collaborator Nicholas Hooper instead of John Williams and Patrick Doyle, the composers of the previous ones. This led to less musical continuity and Hooper's restrained style hurt the story. Even when Nicholas Hooper dropped out after working on two films, Yates still refused to hire Williams or Doyle back. He also hurt Deathly Hallows and Fantastic Beasts by using excessive temp tracking (temporary music that the director wants the composer to copy) for their respective composers to follow. FB composer James Newton Howard said that he had to rewrite the opening music from a memorable statement of the FB main theme to something more generic sounding that we hear in the final product.

I love the freestyle comedic approach to these video's, sometimes people attempt to be overly deliberate, and come off as extremely shallow. Love the analysis.

The series and all the magic dies for me after the fifth movie then it just feels like a dark awkward world completely unrecognisable from the emotions that they make you feel in the first few films.

Really interesting! I always thought the Yates movies were lacking something, but I could never explain in words why.

My biggest beef with the later movies is that they couldn't convey a sense of fun and wonder in addition to the darker moments the way the first three could. The quidditch field when Ron is trying out for keeper in 6 just looks depressing. Hogwarts looks cold, grey, and dingy, indoors and out. It doesn't look like a place you want to go to. There's also the fact that they shied away from the fantastical elements of the Wizarding World. In the first two movies, all witches and wizards of all ages wear wizard robes and would look out of place in the muggle world. Starting from 3 onward, it feels like the only characters who still wear weird distinctly magical clothes are Dumbledore, McGonagall, and students during school hours. Trelawney could easily pass for just a weird crackhead hippie. Every kid and every adult wears muggle clothes outside those times. From 3 onward, besides the iconic looks of Dumbledore, McGonagall, and the Hogwarts uniform, all three of which were so distinctly established that changing them would be very jarring, "wizard clothes" became "muggle clothes sometimes with a trench coat." I had no desire to visit this wizard world while watching the movies from Goblet of Fire onward, sparing 3 simply because I liked the spooky atmosphere and the top notch music while they kept those moments of whimsy and wonder such as flying on Buckbeak, Hogsmeade, most of the boggart scene, saving Sirius, and the firebolt scene. Another huge problem is changing things to save money on CGI for Dobby to where he comes out of nowhere and all a moviegoer would remember is that it was the house elf who made a lot of trouble for Harry in the second movie. Also not introducing Bill until movie 7 because they didn't think he was important enough before the later books came out. Do they ever mention again that "hey, this is Fleur, the girl from the fourth movie." Bill's introduction couldn't have been more crude if he'd looked directly at the audience and said "I'm a character who's been talked about in several if not all of the books and was introduced directly in the fourth book, and I'm going to marry Fleur, the french girl from Goblet of Fire, and I got bitten by a werewolf during the death eater's attack on Hogwarts, and I wanna get my revenge on him." There were many things that were hamfisted and don't make much sense to someone who didn't read the books. Harry Potter 1 and 2 were whimsical but could also be dark and dire. Their presentations are the heaviest inspirations for what I picture when I'm reading all 7 books. I especially liked the clothes you saw everyone wearing. It felt like fashion broke off into two distinct lines when the wizarding world separated from the muggle world and they went into hiding, bearing aspects of historical dress that I could easily imagine someone wearing during the medieval period, and later ones such as the 1800's like what Olivander and Cornelius Fudge are wearing in the first two films, respectively. The sweaters and stuff weren't too jarring, as they were worn during the Christmas holidays and contributed to the cozy feeling of Hogwarts, or beneath wizard robes. Prisoner of Azkaban leaned a little more into the dark but had some lighter moments and did a good job conveying all the important elements of the books that would come into play later in the series. While I enjoyed it, it was far less "magical" and a lot more "mad" or eccentric in the same way Alice and Wonderland is mad. The eccentricity and madness can be seen with the Knight Bus, the maid in the Leaky Cauldron, Trelawney, the weird jack in the box form the boggart took, the change they made to the Fat Lady from a dignified and serious woman to a weirdo who forces the students to listen to her awful singing, etc. It also shied away from the world-building elements such as Quidditch, wizard robes, while also introducing a few new ones that I like such as Azkaban's wanted posters, the idea of the Knight Bus. I liked Prisoner of Azkaban very much, despite it being the first step the series took away from whimsy and toward focusing on the dark, negative aspects of the wizarding world. Goblet of Fire was the last Harry Potter movie I was excited for, and the one that I was the least fond