Harry Potter HBP *contains spoilers!*

If you haven't see the movie and don't want to know what was changed, don't read this thread. You've been warned!!
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I understand that they have to jack around w/books to make a movie, and the HP people have done it better and more respectfully than almost any book-to-movie I've ever seen. But some of the changes I just don't get.

At the very beginning -- why did they change how Dumbledore collected Harry? I don't see the point in making it so that Harry had been 'living dangerously' .... just weird.

In the movie Dumbledore never tells Harry to be careful, to keep his cloak w/him, to respect what the Weasleys are doing, and there is a lot of seemingly carefree roaming about. Wandering off when picking up school supplies, etc.

The Lavender Brown scenes are amusing, but they use up a LOT of time, and I don't remember it being all THAT essential to the story. They end up cutting out a lot of the memories in the pensive to fit movie time, and I feel a lot of time was lost to the "won won" stuff.

At the end when Dumbledore is killed, he just tells Harry to stay hidden. Harry would never have listened. In the book, Dumbledore tells Harry to hide under his cloak, and then Dumbledore uses a silent spell to petrify Harry so he can't disobey. This makes so much more sense!


Man, I need a hobby. Any thoughts from the other HP obsessed?

[Tenacious_D]

It had been at least a year since I read the Half Blood Prince and when I saw the movie I enjoyed it overall. BUT once I left, I started realizing all the good things that were missing. Luna's role was cut in half and they replaced it with the overly hormonal Lavender Brown. What bothered me the most is that there were no scenes of Snapes past...HELLO it's called the half blood prince. This book could have also been made into a two part movie...there was soo much missing. I hope they do a better job with info in the last 2 part movie.

We saw it last night (at the drive-in , so fun!). And yes, although I liked the look of the movie much better than previous ones, they totally blew the story. It bugged me how it ended and when Dumbledore was killed, I was really peeved that they messed it up so badly. Way too much teenage flirtation, ala Lavender, not that it didn't happen, but it wasn't the most important stuff to spend so much time on.

[ladymoreta]

I was the most disappointed with the end, too. Harry really needed to be petrified. It was so out of character for him to just stand and watch like a chicken.

It's been a couple of years since I've read it, but I remember a LOT of the book being about all the flirting and the memories. So I'm not disappointed that they left the relationships in there, but I would have liked to see many more of the memories. This was supposed to be the movie where we learned all about Voldemort, and I don't feel like we really did (unless, of course, you've read the book).

I was also disappointed that they didn't go into why Snape called himself the Half Blood Prince. I guess it would have been awkward dialog, but it just seemed to hang there with no explanation, and it is the title of the movie.

[oceanchild]

At the end when Dumbledore is killed, he just tells Harry to stay hidden. Harry would never have listened. In the book, Dumbledore tells Harry to hide under his cloak, and then Dumbledore uses a silent spell to petrify Harry so he can't disobey. This makes so much more sense!

I would think the problem with that scene is it's really hard to show cinematically when he's invisible. They did it at the beginning on the train, but that relied on getting the reactions from Malfoy and Luna.

I guess I'm not obsessed, because changes don't bug me. I see the books and the movies as wholly different enterprises. Plus, like I said in the other thread, it's been a while since I read this book and I had sort of forgotten what happened. So I certainly wasn't looking out for details.

[scrub-jay]

Okay, I finally saw it. I loved it, but am in the same boat- I don't expect the movies to be the same as the books. I agree that the end really changed the characters of both Harry and Snape. In the book, Snape's position was much more ambiguous - and yea, where was his background story??

It was strange to emphasized Lavender when that book developed the Harry/Ginny thing (and then doesn't he dump her at the end?) But *shrug* we'll see what they do with the last book/two movies. But, still, fun to watch and see the group grow up.



-C

Yep - just finished the re-read last night, and am more dismayed than ever. Not b/c they made a bad movie (I don't think they did), but b/c a lot of what they cut out from the movie lays the groundwork for stuff in book 7! Ummmm ... the whole "Snape loves Lily" thing is kinda crucial, don't you think??

[scrub-jay]

Wait, it has been a while since I read it, but I thought the Snape-Lily thing came out in the last book. If it were book 6, then um...yea, totally crucial!

-C

[Gwendolyn]

I was also disappointed. The movie wasn't bad, it just didn't represent the spirit of the book the was the others have. I thought there was a lot of stuff missing and some extras that i didn't like. the whole part about the death eaters lighting the Weasley’s hose on fire was a big departure from the story...right? One of the big things is how their house is safe...family is what keeps us safe. I thought the Lily stuff was in book 7 as well, if it was in this one and they skipped it...critical stuff. *Sigh* They need a better adaptor for the last one.

I was also disappointed. The movie wasn't bad, it just didn't represent the spirit of the book the was the others have. I thought there was a lot of stuff missing and some extras that i didn't like. the whole part about the death eaters lighting the Weasley’s hose on fire was a big departure from the story...right? One of the big things is how their house is safe...family is what keeps us safe. I thought the Lily stuff was in book 7 as well, if it was in this one and they skipped it...critical stuff. *Sigh* They need a better adaptor for the last one.

You're right - the Lily / Snape stuff is book 7 -- my error. But thanks for mentioning the Weasley's house! That just took me by surprise and is largely why I re-read.