Ultimately, I think this makes Gambon a better Dumbledore, especially with what is to come, than Harris’, despite factual errors and what some would perceive as an “untrue” portrayal of Dumbledore. Even when people started turning up petrified i Chamber of Secrets, he showed little outward emotion at what was going on. ![]() I think this is in contrast to Harris’ Dumbledore, who really did seem above it all, in the sense that he was never surprised or even seemingly worried by anything that happened. When McGonagall questions him about what they are going to do to stop the threat to Harry’s life, Gambon’s Dumbledore asks breathlessly, “What would you have me do, Minerva?” The look on Gambon’s face is one of exhaustion mixed with uncertainty, like he’s literally looking into the fire for an answer. Later, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape are talking, and the shot has Dumbledore in the foreground and McGonagall and Snape in the background. I am thinking of one scene where, right after Harry’s name is pulled from the Triwizard Cup, Dumbledore comes storming in the Champions’ meeting room and grabs hold of Harry, almost frantically asking Harry for an explanation. I think there are two pivotal scenes that really exemplify the kind of Dumbledore Gambon would be, and how that differed from Harris’ Dumbledore. The thing is, as John said, his portrayal of Dumbledore is just more real. He doesn’t wear the glasses, doesn’t wear the hat, etc etc. I realize there are problems with Gambon as Dumbledore. He yells, he shows real emotion even when he is walking, Gambon has a certain saunter that indicates a “man on a mission.” I think that Michael Gambon, cinematically, is a much better Dumbledore because Gambon plays him much more proactively. We are told very early in the movies that Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of the age and perhaps one of the greatest wizards of all time, and my view of Richard Harris’ portrayal has always been that of, at best, a grandfather watching his grandchildren grow up at Hogwarts, and not really so much as a leader of the school. Prior to reading the books (I watched movies 1-3 before reading any of the books), I always thought, from a purely cinematic point of view, that Michael Gambon was a better Dumbledore than Richard Harris, simply because Richard Harris always was so fatherly. I think you might have a very good idea going here, with perhaps a few corrections. I beg your comments and corrections to the proposed possibility that he may even be the perfect Dumbledore actor for just this reason. Rowling “always thought of him as gay” is a “real world” equivalent of Harry’s disappointment and Bitterness on finally being compelled to the realization he never knew Dumbledore as anything more than an idea or ideal.įortunately, with Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, it is hard to put this character on a pedestal. Our shock, whether we thought it a good, bad, or consequential thing, on learning that Ms. Fandom disgust for the “new” Dumbledore parallels Harry’s resistance to thinking of Dumbledore as a man with faults as well as a great wizard. It’s a whole lot easier for us movie-goers than it was for Harry because the Harris-Gambon switch was a reptilian metamorphosis in the Headmaster it was hard to overlook. Harry’s understanding of Dumbledore should be changing as the stories move along and he matures he should be able to see that Albus lied to him when he promised to tell him everything. It’s already evident!įrankly, I see the change in actors who play Dumbledore as a happy providence. I think that will be easy to see in Gambon’s portrayal. I don’t know how convincingly they could have done the turn around in the last movie, though, so we could see and believe the Machiavellian side to Dumbledore. Richard Harris or Ian McKellen would have been able to give us the Divine Dumby narrative misdirection part much better than Gambon certainly. We learn Severus’ experience of him in the finale, as well as Aberforth’s bitter tale, and come to a fuller appreciation of the man as still heroic but with the proverbial clay feet and failings of all fallen men. In the first six books, Dumby is everyone’s father and hero we see him largely as Harry and Hagrid see him (“great man, Dumbledore…”). Post Deathly Hallows, I’m thinking he was a brilliant choice for the part. I haven’t read any of the combox comments except those at the linked articles and they are what you’d expect, namely, fans wanting to see Dumbledore blasted from the Astronomy Tower by Severus Snape in the Half-Blood Prince film (a sentiment I first read on the blog of an Orthodox priest and friend back in 2005). ![]() Wonderful conversation going on over at Sword of Gryffindor about the latest revelations about the actor who plays Albus Dumbledore in the movies and the actor who turned down the part.
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