Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell from a screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by J.K. Rowling. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively. Its story follows Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts as he is chosen by the Goblet of Fire to compete in the Triwizard Tournament.
Principal photography began in early 2004, and the film premiered worldwide on 18 November 2005. Five days following release, it had earned over US$102 million at the North American box office, the third-highest first-weekend tally for a Harry Potter film behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2. Goblet of Fire enjoyed an immensely successful run at the box office, grossing $896 million worldwide, the highest-grossing film of 2005 and the sixth-highest-grossing film in the series.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and won the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design. Goblet of Fire was the second film in the series to be released in IMAX. The film is one of the best-reviewed instalments within the series, being praised for the higher level of maturity and sophistication of its characters, story, tone, screenplay, and the performances of the lead actors. It was followed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 2007.
Plot[edit]
Harry Potter has a nightmare in which a Muggle caretaker is murdered after overhearing a plot by Lord Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew and another man whom Harry does not recognise. The following morning, Harry attends the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys, Hermione Granger, Cedric Diggory and his father Amos. That night, Death Eaters attack the campsite after the tournament and the man from Harry's nightmare casts the Dark Mark.
At Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore announces that the school will host the Triwizard Tournament along with the Durmstrang Institute from central Europe and the Beauxbatons Academy from France. One student from each school is to be selected by the Goblet of Fire to participate; students below the age of seventeen are ineligible. The Goblet selects Fleur Delacour for Beauxbatons, Viktor Krum for Durmstrang, and Cedric for Hogwarts. It then selects Harry as a fourth Champion, causing much confusion. Many students believe Harry cheated and Ron shuns him, hurt that Harry did not inform him when he apparently entered. Harry was forced to compete because of a magical binding contract when a champion's name was selected.
For the first task, the Champions must collect an egg by getting past a dragon. Professor Moody, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, hints that Harry can use his wand to summon his broomstick. All four Champions collect their eggs. Ron reconciles with Harry after seeing how dangerous the first task was. On Christmas Eve, the school hosts the Yule Ball – Harry and Ron are unable to go with their desired dates, and hence go with Parvati and Padma Patil respectively; while Hermione goes with Viktor, to Ron's jealousy. Cedric advises Harry to use the Prefects' bathroom to get a clue for the second task using the egg.
For the second task, the Champions have to save somebody of value to them from the Black Lake: Harry has to save Ron, Cedric has to save his girlfriend Cho Chang (whom Harry tried asking to the Ball), Viktor has to rescue Hermione, and Fleur has to save her sister Gabrielle. Neville Longbottom gives Harry gillyweed to help him breathe underwater. Cedric comes in first, and Harry is awarded second place after he saves not only Ron but Gabrielle after Fleur withdraws from the task. Harry later finds the lifeless body of Barty Crouch Sr., a Ministry of Magic official, in the Forbidden Forest. In Dumbledore's office, he enters a Pensieve and witnesses a previous trial of Igor Karkaroff, current headmaster of Durmstrang, during Voldemort's first downfall. Karkaroff is asked to name those who served Voldemort – he gives Severus Snape who is vouched for by Dumbledore. Karkaroff then exposes Barty Crouch Jr., the son of Crouch Sr. who is in charge of the trial. Harry recognises Crouch Jr. from his nightmare.
For the third task, the Champions must navigate a maze to reach the Triwizard Cup at its centre. Harry and Cedric reach the Cup only to discover it is a Portkey that transports them to a graveyard. Peter Pettigrew kills Cedric on Voldemort's orders. He then uses Harry's blood to resurrect Voldemort, who summons his Death Eaters. Voldemort attempts to use the Killing Curse on Harry but the latter deflects it – the ghosts of Voldemort's previous victims appear, distracting Voldemort long enough for Harry to use the Cup to return to Hogwarts with Cedric's body.
Harry informs Dumbledore of Cedric's murder and Voldemort's return. Harry is escorted by Moody to his office – he learns that Moody entered him into the Tournament and was guiding him to ensure the return of Voldemort. Before Moody attempts to kill Harry, Dumbledore, Snape and Minerva McGonagall subdue Moody. Using Veritaserum, they learn that they have caught Barty Crouch Jr. who was impersonating Moody using Polyjuice Potion; the real Moody is imprisoned in a magical trunk. Crouch Jr. is returned to Azkaban.
