Verdict on Harry Potter

I am going to make some comments on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, and although I will be careful to avoid spoilers, if you haven't seen the film yet, and want to go without any pre-conceptions, how about visiting Emma's blog instead?



Ok, so if you are still with me, I will take it that you have seen the film too.

I deliberately did not read DH again in advance, so that I could enjoy the film as a film. You see, I am very firmly of the opinion that books should be books and films should be films. In a book I want to see the world through the eyes of our hero/ine, I want to experience their thoughts and views, I want my vision to be coloured by their opinions. In a book I want to be given insider information and I expect my story to progress at pace that suits reading. A film however is completely different. I want a visual feast, I want drama, I want to be swept along by a story delivered at a film's pace. The film communicates through vision and dialogue, through expression, body language and through the musical score.

The film of DH delivered the book in exquisite detail. The inner thoughts and feelings of the trio were delivered in acres of face shots, portraying every shade of their emotions. The sets were created in loving detail and the location shots saw the tent pitched in an impressive array of glorious scenery. The visualisation was brilliant, and the acting of high standard. If I have criticised the trio for woodenness in the past, there was no sign of it here.

BUT ... you have probably put two and two together and worked out that I have a problem with the film. When I read the book, I felt the tent section was overly long and unnecessarily so, but in a film, it seemed interminable.

I absolutely loved the books, and my criticism of the pace in the book of DH really was only a minor niggle, but the film could have been so much more. My favourite film was The Goblet of Fire, because it was made as a FILM. It took liberties with the book, it cut out loads of material that was important to the book, but it entertained AS A FILM. Back to DH - am I glad I went? Yes! Did I think that it was money well spent? Yes! Will I get the DVD and watch it again and again? Hell, yes! It wasn't that bad really!

I am however looking forward to the second part - that should be one barn-storming action adventure!