Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Alfonzo Cuarón

Gene Seymour

May 9, 2004

Scene from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in Warner Bros. Pictures fantasy Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Opening June 4, 2004 (Photo by Murray Close)

Where you heard of him: Won all kinds of awards and all manner of acclaim for "Y Tu Mamá También" (2001). Also directed "A Little Princess" (1995) and "Great Expectations" (1997).

Why we care: With the Harry Potter series now a firmly established big-screen tent pole, Warner Bros. wisely believes that it can afford to raise the artistic stakes, especially since the J.K. Rowling books on which the movies are based get progressively darker and deeper as the bespectacled wizard-in-training continues his education at mythical, magical Hogwarts School.

The choice of Cuarón to direct the third installment of the Potter opus seems especially inspired, and not just because of his stunning international success with "Y Tu Mamá También." Obviously, that lyrical road comedy of rampaging teen hormones showed the 42-year-old Mexico City-born filmmaker to have a shrewd affinity for adolescent yearnings. Cuarón is far more than a hip realist. "A Little Princess," his inventive adaptation of the classic Victorian children's novel, also displayed an assured hand with the kind of dense yet haunting melodramatic elements that are a hallmark of the Potter stories.

Those who have seen snatches of "Azkaban" say it looks far darker and more dramatically engrossing than its two predecessors. Which is precisely what legions of Potter maniacs have been hoping for. Gary Oldman has been cast as Sirius Black, the notorious convict who's managed the impossible by escaping the dreaded Azkaban fortress and is seeking Harry (Daniel Radcliffe). Michael Gambon takes over from the late Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore, while Emma Thompson materializes as Professor Trelawney.