For all the countless ways that J.K. Rowling’s evocative writing has determined the look and tone of the “Harry Potter’’ films, the directors who’ve adapted the books have certainly also significantly influenced the screen franchise’s development. Some of their choices have been made very deliberately, and reflect each filmmaker’s sensibility and vision. Other choices seem to have involved leaps of faith that simply worked out. And still others have been dictated by, as ever, budgets, or scheduling constraints, or the effects technology of the moment. (Ever notice how much more elaborately iconic the gothic sprawl of Hogwarts has grown over the span of a decade? So has the films’ production designer, Stuart Craig, who’s still sort of bugged by having had to go with the starter-home version on “Sorcerer’s Stone.’’)
Directions to Potterville
How four different filmmakers redefined the way we see Harry and his world
Following is a look at the series’ four directors, and the brand of magic each worked in bringing “Harry Potter’’ to life.
Chris Columbus, “Sorcerer’s Stone’’ and “Chamber of Secrets’’ Columbus’s signature credit coming in was “Home Alone,’’ and his knack for casting kids and bringing out their youthful best is evident all through these installments, particularly in the bright storybook wonder of the series opener. He also set the tone for how closely the movies would follow the books - sacred text to fans. Just as notably, Columbus and designer Craig had to establish the physical template for the entire “Harry Potter’’ landscape, from junior wizards’ dorms to magic wands. “We were essentially creating, somewhat in stone, the look and the feel of the next [seven] films,’’ Columbus says in “Creating the World of Harry Potter: Evolution.’’ (The hourlong documentary is included on a recent “Ultimate Edition’’ reissue of “Order of the Phoenix.’’) “If I thought about that too much,’’ he adds with a laugh, “I probably never would have left the house.’’ The grind of helming such high-stakes productions back-to-back led Columbus to bow out after “Chamber of Secrets.’’ Still, for an idea of how he might have handled the older-skewing books, see his most recent movie, the YA adaptation “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.’’