That was what I thought at first, but they did not show any more attacks, or at least newspaper headlines referencing attacks. It also just basically showed the bridge falling apart. It did not really show any terror or fear.
I figured that bad things were happening to them, but was it slavery, work camps, brain washing, torture, execution or what? That is why that guy was disguised as a couch. That was pretty funny.
Until this movie, the whole story was about the battle and mysterious connection between Voldemort and Harry. This movie did not touch on that at all.
I figured that he was up to something, but with out him coming back to life, or some Star Wars "force afterlife" thing going on, I could not figure out how a man of his skill would serve the cause better off dead.4 - I don't want to get too spoilerific for the next movie(s) but I think I can safely say that Dumbledore had a plan. The movie does give you enough of the book stuff to wonder about Snape. Did he really turn bad? Was it all part of Dumbledore's plan? Stay tuned...Oh, and death in the Potter universe does seem to pretty final as I recall.
I always figured that Snape was like a double agent type that had no real alliance to either side, but at the time it was convenient to be on the good side. Now it is more convenient to be on the bad side. He has had many, many chances to kill Harry but has not, per his quote that "Harry belongs to Voldemort". After Snape kills Dmbledore, he has proven to all on the dark side which side he is on. The only way I could see that action for the good side, is if that was the plan. To get Snape close and to win Voldemort's trust and then kill Voldemort.
Here's how the book handled Snape, but none of it's in the movies. Snape was a Death Eater, siding with Voldemort back in the day. One day in some dark tavern, Trelawney tells the prophecy to Dumbledore that the Chosen One will vanquish the Dark Lord. Snape overhears this and relays this info to Voldemort. Voldemort acts on this, realizing that the Chosen One was Harry Potter and goes off to kill him. Snape goes over to Dumbledore's side before the Potters are killed/Voldemort loses his powers. Dumbledore has absolute faith in Snape and when Voldemort regains power, uses him as a double agent to spy on the Death Eaters. But is Snape really on Dumbledore's side or has he been a faithful servant to Voldemort all along?
This one handily slips in behind Goblet of Fire on my list, and is unlikely to move before the next film comes out. Both end with a note of visual poetry that expresses something emotionally undescribable. I love the way the chariot takes off into the sky and the ship slips back into the lack in GOF, one of my all-time favorite shots, but Fawkes's last flight as he sings his morning song as the Trio contemplate the rough road ahead of them actually brought a tear to my eye. It was the most moving part of the funeral in the book, and Bruno Delbonnel captures it perfectly.
Harry didn't intervene because Dumbledore ordered him not to. Sometimes the braver thing is not being a hero, but trusting that you've placed your faith in the right people. Giving Harry the freedom of choice made the moment far more powerful.
I didn't find the funeral particularly affecting in the book, since it was filled with people that weren't particularly friendly toward Dumbledore in life; a political rather than emotional affair. The most stirring part of the funeral -- Fawkes's last flight -- was included in the film and included quite beautifully. I'm very glad that the film leaves Harry and Ginny's relationship as an open question rather than having the Spider-Man funeral "I can't allow myself to be with you" scene. I hated it in Spider-Man, and I hated it in the HBP book too. While I missed the big Harry/Ginny kiss from the book, I was moved by the fact that Ginny and Harry's relationship is announced to the world when she seperates from the crowd to hold him as he falls apart over Dumbledore's body. It's such a brutally adult, selfless kind of love; Ginny's probably as devastated as everyone else that Dumbledore died, but she holds it together so Harry has a rock to lean on. Bonnie Wright is graceful in a way that is mature but not precocious. I also found the beat where Hogwarts students and staff use light to abolish the Dark Mark stirring for its symbolism.
This is a failing of the final cut for Order of Phoenix. The entirety of Snape's Worst Memory was shot, but Yates and his editor inexplicably chose to cut out Lily's part of the scene in post-production. That was the most unforgivable problem with OOTP, in my opinion.
They have the fake locket and know the real one's out there somewhere. The mechanics of what horcruxes are and what the purpose of them is have been laid out. That's enough to get them started. Harry didn't know a heck of a lot more at the going into DH on the page, either.
This is the biggest triumph of the movie, in my opinion. I don't want to watch three films of increasingly dreary and forboding such that there's nothing left. My biggest thematic problem with the last film was the lack of warmth that all of the book had. Hogwarts in this story is a protective coccoon where these kids get to experience their last bits of innocence. I'm grateful that Kloves and Yates embraced that and nurtured that instead of focusing in on the threats. We have two whole movies for that.
Remember back to GOF, the faux-Mad-Eye Moody explained the three Unforgivable Curses: The Imperius curse, which robs you of your free will (resulting in Manchurian Candidate spies at all levels of magical society). The Cruciatus Curse, which tortures you. And Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse, demonstrated ably by Snape in this film. Those cover what you can expect from the Death Eaters out in the big dark world.
In my opinion, the movie went to great pains to highlight the parallels between Harry and Tom Riddle, to the point where the say the same dialog at times. And arguably, the entire film was about the battle between Harry and Voldemort, since finding Slughorn's memory armed Harry with the means to defeat Voldemort permenantly.
All I will say to this point is Dumbledore does not come back to life, but his death directly contributes to setting into motion the events that lead to the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort. Dumbledore's death denies Voldemort something that could have tipped the balance in his favor.
The connection between Harry and Nevel in regards to the prophecy should have been made clear to Harry at Dumbledore's office after the attack on the Ministry in OOTP. That scene should have been an angry, intense, uncomfortable ten-minute affair. It was shortened and neutered to several seconds in the film, the second most unforgivable failure re: OOTP after Snape's Worst Memory.
I agree with everything in your first paragraph. I understand your problems with the cinematography, even though I was okay with it. Originally, Bruno Delbonnel had shot the film in basically monocrome so that most scenes were either Black -> Blue -> White, or Black -> Brown -> White. Thankfully, Warner Bros overruled fairly early on in production. The rest of the shoot was more colorful than planned, and the color timing pushed the saturation greater. That being said, much of the film still has a predominantly brown or blue hue to it, depending on the scene. (Since the production and costume design were also based around this style choice: sets and costumes in the "brown" scenes are predominantly brown or off-brown, and sets and costumes in the "blue" scenes are predominately blue or off-blue.) I loved the camera work and the lighting, and made peace with the unconventional color choices.
What was cut? Can you describe the scene?
Good to know about the IMAX. I had planned on seeing it on Albany's IMAX-branded digital theatre but a contract agreement between Paramount and IMAX prevented it from debuting in IMAX outside NY, LA and Chicago until the end of the month. I was still planning on catching it in IMAX once it finally arrives, but now I might just save the $10.
You're welcome, Ray! I love a good discussion about a film I'm passionate about. In this case, Harry seems more in over his head, but as the first half of Deathly Hallows illustrates, he was already in way over his head to begin with.
You make a legitimate point, one I have a feeling the filmmakers struggled with as well; it just didn't bother me that much. Seeing the Death Eaters bounce off the shield around Hogwarts and the Weasley's delightfully unwieldly house on fire highlighted that the world is a darker place.
