HP: Deathly Hallows Part 2 on DVD/BR today!

[Tora Ziyal]

I liked the duel indoors, with the students, faculty, Order, etc. there. I liked how Voldemort's spells didn't work effectively on them after Harry chose to die for them, even though he ended up surviving anyway. Like what his mother did for him. That parallel -- and Dumbledore's conviction that love is the strongest magic -- was totally lost in the movie.

Plus the pensieve scenes didn't make sense. Why the hell was Snape at the Potters' house immediately after the killings? What did he do, cry over Lilly and then just walk out leaving little Harry there to be found by someone else?!

 

[RoJoHen]

Plus the pensieve scenes didn't make sense. Why the hell was Snape at the Potters' house immediately after the killings? What did he do, cry over Lilly and then just walk out leaving little Harry there to be found by someone else?!

They made sense to me, and I haven't read the books. I just assumed Snape was going to check up on Lily or possibly try and protect her just in case Voldemort tried to attack, but he got there too late. As for what he did with the baby, we didn't see it. For all we know, Dumbledore showed up a few moments later to retrieve the child, or maybe Snape brought the baby back with him to Hogwarts.

I thought the Snape flashbacks were the best part of the movie.

 

[Sindatur]

Plus the pensieve scenes didn't make sense. Why the hell was Snape at the Potters' house immediately after the killings? What did he do, cry over Lilly and then just walk out leaving little Harry there to be found by someone else?!

They made sense to me, and I haven't read the books. I just assumed Snape was going to check up on Lily or possibly try and protect her just in case Voldemort tried to attack, but he got there too late. As for what he did with the baby, we didn't see it. For all we know, Dumbledore showed up a few moments later to retrieve the child, or maybe Snape brought the baby back with him to Hogwarts.

I thought the Snape flashbacks were the best part of the movie.

Hagrid picked up Baby Harry, as shown at the beginning of the First Movie

Snape was still Full on Death Eater, it was this act of Killing Lily that changed his allegiance, I believe

 

[RoJoHen]

Oh yes, I forgot about Hagrid. Good call.

Snape's past is definitely something that warrants a bit more explanation, but I think the movies do it enough justice that you can get the gist of it.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

In the book, Dumbledore told Snape that Harry had survived, in the same conversation in which he asked Snape to help protect him. So Snape obviously hadn't been to the house.

 

[RoJoHen]

Well, Harry was watching the memories from Snape, a guy who had just gotten the shit beaten out of him by a giant snake. It's possible the memories weren't 100% coherent.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^Yes, a small amount of confusion would be plausible. Not a whole significant event that he wasn't really at.

I do understand that the discrepancy may not be problematic for those of you who haven't read the books. And I love the rest of the pensieve scene, btw, especially Snape and Lilly as children.

 

[propita]

All I can say is, I'm going to Wizarding World of HP next week!!! I don't care about the rest of the park that much. We'll be focusing on WWoHP. Can't go on the roller coaster, but the rest I can do. And I want to try butterbeer and pumpkin juice.

 

[RoJoHen]

I do understand that the discrepancy may not be problematic for those of you who haven't read the books.

Well, I hate to play this card, but the people who have read the books have the disadvantage of having expectations. I've found this to be the case with almost all the movies. The book-readers don't like certain parts because "they're different" or "they're confusing" because they contradict the book. The non-book-readers think the exact same parts are just fine, even great, because they have no idea that they're "supposed" to be different.

I know that a lot of the book-readers hated The Half-Blood Prince because it left a lot of information out that was in the book. I personally thought it was great. My mom and sister absolutely hate the scene where the Death Eaters destroy the Weasley's house just because "it wasn't in the book." I happen to think it's the best scene of the entire film.

So yes, the scenes with Snape make perfect sense to me. Maybe in this version, Dumbledore doesn't tell Snape that Harry survived. Maybe Snape is the one to discover it on his own. It doesn't really matter. What matters is how the event affects Snape's character.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Yes, in a way it is a disadvantage to have read the books first.

I am actually not one of the people who complained about things being left out. I know that everything that works in a book may not work on screen. Plus those particular books are so long and detailed. Of course there's going to be a lot left out. I expected that.

And some of the changes/additions were fine. The fire scene in HBP is okay. And I absolutely love Harry and Hermione dancing in the tent in DH Part 1. It's not in the book, but it fits perfectly.

 

[Gryffindorian]

No doubt this movie was the most epic in terms of battle scenes and dramatic storytelling. My favorite film in the series, however, will always be The Prisoner of Azkaban, followed very closely by The Goblet of Fire and The Order of the Phoenix.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^ Prisoner of Azkaban is easily my favorite, too. Favorite movie and favorite book. But it took twice through each to really appreciate them. The first time, I was kind of bored and disappointed.

 

[23skidoo]

Yes, in a way it is a disadvantage to have read the books first.

I am actually not one of the people who complained about things being left out. I know that everything that works in a book may not work on screen. Plus those particular books are so long and detailed. Of course there's going to be a lot left out. I expected that.

And some of the changes/additions were fine. The fire scene in HBP is okay. And I absolutely love Harry and Hermione dancing in the tent in DH Part 1. It's not in the book, but it fits perfectly.

Something else to bear in mind - and this is reiterated during the wonderful JKR/Radcliffe interview feature - is that Rowling approved of any and all changes made for the movies. And as she tells Radcliffe, it would have been impractical to do a 4-hour movie transcribing the books verbatim. She mentions one minor detail that she didn't like changed, and confirms the story that she vetoed a romance subplot for Dumbledore by informing the director that Dumbledore was gay, but otherwise while I agree the readers have a disadvantage to a degree, it's mitigated by the fact the lady in charge signed off on everything. (As opposed to those who were upset at some of the changes to the Lord of the Rings stories for the movies - like dropping Tom Bombadil - which were made without the benefit of having the original author's blessing.)

The interview between JK and Radcliffe is worth the price of admission alone, IMO. I also enjoyed the "Maximum Movie Mode" extra, especially when we get to hear Emma Watson read passages from the novel.

My only complaint is the lack of a gag reel on any of the releases to date. There have been little snippets released (like an online video of Emma getting the giggles during the Lovegood house scene from Pt 1, and the HBP featurettes included an outtake during a sequence on film editing) but I get the feeling a full-out blooper reel is something we'll probably be seeing when Warners does its post-vaulting double-dip...

Alex

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^Yes, I know she approved it all. She's not perfect.

Seriously, I'd love to hear her explanation of those Snape-in-Godric's-Hollow memories.