The lure of re-reading Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows was too great after seeing Part 1 of the film for a second time over Christmas. I enjoyed the film immensely but there were a couple of plot points I couldn't quite remember that were driving me nuts...well that's my excuse anyway.
Aside from noticing all the bits that had been left out (this post only really scratches the surface) it also got me thinking about how they will execute certain key scenes on the big screen.
*This post will contain spoilers if you haven't read the book*
One problem the film makers have had throughout the series is the cloak of invisibility. It is one element of the magical world that works brilliantly on the page but not on screen. It is a difficulty which I believe led to the Dumbledore death/astronomy tower debacle that ruined my enjoyment of the Half Blood Prince film.
The cloak of invisibility features heavily in the last book but has been largely ignored in the first film without too much deviation . But in Part 2 or the final third of the book* it is an essential aid for the trio:
1. Harry and Griphook hide under the cloak while Hermoine is polyjuiced into Bellatrix and Ron disguised in order to break into Gringotts
2. The trio also use the cloak to apparate into Hogsmeade and then is used by Harry and Luna to get into the Ravenclaw common room.
3. They also use it to get around the castle while the battle of Hogwarts is raging and then to the whomping willow when they attempt to kill Nagini at the Shrieking Shack.
4. Harry uses the cloak to leave the castle undetected after Voldemort calls a cease-fire in the battle and for Harry to be handed over and then again after his 'death' and the battle recommences.
Of those, the one I will be most disappointed to see go is when Harry leaves the castle because there is a lovely scene when he sees Ginny and really wants to go to her but can't. I think Gringotts will be difficult to engineer without it too.
1. Snape is the one who plants the sword of Gryffindor in the Forest of Dean and then casts a patronus to lead Harry to it. Snape only discovers where Harry and Hermione are hiding out because of Phineas Nigellus's portrait which Hermione takes from Grimmauld Place and keeps in her beaded bag. Phineas overhears Hermione mentioning where they are when he is summoned to the portrait from his Hogwarts frame and he tells Snape their location.
Phineas doesn't appear at all in Part 1 so how are they going to explain how Snape helped Harry and why his patronus is a doe?
2. In the book when the trio are taken to Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix panics about the fact that they have the sword of Gryffindor because she thinks they have been into her vault at Gringotts to retrieve it. It is this panic that leads Harry to realise that Voldemort has probably asked Bellatrix to put something of his in her vault for safe keeping, most likely one of the horcruxes.
In part 1 of the film the connection between the sword and vault is skimmed over.
It's interesting watching the trailer that got me so nervous before watching the first film as I've realised how much of it is actually part 2. I already don't like the fact that the final dual between Harry and Voldemort seems to take place when they are alone whereas in the book it's symbolically in the great hall with everyone bearing witness. He also doesn't say "I've got something worth living for" in the book (are the film makers just rehashing lines from Order of the Phoenix?)
Anyway here is the trailer again:
*My copy of Deathly Hallows is 820 pages long. The point at which part 1 of the film ends is page 530. The book is pretty much all action from there on it so the film makers are giving themselves plenty of screen time to play with which has me quite excited.
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