of of the first four. I liked things like Harry's robes from the first task, like they had wizard robes for more athletic pursuits. I didn't like them stepping back from Quidditch again by skipping through the World Cup. I liked the Death Eaters because of the strange costumes they wore with the spiky hoods and skull masks, which are what I picture while reading all the books they appear in. I saw those and could easily have them coexist in my imagining of what wizards wear. I saw them and thought "yes, that's what an evil wizard might dress like to frighten people." I didn't like Harry's clothes during the third task, as they were yet another example of putting wizards in very normal-looking clothes. Krum's sweater and pants didn't clash as much because they wore things like sweaters and vests beneath their robes in the first two movies. Fleur in her tracksuit complete with zip-up hoodie just felt out of place to me. Voldemort was very spooky that first moment when his skin was slimy and his eyes opened, but he quickly lost that monstrous snakey look and became just a guy in makeup or with CGI changing his face to me. The Yule Ball started out like what I might expect, even if I wasn't fond of the music as it didn't feel like Harry Potter to me, but then they brought out the Weird Sisters and they just looked like an ordinary rock band with no magical elements, a consequence of stepping away from wizard clothes. Also cutting out Dobby. It's not like he'll be important later and require those bonding scenes with Harry to provide impact to his potential death, right? Also not-calm Dumbledore. Order of Phoenix is my least favorite movie of all, and possibly even tainted my vision of the fifth book as well, making it not stand out much among the 7. This was when the normal clothes plus trench coats seems to have become what wizard robes looked like now. This was the first time where I was watching the movies and thought "Why does Harry even want to be there anymore?" It's depressing, grey, wet, cold, and always dangerous. The music again didn't feel to me like Harry Potter, and continued on this track through the rest of David Yates' movies. When I visited Diagon Alley at Universal Studios, the music from the first three movies always hooked me, while the rest were forgettable or felt like they clashed with what I was seeing around me, which seemed to me to be inspired mostly by the magical, whimsical depiction of Diagon Alley in the first two movies. I enjoyed Half-Blood Prince a little bit more because it's my favorite of the books, since it felt like the first time Harry got to be confident and enjoy himself as a maturing teenager. The movie however botched Ginny because in the movies, I never saw her as anything more than Ron's little sister from the second movie, because that's how all the directors saw her too. She just has an awkward bathrobe scene with Harry on the stairs at her house, then kisses him later. No chemistry at all and it made it even less satisfying that she was the one Harry eventually ended up with at the end of Deathly Hallows part 2. During Quidditch tryouts, she's suddenly there and the audience just has to think "oh, I guess that red haired girl from the second movie is good enough at quidditch to tell people what to do?" My favorite scenes were Harry's interactions with Slughorn and the Tom Riddle memory scenes, though the new teenage Riddle actor looked very different and clashed with what I pictured when reading, which was Christian Coulson who was of course too old to play him by that time. The Felix Felicis scenes I think were my favorite part of movies 4-8, getting to finally see Harry being genuinely happy without a worry at the back of his mind which is a much more frequent occurrence in the books than the later movies. By Deathly Hallows, I was checked out and went to them because it was an event and the end of an era. The scene where Harry danced with Hermione to cheer her up was very charming and did a good job connecting to what I felt while reading the book where it seemed like Harry and Hermione were getting very close by necessity with Ron walking out on their mission. At least where the movies were concerned, it was much more believable that Harry should end up with Hermione than with Ginny, which seemed only to have been done (in a very rushed way) because it had to catch up to the books which did a better (but still not great) job of building up Harry and Ginny's relationship. Also, Harry's kid has Beiber hair. I don't like their attempts to make the wizarding world look more like the real world. The biggest thing that comes to my mind for movies 5-8 is forgettable. They killed my interest in the franchise going forward, as to me, Fantastic Beasts just looks like David Yates minus Harry Potter and the other characters I love, which were the only reasons I watched his movies. I've recently gotten back into Harry Potter through the audiobooks and they made me want to play each of the video game adaptions of BOOKS 1-3 on all platforms, which largely adhere to the Harry Potter brand as established by Chris Columbus in the first two movies while remaining truer to the first three books, but I have no interest in finding the games for MOVIES 4-8 which began using the undeniable likenesses of the actors and had far less soul put into them and became just another lame series of movie tie-in games.

