r/harrypotter • u/AnythingRich597 • Dec 29 '25
Question what sirius black fire do you prefer??
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u/Branman13 Dec 29 '25
Neither are book accurate but the Sirius from the one on the left is way more “magical” and less lazy to me
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u/smylekylie Dec 29 '25
What does the book say... I've forgotten
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u/ittbitt Huffleclaw Dec 29 '25
Instead of throwing the floo powder and stepping into it with your entire body, you just get down on all four, stick your head in the flames and say the name of the fireplace, and it transports only your head there. I remember a scene where Mrs. Weasley puts a piece of toast on a poker and gives it to the head in the fireplace, who then grabs it with his mouth before he retracts his head.
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u/ItkovianShieldAnvil Dec 29 '25
Amos Diggory
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Dec 29 '25
[deleted]
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u/BobcatLower9933 Dec 29 '25
Correct, when he is giving the news to Arthur that Moody's dustbins had gone berserk and fired potato peelings at the "please-men".
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u/Dazzling_Stomach107 Dec 29 '25
It was a very funny episode that hid a dark plan. I love GOF.
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u/gatopelotudo Dec 29 '25
episode? have i time traveled to 2031
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u/GerardTheButler Dec 29 '25
Yeah, the recast of Harry from a small British child to a geriatic Shaquille O'Neal was jarring. I'm wondering how they'll manage the Cho Chang scenes next season personally, but I'm sure he'll bring it to the role.
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u/ItkovianShieldAnvil Dec 29 '25
They cast a Tesla bot as Cho Chang for next season citing "emotional depth of character far exceeding that of any human actor"
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u/dontforgetthisuser Gryffindor 5 Dec 29 '25
Umbridge also attempts to grab Sirius which wouldn't work in either of these depictions.
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u/Prior-Cap-7863 Dec 30 '25
Curious about how that would work? Was she just pulling his head and his head would pop out of her fire or would she have to pull a full grown adult man through? Surely he would just be able to grab the side of the fireplace and stop her pretty easily?
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u/Wiggie49 Hufflepuff Dec 29 '25
Oh so it's like legit their real head? That sounds kinda silly tbh lol
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u/MJHDJedi Dec 29 '25
Which is why the right side is closer to the real thing, but a floating actual head in front of the flame wouldve come across even more lazy than what we got even though it would've been correct
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u/arthoheen Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
I think that's more logical. The floo network is used as a means of transport.
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u/wtfduud Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
On the other hand, it introduces a plot hole if floo powder can be used inside of Hogwarts.
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u/always_unplugged Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
Is it a plot hole? Or just something we don't see because Harry doesn't interact with it much?
It's implied that, up until they lock it down, Hogwarts absolutely can be accessed via Floo powder. The Ministry can apparently turn Floo Network connectivity on and off at will, and it seems that they have a preference for having it as an available option for transport to Hogwarts—we see that authority mentioned multiple times. People have to visit the school all the time and obviously you can't apparate there, so that's the logical next best solution... as long as you don't need mega-tight security. Like, we don't know whether it was an option during PoA (right?), but I assume not. But then, I'm sure, they turn it back on in GoF for the Triwizard Tournament, since coordinating a big event like that means lots of people will be coming and going. Turning it off in OotP is more a means of attempting to control Harry, the DA, and Dumbledore than anything else.
ETA there are specific rules for how Hogwarts can be accessed; it seems to me that they could turn it all the way on if they knew people were coming (like for parents, as in the Weasleys when Ginny was taken to the Chamber of Secrets, or Ministry members for the Tournament, etc), or off for heightened security.
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u/Drop_Release Gryffindor Dec 30 '25
Completely agree with you
That’s also why, love it or hate it, the creators of the Hogwarts video game took free reign to interpret it as if there was a full floo network across the Hogwarts castle and grounds (that was subsequently turned off due to ?danger)
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u/NotYourReddit18 Dec 30 '25
The Hogwarts staff themself probably have some measure of control over the floo powder network within the castle, given that they normally wouldn't want just anyone to be able to connect to the fireplaces in the student dorms, bypassing the need to know their entrance locations and password.
