Signing Out, Deathly Hallows Thoughts

Darth Ledger

Since discussion about the two movies have dominated the forum for quite some time I have to say this about the split and I want to know if anyone agrees...

Having read Deathly Hallows 11 times since it's release in 2007, I have this to say on the movies...

They capture the book perfectly to me. And remember I nearly have the book memorized. Part 1 was slow and revealing just as that segment of the book was. Part 2 was fast paced and slowed after Voldemort's defeat... Just like the movie does.

Why the split was perfect: Deathly Hallows the book takes a major turn after the death of Dobby. The atmosphere changes, the momentum changes, the feel changes. They just narrowly escaped death, and Voldemort has acquired the elder wand. As you read the makeshift changes, it's time for the confrontation. Harry is on a one way track now, no doubts, no running.

Even before Part 2 hit theaters I was already referring to chapters 25 and beyond as "Part 2 of the Book" because it just was. It was perfect. Had the split been before malfoy manor it would not have been right. Had Part 2 been slow it would not have been right. I always read Part 2 of the Book in one sitting. My heart is pumping fast through that part. In Part 1 of the book I'm soaking in the revelations in the story, the new developments and the advancement of the mystery at hand. Just like the movie. The parts I like least in the book are the same in the film... Just as are the parts I like most.

Just a sign off on why I think Deathly Hallows managed to adapt the book better than any of the installments and was also the best FILM... albeit a split one... in the series and one of the best (best to me) of all time.

Bane

It's fine as it is. I know people want nothing more than to have these two films as two entirely separate films but the fact of the matter is that they're both adapted from the same exact installment. And that would be okay, but shit like "well Part 2 was too short because it was shorter than Part 1, they rushed it" is fucking BULLSHIT because Part 2 is ONE ACT out of THREE, the final act, the 3rd act, the climactic act where the story and action kicks into high gear. And it was STILL just short of 2 hours long, which is as long as most normal films.

The problem is that the studio and filmmakers released them as two separate movies and claimed that each one has different styles on purpose, but uhm, no, the book, as you mentioned, has two different styles as well. So when Part 2 ended up being shorter, it's not because they rushed it or because of Mark Day, it's simply because they stretched an ENTIRE ACT into the length of ONE FILM. Part 1 is two acts. Part 2 is one act, the last act. That, children, means that Part 1 is LOGICALLY LONGER than Part 2.

In most films the third act is about half an hour or less; because most films run between 1.5 to 2 hours, the average being somewhere between. Deathly Hallows Part 2, which is the last act of the book, was stretched across almost 2 hours. How people can still complain about this and complain that it's the "shortest movie" fucking blows my mind because while they were released separately and have different styles, they BOTH fit together to make ONE WHOLE. NOBODY should be just looking at the length of Part 2 and wondering why it's the "shortest movie." It would be like cutting the third act of Azkaban, the moment when they use the Time Turner, releasing that as a 20-30 minute movie and wondering why "Prisoner of Azkaban Part 2" is only 25 minutes long and the "shortest movie."

Bane

The fact that people can still have the audacity to complain about Part 2 being shorter than Part 1 despite the filmmakers shooting what IS a fucking FOUR HOUR AND FIFTEEN MINUTE LONG MOVIE seriously makes me weep for the human race.

Darth Ledger

I guess this is what we needed.

Bane

People complain about stuff being cut and some installments not being long enough, so they split the final film into two in order to do it justice and release them separately, and now the bitching shifts from "it's too short they should have split it" to "they rushed Part 2 because its 15 minutes shorter than Part 1." I really, really wish people could step back and take a good long look at how fucking retarded that line of thinking truly is.

Bane

They released "Deathly Hallows" Part 1, and then made us wait 8 months for what is the rest of "Deathly Hallows." I kind of wish they would have waited until Part 2 came out to release them as one long film just to hear people bitch about it being too long.

yonythemoony

And there's people saying that it's should have been three films.

Darth Ledger

If you've seen the film 9 times already like I have then it doesn't feel rushed at all in the 2 hours... Then again I can't remember what it was like to see any of the Potter films for the first time now that I look back, I vaguely remember the feeling. I've seen them all so much...

Bane

If you've seen the film 9 times already like I have then it doesn't feel rushed at all in the 2 hours... Then again I can't remember what it was like to see any of the Potter films for the first time now that I look back, I vaguely remember the feeling. I've seen them all so much...

Yeah. I watched it the other day after getting the Blu-ray and it did not feel rushed at all. It felt fine. By the time you get to Harry vs. Voldemort you feel like you've been through a shitload. And you have.

Darth Ledger

Off topic but I think that video is one of the funniest yet smartest Harry Potter comedy vids ever. It's so blatent mockery but yet I do find myself interested in what that backup quidditch player in POA was doing while his broom was collecting mildew...

