Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004) - Alfonso Cuarón Was The Best Director For The Job!

Having took the mantle of director for the first two films in the Harry Potter series, it's a surprise that Chris Columbus didn't continue to direct the series. But despite that, it was actually a huge benefit, as they ended up hiring the perfect director for the job. And it's because of Alfonso Cuarón's exceptional talent, that this film series hit an early peak in quality with Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban.

From the very first frame, Cuarón makes it clear that this is his film, which I really enjoy about each director that joins the Potter franchise. You can always tell who is directing through their own stylistic choices. Something unique to Cuarón's time with this franchise is his exceptional use of visual motifs, in order for the story to progress really smoothly. This entry in the overarching story relies a lot on the idea of time, and Cuarón makes use of time as a visual and audible motif to either foreshadow future plot points. Throughout the story, there is hints to the endless possibilities of time through visual iconography as well the use of bell chimes as part of the film's natural soundtrack. I was also really impressed by how this sharp turn towards a darker tone really benefits the narrative. Usually, such a shift would alienate the audience, but it actually feels very natural in it's transition, giving our lead characters the biggest challenge so far, which continues to keep it's audience engaged and intrigued with how the story will go.

Something that is really cleverly done is how Cuarón lets the audience travel through time throughout the story, establishing the possibility of time travel, long before the concept is revealed. The changing of seasons transition which goes from Autumn to Winter was a seamless and beautifully crafted shot, and the way the camera moves through the large clock in Hogwarts castle in the final act of the film is a mind bending shot. The cinematography is beautifully in itself, as Michael Seresin pulls off shots that many cinematographers can only dream of pulling off to such a high standard. The way he transitions through inanimate objects such as the clock tower and even a mirror is baffling for an audience to take in. My only slight issue with the cinematography is the use of blue in the overall pallet of the film. For the vast majority of this film, the blues really help the colours pop off the screen in each scene. But it is not beneficial in the scenes where there is snow. The snow in this film ends up looking like blue slush due to the excess of blue hues. If it had been dialled back a tiny bit for those sequences, I would say this was the best cinematography so far. As it stands, it is just Roger Pratt's work for Chamber Of Secrets.

Cuarón was also the perfect director to help the young cast develop further as they and their characters enter the teen age. Having shown how well he understands teenage characters and actors through his previous work in Y Tu Mama Tambien, he really helped the characters grow, and in particular gave Daniel Radcliffe some of his best moments as an actor so far in this series. One area of his directing skills I really liked was how he got our main trio of actors to write up about their characters, which in itself demonstrates exactly why they were the perfect choices for their respective characters. I should also discuss the debut of Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, following the tragic loss of Richard Harris. While I will always prefer Harris' calm and warming approach to Dumbledore's character, I can't deny that Gambon was very impressive in his debut appearance as the character. He can be just as calm and friendly as Harris was, however, it is worth noting that you can see a more aggressive tone in Gambon's voice in certain moments, which would become a growing issue of concern throughout the remainder of the series.

I was surprised to learn that John Williams also composed the music for this film, as I was sure he had moved on from the series by this point. And having listened closely to the score in this film, I should've known much sooner that it had to be Williams. The music is still and lively and energetic as the work he produced before. He also embraced the dark shift in tone, and established music motifs that would carry on throughout the remainder of the series. He can go from playful chaos in the opening scenes to damp and tense moments of fear with absolute ease. If John had remained with the series, I would've been delighted to see how he progressed his music further.

To see a film series reach an exceptionally high peak by it's third instalment is something to behold. Other franchises around the time such as Spider-Man and X-Men were struggling to maintain momentum by this point, so to see the Harry Potter film crew uphold such high standards of quality is something to behold. And it's thanks to Alfonso Cuarón and everyone else involved that this film series continued to entertain and engage with it's growing audience at the time, as well as those who come back to it long after it's cinematic release. Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban is definitely this magical series' crowning glory!

SCORES

Story - 5/5

Characters - 5/5

Production - 4.5/5

Acting - 4.5/5

Music - 5/5

TOTAL - 9.6/10