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Harry Potter and the Half-Hearted Ending
San Francisco, 5:52 PM
Mon Dec 21
25 posts in the last 24 hours
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Harry Potter and the Half-Hearted Ending |
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07/17/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
furthermore, pretending that we don't all know that Snape is good in the end or that snape being good wasn't incredibly predictable even in the novels and that therefore his pretend 'evil evil evil' should look more real just sounds silly.
07/17/09
07/17/09
07/16/09
07/16/09
I'll concede one need not have anything to do with the other. But in an established series such as Harry Potter, it seems bunk to ignore the fan base and alienate them by seemingly refusing to give them the biggest moment of the series.
Understandably, the two are distinctly separate, but it feels like a disservice to viewers to ignore such dark, epic moments for a little beauty.
07/20/09
07/16/09
07/16/09
Except Yates probably didn't find them important enough to film so we will never see what should have been. :/
07/16/09
Sure, the Dumbledore funeral is great in the book. And the big bloody battle where children are killed in their safe house is awesome. In a perfect world, at least the Hogwarts battle would be maintained. But it's not realistic for a movie that has to play to an all-ages audience while making as much money as possible to keep these things. That sucks, but it's reality, and better people than us have attempted to change it for decades.
One final note: You know how so many people complain about the ending of Return of the King being long, silly, and drawn out? It's because movie audiences are trained to accept very short denouements. A long, protracted Dumbledore funeral scene would have earned the same ridicule. What works in a book does not always work in a movie. In a movie, simplicity and speed are key -- and everything must carry narrative momentum. In books, you are rewarded for taking time and exploring intricate nuance. The Dumbledore funeral excising is a great example of this. It would not have played on screen as well as you think it would because it only carries emotional resonance; it doesn't carry any story momentum. Which works for a book, but would bog down the pace of a movie like crazy. I, for one, thought the wand-raising was an effective shorthand way of delivering the same memorial, which the book had the luxury to deliver via a very long funeral, in a short period of time.
07/17/09
Quips about my hopes for "murder" aside, since no one good save Dumbledore dies on the page, I will not budge on my wish for a funeral. Especially with the changes instituted by Yates, I agree with you, it could not have been filmed as written. I'm not even saying it should have transpired exactly as Rowling wrote, I'm merely saying that a big reason why so many people are letdown by the film is because of the lack of closure.
However, at this point, I'm prepared to say that even a quick glimpse of the white tomb and funeral would have sufficed for me. Also, it probably would have led to a less awkward jump to Harry and Hermione's talk at the end, providing a perfect segue into it and even the final films.
The fact that you refer to the wand raising as shorthand is also what makes me so sad for the film.
For the death of Dumbledore, there should have been no shorthand.
07/17/09
LotR was and is the story of Sam Gamgee's rise from simple gardener to Mayor of the Shire and inheritor of The Red Book. The rest of that twaddle about elveses and dwarves and rangers and undead eyeballs was purely the fire that forged the Hobbits into the great empire they are today.
07/17/09
07/17/09
As long as they don't show guts, or too much of the actual dismembering action, it can easily pass off as PG-13.
Magical deaths in Harry Potter I bet can pass off as PG-13 without a hitch. It'll make a lot of little kids cry, but seriously, will never be rated R.
07/16/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
07/18/09
Flick-parry-sneer: "Words, Potter? WORDS?"
Flick-parry-sneer: "You'll never vanquish an oppenent casting with his mind with your WORDS!"
That was one of the big clues, for me, that Snape was, after all, on DA's side. So delightfully open to interpretation. Shame to have it cut from the film, especially since it'd be quite cinematic.
(too lazy to look up actual quotes, but this is the gist, as I recall it).
07/16/09
07/16/09
Man, Krull was a great movie.
07/16/09
Um. No he is not.
What relevance does this have to the article?
07/16/09
The fact that Krull was a great movie
07/16/09
07/16/09
07/16/09
Wait. Did I just say that out loud?
07/17/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
Sorry, I digress. Harry Potter. Ending dissatisfaction. Harrumph.
07/16/09
Had it been slow and drawn out it would have come off as cheesy. IMO.
And Snape was amazing as always.
I believe what were going to see by the end of Deathly Hallows Part two should get Alan Rickman an Oscar nomination for Best supporting actor. Cause it is going to be heart breaking.
07/16/09
He didn't think that Malfoy (because Malfoy was obviously no killer) would actually do it and i don't really think in his heart that he thought Snape would do that. He probably thought Snape was going to get Dumbledore out of it. It happened so fast that he wasn't able to react till it was too late.
As to the final battle. I agree on cutting it because this is film. Were going to have lord knows how many battles in the deathly hallow movies as well as a gigantic one at the end of Part two.
I also believe their is a good chance we will see Dumbledore's funeral at the beginning of Deathly Hallows part one.
Over all i think it was excellent. The best of the series so far imo.
Things were cut from all the previous films this one is no different. That is why it is a film.
David Yates has done a fantastic job.
He really cares about this story and he doesn't get enough credit.
It could be ALOT worse.
Come the release of Deathly Hallows i can almost promise your reaction will be different.
I am sure you will call me an idiot.
That is ok. I respect your opinion. I hope that mine will be respected aswell.
07/16/09
Also this film was not meant for closure of any kind. This is a setup for the Deathly Hallows.
You'll get your closure soon enough.
07/16/09
07/16/09
07/16/09
My biggest problem with the story was the mishandling of the Half-Blood Prince. Sure, Snape admits it was him, but I never got the significance of that fact.
Now, about Harry not being petrified when Dumbledore is killed. I like this because it forces him to make a decision, instead of Dumbledore forcing him to stay below. By making him choose whether or not to reveal himself makes him a much more active hero.
07/16/09
07/16/09
In the book, the "Flight of the Prince" chapter was supposed to be gut-wrenching. Here is Snape, put in the devastating position of killing the man he admires most and the one person who knows his true good and noble self. And then Harry chases him down through the castle, across the grounds, impotently trying to avenge his father-figure upon Snape. Nothing works, until he lets loose one final volly: he calls Snape a coward.
This was one of the most important scenes in the whole damn series. It is the one moment we see contemporary Snape as his true self. The one falter in the whole fakement. He's terrified, grieving and enraged. It was moving, both while reading it and looking back from the end.
The same scene in the movie feels stunted and underplayed. And they don't even properly explain why he's the "Half-Blood Prince"!
07/16/09
07/16/09
Which brings me to my real point: fans of the books cannot rationally judge the movie on its own merits.
07/16/09