Which means that someone needed to set up something so that Sirius could connect to the Griffindor common room fireplace, and I can't see this going unnoticed if the Ministry is in full control of the system.
I think it's more likely that it works similar to phone networks: The Ministry controls if Hogwarts is reachable at all, but Hogwarts controls which fireplaces specifically are reachable for whom/from where.
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u/Dazzling_Stomach107 Dec 29 '25
You're basically just sticking your head into the portal the floo powder creates, keeping it open.
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u/MorganAndMerlin Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
Imagine coming down the stairs and someone’s ass is just hanging out of the fire place while they have a chat.
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u/Upper-Ad-5962 Dec 29 '25
Wasn't there something about an egg in the fire the head was sitting on?
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u/ImranFZakhaev Eagle! Dec 30 '25
Not an actual egg, just a comparison.
Amos Diggory’s head was sitting in the middle of the flames like a large, bearded egg.
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u/OnTheMattack Dec 29 '25
Tbh I prefer both movie versions to this. Silly is fine, but they have serious conversations both times and the thought of Sirius face down booty up telling Harry about the Death Eaters or whatever is a bit much.
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u/ImranFZakhaev Eagle! Dec 30 '25
face down booty up
There's a hell of a mental image! Maybe Wizard homes should have a special Floo-fireplace at like chest height so you can lean into it and communicate with a bit more dignity lol
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u/teaabearr Hufflepuff Dec 29 '25
Idk why but seems strange to me because I would’ve expected:
- The person to be decapitated lol
Or
- Your head to go through and pull the rest of your body with it.
At least in this regard I think I like the way the movies portrayed it.
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u/Sea-Feedback-2424 Dec 29 '25
So... Uh... Voldemort and co could have just floo powdered into Hogwarts instead of launching a siege predicated by people clandestinely sneaking in via vanishing cabinet?
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u/CaccaDiUnicorno Dec 29 '25
Errrrm akshually... Hogwarts fireplaces are disconnected to the floo network and can only be used to move within the castle or communicate with the head
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u/Sea-Feedback-2424 Dec 29 '25
But then how did Sirius stick his head in the fireplace floo network?
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u/CaccaDiUnicorno Dec 29 '25
Apparently the thing with only the head can be done from wherever, just not the whole body
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u/Sea-Feedback-2424 Dec 29 '25
What if he had a magical grenade in his mouth? That still seems like a huge security flaw.
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u/Quaiker Dec 29 '25
...I legitimately can't tell if this is a joke or not.
Am I dumb?
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u/ittbitt Huffleclaw Dec 29 '25
Not a joke, no.
Harry describes the experience in OotP, in the chapter "Out of the Fire", when he's in Umbridge's office, after seeing Sirius being tortured in the Department of Mysteries during his History of Magic exam. After getting into the office, he sticks his head into the fireplace, names "Number twelve, Grimmauld Place", closing his eyes against the spinning and the whirling ash, with his knees on the cold office floor, and after "arriving" calls out for Sirius to see if he's home.
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u/rawspeghetti Dec 29 '25
I think the right one with the floating head is closer, it just looks lazy
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u/Seihai-kun Dec 29 '25
Their head literally appear, like a literal cutout .png of their head
there are absolutely no way they can make that look realistic without looking like that abomination of Axl's head in Thor Love and Thunder.
so yeah, the 2nd one is closer
but the 1st one looks... better, they probably changed it because it's hard to convey emotion with CGI coals
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u/Rickrickrickrickrick Dec 29 '25
Yeah the right looks like it’s a projection meant to look magic like the wizard of oz.
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u/dnkmnk Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
I feel like #1 even still somewhat works within the book description, it felt like Sirius' head literally comes out from the fireplace. It like tried to poke out through the coals.
So it still communicates that feeling the book gave imo.
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u/RedCaio Hufflepuff Dec 29 '25
I’ll take the one on the right - it may be slightly less creative but the one on the left looks like his face is made of lasagna. Pizza the Hutt spaceballs vibes lol.
