New Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince featurette

24 February 2009

Gerard Wood

If you were disappointed by the eight month delay in the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, you really should check out this new two and a half minute featurette: it appears that the filmmakers have been using their time well. PG rating or not, this 6^th instalment of the Harry Potter series looks to have captured the increasingly dark, exciting and serious mood of the novel.

It’s not all grim though. The novel has many light-hearted and humorous moments, courtesy of the Weasley twins in particular, but also in the bitter-sweet lessons the young adults learn about love, and judging by the featurette much of this has successfully made the transition from page to screen.

The featurette includes footage from the forthcoming movie, as well as interviews with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), Rupert Grint (Ron), and producers David Heyman and David Barron, and Director David Yates. The combined experience of cast and crew really appears to be paying off: David Yates previously directed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; David Heyman has been involved since the first movie, and David Barron since the second; and the cast, in particular the three leads, goes from strength to strength.

{qtube vid:=8Ugf5Z6iz9A}

Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, The Half-Blood Prince takes us back to Voldemort's childhood and traces the Dark Lord's first rise to power which came to a sudden end with his attempt to kill the infant Harry. As for Harry himself, we find him dealing with the usual adolescent issues confronting a young man (girls), at the same time that Dumbledore prepares him for a far more terrible encounter with Voldemort.

Adapting the novels for the screen has had a mixed success. At times, so much material has been omitted that I doubt anyone other than fans of the novels could really fill in the gaps. Fortunately there are a lot of us. Steve Cloves, who wrote the screenplay for The Half-Blood Prince, adapted the first four novels for the screen, and it’s good to know that he has had an opportunity to conclude the series in style: the final novel, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, will be filmed as two movies. Part 1 is scheduled for a release in November 2010, with Part 2 hard on its heals in May 2011.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is due on 17 July.

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