This series, part of our Forever Young Family & Children’s Series, celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Harry Potter book series.
Though the first two films of the Harry Potter series satisfied fans’ high expectations, the third book in the series takes a dark turn, and the film used that shift in tone to shift its own vision for the series. With a new director at the helm, Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, the film tried to meet new heights of aesthetic and narrative mastery.
A few years ago star Daniel Radcliffe spoke to The Huffington Post about developing the franchise under a new director, “It was very different [going from Columbus to Cuarón]. But it was also like, I think it’s the best decision that was ever made for the series. Because it just changed how people saw us and it changed the perception of what we were trying to do. ‘Oh, they’re trying to make something different!’ He had just come off Y Tu Mamá También, so that was people’s frame of reference for Alfonso.
[…W]hat he did with the film was so extraordinary, and it’s still many people’s favorite of all of the Potters. I think he did wonders for the series and all of us. That was the film where I was suddenly of an age for the first time where I was able to be directed by him — more than I had been capable of being in the past. And, also, I was suddenly, working with Gary Oldman and David Thewlis and whereas all the older actors in the first two movies had known me as a kid, they hadn’t. They only know me as a 14-year-old, so they treat me as a young man rather than a boy. And I think that whole film is a huge turning point — it’s really where I decided that I wanted to be and absolutely continue to be an actor.”
