And we now get to my personal favorite of the series, 'Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban' directed by Alfonso Cauron and once again starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint along with newcomers to the series David Thlewis and Gary Oldman. This time around, Harry is being hunted by escaped murderer Sirius Black and along the way, Harry reveals more about his past and his connection to the evil Voldemort. This film along with the book were the big turning point for the series, growing in maturity and more adult themes with its young audience and adapting to accommodate them rather than linger in nostalgia and this is only one of the many reasons I adore 'Azkaban' as a whole.
I also love that this film adds so much to the mythology than previous entries, with the revelations of Snape's relationships to Harry's parents and Professor Lupin showing its origins here. The character of Lupin himself is a strong and well developed character, helping not only young Harry but the young stars as a whole in developing the necessary skills to achieve greatness and overcome any enemy. He's like that favorite teacher that we all knew, the one who would help you after class on that one problem you're having an issue with or just one to have a friendly chat. The other stand out this time around is Sirius Black, who is played by the always excellent Gary Oldman. Oldman is a talent like no other, taking on so many and extremely diverse roles in his career that he's nothing short of a genius in the world of acting. This may not be his best role per se, but he brings the book's depiction to life the best anyone could have and he also helps add to the world and Harry's backstory.
Director Alfonso Cauron is one of those highly underrated talents out there and here he's given his biggest possible opportunity to show off what he can do, and to put it lightly he pulls it off and then some. The dark and grungy cinematography mixed with the whimsy of the fantasy locations works so well. It's like reading an old 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' book, with the dirty stained and worn pages but with beautifully done illustrations throughout. And that's the best way I can sum up 'Prisoner', it's a beautiful Fairy Tale with elements of horror, fantasy, charm, and drama a perfect story in every way. One last thing to highlight is John Williams' last contribution to the 'Harry Potter' series and here I believe he's done his best work. Winter wonderland mixes with Gothic castles throughout Williams' score here, with the Halloween theme standing out among the many great tracks. I highly recommend picking this Soundtrack up.
By far my favorite film, 'Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban' takes the material and works beyond it bringing not only a great family film, but a wonderful fantasy film for the adults as well.
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