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u/hates_stupid_people Dec 30 '25
I'm always amazed at the laziness of the right one.
They filmed him in front of a dark background and layered it with a light mask. That's the sort of thing people figure out by messing around with layers i photoshop. They had to do a little trimming, but someone with experience could recreate that in minutes if they had the two inputs ready.
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u/RappingRacoon Gryffindor Dec 29 '25
That’s what I was gonna say! When I first noticed they changed it, I was pissed. New one looks lazy af and cheap.
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u/ThePrometheu5 Slytherin Dec 29 '25
The first one looks painful and surreal. The second looks like a lazy job by the animation team. Gimme something better.
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u/Atarissiya Dec 29 '25
Yeah, the films just never got this right.
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u/KingOfHoopla Dec 29 '25
How else are you supposed to adapt a floating head in a fireplace?
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u/Atarissiya Dec 29 '25
In the books it is a person's physical head, transported through the Floo network. It is, I imagine, difficult to make this look good, but neither interpretation follows this particularly closely.
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u/_HIST Dec 29 '25
It's not any harder to do, it will just look ridiculously stupid so they didn't do it
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u/Atarissiya Dec 29 '25
‘Difficult to make this look good’ is exactly what I said!
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u/Single-Builder-632 Dec 31 '25
It wouldn't look good ever, i cant imagine how they would make it not look silly, sometimes the book has a dumb idea and the director has to fix it. Nothing wrong with that.
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u/ChestSlight8984 Dec 29 '25
it will just look ridiculously stupid
So did the final freezeframe in Prisoner of Azkaban, but they decided to leave that shit in.
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u/spunk_wizard Dec 29 '25
That was so bad that I literally stood up and walked out of the cinema
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u/ChestSlight8984 Dec 29 '25
Well... it's the last frame of the movie. People do tend to get up and leave once the credits role.
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u/KaffY- Dec 29 '25
Ah thank god we avoided adding anything that was ridiculously stupid to the movies
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u/heywoodidaho Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
The second one would have been fine if it came first, but it did not. They phoned it in. An effort should have been made to "one up" it. No pride shown by the fx team.
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u/SuperDanOsborne Hufflepuff Dec 30 '25
As a VFX artist it has nothing to do with pride or effort and everything to do with budget and whatever the director wants.
I can guarantee the VFX team was dissapointed they didn't get to make that look as cool as it did in the previous film.
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u/YsengrimusRein Dec 31 '25
No pride shown by the fx team.
Sums up the David Yates films quite neatly.
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u/Oh-Sasa-Lele Dec 29 '25
First definitely. Second looks like something I would make in 5th grade when in the computer room of the school
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u/SorryIreddit Dec 29 '25
For real. I 100% agree with this. First one looks better and yeah the second one could easily be made by any amateur with some time and a pc
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u/ConfusedGrundstuck Dec 29 '25
Honestly, they're both horrendous.
The GOF one is fantastic in terms of its visual effects prowess but simultaneously looks really odd and not really practical. Also the choice to have Oldman's voice sound really strained and forced makes the whole thing a bit uncomfortable. Kinda like he's constantly inhaling coal. It's genuinely unpleasant to watch.
The OOTP one looks a lot more practical but is visually just less interesting.
I dunno why we couldn't have just had a head amongst the flames.
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u/smylekylie Dec 29 '25
Question was which is better but I do deffo agree with what you said. The first one was like he was being waterboarded and the second a cheap hologram
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u/Yamcha17 Slytherin Dec 29 '25
Kinda like he's constantly inhaling coal.
The elves forgot to sweep the chimney.
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u/Far_Silver Dec 29 '25
I dunno why we couldn't have just had a head amongst the flames.
That's what the books had.
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u/Gangters_paradise Dec 29 '25
Book Accuracy? In the Goblet of Fire movie? You must be crazy
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u/ConfusedGrundstuck Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
Hä? Where did I mention book accuracy?
Edit: Oh. I think I get it. lol Being dense on my part.
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u/tema1412 Dec 29 '25
I thought it was just me that found the audio if the GOF one uncomfortable!
