Dark Wizards and Dark Deeds; Harry Potter is tested in The Goblet of Fire.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) Directed by Mike Newell.

This is the point where the books just flat out grew the medium of movies. There was considerable talk about breaking this movie into two, but Mike Newell, the first English Director, took his lead from Alfonso Cauron and decided to instead pare down sub-plots that did not focus on Harry, and make a condensed version in the two and half hours allotted.

And what they got was very entertaining…but also, very much the poor deprived country cousin of the book.

The movie starts not with the closing days of summer at the Dursley’s as is usual, but with a very odd scene. An elderly muggle makes his way up to the house where he is the caretaker to investigate a light. There he sees a strange sight, two men talking to a third in a wing backed chair. A great serpent apparently speaks to the man, telling him of the Caretakers presence. One of the men, Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall) steps out of the way, and you see a wizened hand point a wand in the old man’s direction, and hear the dreaded words…Avada Kedevra!

We learn that all we have seen was Harry having a nightmare. When he is awakened by Hermionie, we see he is at The Barrow, the Weasley family home, and Harry’s second favorite place in the world. And there are big doings afoot.

The entire clan, and the other local family, the Diggorys, are meeting to take a portkey to the World Championship of Quiddich match.

But though the match was glorious, (Ireland beat Bulgaria) it is marred by an attack by Deatheaters!

But then the kids are safely (?) off to Hogwarts. And the excitement there is greater than ever. This year, Hogwarts will host The Tri Wizard Tournament. This brings two guest schools, Beaubatons Academy of Witchcraft, and Durmstrang, to be Hogwarts guests. Three champions, one from each school, all over 17, will be chosen by the Goblet of Fire. These three will compete in a series of tests, almost brutal in their difficulty, occasionally lethal.

So, it is a very excited group that meets their teacher, Professor (Madeye) Moody (Brendan Gleeson.)
Professor Moody: Alastor Moody. Ex-Auror, Ministry malcontent, and your new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. I am here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story, goodbye, the end! Any questions? When it comes to the Dark Arts I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?
Hermione: Three, sir.
Professor Moody: And they are so named?
Hermione: Because they are unforgivable. The use of any one of them will...
Professor Moody: Earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Correct. The Ministry says you are too young to see what these curses do. I say different! You need to know what you're up against. You need to be prepared...
(Seamus starts to stick his gum under his desk)
Professor Moody: You need to find another place to put your chewing gum besides the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnegan!
(whispered) Seamus: No way, the old codger can see out of the back of his head!
Professor Moody: (throws an eraser at him) And hear across classrooms!

A bit of a loose cannon, but as he demonstrates, he knows his stuff.

At the choosing ceremony, Harry’s world falls apart. The Goblet of Fire performs its function, choosing a champion from each school. Victor Krum, for Durmstrang, Fleur De La Coeur for Beaubatons, and Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts. And then, when everyone is relaxed, it spits out a fourth name…Harry Potter.

Alarums and various excursions! No sensible person thinks Harry could have pulled off this trick. Ron does, and he’s wound up he wasn’t let in on the secret. But it is decided that Harry has to go forward…the contract with the Goblet of Fire is very powerful, and they want to flush out the guilty party. Also, Harry has to deal with celebrity, in the form of Daily Prophet reported, Rita Skeeter. Think Lois Lane without the scruples and all the charm of a 1940’s hooker, with out the taste.

Harry writes Sirius Black, his outlaw godfather, for advice. His advice; be careful.

The first Task is looming. Hagrid shows Harry something in the Forbidden Forest; something he is very interested in…Dragons! Harry sees Madame Maxine there, so he knows that Beaubatons will be well prepared. Harry decides he is honor bound to inform his own school’s champion, Cedric. And he does.

Each of the tasks presses the champions to the edges of their abilities. Very like the Heroes Journey of myth, they must over come these challenges, and learn something from each.

