It's made clear that Dumbledore doesn't need a cloak to make himself invisible so it really could be either one.I think it's implied that Dumbledore is just sitting there waiting for Harry, knowing he will be obsessed and not notice him. Incidentally, it really is weird to re-read the series with the understanding that Dumbledore knows everything that's going on in the school, even in moments when Harry is making some bad and/or dangerous decisions and getting himself into serious trouble/danger.
The greatest wizard of our time gets relegated to being principal of a high school. Gotta keep it interesting.
And he's never around or anything lol. Once in a while he pops in just to remind everyone he is still running shit.
Rowling can write an entire 7 books solely focused on Dumbledore, what he's been doing off screen during the HP years and how he became so good at everything, like discovering new magic etc and I'll read the shit out of it
With Dumbledore, you get a sense of him actually being "magic" instead of the rest of the characters where they kind of still have the obey the laws of Physics in the Magical sense, i.e. you want to disarm someone, you have to point your wand and shout out an exact phrase. But Dumbledore like the Ministry fight scene and the Cave scene, can just seemingly pull magical stuff out of his ass (enhant a fucking statue in the blink of an eye like they were one of those armors in Hogwarts, wave his hand around in a cave and knows "magic is around here" and what specifically to do). Basically its like every other wizard is plugged in, while he's just Neoing everything.
I like that description. No one other than Grindewald seems to have even been close, especially from a dueling sense. Dumbledore dispatches most of the Death Eaters in the Ministry and then toys with Voldemort all while protecting Harry at the same time. He completely lived up to "The Only One He Ever Feared" He's arguably the best overall character in the series as well. He has a depth that no one ELSE than Snape really has, and we still know almost nothing about him. I couldn't be more excited to see he and Grindewald featured over the next four films, and Rowling confirmed the duel will be in this series of 5 movies :) He's pretty much the only thing that kept Voldemort in check too. Voldemort would obliterate Mad Eye and anyone else, but his fear of Dumbledore alone kept him from taking over completely (as he does after Dumbledore's death).
I think one on one, Dumbledore in his prime wipes the floor with Voldemort. Voldemort might have had more raw power, but Dumbledore was more gifted and was a "student of the game" in terms of magic. Voldemort blatantly disregarded any form of magic he considers beneath his status as the heir of Slytherin.
He wipes the floor with him in the Ministry when Voldemort is in his 60s and Dumbledore is like 115 or something. Voldemort has powers that Dumbledore doesn't have and vice versa, but Dumbledore is on another level and Voldemort himself is fully aware of that fact (he refuses to meet him following their meeting at Hogwarts despite being virtually immortal).
God, you guys have me pumped for Dumbledore. I'm gonna end up reading this whole series again and derailing everything else on my reading list.
Richard Harris was about as good of a casting for Dumbledore as RDJ as Tony Stark. He had every little eccentric detail right, from the drowsy mild clapping where he taps the back of his hand with the other to the soft/high as shit way he talked. Hell he even turned down the role 3 times until his granddaughter threatened to never talk to him again. Gambon acted every scene like a drama, to the point where during actual dramatic scenes, you can't really tell the difference between "shits going done" Dumbledore to "impressing first years with goofy magic at the start of the year feast" Dumbledore. I so want Jared Harris to get that role.
Agree with the criticism of Gambon but also Richard Harris wouldn't have held up in later movies even if he were alive and healthy because he just didn't have as much...vigor and energy (best way I can phrase it)...as the character was supposed to have. Team Laurie
I agree. Ian McKellen was offered the role but he declined because he didn't want to do another magical character. He could have done it, imo and would have been great.
Stunt/Body doubles, those things exist. Physical limitations are like the last thing anyone should hold against actors.
What? He looked and felt old as fuck. That worked for the Dumbledore we saw early In the series, not for the one that starts to get into the action from book 4 on
I would have been just fine with a drowsy, devil-may-care, semi-immobile Richard Harris casually flicking his wand around while massively disruptive magic burst forth from it and stymied and frustrated a berzerk Voldemort in the Ministry. That's how I pictured it in the book anyway, so I would have been just fine with that.
There were still a few compelling Dumbledore moments with Gambon. You can't blame the guy for trying to set himself apart and not just be "the guy that replaced Richard Harris".
He should have literally aimed to be the guy that just replaced and replicated Richard Harris to the best of his ability. "Set himself apart" my ass.
They were hiring a talented actor to bring to life one of the most iconic characters in contemporary English fiction - not to be the new lead singer of Journey.
