Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third fantasy adventure film in the popular Harry Potter films series, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was released on 31 May 2004 in the United Kingdom and on 4 June 2004 in Mexico, United States and Canada and was directed by acclaimed Mexican director, Alfonso Cuarón. It stars the actors from the preceding films in the series, except for the role of Albus Dumbledore, which saw Michael Gambon taking over from the late Richard Harris. Much of the original crew also returned, including screenwriter Steve Kloves.
It was nominated for two Academy Awards; Academy Award for Original Music Score and Academy Award for Visual Effects but won neither. The score was composed and conducted by John Williams and released on CD on May 25, 2004. In general his music for this third film is less lyrical and more somber (and at times more frightening) than that of the previous films. Other than brief quotes of "Hedwig's Theme" and the "Broomstick" theme, Williams' score also consists of entirely new themes.
Some of the sets for the film were built in Glen Coe, Scotland, near to the Clachaig Inn. The indoor sets, including sets built for the previous two films, are mainly in Leavesden Film Studios. The Hogwarts lake was filmed from Loch Shiel in the Highlands of Scotland. Incidentally, the train bridge which was also featured in the Chamber of Secrets movie is opposite Loch Shiel and was used to film the sequences when the Dementor arrived on the train. A small section of the triple-decker bus scene, where it weaves in between many different cars, was filmed in Palmers Green in North London. Some parts were also filmed in and around Borough Market and Lambeth Bridge in London.
The set of Honeydukes seen in this film is a redress of the set of Flourish and Blotts seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which, in turn, was a redress of the set of Ollivander's from the first film. This means the same set was used in all three films, but it was used as a different location in each. Wikipedia
