Really Nice
Really nice is what I would put to Nicholas Hooper’s movie soundtrack Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Brilliant stuff…
If you don’t know already, I enjoy listening to movie soundtracks, especially the ones from movies I really enjoyed. They’re one half of the movie really. When thinking about how important they are, I remember that exhibit at Quest-a-con, with the video clip where it plays along with different soundtracks to show how important the music is. So far, I really think that Warner Brothers have done excellently with their choices of Directors and Soundtrack artists. John Williams certainly is one of the best, if not the best, out there, and he did a brilliant job with starting and creating Harry Potter with Hedwig’s Theme. After he composed the first three films (he didn’t compose the 4th film because he was really busy with Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Steven Spielberg’s remake of War of the Worlds).
Next came Patrick Doyle (who’s done films such as Bridget Jone’s Diary, Eragon and Nanny McPhee) and his rendition of the Harry Potter world, and you heard it, it was certainly magical. After him came Nicholas Hooper, the person who brought the electric guitar into Harry Potter with out the band (Javis Cocker brought the electric guitar for the Weird Sisters into Harry Potter) with his piece ‘Fireworks’. Brilliant stuff, really, and he continued it with his latest work in the latest film. You can hear reocurrances of his previous themes in the movie.
Having a quick glimpse at the Directors who have guided the movies, we see Chris Columbus starting off the series with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Next in line, bringing in an almost complete change to the environment in which the Harry Potter series had sat in so far, was Alfonso Cuarón, a man who, despite his wonderful vision for the scene, I did not completely agree with (then again, it is an art, and it’s hard to make everyone like it).
Taking on the role of Director for the 5th installment was Mike Newell, who did a brilliant job of portraying Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and I believe it is to him we owe the smokey effect of people apparating in the magical world (wonderful to watch and create, awefully hard to explain to people who haven’t read the books and ask about apparation). After his wonderful creation, we next see David Yates step up to the plate, and he did a brilliant job of continuing the series, adopting Mike’s smokey affect for magical flying by the wizards, going so far as to pitch Deatheaters in black, and the Order of the Pheonix in white druing the battle scene in the Department of Mysteries (DoM). Returning again in the 6th and latest instalment, he’s done a brilliant job is continuing on with a great feel. Sure, he removed a lot of the book from the movie, and change parts (e.g. Harry’s attraction to Ginny is noticed and picked up on by him and his friends earlier on, so as to make it easier for the film I guess). Edit: But untill I watch the movie, I cannot truly cast a verdict upon it. But from what others have said, and from the brilliant soundtrack, I believe it it going to be a great movie. If you haven’t read the books and only went to watch the movies, then the movie was brilliant, but if you have read the books they left out soooooo much. Oh well, it’s a film, you can’t fit a whole book in it.
And, lastly, the 7th and 8th films. And incase you thought I just got it wrong (“What 8th film?! There’s only 7 books…”), I didn’t. It is official (as of a long while ago) that the film is going to be split into two parts.
“Years ago, we briefly — and seriously — considered doing Goblet of Fire as two films. So this concept is not altogether new. As for Deathly Hallows, I intuited — almost from the first moments I began reading it and certainly once I’d finished — that to realize the story in a single film was going to be a tall order. Others in ‘the group’ felt similarly. So the idea of two films began to get kicked around as early as late summer of 2007. We didn’t take it lightly. But ultimately everyone felt that despite the challenges it would present, it was the most sound creative decision.
I’m sure some will think we’re crazy. My wife looked at me cross-eyed when I first mentioned it. But I’m really excited about it because it should allow us to stretch a bit with the characters and give them the proper send-off. The story is highly emotional and those moments deserve time to breathe. And, personally, I feel we owe it to Jo — in order to preserve the integrity of the work — and the fans — for their loyalty all these years — to give them the best and most complete experience possible.” — Steve Kloves on the decision to split the film.
Steve Kloves is the scriptwriter for the 7th and 8th films, and he also wrote the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th films. David Yates has been confirmed to be the Director for these two films, and filming started Feburary this year. Look forward to Harry Potter in November 2010 and July 2011 (then again, they may change it).