WASHINGTON, November, 13, 2011 —Albus Dumbledore says “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.”
Author J.K. Rowling created words that became magic as she told the story of Harry Potter, the boy in the cupboard who became the boy who lived. Becoming a part of our lives in 1998 (in America) with the release of the first of seven books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the series introduced us to a group of young wizards who create the type of bond that lasts a lifetime.
Now thirteen years later, a very young, bespectacled boy has become a young man, and we have learned the art of fast and loyal friendship as we have watched Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny knit together to overcome one of the greatest evils in contemporary literature.
Children love the Harry Potter stories, but so do adults. As we watched our progeny grow right alongside the witches and wizards of Hogwarts, we hoped our children would find a protector like Dumbledore, a stern but loving compass like McGonagall, and friends like Nevil, Seamus, Cedric Diggery, Cho, and Luna.
And we hoped that they would have the character necessary to bravely stand up to petty evils, like Draco Malfoy in Sorcerer’s Stone, intoning, "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort." Then we hoped that they'd learn to stand, like Harry in the final epic battle against “He-who-must-not-be-named,” against the evil that lies within us all.
For as different as their world is, JK Rowling’s characters are as normal and real as our children. They suffer the same pangs of normalcy in their very abnormal world. They compete in school sports, cram for tests and suffer the angst of young first love.
Together they learn what it means to be a part of the out-group and have the guts to stand up to clique, then to bring others into their own in-group.
The kids at home, alas, do not have the cool wands, brooms or invisibility cloaks to get them out of tough jams, but they learn that they can have the same determination, intelligence, loyalty and courage to make it through the challenges that school, whether the first grade or the twelfth, can dish out.
Rowling’s series culminates with the seventh book, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. Director David Yates and his retinue of special effects artists, sound mixers, costumers, make-up artists, and CGI wizards and witches brings it all to a brilliant theatrical close.
As we read the books, the films showed us what they looked like in “real life.” Many people found the movie images wonderfully close to what they imagined as they read the first book. By the seventh, film and literary images were indistinguishable. This has everything to do with author J.K. Rowling’s almost obsessive need to control, approve and dictate how her story would be told on the screen.
Talk to a fan and you'll see how hard it is for them to separate the books from the films. Each was anticipated with equal excitement by young readers and old, new fans and Harry Potter experts, and people who came to the books through the movies. It never seemed there were too many chapters, or too many-films, and we never got tired of a new year at Hogwart's.
But all things come to an end, and so did Rowling's saga of Harry Potter. It was finished, but not over with until the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a finale so big it took two films to tell the story.
It was brilliant, really, as Yates took Rowling’s many-colored and deftly-woven tale and pulled together over ten years of storytelling. He reintroduced us to characters we loved, setting us on the edge of our seats as Harry and his friends battled demons, dementors and dragons.
The final two films are dark, and while one might argue that they are wholly focused on moving Harry toward the conclusion of his tale, one would be wrong. The final film allowed us to revisit the children who had grown into young adults. It showed us how their imperfect world, filled with good and evil, propelled their lives to their showdown with Voldemort.
It leaves us with the question: Where we would be if it were not for those who stand up to the injustice and evil in our world?
We see Neville, who had the guts to stand up to Harry, and then, seven years later stand up to Voldermort. We see Ron, who has loved Hermione since the first time he saw her on the train, even though it took a few years for him to figure out what we already knew, finally take her hand and, together, as equals, find with her the courage to defeat their fears and share a kiss.
Most beautifully reflected in the film are the relationships between Dumbledore and Snape, McDonagal and Dumbledore, Snape and Harry, Harry and Dumbledore, and then to see how Lily Potter is at the very core of the saga.
Snape’s final chapters are probably the most surprising, even though we knew what the end story would be. He is the one who made me cry - the longing he lived with, his loss, and the sacrifices he made to honor his love for Lily, and his sacrifices for her son.
Yes, the final film is dark, and it is also weird. The final showdown between Harry and Voldemort is there, as expected. However the children’s tale becomes something otherworldly as we see Harry, without his glasses – offering a clue as to where he is – speaking with a Dumbledore in a place that is neither of heaven or earth.
