HBP: Hardest scene to watch

[owlycherries]

Hardest scenes to watch were definitely the bits with the waitress, things like Dumbledore telling Harry to have a shave, Harry and Ginny in the room of requirement/shoelace scene etc.

Also though, on the deleted scenes, the clip of the choir singing over the shots of Mcgonagall in the courtyard, Draco's feet etc ... the reason why I found that hard to watch was because it was so much better than the proper film version! I was sad watching it because I really, really felt they should have left it in.

[Tyto_Alba]

Originally Posted by SevrusSnape

The hardest scenes for me to watch were all the scenes involving Harry and Ginny. I didn't really feel that they did a good job on those. I thought the time they were in the ROR was the worst of the bunch and the worst line was when she brings up his shoelace

I was just going to start a new thread on this. I think the relationship between Harry and Ginny in the movies is terrible. So clunky and... off. I cringe almost every time they interact. I liked their relationship in the books much more. They actually act like friends first and become comfortable. In the movies they just stare and eventually suck face lol.

[DA93]

The entire secuence at the Burrow. Its just so uninspired and meaningless. Nothing important happens. The entire scene is fast and doesn't get mention again! It's an added scene that doesn't add anything to the story and it really bothers me.

[kimmmmmmzy]

For me it was in the very last movie, HP and the deathly hallows part 2. It was when tonks and remus died, this may not be a big part to some of you but to me it was so sad. They are my favorite characters in the books and even though you don't see tonks much in the movie it made me cry to see them dead. They looked so pale...

[CallMeSeverus]

I agree with the Dumbledore drinking the potion was tough to watch.

[jbwarner86]

The whole dang movie is tough to watch. They screwed up so many scenes, it could have been an advertising point. "Thrill as Harry and Ginny stare awkwardly at each other! Gasp as the Burrow burns down for no reason! You'll be on the edge of your seat as Slughorn waxes nostalgic about goldfish!"

And there's this really awkward air of self-awareness throughout the whole thing, like they're getting sick of doing these movies ("Why is it whenever something happens, it's always you three?"). Also, whose idea was it to tint every other scene that ugly shade of puke-green? All told, if GoF is my least favorite movie, HBP has to be a very close second.

[chinofjim]

hmm, HBP is my second favorite after PoA. It has flaws but the scenes they get right are just beautiful. And I loved Slughorn's reminiscences about Francis the Goldfish! It was a lovely scene, regardless of the fact that it was not identical to the book. What works in a film medium it completely different to a book.

They could have done a straight book to screen job and your advertising campaign would have gone: "Shock and awe as you relive memories of Ministry of Magic bureaucrat running errands at dodgy gene addled family; Thrill as Tonks does nothing but mope around with mousy hair; and thrill to the scenes of Harry wondering up and down the 7th floor corridor trying to open a door"

[jbwarner86]

Originally Posted by chinofjim

They could have done a straight book to screen job and your advertising campaign would have gone: "Shock and awe as you relive memories of Ministry of Magic bureaucrat running errands at dodgy gene addled family; Thrill as Tonks does nothing but mope around with mousy hair; and thrill to the scenes of Harry wondering up and down the 7th floor corridor trying to open a door"

Well, of course I don't expect a straight book-to-screen adaptation. I don't object to alterations from text to screen, because that's a necessary step in turning a book into a movie. I'm saying the liberties they took with the story felt so odd and out-of-place that it didn't even feel like a Harry Potter movie anymore.

I felt they failed to capture Jo's tone. The whole movie from start to finish is drab and murky and depressing, whereas the book is mysterious and suspenseful and even lighthearted at times. I mean, sure, Voldemort's active again and Diagon Alley is boarded up, but the book didn't wallow in misery to portray it. Everything in this movie looks depressing - that ugly yellowish green filter on everything, rooms are poorly lit, the sky is almost always overcast during outdoor scenes, hell, even the Quidditch game takes place during a snowstorm. It makes the viewer (or at least me, anyway) feel claustrophobic and helpless. I feel like that feeling shouldn't kick in until Dumbledore's death. It's like Hagrid said in GoF - as long as Dumbledore's around, there's not much reason to worry. When Dumbledore dies, that feeling of security gets kicked out from under everyone, and that's when the tide seemingly turns in Voldemort's favor. It's mood whiplash, and it gives us a downer ending, but it further enforces the severity of the situation, and I think it works better than having the entire story be depressing from start to finish...

...because that's OotP's job.

