Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Directed by	Chris Columbus
Produced by	David Heyman
Written by	J.K. Rowling Steve Kloves
Starring	Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint Emma Watson David Bradley Kenneth Branagh John Cleese Robbie Coltrane Warwick Davis Richard Griffiths Robert Hardy Richard Harris Jason Isaacs Miriam Margolyes Alan Rickman Fiona Shaw Maggie Smith Julie Walters Mark Williams
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Released	November 15, 2002
Running time	161 min.
Language	English
Budget	$100,000,000

The film of Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets was released on November
3, 2002.
The screenplay was written by Steve
Kloves, adapted from the novel by J. K. Rowling. The film was directed by
Chris Columbus and was made at Leavesden Film Studios. On 14 January 2003, it won
the award for "Best Live Action Family Film" in the Phoenix Film
Critics Awards.

Tagline: Something Evil Has Returned To Hogwarts!
and Dobby has come to warn you sir.

Synopsis

Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for his second year, but a mysterious
chamber hidden in the school is opened and Muggle-born students are Petrified by an unknown
agent.

Cast

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or
ending details follow.

Role	Actor
Harry Potter	Daniel Radcliffe
Ron Weasley	Rupert Grint
Hermione Granger	Emma Watson
Gilderoy Lockhart	Kenneth Branagh
Nearly Headless Nick	John Cleese
Draco Malfoy	Tom Felton
Professor Dumbledore	Richard Harris
Professor McGonagall	Maggie Smith
Professor Snape	Alan Rickman
Rubeus Hagrid	Robbie Coltrane
Arthur Weasley	Mark Williams
Molly Weasley	Julie Walters
Lucius Malfoy	Jason Isaacs
Uncle Vernon	Richard Griffiths
Aunt Petunia	Fiona Shaw
Dudley Dursley	Harry Melling
Ginny Weasley	Bonnie Wright
Tom Riddle (a.k.a Lord Voldemort)	Christian Coulson
Cornelius Fudge	Robert Hardy

Alterations from the book

• No message from the Ministry of Magic arrives after Dobby uses
  magic in Harry's home, almost getting Harry thrown out of
  Hogwarts.


• The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden is omitted.


• Harry does not overhear Lucius and Draco speaking in Knockturn
  Alley. The scene was filmed and was included as a deleted scene on
  the DVD.


• There is no scuffle between Lucius Malfoy and Arthur
  Weasley.


• In the book, Hermione was not upset about being called a
  "Mudblood," as she did not
  know what the term meant, but in the film she knows what it means
  and is deeply offended.


• Professor Binns' explanation of the legend of the Chamber of
  Secrets is instead given by Professor McGonagall. (Professor Binns
  has not appeared in the films.)


• Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party and
  Lockhart's Valentine celebration are omitted.


• Instead of trying to attack Harry (or Dobby) for making him
  lose Dobby,
  Lucius Malfoy tries to use the killing curse Avada Kedavra before Dobby
  stuns him, though subtitles say that the first word was "Vera" (and
  say nothing in the UK PAL release), though it is possible that that
  was requested by J.K. Rowling so as not to reveal the existence of
  a killing curse until the fourth movie was released. Lucius would
  most likely not try to kill Harry while they were both in
  Hogwarts, despite his anger, because that would just be
  stupid.


• In the film, Harry destroys the diary before Fawkes heals his
  wound, rather than after. While he clearly does not know how the
  book relates to the memory of Tom Riddle, he clearly understands
  that somehow they are linked. He choses to destroy the book, in a
  kind of "If I have to go, I'm taking you with me" ploy.


• Virtually all of the foreshadowing hints that Ginny is acting
  strangely are left out, although the scene where Prof. McGonagall
  talks to the Gryffindors about the probability of closing the
  school, it shows a close up of Ginny looking uneven.


• The book mentions that the crowing of the rooster is fatal to
  the basilisk, which is why Tom Riddle had Ginny kill all of
  Hagrid's roosters. This part is omitted from the film although
  Hagrid is shown at one point holding a bird, upside down, by the
  feet.


• In the book Penelope Clearwater is petrified, but she is not
  petrified in the film (her part is reduced to a brief scene near
  the beginning, when Percy says hello to Nearly Headless Nick).


• In the movie, Hermione merely removes a copy of Moste
  Potente Potions from a bookshelf in the library. In the book,
  it is not simply on a library shelf, it lives in the "Restricted
  Section": Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to get a note from Lockhart
  to check it out. That is why Madam
  Pince isn't in that scene.


• After Fawkes, the phoenix, rips out the basilisk's eyes, the
  book and the film take different strides. In the book, Riddle
  mentions that the basilisk can still smell Harry, while in the
  film, the basilisk was supposed to hear him.


• Ron's history of arachnophobia is removed entirely. Also
  removed is his vomiting after the spider incident.


• Filch is not revealed to be a squib. Although there is a scene
  on the DVD extra scenes concerning this.


• Hermione does not steal potions ingredients from Snape's
  private stores, although there is one deleted scene on the DVD of
  Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire that cencerns this. In the
  book, Harry and Ron threw a Dr. Fillibuster's Fireball at Goyle's
  cauldron while Hermione went into the private stores to steal
  ingredients. In the movie, that scene is omitted.


• The diary scenes are heavily compressed. Tom does not
  'befriend' Harry.


• Percy's strange behaviour and his use as a red-herring are not
  in the film.


• In the book, Lucius Malfoy removes the sock from the book and
  tosses it aside. Dobby catches it and is freed by saying his master
  has given him clothes. In the film version, Harry hands the diary
  to Malfoy, knowing that he would give it to Dobby to carry. After
  Malfoy does, Harry tells Dobby to open it, and Dobby finds the
  sock. This shows Malfoy actually giving the sock, by not checking
  the diary first.


• Spoiler - While not an "alteration" of the book, if you
  look closely, you can see when Lucius Malfoy drops the diary into
  Ginny Weasley's cauldron in the bookstore. He takes out one book
  from the cauldron, but drops two back into it.

Notes

• This film is, so far, the most literal to the specific events
  of the book. However, it could be argued that the behaviours of the
  characters and the tone of the film are the least faithful.


• Disney Channel premiered this movie with the deleted scenes in
  it. To learn more see
  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Extended Disney Channel
  Version).


• The movie leaked on the internet a few days before its official
  release. Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update spoofed by saying that "even
  worse, a book containing
  the entire story of the film came out 4 years ago".


• This film was parodied by French & Saunders for Comic
  Relief 2003 in a sketch entitled 'Harry Potter and the Secret
  Chamberpot of Azerbaijan'. The parody featured actors such as
  Ronnie Corbett as Hagrid, Jeremy
  Irons as Snape and Miranda Richardson as Hermione.