And we have confirmed what we should have always known (spoiler alert but not really, you have read the book and probably seen the movie, otherwise you would not be reading this), that Harry is a horcrux, a little bit of the soul of He-who-must-not-be-named, a bit of Voldemort tucked into the child that Voldemort didn't kill, his last link to a humanity he'd long ago abandoned.
The film's final battle is epic, sweeping, scary, nail-bitingly and excruciatingly exciting. It's all there: the tears, the loss, the kisses, the friends, the decisions made that are right, instead of just easy, and in the end, the knowledge that making the right decision is the only decision you can make.
Extras:
Making you feel as smart as Hermione after reading “Hogwart's, a History,” the additional Blu Ray elements in this package are incredible. In fact, they are absolutely one of best extra packages to be added to any DVD or Blu Ray to date.
They are as enjoyable to watch as the movie.
A Conversation with J.K. Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe (HD, 53 min) – One of the most incredible features, at least for this book and movie fan, is the conversation between Daniel Radcliffe and J.K. Rowling.
Radcliffe starts off just a bit nervous, or maybe it is just his manner, but the rapport between actor and author is noticeable. Rowling and Radcliffe take turns interviewing each other, exploring the characters, how the other may have felt at a scene change, or a particularly tension filled moment.
Though they have conversed before, it is obvious that they are sharing insights, personal thoughts, and emotions that they probably never shared before
Rowling discusses her characters, who they are and why, confirming things that the American media made quite a to do about.
The nearly hour discussion moves quickly due to the easy back and forth between Radcliffe and Rowling. The pair's reflection and recall of the early books and films, the author's first meeting of the young actors, Radcliff, Watson and Grint, and her dismay that they were all so good looking, when in her mind Harry was a bit of a geek and Hermione was really not that attractive. Rowling reflects that dressing a young Hermione in those awful sweaters did nothing to dim her beauty, bringing forth enthusiastic agreement from Radcliffe.
What is quite lovely about this is that the care that each, author and actor, had for the books, the characters, the films and the fans comes through.
The Women of Harry Potter (HD, 22 min) - We all loved, as Harry did, watching both Molly Weasely and Bellatrix LeStrange. Watching the excellent actors who play them working out the final battle between them is a marvelous treat, and it was smart of them to include this feature.
In The Women of Harry Potter, Rowling also reveals the process of creating the film's incredibly strong female roles and the inspirations behind them.
Deleted Scenes (HD, 6 min) – Deleted scenes seem to be de-rigor to most Blu Ray extras. Unfortunately all too often it seems that they intentionally but a pit of Tomfoolery into the film so that they have them to delete.
Contrary to the status quo, the deleted scenes are all quite good, and I am sure they were each difficult to leave behind. Watching them does help to give further insight into some of the key moments in the film, so don’t pass them by.
The Goblins of Gringotts (HD, 10 min) – Hosted by Warwick Davis (Willow, Star Wars) viewers are treated to the process of transforming an actor into a goblin. The segment includes the auditions and prosthetic processes required for the Gringotts Goblins and for Mr. Davis, who also appears as Professor Filius Flitwick in the films.
Maximum Movie Mode (80 Minutes) - is hosted by actor Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), and it is as exciting and interesting as any of the films. I really enjoyed the effort actors and studio placed into creating this feature.
Lewis takes you behind the scenes of the films, sharing insights into characters and explanations on how sets and special effects were created. Seeing how they turned the handsome Ralph Fiennes into the hideous Voldermort is very interesting, and for anyone who wants to be a moviemaker, or just really likes the details, this is a Blu Ray only must watch.
One of my favorite elements of Maximum Movie Mode, however is when actors such as Emma Watson, Mark Williams, Warwick Davis and Tom Felton pick up the book to read key scenes as they are played out behind them.
Interviews with actors, producer, makeup artists, special effects masters and director Chris Columbus gives background to the films that doesn’t so much as tell a secret as they do enhance your enjoyment of a complex, multi-layered film.
It would be wonderful to watch the Maximum Movie Mode and then watch the film again, and again.
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