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:

"Dobby has come to warn you Sir."

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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

In the UK, this became the first movie to achieve a million DVD sales in its first weekend.

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Goofs

When Tom introduces himself in the diary, his last name appears misspelled as "Ridolle" instead of "Riddle". However, as the name forms, what appears to be "ol" fleshes out together into the second D in his name.

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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 The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Episode #1.13 (2009)

User Reviews

Zooms Along

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets is the type of movie that will be around forever. So far the two Harry Potter movies have been excellent movies in which spirit of the books by JK Rowling has been captured and expanded upon.

Chamber of Secrets is about Harry Potter's (Daniel Radcliffe) second year in Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry and something is attacking the students. The fact that these students are of mixed parentage, one being a muggle(non-magical and the other being a witch or wizard) leads to a very unstable environment at Hogwarts.

Directed by Chris Columbus and written by Steve Kloves this movie packed with the details that Rowling weaves throughout her book. The score by John Williams is excellent and well suited to the movie. Roger Pratt's cinematography is amazing. There is flashback to an earlier time at Hogwarts by way of a magical Diary that is brilliantly lit and shot in a sepia tone that looks just like the color of old paper.

Kenneth Branagh gives a great performance that should have gotten more attention at award time. Jason Isaacs owns the role of the villainous Lucius Malfoy. His costuming and look are very well matched with that of Draco Malfoy, a nemesis of Harry's. Shirley Henderson as a ghost is also very good and steals her scenes. Returnees Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, and in particular the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore are very good. Christian Coulson does a good job as the mysterious Tom Riddle.

Daniel Radcliffe Emma Watson (Hermione) and Rupert Grint (Ron) are very good in this movie and have their characters down. Watson in particular is excellent.

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets in an underrated movie that is a must see.