It seems every time I get online lately something new related to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” has cropped up — a TV spot, a poster, a character banner. With the premiere just a few weeks away, promotion is in full swing and shows no signs of slowing down. Now MTV has a behind-the-scenes featurette with some new footage and a look back at the previous six films.
The featurette begins with a montage of scenes from “Sorcerer’s Stone” through “Half-Blood Prince,” and I must admit, I couldn’t help but get a little emotional. The trailers are touting “Deathly Hallows” as “the motion picture event of a generation,” and I don’t think that’s an overstatement. When I first picked up “Sorcerer’s Stone,” I was 11 years old. When “Deathly Hallows Part II” graces screens this summer, I’ll be 23. I’ve grown up with Harry and Co., and once the credits start rolling on that final installment, it’s really over. Sure I was a bit sad when I closed my “Deathly Hallows” book, but I thought “At least I still have a few more movies to look forward to.”
The “Harry Potter” films have been consistently entertaining, quality movies, and “Deathly Hallows” looks like it could trump them all. I’ve been nothing but impressed with the footage I’ve seen so far. It seems Warner Bros. really wants to deliver a phenomenal finale for the fans (I especially earned new respect for the studio when it opted out of releasing Part I in 3D so the film would still meet its release date). The studio clearly knows what a good thing it’s had with “Harry Potter,” and I’m thrilled it looks like it’ll be going out with a bang.
This featurette also reminds fans what incredible continuity this series has had. Except for Michael Gambon replacing the late Richard Harris, the same actors have remained with the franchise throughout all eight films. There’s something special in having seen Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson truly grow up along with Harry, Ron and Hermione right before our eyes.
New footage from the Seven Potters sequence, the trio hiding out on the run and Ginny and Neville aboard the Hogwarts Express while their friends fight to save their world make the anticipation even greater. It’s been an incredible onscreen journey for “Harry Potter,” and I hope the beginning of the end is as thrilling as this featurette makes it appear.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I” opens Nov. 19.
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Follow Alexa Milan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexamilan.
I wouldnt have really considered myself a big Harry Potter fan, but watching that montage I had a bunch of memories, not really of the movies themselves but of each time we went to a midnight showing as a group of friends and the fun we had together. So in a sense I am a Harry POtter fan….
I can’t wait to see this movie!