Darth Ledger

If you've seen the film 9 times already like I have then it doesn't feel rushed at all in the 2 hours... Then again I can't remember what it was like to see any of the Potter films for the first time now that I look back, I vaguely remember the feeling. I've seen them all so much...

Yeah. I watched it the other day after getting the Blu-ray and it did not feel rushed at all. It felt fine. By the time you get to Harry vs. Voldemort you feel like you've been through a shitload. And you have.

After The Prince's Tale I actually feel like I've just gotten off this looping emotional roller coaster... An experience unlike anything else that I've ever seen. And I'm talking about the 7th, 8th, 9th time. From Statues to The Prince's Tale I'm on the edge of my seat.

Bane

Right and the best part is, the best comes last! Seriously I know it's kind of an obvious thing to say, but really, Harry vs. Voldemort, that entire sequence is my favorite. As it should be. I waited

A LONG

ass time to see that, in both the books and the movies, and while I was "satisfied" with the direction it took in the book, I was thrilled that the film added more to it. I always thought it would be best if Harry had to face Voldemort away from everyone else on his lonesome, which is why I like the film version better.

Darth Ledger

And just like most Harry Potter fans, There are parts in the book that are not in the films that I cherish and there a few scenes in the movie not in the book that I cherish. Part 1 is an anomaly because I was a big fan of the dance. I loved the dance scene and the song. As a tradeoff I loved the parts in the book where Harry is inside Voldemort's head, most notably Godric's Hollow. Two things preserved, nothing detracts from the story and it all adds more to it. In DH2 I loved the way The Prince's Tale was done and I actually prefer it be that way rather than the way it was in the book. Do I like it better than the book? No but I like the seperation, I like the two modes of conveying the same thing. Wouldn't want any of Deathly Hallows any other way.

Bane

Yeah the stuff with Harry in Voldemort's head as he went around wand-searching was fantastic, I mean they still had it, it was just seriously truncated.

Bane

But I mean, that's an obvious omission to make. I get why it was done. After taking film classes and doing some editing and screenwriting of my own, that stuff is the first round of things that I would have largely avoided myself.

Bane

Because it falls into the line of "cool but not super necessary." It's just the freedom of being able to write as much as you want to in the book versus the forward momentum focus of a film.

Darth Ledger

I'm surprised there wasn't more Love being shown for the Epilogue... I loved the epilogue. It was such a tribute to the series that I honestly can't think of one way it could have been better. The chocolate frog with "Leaving Hogwarts" playing, The CLOSEUP SHOT OF 9 3/4!!!!

Seriously doesn't anyone else see the connection?? Our GENERATION, the Harry Potter generation, was defined by that gateway. We left our muggle clothes behind and went to the most magical place on earth and in our hearts. To show that close up in the film alone brought back 10 years of memories for me.

Darth Ledger

Because it falls into the line of "cool but not super necessary." It's just the freedom of being able to write as much as you want to in the book versus the forward momentum focus of a film.

I can't even classify it as anywhere near a problem, it didn't fit with the film.. just like Lily's letter to sirius, it might have been a good deleted scene but it just doesn't fit... especially since we know how the Prince's tale turned out.

TheDoctor

As far as the split goes I don't really have a problem with Part 2, and I do think they should have tried to distinguish them as 2 separate movies when it came to part 1. You are right that Shell Cottage/Dobby's death is an ideal splitting point since it really is the turning point of the story. However, a large part of what makes it a huge turning point is Harry's resolve to stop doubting Dumbledore/obsessing over the Hallows which had plagued him since the beginning of the book.

I feel like they should have made this Harry's character arc for Part 1 to help it stand on its own a bit better. I mean Part 2 works just fine on its own, since it's the finale of the series.

Darth Ledger

That's another thing, idk why, but I am a big fan of the subtle things like the shaky camera in Sirius's room when Harry is visiting it for the first time. I'm also a huge, huge fan of the The Grey Lady's scene where she floats around Harry remarking on how he reminds her of Tom RIddle.

Bane

I liked it too. It strikes a nerve, but in a good way. I actually can't watch the scene. When I watch Part 2 I always stop watching when Voldemort dies. Actually sitting through the ending and then the epilogue just bothers me. I can't put my finger on it. It's like... those scenes carry such a hefty weight of finality and yet I don't want it to end. It's much like the end of Return of the King; I think it ends beautifully and satisfying, but when I watch it, I'm done when the eagles carry Frodo and Sam off. When I watch Return of the Jedi I'm done when the Death Star explodes.

There's just something very very haunting about the epilogue, like... when I watch it and I see them older, it makes me feel old and makes me remember that holy shit, an entire decade has passed. So yeah, I tend to avoid the epilogue at all costs.

