Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
for some reason... I was really sad when Lavendar Brown died! i mean... the girl had no lines in this movie and then all of a sudden.. BOOM she's being chewed on by Fenrir.... it was sad seeing her body!
Especially when Lavender was such a comic relief character. It took me a second to realize who she was.
The film had many dark moments like that. Watching some of these characters at Hogwarts with their dead bodies on display was so sad.
I just saw it again and it hit me even harder this time. I realized how chilling it was to see students' bodies sprawled out EVERYWHERE in the castle, no matter what scene. JK really did a fantastic job with the underlying messages in this installment.
I'm having a more difficult time dealing with this than I expected. It was a defining piece of my childhood - from age 5, on. I can't believe it's over.
Thank you, though, because it's nice to have somewhere to release these thoughts to people who maybe possibly understand.
I just got back...
Wow. I don't even know if I can write anything coherent right now. I was simply blown away. There were so many moments in the film where I knew this was the last time I was going to see something, and it tore me up. Tears were freely flowing from me the moment Neville made his first entrance, which was greeted with a round of applause. And that scene occurs 20 minutes in, so you can imagine what the rest of the movie was like for me.
The performances were uniformly wonderful, though Alan Rickman definitely deserves Oscar consideration. Also, Maggie Smith, playing my favorite character from the novels, was particularly outstanding. I also think Radcliffe doesn't get enough credit for his acting ability. He really plays the part so well and carries the film (as he did the previous 3).
"The line" got enormous applause of course, and was another of those moments when I truly lost it. I was, however, completely gone and done for the moment Neville pulled the sword out of the Sorting Hat. Those moments are, as someone else mentioned, what makes Rowling's writing so brilliant. Two completely ordinary, unextraordinary supporting characters get two of the best moments in the film.
The look and pacing of the film is wonderful. Yates did a fantastic job with it.
I think I'm still in denial that this was the end- something like 14 years since the publication of the first novel. Between the novels, which in my opinion are literary masterpieces, and the films, which are entertaining in their own right, it's been a great 14 years. It makes you realize just how brilliant Rowling is- the fact that people have cared and invested so much in these characters over such a long period of time. The themes, lessons, and truisms she managed to impart on her readers are unmatched by any other writer in this genre right now, especially the Twilight ladt. Rowling is a genius.
Questions,
I never finished the last book.
I thought the ending seemed rushed.
The fight with Molly and Bellatrix just seemed to appear out of nowhere.
I would have liked more backstory on Dumbledores family.
Draco Malfoy and family just walked away, why?
Dolores Jane Umbridge just seemed to not be part of the story after Part one.
The death of one of Ron's brothers just seemed like an after thought, was it more involved in the book?
I really enjoyes the film, but fore the first time ever they could have and should have made it longer
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/05
In the book Ginny, Hermione and Luna are battling Bellatrix. Bellatrix tries to Avada Kedavra Ginny and Mrs. Weasley jumps in with "the line" and finishes the battle.
The Dumbledore backstory is all in the book. I wish it had been included in the movie but I understand why it was cut as there already are a number of subplots between the Hallows and Horcruxes.
They suffered tremendously under the brutality of Voldemort basically since Lucius failed to procure the prophecy in OOTP. Draco was also saved by Harry three times during the battle (I don't know that all of those are shown in the film, I can't remember). Lucius and Narcissa are also profoundly different from Voldemort and the Death Eaters in that they have love for each other and their son. They are basically sneaking away in cowardice to save their own behinds.
Umbridge doesn't really play a part in the end of the book either as I recall. Her role is in the ministry with the locket and she isn't really heard from much after that point.
In the book, Percy returns to Hogwarts and is redeemed for all his asshole behavior in the previous three books. Fred and Percy together are fighting Pius Thicknesse when a curse hits the outside of the castle and a wall collapses on Fred.
I haven't finished watching yet but the Gringotts scene was MADE to be a coaster at Universal. lol
"I have thought that Steve Kloves's Harry Potter screenplays have really included too much humor in recent years, and this was no exception, but I sort of just decided to stop laughing at things and that really helped me appreciate the deep, intimate moments, that often immediately followed jokes that got huge laughs. Although I did appreciate a number of jokes in the movie, a couple I could have done without."
