Mis-en-scene of Harry-Potter film poster

MOVIE POSTER REVIEW: HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE 

By: Adrianna Reyes 

 

The poster I have decided to review is for the first “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone”. This poster makes use of mise-en-scene to connote the mysterious tone, fantastical setting, magic wizardry, and perhaps stereotypical characters. 

 

There are some clear indicators of the genre and theme of the film, for example, the witches' hat, owl, the cloaks everyone wears, and the candles floating mid-air below a castle. The man mid-left, Dumbledore, uses clear symbolism to show his character. He is wearing a matching wizard's cap and cloak, he has long grey hair and a long grey beard. We can immediately recognize him as a wizard, we can also make the assumption that he is wise, due to his age, and the fact he wears glasses which is indicative of intelligence. 

 We can tell who the main character is because he is the biggest person on the poster. We can infer that Harry Potter, due to the title in the center of the poster. We know his importance due to the fact his face isn’t shadowed or covered, we can clearly see his facial expression. When this movie poster came out, Harry Potter was already an iconic franchise, so Harry Potter’s scar and glasses are iconic symbolism in society already, the advertisements for the first film of the highly popular book series use this to their advantage. The man behind him, Hagrid, is placed over Harry’s right shoulder, which symbolizes him as the kind of “Guardian angel” character. His facial expression looks as if he would like us to follow him into the movie. He will clearly be a protector or guardian to the main character. The young girl in the left-hand corner, Hermione, carries books. This is a clear stereotype of a teacher’s pet-type character. Her hair isn’t done up, and she isn’t overdressed, so the audience doesn’t get the impression she’s the love interest or a damsel in distress. She is right behind a very similar character, Ron, and their body language showcases the contrast in their characters. Ron is displayed as a form of comic relief and is one of the only characters without an incredibly intense facial expression. Ron stood facing the front, shrugging with a smirk. We already get the idea that he’s the funny side character. We also get an idea of the relationship between him and Hermione due to their proximity to one another and similar age. They are the closest together and we, as the audience, understand they will be friends, however very different characters with a unique dynamic. The man at the bottom of the poster, Snape, is displayed as the antagonist. His costume is black and monotone, so we can't see much of him. He scowls towards the front, we immediately distrust and dislike him. He holds his hand over his cloak as if to hide something from us, which adds tension and mystery to the poster. 

Through the character’s eye lines, we can make assumptions about the plot. The entire cast is looking forward, facing us. However, the lead, Harry Potter, is looking away from everyone else, which could imply he sees something nobody else sees. This makes him special. It makes him the recognizable and unmistakable hero of the plot, we know that the plot will revolve around him and his singular ability to do something no one else can.  

The heavy use of blue, which is often used in science fiction, versus green or orange prevents the poster from looking like a Halloween movie. It also has a heightening effect that makes the characters look like they are in the clouds above the real world, which adds to the fantastical, mystery tone. There is lots of contrast between dark and light, with the main colors being blue, red, yellow, white, and black. The main three colors are the primary colors. They contrast each other and intensify the shadows and brighten the highlights. The title is a shining yellow-gold color that completely stands out from the dark blues, reds, and browns in the rest of the poster, it is also completely center, catching your attention. 

 

We can see that this movie takes place in some sort of otherworldly place. The castle, dimly lit in the upper left corner of the image; symbolizes gothic fantasy. There’s a forest in the background, which commonly has connotations of the unknown and unsafe, the forest keeps things hidden which adds to the overarching tone of the poster itself. It’s set in the night time which is mysterious because the night is meant to hide things, the idea that this film takes place in a world that isn’t in “broad daylight” adds to the mystery and Fantasy genre. The train is also quintessentially British. The children are wearing what’s known as British school children’s uniform, minus the cloaks, which are clearly not standard English uniforms but instead, make them fit in better with the adults, who all look like wizards and witches themselves. The entire cast is caucasian, and while this isn’t classically British, it means this is probably taking place somewhere in Westen European countries.