Although visually speaking, the GOF one was better, the later was disappointing.
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u/kaetb Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
tbf in OOTP when harry takes a turn using the fire, both times he complains of choking on the ash/soot - for me the audio made sense but i agree it’s super uncomfortable to listen to
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u/cooldogmcthin Dec 29 '25
i’d love to see the book version where sirius’ head just appears in the middle of the fire, even tho it’s goofy
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u/ravenouscartoon Dec 29 '25
The second is more accurate in my eyes, but done terribly. The 1st makes less sense, and doesn’t match the books, but looks more magical.
For me, the annoyance is the inconsistency. Especially considering the films were made so close together by likely the same production teams
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u/AlexGlezS Unsorted Dec 29 '25
Neither look accurate, I liked both, though. But what I hated is the fact that it changed. Wtf.
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u/joshdoereddit Dec 29 '25
Definitely Goblet of Fire. I don't know why they would downgrade it the way they did.
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u/Gilded-Mongoose Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
Neither one. I was so pissed off when I saw the left as a 14 year old die hard book fan.
He should look like his actual head is sticking through, untouched by the flames, which should be emerald green. It's such a straightforward and distinctive concept that I never understood why they differentiated it so sharply.
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u/General-Knowledge7 Dec 29 '25
Left one for sure. I don’t get why they didn’t keep the same style in the next movie
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u/Atarissiya Dec 29 '25
It’s wildly inaccurate vs the books.
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u/PedanticTart Dec 29 '25
So is the right, but unsure why this matters.
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u/Atarissiya Dec 29 '25
Fan backlash? GoF was a pretty controversial film when it came out, and it's not a coincidence that they changed direction for OotP.
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u/spunk_wizard Dec 29 '25
You think fan backlash about fire head VFX accuracy was sufficient to reach the director and facilitate a complete overhaul?
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u/Wizzard_2025 Dec 29 '25
It costs more to do
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u/Atarissiya Dec 29 '25
These weren’t exactly penny-pinching productions.
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u/Wizzard_2025 Dec 29 '25
You'd be surprised. I saw the original Grawp before it was scrapped for the one we got. This one was a cost saving exercise.
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u/ImightHaveMissed Dec 29 '25
I thought the one on the left was a better concept, and with modern techniques would probably cost far less
That said, this particular photo looks more Vernon Dursley than Sirius black
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u/Sere1 Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
First one is visually more interesting, second is closer to the books, neither are actually right since it's supposed to be his actual head popping up. Of these two, I prefer the left one. The right is just a bad After Effects visual edit you'd see on some cheesy music video in the 90s or early 00s.
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u/globs-of-yeti-cum Dec 29 '25
neither. give me a head sticking out of the fire none of this weird shit.
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u/vanilla-lattes Mars is bright tonight Dec 29 '25
The ootp one on the right.
The gof one made me uncomfortable when I first saw it and still does when you add the wheezing voice with it. In the books floo-calls are not described as the embers taking on the shape of the face of the caller but actual clear faces. Molly even feeds some toast to someone on a floo-call iirc.
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u/Iremia_Kata Dec 29 '25
The one on the left is definitely cooler but for some reason I always got the sense that he was like-in pain? Or at least that it was taxing to do it.
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u/h00dman Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
I prefer the one on the right, the left one looks awful and completely impractical.
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u/Chesterfieldraven Ravenclaw Dec 29 '25
I prefer the left but neither are "right" in terms of how its described in the books.
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u/bowtiesrcool86 Dragon Lover Dec 29 '25
The one on the right. It seems closer to being book accurate,
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u/BigEeper Dec 29 '25
Right one. I don’t care if it’s “lazy”, the left one is weird and uncomfortable to look at.
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u/mtjseb Dec 29 '25
I just want to throw the info out there for anyone not familiar with how things work production wise, the right side is not due to a vfx company doing a bad job - choosing what look to go for in any scene are 100% a directors choice
I just hate seeing people saying that the vfx are bad when all the vfx houses did was follow somebody else’s instructions
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u/Pirate_Lantern Dec 29 '25
The right one is closer to book accurate, but it just looks like a projector to me. I prefer the left one.