From the Dragon, Harry learns to play to his strengths. From the test in the Lake, he learns that fair play is often rewarded. Just as he gave Cedric a clue, Cedric gave him one to help him with the second. (I love the scene with Moaning Myrtle!) From the second task he learned that you can’t go wrong sticking by your morals, and he learns to appreciate the help of his friends. And in the last challenge, he has to face himself. Once again, by remembering who it is he chooses to be, he saves himself from getting lost, at least metaphorically.

There are other challenges…such as finding the courage to ask a girl to the Yule Ball. Harry recons the dragon was easier. One bit I loved, absolutely LOVED, was the fact that Neville Longbottom had the time of his life at the ball. Neville can dance. He’s brilliant at Herbology, and he can ask a girl to dance. Neville might not be the coolest cucumber in the patch, but he is finally beginning to find his own place, his own areas to shine.

But back the Heroes Journey, Harry’s Journey. Harry and Cedric decide that since they helped each other along, they will claim the Tri-Wizard cup at the same time.

And thus it is that they are both Portkeyed away to a grim graveyard!

There, the movies take their darkest turn. Warning; here there be Spoilers!

Cedric Diggory is killed. And Voldemort is reborn. No longer is he a husk, he is full grown, and able to touch Harry. And it is once again forgotten magic that saves Harry, the link between their wands, the shared tail feathers of the same Phoenix that makes up the core of the wands. Harry makes it to Cedric’s body, and summons the Tri Wizard Portkey to him, and is returned.

Things move fast from there. Moody spirits Harry away, the action of any good teacher, but his motives are not beneficent. Locked away, he asks Harry what happened in the Grave Yard. “I…I don’t think I mentioned a Grave Yard, Professor.” Harry knows he is in trouble. But what is the cavalry for, but to arrive in the knick of time? Harry is saved, and Alistor Moody is revealed to be Barty Crouch Jr, using Polyjuice Potion, and keeping the real Moody captive.

I loved the speech Albus Dumbledore gave his students about Cedric.

”Today we acknowledge a really terrible loss. Cedric Diggory was, as you all know, exceptionally hard working, infinitely fair-minded, and most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend. Therefore, I feel you have the right to know exactly how he died. You see, Cedric Diggory was murdered, by Lord Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. But not to do so I feel would be an insult to his memory. Now the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me, and, reminds us, that though we may come from different countries and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one. In light of the recent events, the bonds of friendship made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that, and Cedric Diggory will not have died in vain. You remember that, and we'll celebrate a boy who was kind, and honest, and brave, and true. Right to the very end.”

In this day and age of HIPPA regulations, and “Classified for National Security Reasons,” and American Citizens being held in foreign prisons with out access to due process, I think we see the value of the truth, and how it can be endangered, even for the noblest of motives. I love that Albus Dumbledore cares not one whit what the Ministry wants, he does what is right.

This is the darkest book to date, and in someway, it is the darkest in the entire series; here is where the kid gloves come off, here is where we see the face of the enemy, (shudder!) and realize the kinds of stakes we are playing for.

The movie is brilliant. It is one of the best, most gripping, most compelling dramas out there. It was even Oscar Nominated. What amazes me, and saddens me, is how far it fell from the book.

So much was lost; entire Society for the Protection of Elf Workers, story line, Hermione’s romance with Krum, Cho’s divided loyalties between Cedric and Harry, the entire storyline of the mysterious news leaks, and Rita Skeeter’s illegal activities, and how cleverly Hermione figured it out, and put her in her place. Hermione has a future in politics.

One thing I was happy they included was the whole Ron feeling betrayed by Harry thing. Ron is the sixth boy in his family. He was born in a shadow, and is tired of living in one. And now his best friend casts the biggest shadow in the Wizarding world. No wonder Ron was looking for recognition of his own.

Of all of the movies, The Goblet of Fire most reminds me of the Hero’s Journey. Here is the clear cut plot: Harry will be tested, his bravery, his wits, and his character. And he does well. But now the real battle begins…..

Check out the other Harry Potter classics:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows Part I
Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows Part II


Read the Book!
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows