Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Harry ignores warnings not to return to Hogwarts, only to find the school plagued by a series of mysterious attacks and a strange voice haunting him.

Director:

Chris Columbus

Writers:

J.K. Rowling (novel), Steve Kloves (screenplay)

Stars:

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson

Nominated for 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 10 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Radcliffe	...	Harry Potter
Rupert Grint	...	Ron Weasley
Emma Watson	...	Hermione Granger
Richard Griffiths	...	Uncle Vernon Dursley
Fiona Shaw	...	Aunt Petunia Dursley
Harry Melling	...	Dudley Dursley
Toby Jones	...	Dobby the House Elf (voice)
Jim Norton	...	Mr. Mason
Veronica Clifford	...	Mrs. Mason
James Phelps	...	Fred Weasley
Oliver Phelps	...	George Weasley
Julie Walters	...	Molly Weasley (voice)
Bonnie Wright	...	Ginny Weasley
Mark Williams	...	Arthur Weasley
Chris Rankin	...	Percy Weasley

Storyline

Forced to spend his summer holidays with his muggle relations, Harry Potter gets a real shock when he gets a surprise visitor: Dobby the house-elf, who warns Harry Potter against returning to Hogwarts, for terrible things are going to happen. Harry decides to ignore Dobby's warning and continues with his pre-arranged schedule. But at Hogwarts, strange and terrible things are indeed happening: Harry is suddenly hearing mysterious voices from inside the walls, muggle-born students are being attacked, and a message scrawled on the wall in blood puts everyone on his/her guard - "The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies Of The Heir, Beware" .

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Plot Keywords:

wizardry | flying car | monster | diary | elf | 

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Taglines:

The Chamber of Secrets has opened...

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for scary moments, some creature violence and mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Italy]

Country:

USA UK Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Harry Potter y la cámara secreta

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$138,023 (Norway) (3 January 2003)

Gross:

$261,970,615 (USA) (11 April 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

1492 Pictures, Heyday Films, MIRACLE Productions GmbH & Co. KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

161 min 174 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the portraits in Hogwarts are actually faces of production designer Stuart Craig and executive producer Mark Radcliffe.

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Goofs

When Harry is flipping through his photo album at the very beginning of the movie, he views a picture of himself, Ron, and Hermione that should've been taken during the last school year, however, it's clearly a recent photograph as Ron and Harry both sport longer hair, and Hermione's hair is curlier.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Hedwig wants to be let out of her cage]
Harry: I can't let you out, Hedwig! I'm not allowed to use magic outside of school. Besides, if Uncle Vernon...
Uncle Vernon: [yells] Harry Potter!
Harry: Now you've done it.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits we see what happened to the amnesia-suffering Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. He has written a book titled "Who Am I?". His moving image on the book's cover wears a straitjacket, and hums the movie's theme tune.

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Connections

Referenced in Conversation with J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves (2003)

User Reviews

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened at long last!!!!

Lessons learned since the 1st film! Clearly this film was edited at script stage rather than the cutting room floor stage!! This story reads as film narrative, rather than a book illustration, which was the big mistake of the 1st film. Anyone can watch this film and follow it without knowing the book. The 1st hour is pure laugh out loud fun (the adults in my Cinema audience were shouting with laughter!). The last hour is scary, wand dropping tension.

The problem is: how do we convince muggles put-off by the 1st film to go see this one? Why should they give this one a chance? Answer: If you know someone who likes Fun, make them see this film! This film is not about 'Oscars' & Acting, despite the fabulous performances by all the adults, it is about enjoying the overall effect of the film, this being to give the viewer a long lasting buzz. Brilliant! The staging is very theatrical in it's minimalism, yet extravagantly arty in visual specifics. In the not to distant future I see fans going to a regular weekend slot at their local cinema for Audience Participation fun. Wands, swords, sorting hat, spiders, mandrakes & crucial ear muffs as standard props! Lots of gaps for us to shout out funny quips. A Rocky Horror Show Audience Participation Show for kids! Long overdue.

My Rating: 8/10. Not a masterpiece of cinematic potential, but such jolly good fun that no one should be denied the joy of a "Bloody Marvelous" frolic. A film for the child within us adults. Go see it with a predominantly adult audience if you want to experience the real buzz of unfettered emotion. Only three children were present at the Preview I witnessed and they were silently spellbound whereas the adults evoked emotion noisily throughout and then stood up, cheered and applauded at the end! I shall never forget this truly magical experience.

Richard Harris you can not be replaced, you will always be Dumbledore, and hence Omnipresent. Thank you for the fantastic finale to a wonderful life that you gave us. Thank you. And Thank you JK & Chris. You did it, the Chamber is well & truly open now!