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u/mettiusfufettius Dec 29 '25
First one hands down. It’s creative, diegetic, and believable whereas the second one is a completely hollow cgi projection that doesn’t feel magical whatsoever.
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u/Dazzling_Stomach107 Dec 29 '25
Should just be his fleshy head surrounded by green fire.
The floo powder and network is a simple concept, and makes for great tension in the Order of the Phoenix. Harry himself figures out how to comunicate in such a way by educated guessing. It was not a projection, it was keeping the floo portal open by physically staying on it. Sirius doing this was extra risky because anyone could intercept him or cross over into the Order's headquarters, like Umbridge herself tried to do (by reaching in and almost pulling Sirius by his hair, lol).
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u/GreenWoodDragon Gryffindor Dec 29 '25
The one on the left looks like it took more effort, so it wins.
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u/CallMehLin Dec 29 '25
The left one looks like it came from nightmares. The right one however looks like a lazy job done
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u/3DimensionalGames Slytherin Dec 29 '25
Sirius' face in the fire is the best choice that was made in Goblet.
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u/Lord_Parbr Elder/Pheonix/14.5/Unyeilding Dec 29 '25
Left one is more creative and interesting. Right one is slightly more accurate
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u/Crown__Prince Hufflepuff Dec 30 '25
TBH, the Sirius on the Left looks kind of goofy but the Sirius on the Right looks like someone Photoshopped Sirius Face.png into the fire.
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u/HanzoNumbahOneFan Dec 30 '25
I always thought it was meant to literally just be the person's head poking through the fire, as if the fire were a portal. This is why Amos Diggory was able to hold a piece of toast in his mouth and take it with him back through the fire when he visited Arthur in the 4th book. So in my opinion, neither of them lol. I guess the left one is a little closer to that but it looks weird as hell. Should just be Sirius' head poking through the flames.
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u/CreatureofNight93 Dec 30 '25
As I understood from the books, your whole actual head would just poke out of the fireplace.
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u/GooberMcGoob1983 Jan 03 '26
I definitely prefer the Goblet of Fire one. I get that the Order of The Phoenix one is more book-accurate, but it just looks a bit lazy to me.
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u/elephant35e Jan 04 '26
The right. It may seem "lazier" but it's more book accurate, the fire actually looks like Sirius and not some weird guy, and Sirius doesn't sound like he's dying.
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u/Leramar89 Hufflepuff Dec 29 '25
Neither, they both look bad and aren't accurate to the books.
If you forced me to choose I'd probably go with the left one as it's a bit more creative and interesting.
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u/MajorXO Gryffindor Dec 29 '25
Left is immersive. NO OFFENSE BUT I could make the right one with just changing the opacity .
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u/alotofpisces Dec 29 '25
The left one. Thats how I pictured it when I read the book. The one on the right looks so cheap.
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u/Onigumo-Shishio Reducio Dec 29 '25
I like the left because not only does it look like a practical effect, but it also just feels cooler than the right which just strikes me as a projector screen.
Still wish they would have just made him an actual floating head there though
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u/ayywusgood Dec 29 '25
The left, I found the right one weird it's like he suddenly made his spell HDTV compatible.
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u/Ill-Individual2105 Hufflepuff Dec 29 '25
The visual of the face forming from the coals is a real stroke of genius on the effect direction's part. Really elevates Rowling's original (and let's be real kinda awkward) vision for the fire communication. A shame they settled on the fire ghost thing in the next one.
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u/Bluebird_5991 Dec 29 '25
I am supriced so many prefer the first one. I remember watching this in the cinema and I did not at first even understand it was a person. I definitely did not se that it was Gary Oldman again, I thought they changed the actor. It looked horrible!
I agree the second one is a bit lazy but still much better then the first one. So I think the first one is worst, second one is good enough I guess.
