Harry Potter Movie Analysis - Essay Example

Once there, when Hagrid introduces Harry, harry is perplexed by the people’s behavior towards him. He cannot understand the almost hero-like status he is being given and Hagrid does nothing to explain matters to him. After Harry’s rather secretive but uneventful foray into Gringotts, the wizarding bank, and the purchase of his books, it is time for him to purchase his wand. Hagrid suggests that Harry buy his wand at Ollivander’s, one of the oldest and finest wand makers. As Harry made his way into Ollivander’s the shop is empty. Once Ollivander comes down to help Harry, he shows him two different wands which produce rather destructive effects once Harry gives those wands a move. The third wand that Ollivander picks out for Harry seems a perfect fit. Then telling Harry about things like ‘he who must not be named, remembering every wand he ever sold, phoenix feathers, and the wand choosing the wizard’ Ollivander just adds to the bewildered Harry’s long list of questions. After the purchase of the wand, Hagrid meets Harry with his birthday gift, an owl. The next scene in the clip I have chosen involves Harry and Hagrid sitting down around a table at some eatery. Here, Harry bombards Hagrid with questions about his parents and their murders. After much persuasion, Harry learns that his parents were murdered by a merciless wizard, a wizard so feared that even eleven years after his disappearance, Hagrid refused to say his name out loud. Hagrid finally in a barely audible whisper utters ‘Voldemort’s name instructing Harry to never call him by his given name and refer to him as ‘He Who must not be named’. Hagrid told Harry about the time when Voldemort started to gather followers and ruthlessly kill anyone who refused him. The night his parents died, albeit doing their best to fight Voldermort, till that night nobody had ever survived a killing curse, nobody but Harry. Harry learned he was famous and was ‘referred to as the boy who lived’ for not only had he survived a killing curse by Voldermort but was responsible for bringing about the downfall of the most dangerous wizard of all times.

Now for the sound analysis, when Harry enters Olivander’s wand shop, there is no background music. When he opens the door the only sound is the ringing of the bell. Otherwise, it is extremely quiet. This I suppose is so that viewers can differentiate this scene from the previous one, where there was music. The sudden disappearance of any sound grabs the attention of a cluster of scenes with background music. It makes sense as this scene is extremely important in telling the viewers what this movie is about besides magic. The sudden noise created by Ollivander is almost surprising and attention immediately shifts from Harry to Ollivander. There is no background music for the better half of this scene. When Ollivander has Harry trying different wands, the sudden blast of noise from the destruction the wand causes immediately portrays to the viewers how incompatible that wand is with Harry. The sound supports the visual.

When Ollivander gets the third wand for Harry, the background music re-enters bringing attention to the fact that something new is about to happen. Ollivander’s mutterings ‘curios’ add to the mystery of the scene, which leaves the viewers at the end of their seats wondering what is about to happen. The music played when the wand finally chose Harry again is enough to tell the viewers what exactly is happening. Ollivander’s matter-of-fact tone and Harry’s amazing dialogue delivery portrayed exactly what it should have, an adult talking to a bewildered child. The change in Ollivander’s tone also significantly tells viewers that they are being let in on a secret.

The next scene at the eatery once again begins without any background music successfully separating this scene from the previous. Hagrid whispering Voldermort’s name reinforces the visual message that Hagrid is scared.

When Hagrid begins to tell the story, re-enters the music. The music gains tempo once the story moves forward leaving the viewers extremely excited about what is going to happen. The music slows down when Hagrid tells Harry about the boy who lived. The change in music is registered by the one watching the movie as a new significant happening in the movie.

Overall, in this clip, the music and sounds complement the visuals.