[chinofjim]

Originally Posted by jbwarner86

I felt they failed to capture Jo's tone. The whole movie from start to finish is drab and murky and depressing, whereas the book is mysterious and suspenseful and even lighthearted at times. I mean, sure, Voldemort's active again and Diagon Alley is boarded up, but the book didn't wallow in misery to portray it. Everything in this movie looks depressing - that ugly yellowish green filter on everything, rooms are poorly lit, the sky is almost always overcast during outdoor scenes, hell, even the Quidditch game takes place during a snowstorm.

ha! This just goes to show how two people can watch the same thing and have such utterly different subjective reactions. Because for me, HBP is the film that tonally comes closest to capturing the feeling you get from Rowling's books. Especially in the way it meshes comedy and tragedy/horror. Its interesting that you think the film is too depressing because the impression I have from most others who have a downer on this film is that they criticize it for the exact opposite reason - they find it too light hearted.

I love the fact that the film embraced the comedic potential in the book. In particular the two scenes with Ron and Harry respectively acting under the influence of mind altering potions are hilarious. And the way the Felix Felicis scene moves from the absurdest humor of stoner Harry attending a spider funeral to the deeply moving and intimate scene between Harry and Slughorn (to retrieve the memory) is a great example of how I think this film is so tonally great.

I think there are examples of this throughout the film. We move from the wonderful scenes of the trio shooting the breeze with Slughorn in the pub to the Horrific scene of Katie being cursed. We move from the hilarious scene of Hermione and Lavender fighting over Ron's hospital bed to the intensity of the Harry Draco bathroom duel.

Of course its a matter of personal taste and there is no right or wrong, but for myself I find the look of the film to be absolutely gorgeous. Its worth noting that this was the film to get the Harry Potter films their 1st Oscar nomination, for Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography. And as someone who lived in Scotland for many years, I thought the look to be both realistic and incredibly picturesque.

[RikuStark]

The Harry and Ginny scenes. I don't know if it's Bonnie or Dan or just the overall writer for this particular storyline. It's just bad. I don't really like the relationship all that much in the book, but I at least enjoyed it in certain scenes. Like when Harry just goes and kisses her right after the Quidditch final. I want to see THAT. Not some scene in the Room of Requirement.

When Dumbledore had to drink that potion in the cave, and when Snape kills Dumblebore are also hard to watch. Not because they're bad, but because they're just sad...(but great scenes!)

[chinofjim]

Yeah, the scenes with Ginny/Harry aren't the best. But to be honest I don't think Ginny really comes across that well in any of the films. She just comes over as a lot more passive than she does in the books.

The Snape killing Dumbledore scene is an interesting one. I know a lot of people have a problem with this scene because, unlike the book, Dumbledore doesn't bind Harry, which means Harry just stands there watching it all play out.

I actually think this adaptation makes sense. If you read HBP, the pervading theme of the book is trust. Its pervasive in the main plot of the book (Dumbledore trusts Snape, Harry trusts Dumbledore but not Snape etc) but also in little vignettes throughout the book. E.g. Harry only pretending to give Ron Felix Felicis: Harry believing that Ron has the the ability to perform and just needs a boost to his confidence is an act of trust in his friend, one that Hermione fails to make which leads to all sorts of problems.

So the way the scene played out in the movie actually makes sense in tying back to the theme of trust. Throughout the movie, Harry's relationship and trust in Dumbledore becomes stronger and stronger until finally, at the critical juncture, he is able to put his trust in Snape. But then ends up seeing Snape commit the ultimate betrayal.

Of course, for this scene to be believable, they cut out part of the book where Harry discovers that it was Snape who heard the prophecy and conveyed it to Voldemort. This is a brilliant part of the book but I think for the movie adaptation, where they had to condense the story but still highlight the all important trust issue, this made perfect sense.

[Blue_Pikachu]

Hardest to watch in the sense of awkwardnes: definitely the Harry and Ginny scenes. There is zero chemistry going on, and god, Harry can tie his own shoelaces! Furthermore it's way out of character: Ginny in the book would have a good laugh when Harry falls over his laces. And don't get me started about the kiss.

The waitress scene in the beginning + Dumbledore's reaction. It is a nice add, but it makes no sense and is out of character as well. Dumbledore with the Dursleys would've been much better.

The burning of the Burrow and Molly just standing there. Again: out of character.

Because they are sad, but excellent: Dumbledore being forced to drink the potion, it was such a horrific scene in the book and it was very well translated on screen. + his death and the lighting of the wands, it always makes me teary. The greatest wizard of all time, falling spread-eagled from the Austronomy Tower.
Harry telling Hermione how 'it' feels. (More because of Emma's performance cause it's hard to believe that Harry's head over heels for Ginny.)

[Quazie89]

For me, the first time I watched it in the theaters, it was the Inferni. I remember I was so tense during that scene because I knew they were coming and I didn't want to jump but I jumped anyway and my mom laughed at me.

[mirrormere]

DD falling off the tower made me cringe, but not because he had just been killed. It was terrible movie making. The most iconic "falling from a tower" scene was done by Alan Rickman in Die Hard. The director produces nearly the identical shot with Rickman standing right there? Completely popped me out of the movie.