Darth Ledger

As far as the split goes I don't really have a problem with Part 2, and I do think they should have tried to distinguish them as 2 separate movies when it came to part 1. You are right that Shell Cottage/Dobby's death is an ideal splitting point since it really is the turning point of the story. However, a large part of what makes it a huge turning point is Harry's resolve to stop doubting Dumbledore/obsessing over the Hallows which had plagued him since the beginning of the book.

I feel like they should have made this Harry's character arc for Part 1 to help it stand on its own a bit better. I mean Part 2 works just fine on its own, since it's the finale of the series.

Knowing Harry's thoughts and resolve on that matter were distinctly for the book, it's just understood for us in the movies. That's why, and I don't why the non fans don't get this, you have to have read the books to get full understanding of the movies. They are adaptations and since you have great knowledge of the source material then certain things go by understood in the film.

Darth Ledger

My favorite things about the books/films is that while people go on and on about how Voldemort is a weak character in the movies and books and some of my non fan friends prefer the sadistic sides of say the Joker or something along those lines, I have to say and you'll see where I'm coming from, I find Voldemort to be an exact reincarnation of the most original villain of all time.

Satan - In the bible he is described as beautiful at one time... just like Voldemort. In the bible he is always fighting a losing battle, the power of love (God) was and is too much for him. Just like Voldemort. His defeat starts when Jesus dies for mankind. Voldemort's ultimate defeat starts when Harry sacrifices himself. Satan is eventually defeated in the end, but the defeat was always inevitable. Though christians dealt with death and loss, it wasn't ultimately the end... Jesus defeated the last enemy, death, and they lived on. Voldemort's defeat felt inevitable, and do I even have to explain "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" or "death is just a crossing of this world into the next" (Both from Deathly Hallows and The Bible).

*I'm not turning this into a HarryPotter/Christian debate, and for the record I used the phrase "The Bible says" so if you don't believe it then I didn't add finality and if you do then it's no problem.

All villains originate from the original villain of literature, Satan, and Voldemort fits the bill so closely that I had to convey them here.

Bane

Dude... Yates/Kloves completely personified Voldemort as Satan in Part 2. Oh, lord, where do I begin.

First of all, one of Satan's supposed traits is that he tricks people, doesn't play fair. He is the ultimate liar. In Part 2, when Harry is fighting Voldemort, he, not once but TWICE, in mid-duel, apparates BEHIND Harry to throw him off.

Next, a trait of Voldemort is how snake-like he is, as well as his affiliation with reptiles. He has a bond with a giant python. In addition to his skin in Part 2 starting to flake off and shed much like a snake's, if you notice when Voldemort is sending his robes after Harry, they actually STRIKE after Harry even with a HISSING sound.

And then you have all the Christian allegories, like Harry coming back from the dead, the afterlife being portrayed as a pearly white in the form of King's Cross; that alone helps set up the Christian-like references, and then you have a villain who resorts to trickery and has several very snake-like attributes.

AND THEN, near the end when Voldemort is smacking Harry around-- Yates has these fires burning underneath the walkway they're on, casting a fiery, hellish glow on the scenery, as if they're fighting in Hell itself.

I could go on about this movie and how deep and brilliant and inspired and mature and wonderful it is for hours and hours on end.

Darth Ledger

Dude... Yates/Kloves completely personified Voldemort as Satan in Part 2. Oh, lord, where do I begin.

First of all, one of Satan's supposed traits is that he tricks people, doesn't play fair. He is the ultimate liar. In Part 2, when Harry is fighting Voldemort, he, not once but TWICE, in mid-duel, apparates BEHIND Harry to throw him off.

Next, a trait of Voldemort is how snake-like he is, as well as his affiliation with reptiles. He has a bond with a giant python. In addition to his skin in Part 2 starting to flake off and shed much like a snake's, if you notice when Voldemort is sending his robes after Harry, they actually STRIKE after Harry even with a HISSING sound.

And then you have all the Christian allegories, like Harry coming back from the dead, the afterlife being portrayed as a pearly white in the form of King's Cross; that alone helps set up the Christian-like references, and then you have a villain who resorts to trickery and has several very snake-like attributes.

AND THEN, near the end when Voldemort is smacking Harry around-- Yates has these fires burning underneath the walkway they're on, casting a fiery, hellish glow on the scenery, as if they're fighting in Hell itself.

I could go on about this movie and how deep and brilliant and inspired and mature and wonderful it is for hours and hours on end.

Honestly one of my favorite shots in the whole series happens during Procession, when the music hits a low note, and it shows the far off angle of Voldemort leading the way with bellatrix behind him, followed by Hagrid carrying Harry's dead body. Loved it. I can't find a pic or I would post it, but you know what I'm talking about.