Not Being at Hogwarts in “Deathly Hallows: Part 1” Gives Movie “Different Feel”

Oct 29, 2010

Posted by: Mel

DH Film

There is a new article in LA Times HeroComplex blog about “Deathly Hallows: Part 1” as part of their countdown for the film. The article discusses how “Deathly Hallows: Part 1” is the first Harry Potter film to have the majority of its action take place away from Hogwarts castle and the impact that has on the film:

The absence of the ancient academy from the seventh movie, according
to producer David Heyman, informs the texture and rhythm of the
franchise’s penultimate installment. The film is very much a road-trip
adventure with the three main characters ” played by Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson ” in fugitive mode and preparing for the final showdown with the evil Lord Voldemort, portrayed with reptilian rasp by Ralph Fiennes.

“It gives this film a very different feel to be away from
Hogwarts’ Heyman said. “The main characters ” Harry, Ron and Hermione ” are on the run
and, yes, they do go to some magical places, like the Ministry of Magic, but a lot of the
film is set in a quite naturalistic setting, and that makes it feel very real
and very human. There’s plenty of magic, of course, but it’s set against a very
real context.

“We have them a bit in Whitehall, in central London, we have them on
Shaftesbury Avenue in the cafes’ Heyman continued. “It feels real,
gritty at times and beautiful at other times. But it is not at Hogwarts,
and that gives us a fresh impetus.”

Radcliffe said treading past the stony floors of the well-used Hogwarts
movie set in Watford, England, energized the cast during the production
of the seventh and eighth films, which were made together in a shoot
that began in February 2009 and did not wrap until mid-June of this
year. “I think getting out was a marvelous thing for the story and for
the look of the film’ he said. “This movie just looks different than
the other ones. We’ve spent so much time at Hogwarts that it makes it
fresh to go somewhere new on screen.

The article does mention that viewers will get a brief look at Hogwarts castle in “Deathly Hallows: Part 1”:

Screenwriter Steve Kloves said that there technically is one glimpse
of Hogwarts in the film but he’d rather not elaborate. “This moment would
fall in the category of flashback’ said the writer who finishes the franchise
having written scripts for seven of the eight films. “Revealing it may ruin a
rather lovely ” albeit small ” moment of the movie.”

“Deathly Hallows: Part 2” is also mentioned in the article and the presence of Hogwarts in that movie is also discussed:

Hogwarts makes a return inHarry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
in a manner of
speaking. That final chapter of the franchise is built around a massive battle
that destroys much of the school. That’s not much of a spoiler if you’ve been
paying attention. The Warner Bros.
poster promoting the two-film finale shows the ramparts of the academy in
flames beneath a grim tagline: “It all ends here.”

The films taken together have the cast’s enthusiasm at an all-time high.
“Without question, these two are going to blow all of the rest of them away’
says Tom Felton, who
has brought memorable sneer to the role of Draco Malfoy. “The last two will not disappoint,
that’s something you can rest assured about.”


You can read the rest of the article here.





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