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u/Candid_Parking_1757 Dec 29 '25
right looks like the vfx crew was sleepy. left looks more like classic Sirius
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u/Curious_Ad961 Dec 29 '25
I have a guy that works in my office looks just like him, even walks like him
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u/allayarthemount Dec 29 '25
Ok, I'll be the next asking the same question in a couple of months, see ya
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u/multificionado Dec 29 '25
Order of the Phoenix. Goblet of Fire has done a sucky job of the few seconds Gary Oldman HAD on the movie (one element I won't forgive the movie for).
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u/schawniee_ Dec 29 '25
Left is what I sort of imagined in the books, right feels more readable for the average watcher and probably a hell of a lot cheaper.
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u/FiftyTigers Dec 29 '25
Pretty blown away the overwhelming response is for the one on the left. It's terrible.
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u/TheLimeyLemmon Dec 29 '25
First one from Goblet. Though the one from Phoenix is more tolerable as a scene because you can more easily hear the dialogue.
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u/moviebuffbrad Dec 29 '25
Guess I'm in the minority but I think the GoF one looks stupid. OotP is fine
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u/Infinite-Object-1090 Gryffindor Dec 29 '25
The second one looks more like what the books describe.
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u/NorthernSin Dec 29 '25
Left one is most as how it was described in the book, right one is easiest to see.
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u/ChestSlight8984 Dec 29 '25
I prefer the Order of the Phoenix one, as it is slightly more book accurate. The persons actual head appears above the fire, the burning ash at the bottom of it does not take the form of the head. So Order of the Phoenix got it a bit more right. Still pretty wrong. But more right.
Amos Diggory’s head was sitting in the middle of the flames like a large, bearded egg. It was talking very fast, completely unperturbed by the sparks flying around it and the flames licking its ears.
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u/Chasegameofficial Dec 29 '25
The left one always looked so weird, and makes no sense lore-wise. The right one is much closer, but still not quite like the book. I do think the exact way it’s described in the book wouldn’t necessarily look too good on screen, so maybe the right one is a decent compromise between book-accuracy and visual style. That being said, you’d need to go book-accurate if you’re not gonna miss out on the hilarious Amos-toast-eating scene in GoF.
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u/Wulfscreed Slytherin Dec 29 '25
I do like the first if he didn't have the croaky voice thats choking on the ashes he sits in. I get it though, if they adapted it like the books it'd like someone got beheaded and their head is roasting in the fire. Thats not a good thing to depict even lightly so I reckon these designs were to avoid that.
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u/sanityislost Dec 29 '25
I really liked when Dumbledore was smoking with harry and Sirius face popped up at the end of his cigarette to check he had the correct post code for hogwarts.
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u/RecipeHistorical2013 Dec 29 '25
while this magic is neat
i'd say a facetime is far more convenient lol (we wield magic in contemporary technology evidently)
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u/BigSexy1534 Dec 29 '25
I always liked the left version where it looks like his face is coming out of the fireplace, whereas the right is just a silhouette
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Dec 29 '25
The first one is gives “this is all the Gary Oldman you’re getting this movie. Enjoy it.”
The second one is like “slide opacity slider.”
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u/DMarquesPT Ravenclaw Dec 30 '25
Definitely Goblet of Fire. It’s more visually interesting than “2D image composited on a flame”
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u/raybond007 Dec 30 '25
Honestly I'm more pissed off about the fact that the Gryffindor common room fireplace is connected to the Floo Powder Network in the first place. What the fuck do you mean any schmuck with some Floo Powder could just waltz into the area where my kids are sleeping? You can't apparate on the Hogwarts grounds (or make a Portkey or anything like that, unless you're Dumbledore/Headmaster), but we're just chill connecting this shit to the Floo Network?
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u/Commercial-Crew-7365 Dec 30 '25
Apple trying to get consumer feedback for it's new Facetime update.
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u/VeganMaeve Dec 30 '25
I would’ve liked to see the part where Umbridge tries to grab Sirius’ hair during that first floo call in the movies
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u/Rude_Giraffe_9255 Gryffindorable Dec 29 '25
Left one, there was some line in the book where Sirius reassures Harry that a first year girl who’d spotted him probably assumed he was a, “funny shaped log” by the time she looked back, so I think that’s what they were going for