Tonight’s the night! The (sort-of) final Harry Potter movie will start showing in theatres at midnight. Well, part 1 anyway. I usually despise it when franchises are dragged out, but in this case I’m thrilled they’re taking the time to do the books justice.
Part 1 of The Deathly Hallows promises to be a great adventure. Still, I can’t help but thinking that The Prisoner of Azkaban will always be my favorite HP movie. Alfonso Cuaron got the mood of the movie just right. After the scary sweetness of the first two films, Harry really started growing up. That movie helped the franchise turn into more than just a series of kids films. It was the perfect transition into the darkness of the films that followed. I’d really hoped to see what he’d do with the rest of the HP series, but it was not to be.
While my wish for Cuaron to return as director for DH was dashed, I am very happy that John Williams has returned to score DH. Williams is responsible for many classic musical moments in the HP movies, as well as countless other classics. I love his addition of “Double Trouble” performed by the Hogwarts choir -and frogs? It’s that sort of odd detail that made PoA so interesting to me.