At the end of term feast, Dumbledore announces that Cedric was murdered by Voldemort, although the Ministry denies these claims. Harry informs Dumbledore of his encounter with Voldemort and Dumbledore describes it as Priori Incantatem. The three schools bid farewell to one another with Harry, Ron and Hermione agreeing that everything is going to change.
Several actors from the previous film reprise their roles in Goblet of Fire. James and Oliver Phelps play Fred and George Weasley, Ron's twin brothers,[22] and Bonnie Wright as their sister Ginny,[23] while Mark Williams plays their father, Arthur Weasley.[24] Tom Felton portrays Lucius Malfoy's son Draco, Harry's rival in Slytherin,[25] while Jamie Waylett and Joshua Herdman appear as Crabbe and Goyle, Draco's minions.[26][27] Matthew Lewis, Devon Murray and Alfred Enoch play Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas respectively, three Gryffindor students in Harry's year.[28][29] David Bradley appears as Argus Filch, Hogwarts' caretaker,[30] and Warwick Davis returns as Professor Filius Flitwick, now using the look used when Davis portrayed the conductor of the Hogwarts Choir in the previous film.[31] Shirley Henderson reprises her role as Moaning Myrtle, a Hogwarts ghost,[32] and Robert Hardy returns as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic.[33]Louis Doyle appears as Ernie MacMillan and Charlotte Skeoch as Hannah Abbott; Hufflepuff students.
Robert Pattinson appears as Cedric Diggory; a Hufflepuff student who is a Hogwarts champion, Pattinson replaces Joe Livermore, who made a brief appearance in the previous film during a Quidditch sequence.[34][35] Jeff Rawle appears as Cedric's father Amos.[36] David Tennant plays Barty Crouch Jr., a Death Eater,[37] and Roger Lloyd-Pack portrays his father Barty Crouch Sr., head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.[38] Katie Leung appears as Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw student and Harry's love interest.[14] Clémence Poésy plays Beauxbatons champion Fleur Delacour,[39] while Stanislav Ianevski portrays Durmstrang champion and Quidditch star Viktor Krum.[40] Miranda Richardson plays The Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter.[14] Predrag Bjelac appears as Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster of Durmstrang and a former Death Eater,[41] while Frances de la Tour plays Olympe Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons.[42] Shefali Chowdhury and Afshan Azad play Parvati and Padma Patil, Harry and Ron's dates to the Yule Ball, respectively.[43] Eric Sykes appears as Frank Bryce, the caretaker at the Riddle family house.[44] John Hurt originally confirmed in an interview with Empire that he would reprise his role as Garrick Ollivander as part of his four-film contract, but his scenes were cut.[45]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Chris Columbus, who directed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), originally thought about returning to direct the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire while producing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), but ultimately declined because his children wanted to spend time with him like a family.[46] In addition, they wanted to move back to the United States of America to see their friends after moving to England for the first two films. Having read the first three books, Columbus had noticed the progressively darker tone of the story, leading author J.K. Rowling to give him, producer David Heyman and screenwriter Steve Kloves copies of a huge manuscript about her plans for Goblet of Fire before it was published, just so they could prepare themselves in terms of filming each subsequent film.[47] M. Night Shyamalan was approached to direct the film but he was more interested in doing a film adaptation of Life of Pi.[48] British film director Mike Newell was chosen to direct the film after Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón announced that he would only be able to direct one Harry Potter film.[49] In a statement explaining the transition of directors, series producer Heyman said:
Distribution[edit]
Marketing[edit]
An exclusive first-look was shown on ABC during the television premiere of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on 7 May 2005.[94] The first trailer was made available online on 8 May 2005.[95] The international trailer debuted online on 23 August 2005.[96]
The video game adaptation, designed by EA UK, was released 8 November 2005.[97] Mattel released a line of action figures and artefacts based on the film.[98] Among these was the first edition of Harry Potter Scene It? containing over 1,000 questions involving the four films.[99]
Theatrical release[edit]
Goblet of Fire was the first instalment in the series to be rated 12A by the BBFC for its dark themes, fantasy violence, threat and frightening images.[100][101] In the US, it received a PG-13 rating by the MPAA for "sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images".[102][103] In Australia, the ACB classified it as M (Mature) for "moderate dark themes, moderate fantasy violence".[104]
