Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey ReviewA tome this most certainly is! Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey is a behemoth of a book, and I had not expected it to be this huge (not that I'm complaining). It is an oversized hardcover with an embossed photograph of Hogwarts on the cover. It looks like a magickal volume and in a way it is, for it captures all of the magic of the Harry Potter movies, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone all the way to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two. Any self-avowed fan of the HP stories and movies will treasure this beautiful volume filled with movie lore, and many more.
The first color photograph one comes across as one flips the book open is a full size portrait of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts (Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in HP films 3-8). His face expresses both concern and puzzlement, and it is almost as if he is there to welcome readers on a journey of knowledge and discovery which is what this book ultimately rewards the reader with. Flip to the next page, and one's attention is captured by a double-page (full spread) painting of Hogwarts, majestic in all its splendor, though details are rather fuzzy. There is also a fold-out spread of the main cast in movies 1-8 - the actors portraying Dumbledore, Hagrid, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Prof McGonagall, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, the twins Fred and George, the Dark Lord, and many more.
So, the contents...the book (531 pages) is divided into three parts:
Part I: The Making of Harry Potter
Introduction
Setting the Scene
HP and the Sorcerer's Stone
HP and the Chamber of Secrets
HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
HP and the Goblet of Fire
HP and the Order of the Phoenix
HP and the Half-Blood Prince
HP and the Deathly Hallows
Part II: The Art of Harry Potter
Introduction
Characters: Costuming
Locations: Set Design
Creatures: Special Makeup and Digital Effects
Artifacts: Prop Making
Part III: Epilogue
The Golden Boards
Acknowledgements and Colophon
The book goes in-depth into the many aspects of the film-making process, including valuable insights from and about the directors, actors, and all the other significant people who have worked on the movies, not forgetting the author of course. If you've ever wondered how the cast was put together, the process by which the directors for the movies were picked, etc. then this wonderful book answers all these questions and more. These details are enhanced by the hundreds of photographs that are found throughout the book, and what makes these pictures all the more extraordinary and valuable to the discerning reader is the fact that many of them were taken on set, during the making of the films, and apart from the photographs there are also full-color paintings in glorious detail. As a dragon fan myself, I was positively enraptured by the concept art of Paul Gatling depicting the mighty Hungarian Horntail in all its wondrous glory, which dare I say surpassed even the beauty of the dragon depicted on film? These are not minuscule drawings, but large-scale drawings in fold-out form. Other magical creatures get their share in this book such as the centaurs, dear old Buckbeak, the thestrals, the dementors, the process of transformation of Remus Lupin into a werewolf and many more. Be still my beating heart!
Remember all those newspaper headlines from The Daily Prophet, the Quibbler editions, and the Wanted Posters? They are depicted here in detail and also in the case of The Quibbler, in color! Ever wondered about the inspiration for those Death Eater's Masks? Its covered here in full-color. The significant places in the world of Harry Potter - Hogwarts, Diagon Alley (loved the map), the Burrow, Hagrid's Hut, the Forbidden Forest, and many more are also given descriptions and explanations in this magnificent volume.
As I continue reading through this tome, I have found some little things to gripe about - certain characters, albeit minor ones, are not really given any coverage, just a mere mention. Remember the ghost that haunts the abandoned toilet in Chamber of Secrets, i.e. Moaning Myrtle? Just a mention and that's it. I would have loved to see at least some description of the filming of the bathroom scene in HP and the Goblet of Fire in which Moaning Myrtle makes another appearance and helps Harry puzzle out the riddle, but no such luck. The book does however go into detail about the second task and the glorious underwater lake scene in Goblet of Fire, and how the lifecasts were conceived and made. But poor Hedwig gets left out here - except for a brief mention on p.238 and concept art depicting Harry and Hedwig overlooking Hogwarts.
Btw, for those who are wondering about how this compares to Harry Potter Film Wizardry, I'd say they are both complementary (I own a copy of HP Film Wizardry) to each other. While Page to Screen provides more details on the movie-making process and covers just about everything (I say just about as there are some things not covered), Film Wizardry provides more of an overview with many fun elements thrown in for devoted fans such as the various foldouts and inserts. For example, in HP Film Wizardry, readers will get a chance to peruse a copy of the Marauder's Map, Harry's acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a catalogue from Borgin and Burke's, stickers in the Advanced Potion-Making pamphlet, two boxes of treats (sans the treats) from Honeydukes of Hogsmeade (you can tear them out and fold them into actual treat boxes, not that I would!), a Quidditch World Cup Programme, a copy of the Yule Ball Programme, Educational Decree No. 29, a product catalogue of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and a Ministry of Magic ID card. Such goodies are not to be found in Page to Screen, so I'd definitely recommend getting both books. I've frequently found myself reading both together, and comparing notes.
My one complaint here is the absence of an Index - how could they have produced such a wonderful companion book to the movies and not have an index to help readers look up any detail that springs to mind? I can't fathom it, but I envision myself spending lots of quality time enjoying the delights of this book, so I shall not let this trouble me too much:) In fact, I am sorely tempted to purchase another book to keep as a collector's item as I can see myself thumbing through this copy until it becomes dog-eared! This is a beautiful volume of substance for any fan of the HP books and movies.
Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey Overview

Want to learn more information about Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now