They already set Dumbledore's direction with the casting of Harris. Gambon should have followed his lead imo since Harris died, rather than being replaced or fired or something. You are welcome to disagree and appreciate Gambon's ridiculously over the top portrayal if you wish.
Gambon got better with each movie and performed well in some important scenes. But there were some horrifically cringeworthy moments. 'HARRY DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE' or 'DON'T YOU ALL HAVE SOME STUDYING TO DO?' Awful. The movies series as a whole was just ok.
Gambon admitted to knowing nothing about Dumbledore, nor did he even try to research the character. He literally said in an interview "well he's a headmaster, the kids are supposed to be scared of him."
Richard Harris has played three of my all time favorite characters and all two briefly in each role: Dumbledore - Perfect casting Marcus Aurelius - I can't imagine a more perfect casting to the point where every time I read about Aurelius or listen to a podcast, Richard Harris in the purple from Gladiator is what I picture in my mind. Priest- Another of my favorite movies and roles, just a perfect character and he's so likable
I watched the first half bootleg online and couldn't finish cuz it wasn't entertaining. This coming from a diehard Harry Potter fan. Maybe it was the shitty quality. Maybe it's because I only watched one half of the movie. But it bored the shit out of me.
So dang good. Best HP movie so far, and I'm not sure it's particularly close. It's the anti-Pence film... conversion therapy doesn't work and leads to the rise of Nazis.
A die hard fan wouldn't watch a shit tier bootleg copy on their laptop, they'd go see it in a theater.
Movie made to be seen in a theater. Classic bit of whimsy and adventure. I didn't have twizzlers but did have popcorn and a peanut butter chocolate milkshake. Little irritated that it all had to culminate in yet another Marvel-style "DESTROY THE WHOLE CITY WITH CGI" scene. It's getting old. Depp feels like a good casting. Need a Dumbledore who can match verbal wits with him. Would like Laurie, personally. Whole obscurus thing felt a little goofy, even for HP universe. Hoping it amounts to more in the next film, perhaps with more connection to Grindelwald or the Hallows. Thinking Newt becomes a professor soon after getting published and that gives ample room for developing the Dumbledore relationship before that takes over center stage in the latter films.
I think the obscurus was a set up for Ariana Dumbledore being one, which either brings Dumbledore and Grendelwald together or drives them apart. or both
My speculation is that the real reason Grindelwald ever humored Dumbledore or spent time with him is that he recognized Ariana was an Obscurial and he wanted to try and harness her power and then when it overwhelmed her and she died Dumbledore realized Grindelwald was just exploiting him to study his sister and it fucks him up.
That's nonsense, their first and foremost priority was finding/uniting and mastering the Hallows and Grindelwald obviously recognized how talented Dumbledore was and wanted him as an ally, not an enemy. The obscurial was only a different means to attaining more power. Grindelwald's symbol isn't a fluffy black cloud, its the wand, stone and cloak.
I think that's likely. We don't yet know what he did for the 20ish years after Fantastic Beasts and his Werewolf Registry through the Ministry of Magic.
You are literally the worst. Are you capable of having a discussion about literature beyond what's clearly written on the page for you to read. Grindelwald's backstory is clearly still open to interpretation and clarification because it's told to you from very biased and limited perspectives with the focus on how Dumbledore was affected in the seventh book. There's no speculation as to what Grindelwald's true motives or feelings were. Deathly Hallows says that Grindelwald came to visit after Dumbledore's mother's death because he had family in Godric's Hollow, specifically Bathilda who they mention is one of the few people friendly enough with Kendra Dumbledore to be on speaking terms. Who is to say the true narrative is as clear as it appears in Deathly Hallows? It's not written from omniscient narrator. You can say with certainty Bathilda didn't write her nephew and tell him about Dumbledore's mother's death and Ariana's story and that was what brought him to Godric's Hollow to begin with? He clearly is intrigued enough by the Obscurus to go to ridiculous lengths to study it, how do you know that wasn't his intention? Who is to say he didn't come with that purpose and then use the idea of the Deathly Hallows to manipulate and charm an incredibly brilliant wizard reduced to playing babysitter? Obviously uniting the Hallows were a goal for Grindelwald but in the first movie the Obscurus seems a much higher priority than searching for any Hallows. Obviously I may be wrong but I think the future movies will give us a lot more information about when they first meet and even more backstory into Dumbledore that wasn't resolved in Deathly Hallows.