The Sound of Music

We've discussed Jaws and Pulp Fiction, but my favorite movie where music and sound play a big role is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Composer John Williams has created music that is now synonomous with the world of Harry Potter, yet the scene that most stands out from the movie is one that strays from the classical instrumentals usually heard.

By now you are probably looking at the strange picture on the right. The scene where music and sound effects play the biggest role (to me) is that of the "Boggart Lesson" that happens approximately halfway through the movie. A boggart is a monster that takes the shape of a person's worse fears. In order to get rid of the boggart, one has to make it turn into something ridiculous (by of course using the magic spell - Riddikulous!). Here Professor Snape (a student's worst fear) is wearing clothes associated with a grandmother (grandmothers being obviously less fearsome). After the student makes the Professor Snape boggart into something less feared (Professor Snape in drag), other students all line up for a turn.

Now that I've summarized the scenario, I have to say that the music and sound effects really make this scene. As I said before, I'm used to John Williams classical music that can portray sadness or crescendo for excitement and crest into happiness. This scene is the first in the Harry Potter series that uses different music. The professor of the boggart lesson puts on a record for the students to listen to while they practice with the boggart. The song turns out to be the jazzy Swing, Swing, Swing by John Williams, used in the movie 1941. Yet, upon listening to the original song used in 1941, one can tell that it was changed and combined with a track called "The Boggart Lesson." Combined, this music is a clear departure from regular Harry Potter music and ends up making the scene very lighthearted, even as the children deal with fears such as spiders, gigantic evil clowns,.

During this scene, the camera first focuses on the student, then focuses on the boggart which transforms into the fear (a spider), and then back to the student's expression which is at first fear and then confidence as the student says the spell and the boggart turns into something funny (a spider on rollerskates). This is the part where sound effects are combined with the music; the viewer can hear the rollerskates thump on the hardwood, or the creak of a gigantic jack-in-the-box even with the music happily playing away.

The music of Swing, Swing, Swing disappears towards the time that Harry Potter himself tackles the boggart because the monster turns into a dementor (a dark entity that sucks the souls out of people). The mood becomes less joyful and the whole scene darkens noticeably. One can hear the dementor's rattling breath and as the professor realizes what the monster has become, he stops the music (which produces the horrible sound of the needle being yanked up from the record).

I think the director did a wonderful job with this scene. The scene shows that the students are really learning in the class (which anyone who has read the books know that Defense Against the Dark Arts class is usually the most important class but the students learn the least due to the revolving door of teachers). Prisoner of Azkaban is probably the first of the Harry Potter series to focus on a dark theme from beginning to end, and this scene is a much welcome mid-film break from the moroseness. Since the movies are basically directed towards children, the bouncy music provided a less threatening atmosphere while sitting and staring at gigantic monsters (for me, the spider was absolutely disgusting!).