Whenever a famous novel becomes a movie, the first thing people say is: “It’s not as good as the book!” ‘Harry Potter’ is no exception, with every film scrutinised by the series’ legion of young (and not so young) fans. Inevitably during a book’s journey to the big screen vital moments are unfairly cut, though occasionally scenes invented by filmmakers actually improve up on the source material. Here’s some famous examples of both…
Five big scenes that weren’t in the films
The Marauders
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’
The ‘Marauder’s map’ – which shows the location of anyone in Hogwarts instantaneously - features heavily in the series - but where did it come from? The film doesn’t explain, but in the book it’s revealed that the ‘Marauders’ were Harry’s father James, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin – who invented the map so they could get up to mischief. It’s a lengthy sub-plot that reveals much about Potter snr, a character given short shrift in the movie franchise.
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Elf and safety
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’
Another lengthy sub-plot in ‘Goblet’ sees goody-two-shoes Hermione set up the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare – after seeing how badly the long-eared critters are treated. It was axed for clogging up the main story but nicely showed the differences between Ms Grainger and Ron – brought up to believe all Elves were servants. It also set up the pair’s first kiss in the ‘Deathly Hallows’ book, so this also had to be re-written in the film.
Redemption of the Dursleys
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’
Almost every film opened with Harry being treated horribly by the Dursleys, including tubby Dudley - which is why it's rather touching when Harry saves his life from a gang of Dementors at the start of book five. As a result, in 'Deathly Hallows' Dudley finally learns to accept Harry, and shakes his hand. Touching stuff, but it’s not in the film. Having been so involved in the rest of the series, it’s a shame the Dursley story isn’t resolved at the end.
The Quidditch World Cup
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’
The world’s premier broom-bastic tournament gets short-changed in the ‘Goblet of Fire’ film. We see the build-up to a clash between Quidditch powerhouses Bulgaria and Ireland – and it looks spectacular. But the moment the snitch is dropped, it annoyingly cuts to the end of the match, so we never actually see any professional Quidditch action. The sequence was probably cut because the book is enormous.
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The end of Peter Pettigrew
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’
Here’s another major character that didn’t get the send-off he deserved. Pettigrew betrayed Harry’s parents and revived Voldemort (sacrificing his hand in the process), and was deservedly strangled by his magical arm for betraying his master during the 'Deathly Hallows' book. Even though Timothy Spall was brilliant in the role, the filmmakers couldn’t find time to include this scene in the movie.
Five scenes that weren’t in the books
Destroying the Millennium Bridge
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’
Two scenes were added to up the adrenalin quota in the action-light ‘Half-Blood Prince’. The first is this spectacular attack by Death Eaters on the Millennium Bridge which shows Voldemort’s plans to also take over the Muggle world. In the book this is revealed by drip-feeding snippets of info in the dialogue, but a lack of space prompted screenwriter Steven Kloves to insert this tell-all sequence instead.
Burning the Burrow
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’
The other half-blooded addition was this controversial scene, which sees Death Eaters (them again) burning down the Burrow – home of the Weasleys. Some fans complained this added nothing to the plot and clashed with a scene in the next movie, when the Weasley’s home was attacked by, you guessed it, Death Eaters. It was beautifully shot though.
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Hermione Obliviates her parents
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’
Perhaps the best sequence invented by the filmmakers; it’s a genuine tear jerker. At the beginning of ‘Deathly Hallows’, Hermione wipes the memories of her parents using the Obliviate spell to protect ‘em from danger. A nice touch is a shot showing Hermione’s’ face slowly fading from family photos.
The shrunken heads
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’
One of the best scenes in ‘Prisoner’ is the amazing ‘knight bus’ sequence, when Harry boards the stretchy vehicle after missing the last train to Hogwarts. Livening things up are the shrunken heads, who provide humourous running commentary on proceedings in a jilting Caribbean accent. JK Rowling loved them, saying on the film’s DVD commentary: "I wish I'd thought of that".
The awkward dance
The film: ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’
Kind of a Marmite scene – fans loved it or hated it. In one ‘Hallows: Part 1’s many tent-set moments, Harry and Hermione dance awkwardly to some scratchy Muggle music on the radio. It’s full of sexual tension and suggests something could happen between the pair… but it doesn’t. Many thought this was just too cringey, though arguably that was the point.
Source: uk.movies.yahoo.com
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