Richard Harris vs Michael Gambon; who is the best Dumbledore?

Who is the best?

Ok so to begin with, I’m going to be copying a couple of posts from another one of my blogs into this one as their Harry Potter related, so it’s only natural that they should posted here as well. This particular post is to discuss my opinion on the best portrayal of the ‘greatest wizard of our age’.  To me, Richard Harris always was, and always will be ‘the’ Dumbledore.

‘The Greatest Wizard of our age’

Richard Harris brought that certain kind of magic to the first two Harry Potter films which the character of Dumbledore brought to the books. The well known British actor played the character with that exact gentility which makes everyone trust and love the mad but intelligent headmaster. Even his voice was perfect because even from the books, we knew the professor had a kind and quiet voice, speaking very softly but with a kind of sharpness which would make everyone listen whenever he spoke. Richard Harris had this technique to a tee and whenever I read the books now, I always imagine him because he brought the character to life. His death back in 2002 saddened everyone and a good majority of the films’ audiences knew that he could not be replaced.

Not the same

Handing over the role of Dumbledore to Michael Gambon was probably one of the worst decisions that the Harry Potter crew could have ever done. I appologise to those who may love his portrayal of Dumbledore, but to me he lacks everything Richarad Harris gave to that character. Obviously he wanted to make the character his own knowing that he probably couldn’t live up to what Richard Harris had done, but Richarad Harris kept how the actual character was described, he did not. The main aspect which annoys me about Gambon’s Dumbledore is his constant shouting like a football hooligan, what is that about? Goblet of Fire is a fine example of this, when he out of the blue yells at Harry asking whether he “put his name into the Goblet of Fire” and shakes him half to death. This is physical abuse! Dumbledore would never, ever do something like this to any of his pupils, especially Harry. Even in the books there are only about two moments in the whole series where Dumbledore shouts: At Cornellius Fudge outside the hospital wind in Goblet of Fire (if I remember correctly) and at Harry in his office, when he is saying that love is more stronger than anything that Voldemort has in Half Blood Prince. Why the hell has the screenwriters decided that this was the best route in which to portray the films’ second Dumbledore?

And what is with all the awkward scenes in Half Blood Prince where he tells Harry he needs a shave & where he stares at a huge billboard of a model on the train station? May I remind you that Dumbledore is gayer than a Christmas tree. These flaws, along with many others, make my opinion of Michael Gambon a negative one, he ruined what would be one of the greatest and powerful characters that should have been played on screen.

Again sorry to all those Gambon portrayal fans, but Richard Harris will always be the perfect Dumbledore and will always be remembered for doing so.

*Pictures are not mine, thank the wonderful world of Google for them*

Hogwarts is my Home!

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Ok, so I know this is my third blog and I don’t keep to the other two as much as I should, but I couldn’t resist creating a blog that has everything upon everything to do with Harry Potter. I’d say that a good portion of my life is dedicated to Harry Potter; some would say this is crazed or manic, I call it dedication. I’ve read the books and seen the films countless times, I’ve braved horrific weather to attend a couple of the film premieres, I’ve gone to see some exhibitions dedicated to the films and already have my tickets to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London on opening day. I even have a HP related tattoo and am also planning another one; some people say obsessive, again I say dedication.

Since around the age of eight or nine I’ve been a fan of the books, I mean what kid doesn’t find a world filled of magical beings appealing? As I grew older, I began to appreciate J.K. Rowling’s world a whole lot more and every time a new book or film would come out, my excitement would top the one before. 2007 then marked the year that the final Harry Potter book was released, making millions of fans all over the world depressed that we would not be given another tale following the lives of The Golden Trio. But never fear, we still had the rest of the films to be made and that felt like they would take an eternity to be created; eternity was obviously not long enough. This year marked the year of the release of the final ever film and personally being one of the thousands standing in Trafalgar Square (along with the thousands watching online), seeing the people you look up to burst into floods of tears because they would never be part of something so amazing again was probably one of the most emotional moments of my entire life. I still can’t quite grasp that it is all over…technically; all of those who stay dedicated to the Harry Potter fandom will never let go what it all means to us. In the words of the Queen…the Queen being J.K. Rowling of course, “whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home!”

& so, to keep the magic of Harry Potter alive, I’m starting this blog to write about all things HP, including my own experiences and theories. However I will state now that if you do not agree with my theories, please don’t continue to read my blog or if you do & happen to comment, please keep the comments clean and tell me your own views in a decent and friendly manner; we obviously speak our own minds and each person is different to the next, but that doesn’t excuse any harsh comments you may have against my posts, after all they are my personal opinions. Apart from that, all I have to say until my next post is nitwit, blubber, oddment and tweak!

To mark my first post, here's a little treat: a picture I took at the final premiere