I’m so glad to finally hear someone talk about this

This was an excellently presented and edited presentation, thank you for your filmmaking insight!

This is something I didn’t notice before. I am thankful that you made this video because I will pay more attention to the camera movement and the shots. I recently watched again the 8 films altogether and I knew something was off on the movies 4-5-6-7 part 1. Now that I know what it is I will watch them once again haha please don’t stop making videos this was a masterpiece. Great work!

it blows my mind how i never actually thought of the importance of good shots, cuts and editing and just took it for granted. Allthough i always loved the first few films the most (especially the third one) i never knew why. I Always considered it to be the less serious atmosphere or that the first few films were more emotially linked to my childhood. But you made me figure out the dense atmosphere was created by the excellent directors catching emotions or simply a great scenery to feel like hogwarts really exists. Considering it the last 4 films feel more like a theatre than a real movie. Thanks for your breakdown.

The "coffee break" after the the battle of Hogwarts was totally depressing. Totally lacking of emotion...

Wow, great explanation of what you feel during the films. The lack of urgency and pace. It all felt static and goofy, while the story we knew from the books was gripping.

Completely agree with this. I never looked into the directors or BTS stuff when I was younger but I always loved movies 1-4 and found 5-8 so dull - they were boring visually and lost the magic that the first 4 movies had.

You know guys? I do love Chris Columbus's Harry Potter👍He is a good director.

Imagine if Chris Nolan directed the last four movies instead of Yates 😦😀

What a wonderful video! I laughed so much at your simping over Alfonso--me too haha. And putting that picture of Columbus the 16th century guy made me almost spit out my toothpaste!! Really good points, you finally put into words what it is that disappointed me in the later films, that I could never figure out. Thank you for pointing out the explosive emotions that were so inexplicably held back. And I appreciate you not blaming the actors for the odd awkwardness. When I watch scenes that I wish were more engaging, It's almost painful knowing that the actors had so much more to give 😭 Watching 2 and 3 recently I keep noticing the Beautiful and CREATIVE camera work in both of them. (There's a lot of examples but hey how about that quiddich match in PoA? WOW :D) How I wish we could have got the same level of engagement from the camera in later films--the camera is our surrogate--it NEEDS to feel like it cares! I also appreciate you complimenting as well as criticizing. (I also really love the scene of Harry and Hermione dancing in 7, it's such a great moment of friendship. The Godric's Hollow part was good too

4:27 this scene in the books shocked me when I first read it as a child, I could feel totally Harry's anger, it was written in capital letters... in the movies it was just like... did that scene already took place, that was it?

What a great video, hopefully more people will see this in the future. Just imagine how amazing the series would have been if Cuarón stayed on.

Alfonso Curan was by far the best director imo. The 3rd movie has so much personality in its film making and editing

“One of the most imaginative stories” “The worst thing to happen to the Harry Potter franchise” *ngl those are some pretty bold claims*

I always understood the fact that Bellatrix didn't move during the Dobby scene in Malfoy Manor is because she simply could not comprehend that Dobby would challenge her like that.

Yates sucked the magic out of the Harry Potter films.

Brilliant analysis. I've always found something off about the way Yates block scenes. The way he has his actors standing still in flat locked-off shots. It is, as you say, very unimaginative. However, I agree that his filmmaking comes to life in the last film, and I do quite enjoy HP6 as well for it's somber tone and Rembrandtesque look (the lighting and colour grading).

Why did you not mention the Color Grading? It's a major factor to consider when you talk about the visuals. At 12:55, you can see the complete lack of natural contrast created with the lighting of the scene and the grayer and flat color palette on the Yate's version VS Cuaron's version.

Really incredible insight and excellent commentary. Your editing is flawless. I never knew filmmaking terms, the purpose of a director, etc. Thank you for helping me understand the movies in a whole, new light.

What I think we were robbed of more than anything else, and in large part because of the Yates movies, is a proper adaptation of Voldemort. The dude is supposed to be a walking nightmare, a creature so wicked and accursed that even the Dementors should pale in comparison. A cold, venomous snake disguising itself as the monstrous parody of a man. And the fact that he WAS once a man, and still vaguely resembles one, should make him all the more terrifying. Yet all we got from the fifth movie onwards was a cackling lunatic. Although, to be fair, he wasn’t that great in the fourth movie either.

Great job! The prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite of the series. I have no idea why they didn't have Cuaron direct another one.

super interesting. nice video! never thought about the stillness and the characters just standing there.. makes total sense.. only comment for you is to lower the volume of the music

Mike Newell shouldn't even be in this conversation. Goblet of Fire is, by far, the worst of the bunch. Its only redeeming quality is due to the fact that the book is probably the most exciting of the bunch, but the entire mystery got chopped off in the film.

I think the film with the camerawork I appreciate most is Prisoner of Azkaban, with Chamber of Secrets a close second, then Half-Blood Prince. POA has an open, sunny feel, with a great variety of scenery to take in, and plenty of surprising camera angles. Most of the last 4 films are a bit drab or dark in colour.

So interesting. It helps me to understand why i feel awkward watching some scenes and why the 4 latest films feel slower to me (and even boring sometimes).

I like how the subtitles thinks on several occasions that "David Yates" name is "DVD eights"

And yet, is Cuarón the one that receives the most of hate from fans. The man did what he could with whatever was done and had to be done for the future, and he disliked the experience so much that he didn't accept to film the next one and instead brought us the amazing Children of Men. ---Btw, it is funny to me how fans still dare to discuss his abilities, some even mock him, but he happens to be the only director out of this franchise whose movies have been nominated 11 times to the Oscars and won 5 times. I'm just saying I hate how much disrespect certain portion of the fandom have towards him. I actually like most of the HP films, but they could have been better.