Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is a 2011 fantasy film directed by David Yates and the second of two cinematic parts that form the screen adaptation of the novel by J. K. Rowling.[6] It is the eighth and final instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman, David Barron, and Rowling. The story continues to follow Harry Potter's quest to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Principal photography began on 19 February 2009, and was completed on 12 June 2010, with reshoots taking place in December 2010, marking the series' closure of ten years of filming. Part 2 was released in 2D, 3-D and IMAX cinemas worldwide from 13–15 July 2011, and is the only Harry Potter film to be released in 3-D.
The film became a financial success and was one of the best-reviewed films of 2011. At the box office, Part 2 claimed the worldwide opening weekend record, earning $483.2 million, as well as setting opening day and opening weekend records in various countries. As of 2012, the film is the fourth highest grossing film of all time, the highest grossing film of 2011, the highest grossing film in the Harry Potter series (unadjusted for inflation and adjusted for inflation), and the ninth film to gross over $1 billion.
The Blu-ray and DVD sets were released on 11 November 2011, in the United States and on 2 December 2011, in the United Kingdom. In October 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was declared the highest pre-ordered Blu-ray and DVD ever by Amazon.com. The film was also released in the Harry Potter: Complete 8-Film Collection box set on DVD and Blu-ray, which included all eight films and new special features. Part 1 and Part 2 were released as a combo pack on DVD and Blu-ray on 11 November 2011, in Canada.
Sets
In an interview with Architectural Digest, production designer Stuart Craig remarked on creating sets for Part 2. Of the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, he said, "our banking hall, like any other, is made of marble and big marble columns. And it has great strength. The fact that the goblins are the bankers and tellers at the counter helps that feeling of grandeur and solidity and the big proportions. That was part of the fun of the set: we exaggerated the size of it, we exaggerated the weight of it, and we even exaggerated the shine of the marble." About the multiplication of treasure in one of the bank's vaults, he noted, "We made literally thousands of pieces for it and vacuum metalised them to be shiny gold and silver. John Richardson, the special effects supervisor, made a floor that was capable of rising on different levels, so there was kind of a physical swelling of the treasure on it."
Craig spoke about the Battle of Hogwarts to Art Insights Magazine, saying that "the great challenge is the destruction of Hogwarts. The sun rising behind the smoke ... the massive remains of destroyed walls, the entrance hall, the entrance of the Great Hall, part of the roof of the Great Hall completely gone, so yeah. A big challenge there and an enjoyable one really – maybe it helped me and the guys in the art department sort of prepare for the end ... we demolished it before we had to strike it completely." When asked about the King's Cross scene near the end of the film, Craig said, "We experimented a lot, quite honestly. I mean it was quite a protracted process really but we did experiment the sense of it being very burnt out very very kind of white – so we experimented with underlit floors, we experimented with different kind of white covering everything: white paint, white fabric, and the cameraman was involved in how much to expose it, and a series of camera tests were done, so we got there but with a great deal of preparation and research."
Visual effects
Visual effects companies that worked on Part 1 (including Framestore, Moving Picture Company and Double Negative) also worked on the visuals for Part 2. Visual Effects Supervisor Tim Burke said that "It was such a major job to stage the Battle of Hogwarts, and we had to do it in different stages of production. We had shots with complex linking camera moves from wide overviews, to flying into windows and interior spaces. So, we took the plunge at the end of 2008, and started rebuilding the school digitally with Double Negative." He went on to say that "It's taken two years – getting renders out, texturing every facet of the building, constructing interiors to see through windows, building a destruction version of the school. We can design shots with the knowledge that we have this brilliant digital miniature that we can do anything with. With a practical Hogwarts, we would have shot it last summer and been so tied down. Instead, as David Yates finds the flow and structure, we are able to handle new concepts and ideas."
On the quality of 3-D in film, Burke told Los Angeles Times, "I think it's good, actually. I think people are going to be really pleased. I know everyone's a little nervous and sceptical of 3-D these days, but the work has been done very, very well. We've done over 200 shots in 3-D and in the visual effects as well, because so much of it is CG, so the results are very, very good. I think everyone's going to be really impressed with it, actually." Producer David Heyman spoke to SFX magazine about the 3-D conversion, saying that "The way David Yates is approaching 3-D is he's trying to approach it from a character and story point of view. Trying to use the sense of isolation, of separation that sometimes 3-D gives you, to heighten that at appropriate moments. So we're approaching it in a storytelling way."
Music
The composer of the first three films, John Williams, expressed interest in returning for Deathly Hallows – Part 2 but only if he was given a rough cut of the film before it was possible to do so. Director David Yates stated that he was eager to work with Williams on the score, but it was not possible due to their conflicting schedules. However, Williams' score from the end of the first Harry Potter film, "Leaving Hogwarts," was used in the epilogue of Deathly Hallows- Part 2 to pay homage to the end of the series. It was confirmed via the Warner Bros. website that Part 1 composer, Alexandre Desplat, was set to return for Part 2. In an interview with Film Music Magazine, Desplat stated that scoring Part 2 is "a great challenge" and that he has "a lot of expectations to fulfill and a great deal of work" ahead of him.[35] Desplat started writing the music in early 2011, and finished recording with orchestrator Conrad Pope and the London Symphony Orchestra on 27 May 2011, at Abbey Road Studios. The soundtrack for the film was nominated in the Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media category at the 54th Grammy Awards.
