Re: Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince discussion...
There was a test screening tonight in Chicago, and the spoilers have started leaking out. From the sound of things, it's by far the most radical departure yet (MAJOR book spoilers):Warning Spoiler! Click to show
- No Dursleys, no Privet Drive; entirely new opening
The film begins instead begins with Dumbledore and Harry at the ministry on the night Sirius died, just after OOTP cut to Dumbledore's office. From here it cuts outside to the present, where Death Eaters demolish the Millenium Bridge in downtown London. The camera pulls out and the scene transforms into the moving front page photo of the Daily Prophet, which Harry is reading in at a cafe inside a tube station. Harry has just started flirting with the waitress when a train blows through the station. When the last car passes, Dumbledore is seen standing impressively on the platform. The story then picks up with the book as the pair travel to Slughorn's house. I'll probably end up preferring the intro as written, but not one of the more heartbreaking cuts. - Jim Broadbent's portrayal of Slughorn is completely at odds with the book's characterization
Instead of an insidiously slick, political man, Broadbent plays him as a man crushed under the guilt of giving Voldemort the terrible means to immortality. Those of us hoping for some of the bomast and charisma of his Harold Zidler persona will be disappointed. - While Harry is visiting the Weasleys, Belatrix and savage werewolf Fenrir Greyback attack the Burrow.
This is the scene from the teaser, with Harry running through the marshes and Ginny being disarmed in her bathrobe. It's been covered in the press as a means to make the danger from the newspapers in the book more immediate. - The Tonks/Lupin plot line has been cut
Both characters appear briefly, but their personal drama doesn't make it. One of the easiest cuts to make, since it added nothing to the main thrust of the book. - The big spontaneous, very public Harry/Ginny kiss in the Gryfinndor common room does not happen, because the final game has been cut from the film.
I was really bummed, since this was my favorite moment in the book, but I really like what Kloves came up with instead: - They kiss in the Room of Requirement instead
After Harry literally cuts Draco using the Sectumsempra spell from Half-Blood Prince's textbook, Ginny is disgusted by the parallels to her own crisis with Tom Riddle's diary. She begs him to give it up, and for her he does. They go into the Room of Requirement in the iteration full of hidden objects. Harry closes his eyes so he can't see where she hides the book. With his eyes closed, she kisses him — a real, adult kiss in contrast to Ron's snogging with Lavender. By the time Harry opens his eyes, both book and girl are gone. - Harry is not paralyzed under his invisibility cloaks when the Half-Blood Prince kills Dumbledore
Instead he is trapped behind a physical barrier, and views the event through the gaps in the boards. I can understand the logic here, too; non-readers would have been wondering why Harry just stood by and didn't do anything while his father figure is struck down. - The funeral for Dumbledore has been cut
Much like the last two films, this one moves from climax to resolution far more quickly than the novel.
Other thoughts from the people who were lucky enough to attend:- Michael Gambon's performance as Dumbledore was much improved. He plays the character quieter and gentler than in the last three movies. As a result, Dumbledore's death really hits home.
- The editing is a radical improvement from the "staccato" cutting of OOTP. This is the best news of all for me, since the editing was perhaps my biggest complaint with that film.
