7 Harry Potter Moments That Are So Much Better In The Film
4. The Battle With The Basilisk
Chris Columbus’ Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are by far the most the faithful book-to-screen adaptations in the series; many scenes are essentially word-for-word renditions of their written counterparts but, still, some alterations/additions were made. And some, in fact, were for the better.
The climax of Chamber, both film and novel, sees Harry Potter battling the serpent of Salazar Slytherin – a basilisk – in the titular location. In the book, this battle is over in a flash – a mere matter of a few pages. Alternatively, the film stretches this encounter out in the name of suspense and drama, and to great effect.
After Fawkes the phoenix blinds the giant snake, Harry flees through the tunnels of the chamber as Slytherin’s monster tries to listen out for our hero and kill him. But when Harry finds himself cornered by the basilisk, he must remain totally silent in order to survive – a moment that still makes me hold my breath in fear of being heard myself when watching the film.
It’s a wonderfully tense and exhilarating scene unique to the film and another example of a small change that’s actually better than the source material.