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Monday, November 21, 2005

He-who-must-not-be-named..

Can someone make an appearance in the last scene of a movie and steal the show? In my eyes, that's exactly what Ralph Fiennes did in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. Making an entry in the climax of the movie as Lord Voldemort, the handsome Ralph Fiennes was barely recognizable with his flattened nose, slit eyes and bald head. Slinky, sophisticated, almost effeminate yet subtly menacing, he was the embodiment of smooth villainy! Audiences are normally not very favorably disposed toward villains. To overcome that prejudice and actually earn a "wow" from people, all in one scene certainly takes talent..:) Looking forward to future editions of this Voldemort.
By the way, Ralph Fiennes is pronounced as 'Rafe Fine'. The actor is apparently very picky about his name pronounciation. FYI, lest he cast an unforgivable curse on you..:))
Read RS' version of our HP tryst here.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, Voldemort was great indeed !!! But I was a bit disappointed for not being shown Ralph Fiennes's complete face. The overblown makeup made feel the scene may not even need an actor, animation would have done the job. I hope there will be more of "He who must not be named" in the future episodes.

I didnt follow the fourth book properly, but I have a doubt. How come Voldemort is being called "Voldemort" but not "He who must not be named" anymore in the movie??

Anonymous said...

A slight digression. I was just a muggle while watching that movie. Perhaps, If I had followed and read all the Harry Potter books or movies, I would've really enjoyed every nuances of that movie. Atleast I was glad that I could enjoy the super-duper graphics and the overall story line with some help from our locally renowned story-teller a.k.a Raconteur sitting beside.

Backtracking to the post, I don't have a say on Ralph Fiennes as Lord voldemort. Nothing really made me notice that he acted briliantly to steal the show.

-Vasu

RS said...

Hmmm...you know what Subha? I was a bit annoyed that they made Voldemort have almost recognizable features - I expected him to be a bit more amoebic - for lack of a better word...

Vasu - "locally renowned story-teller" konjam over build up but thank you, thank you :))

Brat said...

I agree with you .. Ralph Fiennes is awesome particularly his accent and voice. I think he likes to act in movies were his face is disoriented (English Patient).

The Doodler said...

@Kishan,
I think Harry is the only one who calls him by name. Others refer to him as the "Dark Lord" or "you-know-who".

@Vasu,
A book offers huge scope for our own imagination to kick in. Words of a skilled author actually weave a web of their own in the readers mind and we begin visualizing the characters in our mind's eye. Anyways, the point I am trying to make and I am sure all HP fans will agree, is this: Voldemort is not just a regular villain. He is frighteningly intelligent, skilled, snake-like and capable of extreme cruelty. To portray those characteristics takes some effort. And for me, Ralph Fiennes was exactly the Voldemort I'd imagined. Maybe its just me..:)

The Doodler said...

RS,
I thought he was "amoebic" in all the previous editions. This is the book where he actually takes definite shape, right?!
Brat,
yeah, I am a fan of his voice and accent...:)
Ashokla,
You're right. I have no complaints about how RF was completely unrecognizable..:) Suited him to a tee. And his make-up was quite apt and faithful to the book. That "othakkannan"'s name is "Mad-eye Moody"..:))

Anonymous said...

And for me, Ralph Fiennes was exactly the Voldemort I'd imagined.

I should say you are too good at imaginations. Even in times, You have that power of transforming in to a character like Chandramukhi :). kalakku..

-Vasu-

Anonymous said...

Watched Ralph Fiennes in The constant gardener. Good actor. Somehow he kept me reminding of Harrison ford.

I guess he is the Ford across the pond :-) Also going by your description of you-know-who, looks like he is the Darth Vader of HP.

Krish said...

Excuse me but are you folks talking Greek and Latin here?

(Moi totally out of touch with reality aka Harry Potter series)

:-)

Agnibarathi said...

Yet to see the movie, but to me Ralph Fiennes was at at his best in Red Dragon!

Prabhu said...

Rafe Fine kadasila vanthu samma cameo role. Pinnittaaann.

Mathapadi antha heroine sooper a irunthaa, aana heroine hero ku illaiyaa?
atuh thaan manasuku kashtama irunthuthu.

Anonymous said...

thennavan

you are not alone here count me in the obsoletes list :)

The Doodler said...

Vasu,
?!!??? Confused.
hellboy,
haven't watched The Constant Gardener. Ralph Fiennes reminds me of Liam Neeson at times.
Thennavan,
out of touch with HP??!!! Come on, man..! LOL
Sriram,
Red Dragon- will try to watch.

The Doodler said...

Prabhu,
In the climax scene when Voldemort makes an entry, I could hear you laughing away to glory in the theater..:))
Sridhar,
you really need to get into HP stuff.

Anonymous said...

Before they could show THE LORD on the screen, there was this unbeleivable expectation in me. I loved the way they picturised his reduced form, but it was not scary at all when the LORD came in.

Since the movie itself was made so dark, they were not able to make it the darkest moment of the movie I guess. I am a great fan of the LORD though.

A character who comes in just one scene in 4 books and triggers the fright in you.

LORD will overcome all that is good in this world..GO LORD VOLDERMORT.

muhahahaa

adios!!!