Harry Potter

With the eighth and final Harry Potter movie about to be released in cinemas, now is an appropriate time to take a look at the most successful franchise of all-time.

With its books, movies and merchandise, Harry Potter has become a worldwide phenomenon that has encouraged children and adults alike to discover and rediscover reading, not to mention packing cinemas and shifting millions of DVDs, all over the world.

I read the first four books in September 2001, after seeing the trailer for the first movie, and was a bona fide fan by the time the movie was released. Each book was re-read before each film's release, the whole series was re-read before each book was released, and each movie's release saw (at least) its predecessor re-watched, both for cinema and DVD releases. So it's fair to say I know them all pretty well.

I've been lucky enough to obtain preview tickets for a screening of the final film this coming Thursday, July 7th, over a week before its official release date on Friday 15th. After that screening, it is my intention to re-watch all previous seven films, and review each with an eye on various particular perspectives;

1. Straightforward film review; how it stands up as a film in its own right.
2. The film as an adaptation of the book; what works, what doesn't, what they got right, what they got wrong.
3. What was changed from the book; what was left out, what was put in, what played out differently.
4. What essential information was left out for the film series to make complete sense.

It's the fourth point in particular in which I'm most interested for this blog.

Whilst I'm currently re-reading the end of Deathly Hallows, I'm noticing that there is so much that hasn't been covered in the films that should have been by now. And I'm not talking about the likes of Snape's relationship with James Potter & friends- it's important in the books, but no longer necessary for the film series to work.

I'm talking about some glaring omissions that have been carried over film-to-film, but never addressed. If you haven't read the books, and aren't confused, then you're not paying attention.

For example...

Peter Pettigrew. From film 4 onwards he's called "Wormtail". Explained in book three, but none of the films.

Harry has a piece of mirror in film 7. Explained in book five, but none of the films.

Film 8 will feature items referenced in book 6, but no films so far.

It'll be interesting to see how much is rectified in their final chance. I'm hoping to clarify what they don't.