What? The books are FULL of humor. Half-Blood Prince was my favorite movie because it was the first movie that finally managed to capture the humor of the books that was missing in the other movies. The books aren't supposed to be "deep, intimate" stories at the exclusion of all else, so neither should the movies.
colleen_leem thanks for that. That made things a lot clearer.
I am left so much more emotional than I imagined. I honestly wasn't prepared for it. Halfway through it occurred to me that it was coming to an end and that got to me. I laughed and cried and jumped. I was especially freaked out by the Voldemort/Harry face morph during the fall. GAH!
McGonagall is a bad ass. She was always my favorite professor. I felt like the Molly line was WAY forced just to get it in there. It pulled you out of everything that was going on. Had they shown more of the fighting with specific characters, it might have worked. Showing the bodies after the fact was the way it played for me in the book. It made sense that the viewer see the aftermath the way Harry did. Lupin & Tonk's son was one of the most endearing parts of the books for me and the reason it slayed me when they died. Not talking about him messed that up for me. I wanted the Dumbledore back story and think I must now read the book again to get it. Other than that, I can't say I have any complaints.
I would like to know how much actors like Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law who had a total of 2 seconds of screen time got paid. I am just nosy like that.
Poor Emma Thompson. One of the finest living actresses and she's hardly in anything anymore.
Come to Broadway, Emma!!!!!
I bet Jim Broadbent and Emma Thompson filmed more scenes and they just got cut. This is why we have deleted scenes on dvd extras. Digitalbits yesterday heard rumors Warner Bros.has already picked late November for the release date,of course they won't make an official announcement until the film has been out a while.That sounds about right.I bet this film will be around til at least Labor day. I'd love to see it again but want to wait til the crowds simmer down a bit.
As someone who used to be a bit of an Emma Thompson junkie, I always giggle when I see her mom in her films. She's in almost ALL of them. "Sure, I'll do it, but you have to give mom a part, too!" I always wondered how the relationships were with Emma and Kenneth or Emma and HBC. I don't think they did many scenes together, but surely they interacted.
Oh well. I need to see a FULL cut.
Deleted scenes from Deathly Hallows part 1 were great. I wish they kept in the scene with Harry and Dudley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEEwZf1IIyk
Broadway Star Joined: 3/20/08
It's already breaking records it seems - it beat The Twilight Saga: Eclipse's previous midnight showing record by 13.5 million (43.5 mil to Twilight's 30 mil) and it's already grossed 92 million on its opening day alone. To put it in perspective, Avatar made 77 million its entire opening weekend.
Maggie Smith was the highlight of the whole film for me. It was just so awesome seeing her kicking ass and clearly having fun.
I saw it this morning (at a 9AM show to avoid crowds and "carmageddon" here in LA). The theater was actually only about 1/3 full, but I am not sure if it was because of the time, or because everyone in West LA is afraid to go anywhere this weekend!
A very satisfying movie. I thought all of the leads did a great job and Alan Rickman was perfect (as usual). The effects were stunning (I saw 2D, 3D tends to give me a headache). I am really glad I watched part 1 on DVD last night to get my place on where we were, otherwise, I would have been lost.
I think with how dense the books are, they did a nice job of explaining some of the sublplots without much detail. I thought the 3 leads have all done a nice job growing into exactly who I imagined they would be when I read the books.
A nice sendoff and worth a second watch.
Magic is at work - that posted twice! Updated On: 7/16/11 at 03:19 PM
******SPOILER******
One of my many favorite scenes!
http://think-ahead.tumblr.com/post/7688251898
Oh, and I am buying this poster!
Maggie Smith was going through cancer treatment while she shot this movie.
She was so fantastic.
Maggie Smith was all kinds of awesome.
The scene where Snape points his wand at Harry, and she, without hesitation, immediately put herself between Snape and Harry was incredible. She didn't even have to say a word.
And I am SO getting that poster!
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/05
I have said since the first book that I want to be Professor McGonagall when I grow up. Best character in the series.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/07
I just saw this film and it was PURE PERFECTION!!! I loved every single second of it! Incredible acting, amazing plot, awesome action scenes, perfect ending! I'm sad that it's all over, but I couldn't be more happier with how it ended.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
I don't know that there is too much more to be seen of Emma Thompson's role. As I recall she had some heavy scheduling conflicts with the next Nanny McPhee and it was a pleasant surprise that they could get her in for the couple of days. There's probably a bit more, but I don't think we'll get to see her power-serving crystal balls over the walls of Hogwarts.
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