Goblet of Fire was the second film in the series to be given a simultaneous release in conventional theatres and IMAX.[105] Dubbed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The IMAX Experience, it was digitally remastered for IMAX from its 35mm form to take part in a "commercial growth strategy" set up between IMAX and Warner Bros.[106][107]
The film was released in most countries within a two-week period starting on 18 November 2005 in the United Kingdom and United States, with a 1 December 2005 release in Australia. In the United States, the film opened in a maximum of 3,858 cinemas that included several IMAX venues.[5]
The world premiere took place in London, England on 6 November 2005.[108] One of the features of the premiere was an animatronic, fire-breathing Hungarian Horntail.[109] The 40-foot-long dragon, used during the scene where Hagrid leads Harry into the forest at night before the first task, was designed and built by special effects supervisor John Richardson and creature effects/makeup supervisor Nick Dudman.[57]: 10
Home media[edit]
The film was released on DVD in North America on 7 March 2006. It was available in one- and two-disc editions, as well as part of an 8-disc box set that includes all four films at that time.[110] The bonus disc features three interactive games, as well as seven behind the scenes featurettes. It was also released in UMD format for PSP.
A VHS release occurred at least in New Zealand, Finland and Japan,[111] with the fullscreen aspect ratio.[112]
On its first day of release in North America, over 5 million copies were sold, recording a franchise high for first-day sales.[113] Within its first week, it sold over a total of 9 million units of combined sales of both the widescreen and full-screen versions of the DVD.[114] Overall, The Goblet of Fire made a revenue of $207.9 million from home video sales in the US.[115]
The UK edition was released on DVD on 20 March 2006 and became the fastest selling UK DVD ever, selling six copies per second on its day of release. According to the Official Charts Company, the DVD sold 1.4 million copies in the first week. It is also available in a two-disc pressing with special features similar to the North American edition.[116]
The film holds the Guinness World Record for being the fastest selling DVD of all time. The achievement was added to the 2007 book edition of The Guinness World Records, which includes a picture of the award being presented to Daniel Radcliffe on the Order of the Phoenix set at Leavesden Film Studios in April 2006.[117]
In the United States, the first five films were released on HD DVD and Blu-ray disc on 11 December 2007. Goblet of Fire has since become available in numerous box sets containing the other released films, including the Harry Potter: Complete 8-Film Collection and Harry Potter Wizard's Collection. An Ultimate Edition of Goblet of Fire was released on 19 October 2010, featuring behind-the-scenes footage, trailers, deleted scenes and a feature-length special Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 4: Sound & Music.[118] Despite not being included in the Ultimate Edition, an extended version has been shown during certain television airings with roughly ten minutes of additional footage.[119]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
After an opening day of $40 million at the North American box office and staying at number 1 for three weeks, Goblet of Fire made a successful 20-week run in cinemas, closing on 6 April 2006. The film set numerous records, including the highest non-May opening weekend in the US, and earned £14.9m in its opening weekend in the UK, a record which has since been beaten by the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, which took in £15.4m. The Goblet of Fire drew $102.7 million for its opening weekend at the North American box office, setting a new opening high for the franchise and also achieved the highest weekend debut in November, with the latter being surpassed by The Twilight Saga: New Moon in 2009.[120] The film also achieved the biggest opening weekend for a Warner Bros. film, holding this record for three years until the release of The Dark Knight in July 2008.[121] It sold about as many tickets as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone did in its opening weekend. The film's franchise record was later overtaken in 2010 by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, which opened to $125 million; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 followed with $169.1 million in its opening weekend. The Goblet of Fire's debut marked the fourth $100 million weekend in history and as of July 2011, it stands as the 17th largest opening weekend ever. In Mainland China, the film generated 93 million yuan.