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The film became a financial success and was one of the best-reviewed films of 2011. At the box office, Part 2 claimed the worldwide opening weekend record, earning $483.2 million, as well as setting opening day and opening weekend records in various countries. As of 2012, the film is the fourth highest grossing film of all time, the highest grossing film of 2011, the highest grossing film in the Harry Potter series (unadjusted for inflation and adjusted for inflation), and the ninth film to gross over $1 billion.
The Blu-ray and DVD sets were released on 11 November 2011, in the United States and on 2 December 2011, in the United Kingdom. In October 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was declared the highest pre-ordered Blu-ray and DVD ever by Amazon.com. The film was also released in the Harry Potter: Complete 8-Film Collection box set on DVD and Blu-ray, which included all eight films and new special features. Part 1 and Part 2 were released as a combo pack on DVD and Blu-ray on 11 November 2011, in Canada.
Sets
In an interview with Architectural Digest, production designer Stuart Craig remarked on creating sets for Part 2. Of the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, he said, "our banking hall, like any other, is made of marble and big marble columns. And it has great strength. The fact that the goblins are the bankers and tellers at the counter helps that feeling of grandeur and solidity and the big proportions. That was part of the fun of the set: we exaggerated the size of it, we exaggerated the weight of it, and we even exaggerated the shine of the marble." About the multiplication of treasure in one of the bank's vaults, he noted, "We made literally thousands of pieces for it and vacuum metalised them to be shiny gold and silver. John Richardson, the special effects supervisor, made a floor that was capable of rising on different levels, so there was kind of a physical swelling of the treasure on it."
Craig spoke about the Battle of Hogwarts to Art Insights Magazine, saying that "the great challenge is the destruction of Hogwarts. The sun rising behind the smoke ... the massive remains of destroyed walls, the entrance hall, the entrance of the Great Hall, part of the roof of the Great Hall completely gone, so yeah. A big challenge there and an enjoyable one really – maybe it helped me and the guys in the art department sort of prepare for the end ... we demolished it before we had to strike it completely." When asked about the King's Cross scene near the end of the film, Craig said, "We experimented a lot, quite honestly. I mean it was quite a protracted process really but we did experiment the sense of it being very burnt out very very kind of white – so we experimented with underlit floors, we experimented with different kind of white covering everything: white paint, white fabric, and the cameraman was involved in how much to expose it, and a series of camera tests were done, so we got there but with a great deal of preparation and research."
Visual effects
Visual effects companies that worked on Part 1 (including Framestore, Moving Picture Company and Double Negative) also worked on the visuals for Part 2. Visual Effects Supervisor Tim Burke said that "It was such a major job to stage the Battle of Hogwarts, and we had to do it in different stages of production. We had shots with complex linking camera moves from wide overviews, to flying into windows and interior spaces. So, we took the plunge at the end of 2008, and started rebuilding the school digitally with Double Negative." He went on to say that "It's taken two years – getting renders out, texturing every facet of the building, constructing interiors to see through windows, building a destruction version of the school. We can design shots with the knowledge that we have this brilliant digital miniature that we can do anything with. With a practical Hogwarts, we would have shot it last summer and been so tied down. Instead, as David Yates finds the flow and structure, we are able to handle new concepts and ideas."
On the quality of 3-D in film, Burke told Los Angeles Times, "I think it's good, actually. I think people are going to be really pleased. I know everyone's a little nervous and sceptical of 3-D these days, but the work has been done very, very well. We've done over 200 shots in 3-D and in the visual effects as well, because so much of it is CG, so the results are very, very good. I think everyone's going to be really impressed with it, actually." Producer David Heyman spoke to SFX magazine about the 3-D conversion, saying that "The way David Yates is approaching 3-D is he's trying to approach it from a character and story point of view. Trying to use the sense of isolation, of separation that sometimes 3-D gives you, to heighten that at appropriate moments. So we're approaching it in a storytelling way."
Music
The composer of the first three films, John Williams, expressed interest in returning for Deathly Hallows – Part 2 but only if he was given a rough cut of the film before it was possible to do so. Director David Yates stated that he was eager to work with Williams on the score, but it was not possible due to their conflicting schedules. However, Williams' score from the end of the first Harry Potter film, "Leaving Hogwarts," was used in the epilogue of Deathly Hallows- Part 2 to pay homage to the end of the series. It was confirmed via the Warner Bros. website that Part 1 composer, Alexandre Desplat, was set to return for Part 2. In an interview with Film Music Magazine, Desplat stated that scoring Part 2 is "a great challenge" and that he has "a lot of expectations to fulfill and a great deal of work" ahead of him.[35] Desplat started writing the music in early 2011, and finished recording with orchestrator Conrad Pope and the London Symphony Orchestra on 27 May 2011, at Abbey Road Studios. The soundtrack for the film was nominated in the Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media category at the 54th Grammy Awards.
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