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Monday, July 16, 2007

Massive Letdown for 5th Potter Installment


I console myself with the idea that in days, all the loose ends will be tied (well, most anyway) by Ms. Rowling's skilled hand. David Yates' Order of the Phoenix was not up to snuff, in my humble opinion.

This was the first time I noticed glaring inconsistencies between the book and the film. I understand the manic urge to shorten a novel of nearly 900 pages, but get real - certain crucial elements of the story were missing, and those that were included happened differently. Omitted items include:
  • Aunt Petunia's howler from Dumbledore
  • Marietta, and her 'relationship' with the DA
  • Harry's unwrapping of Sirius' two-way mirror
  • Harry's conversation with Nearly Headless Nick
  • Kreacher lying to Harry, causing him to rush to the Ministry
  • Ron & Hermione being named prefects
  • 'Weasley is Our King'
  • Harry's reaction to seeing James in the pensieve
  • the locket in Grimmauld Place
  • McGonagall's injury attempting to shield Hagrid from Umbridge
  • the scene at St. Mungo's
Differing details:

  • It was Marietta, not veritaserum-induced Cho, who ratted out the DA - so we missed a humorous scene involving the word 'SNEAK'
  • the Dursleys left Privet Drive to (presumably) take Dudley to hospital in the film, not receive a garden award (staged by the OOP)
  • the trio met Luna on the carriage ride in the film, not on the Hogwarts Express
  • Umbridge had the whole class write her horrible lines in the film (not mentioned in the book)
  • scene depicting Mr. Weasley being attacked was unclear in the film
  • Harry only received one owl post at the Dursleys in the film; the second was missing
I truly hope the director takes into consideration for the next film the comments by many of the fans, and does a much better job incorporating the details in the 6th film, scheduled to begin rolling in September. Quite disappointed. After all, many classic films based on long novels have been equally lengthy - and successful - Gone With The Wind, anyone?

1 comment:

Lynn@ZelleBlog said...

I guess they try to balance elements THEY think are important with what is integral to the story but in their view- lengthy?

Well I hope you enjoyed the book!