Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince [DVD]

Girls, Quidditch and a mysterious potion book distract Harry Potter (Radcliffe) from the dangerous events outside Hogwarts whilst Dumbledore sets him a difficult task. After the controversial switch from last November to this Summer the sixth instalment to the best selling book series of all time is finally here and, you may have heard this before, it is bigger and better than its predecessor. At the end of book 5 the Ministry had come to terms with Voldermort's return and so the beginning of The Half Blood Prince, the novel, showed a meeting between the Prime minister and The Minister for Magic. Oddly left out here and so we are treated to a dramatic collapsing bridge and Death Eaters destroying everything in sight. But this has the best opening of them all with a slowly played flashback of Dumbledore taking Harry's arm after the previous events at the Ministry. It sets the perfect tone for the mood of the picture. An underline sense of sadness but with hope. As with all Potter films, there are plenty of elements missing and new parts included. The beginning is equally fun to observe as a waitress chats Harry up but there are no Dursleys again. The Christmas period has a new element of a Burrow attack but no Minister Potter argument. The ending showdown with Malfoy and the Headmaster is changed quite dramatically also. When reading these fantastic books we dive into our own imagination and inevitably the film impairs that vision and we can agree or disagree. So when the final dramatic changes in the Astronomy Tower take place, I personally felt a minor twinge of annoyance. The big structure in the middle hinders the showdown quality, with the crucial spell not as quick as the book played. But it is tricky to really fault this film on anything else because it is blissful enjoyment. The book is darker but this is oddly funny. There are funny relationship scenarios with Rupert Grint on perfect comedy form and finally getting some limelight off Radcliffe. The central star has some equal comic influence, particularly the scene with the lucky potion. The star of this film is probably Grint as it is so grateful to see him more frequently than any other film. But plaudits must surely go to Jim Broadbent who has made Slughorn his own with a stumbling and curious personality that generates comedy and tension at the same time. The plot is well adapted with all crucial elements added. The whole memory/pensive subplot takes a back seat as we learn little of Riddle's true past but the book, the Malfoy scenario and the teenage social aspects get a full thorough working. The teen stars have never been better and this, like we seem to say every year, is the best Potter so far. 9/10

Schnelle Lieferung. Ware top. Gern wieder.

I am reviewing this film after seeing it at the cinema on Friday and not after seeing the DVD (which is obviously not out yet!). I think that if you saw the film without reading the book you would probably enjoy it more, although I think it would have been important to have seen the five previous films to understand the plot. First to the negatives points, which were few. I hate to critisize anything Potteresque but I do think that if you are going to adapt such a great book for the screen, you should only omit scenes/characters that are not important to the plot. Also, any changes to the plot should be for the better. Personally, I did not much like the scene with Harry and the girl in the station cafe. It meant omitting the wonderful scene at the Dursleys where Dumbledore appears and tells them exactly what he thinks of them. I wanted to see the goblet of mead tapping Uncle Vernon on the head while he tries unsuccesfully to ignore it! I also thought it strange that, immediately after the Burrow burns down, the next scene show Ron smooching and laughing with Lavender Brown as if nothing had happened. I know time was restricted but I felt there should have been more 'memories' of Voldemort. The one where we met his grandfather and his bedraggled and put-upon mother should have been included and especially the one where the Dark Lord approaches Dumbledore for the Post of DADA professor. His appearance has alredy altered, leading Dumbledore to suspect that his dabbling in the Dark Arts has already gone further than any wizard before him. However, now to what WAS included in the film. I thought the acting by all the principal characters was excellent, especially the now very suspicious and troubled Harry. The scenes with Ginny which showed their growing awareness and understanding of each other were very subtle and touching. Rupert Grint gave an excellent comic performance of the love-sick Ron Weasly and Emma Watson as Hermione, usually so composed and sure of herself was fabulous as the jealous 'gooseberry'. Newcommer Jim Broadbent made a wonderful Slughorn, showing us his conflicted emotions. On the one hand, he wants to live in peace and comfort but struggles with the guilt of once giving out too much information. He wants to make amends but believes he is a coward. I must also give a mention to Hero Tiffin Fiennes whose young Tom Riddle was chilling. How a boy, so sweet and appealing could convey so much menace was quite incredible. I loved the opening slow-motion sequence of the film, the immediate aftermath of the battle at the Ministry of Magic, where Dumbledore puts an arm around Harry and tries to shield him from the flashbulbs of the press and the publicity as this sets the tone for the film. Having ignored Harry in year Five for fear that Voldemort was controlling him, Dumbledore knows Harry has earned his right to be more involved. And involved he is. The scene in the Cave is stunning and was truly frightening. Harry shows strength of character and Dumbledore again shows why he is thought to be such a great wizard and the only one Voldemort truely fears. Overall, despite some minor reservations, I can thoroughly recommend this film. It kept my family enthralled for the 2 hours+ that it ran and it also sets the scene perfectly for the penultimate and last films in the saga. I can hardly wait!!!

DVD de 2009 présentant le cinquième épisode de la célèbre série mettant en scène le petit sorcier anglais; dans cet opus, on ne retrouve pas, comme d'habitude, Harry aux prises avec son affreuse famille adoptive; nous sommes toujours au cours des vacances d'été mais Harry est dans Londres pour un rendez vous avec Dumbledore; une catastrophe due aux dementors survient et tue tragiquement des muggles; Dumbledore lui fait connaitre un de ses anciens amis qui sera a Poudlard où l'on retrouve la plupart des professeurs; cet épisode, qui permet de comprendre qui est ce prince de sang mele qui finit par tuer Dumbledore est donc fondamental dans l'épopée et sa version filmée est particulièrement grandiose avec des scènes touchantes d'intimité entre le jeune Harry et ses professeurs qui le guident pour assumer son destin; ce coffret double Warner Bros offre un DVD de bonus; le film lui même est accessible en anglais et en hebreu avec sous-titrage possible dans ces mêmes langues plus en arabe; un achat sans risque même en occasion (à condition de choisir un vendeur bien noté)

This is my favourite of all the Harry Potter movies and that is a very tough title to win. I think it's because of the amazing performances from Jim Broadbent and Michael Gambon and.. you know... Alan Rickman <3 From the movies 5-8 the series becomes dramatically darker and themes mature along with the characters. When I watched the first movie when I was in my teens I didn't immediately 'take to it'. It wasn't until much later that I watched the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and then had to go back and watch all the films (within the space of about a week). I have since read all the books and am now a massive fan! If anyone slightly older hadn't seen these films and wanted to watch one to decide whether to watch the rest, I would probably recommend that they started with one of the last 4 films to give it a fair chance. However, that's not to say that the first 4 aren't brilliant, my second favourite has to be The Prisoner of Azkaban (and not just because of Gary Oldman).