The Goblet of Fire earned almost US$897 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing international and worldwide release of 2005.[5]
In IMAX theatres only, the film grossed a total of US$20,033,758 worldwide for a cumulative per-screen average of $188,998 thus setting a new record and a new milestone for a digitally remastered 2-D IMAX release.
In January 2006, The Goblet of Fire surpassed the box office takings of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) to become the eighth-highest-grossing film worldwide, and the second-highest-grossing film in the Harry Potter series, behind The Philosopher's Stone. As of July 2011, it has been the sixth-highest-grossing Harry Potter film behind The Philosopher's Stone, The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince, The Deathly Hallows – Part 1, and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2.[122]
The film ranks third in the North American box office behind Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for 2005, with US$290 million, although both films rank lower than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in worldwide terms.[5]
Critical response[edit]
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 255 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The main characters are maturing, and the filmmakers are likewise improving on their craft; vibrant special effects and assured performances add up to what is the most complex yet of the Harry Potter films."[123] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[124] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[125]
The New York Daily News praised the film for both its humour and its dark tone.[126] The young actors were praised for demonstrating a "greater range of subtle emotions",[127] particularly Daniel Radcliffe whom Variety described as delivering a "dimensional and nuanced performance".[128]
Robert Pattinson received critical praise for his scenes as Cedric Diggory, where he "invested him with a charm and everyman likeability, making his demise at the hands of the newly made-flesh Voldemort a devastatingly poignant turning point in the series."[129] New cast members were also praised: Brendan Gleeson's portrayal of Mad-Eye Moody was described as "colourful";[128] Miranda Richardson's scenes as Rita Skeeter were described as "wonderful";[126] and Ralph Fiennes's portrayal of Lord Voldemort was described as "sublime villainy".[130]
The maturity of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, among others, impressed most critics. While the major characters were portrayed as children in the previous films, "they have subtly transitioned into teenagers (in Goblet of Fire)" according to one USA Today reviewer. Desson Thomson of The Washington Post called the film "Probably the most engaging film of the Potter series thus far".[131] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal stated "The studio, like plucky Harry, passes with flying colors. The new one, directed by Mike Newell from another astute script by Mr. Kloves, is even richer and fuller, as well as dramatically darker. It's downright scary how good this movie is".[132]
Negative criticism included the film's pace which The Arizona Republic described as being "far too episodic",[133] while CNN.com described the film as "clunky and disjointed".[134] Another criticism was that the many supporting characters did not get enough screen time.[128][134] The film was listed at #36 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies praising Rowling for ingeniously blending "two literary traditions, fantasy and coming-through-school fiction".[135]
Accolades[edit]
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction at the 78th Academy Awards.[136] At the 2006 Teen Choice Awards, the film won the award for Choice Movie Drama.[137] The film won the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design, making it the first Harry Potter film to win at the BAFTAs.[138]
At the 2006 Kids' Choice Awards, the film won the Blimp Award for Favorite Movie, becoming the only Harry Potter film to do so.[139]
Lawsuit[edit]
In the run up to the film, Warner Bros. approached a Canadian folk group called the Wyrd Sisters to obtain permission to use the name The Weird Sisters for its Harry Potter band. When a deal could not be made, the Canadian band filed a US$40-million lawsuit against Warner Bros., the North American distributor of the film, as well as the members of the in-movie band (members of Radiohead and Pulp, among others)[140] for the misuse of their group's name. (In a deleted scene, they are simply introduced as "the band that needs no introduction".) The Canadian band also brought an injunction to stop the release of the film in its country as it contained a performance by the identically named fictional rock band. An Ontario judge dismissed this motion, and to avoid further controversy Warner Bros. rendered the band unnamed in the film and many derived products. However, the Winnipeg-based group continued to pursue the lawsuit; lead singer Kim Baryluk stated in her claim that "consumers will assume that the smaller and less famous Canadian band is trying to take advantage of the Harry Potter fame by copying the Harry Potter band's name when in fact the reverse is true."[141] The injunction was dismissed, and the band was ordered to pay costs.[142][143] As of March 2010, the lawsuit has been settled, the details sealed.[144]