After finishing Harry Potter and the Half–Blood Prince, the 6th book in the Potter series, I watched the movie available on Peacock TV (they have all the movies in the series with a subscription as low as $ 4.99). While previous movies were nice adaptations of the books, especially in terms of plot, this adaptation left me annoyed and frustrated because too many important details were deliberately omitted or changed. I thought of sharing my observations. Here is the list of key differences between the book and the movie:
1. Meeting of British PM with Magic Minister: In the book, the story starts from the meeting between the British PM and the newly appointed Magic Minister Rufus Scrimgeour, along with Fudge, to discuss recent attacks on Muggle (bridge attack) by the Death Eaters. Rufus warns the PM about the ongoing situation and assures him of the safety of muggles.
This portion was not mentioned at all in the film, except for the random attacks by Death Eaters in the city, which were unnecessary.
2. No Dursleys: Dumbledore meets the Dursleys, asks for their permission, and takes Harry with him for their visit to Professor Slughorn through apparition. He also tells Harry about the house, property, and elf Kreacher, who all belong to him now after the death of Sirius Black.
Surprisingly, there were no Dursleys in the movie. Harry meets Dumbledore at a train station instead of his uncle’s house. Dureleys are funny, and their presence is very much needed in the story.
3. Dumbledore’s private lessons to Harry: After their visit to Professor and returning Harry safely to the Weasleys, Dumbledore actually asks Harry to take private lessons with him. And throughout the story, he sends him messages about the lesson times through various students.
This portion is smartly omitted from the movie, and the interaction between Harry and Dumbledore in his office is presented as a random meeting rather than multiple sessions between them.
4. Death Eaters attack at Weasley’s – There is no such mention of Death Eaters’ attack at the Burrow, which is filmed in the movie, when Death Eaters try to abduct Harry Potter and Lupin, and other members come to his rescue.
5. Bill Weasley’s love affair with Fleur Delacour: When Harry arrives at the Weasleys’ home, he meets a new member of the family – Fleur Delacour, who is in love with Bill Weasley and planning for the marriage. No one in the family likes her due to her superior, arrogant, and rude behavior. There is a lot about the dynamics between her and the Weasleys in the book.
This character was not even mentioned in the movie. Fleur is the same girl from Beauxbatons who participated in the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
6. Train Incident between Harry & Malfoy: This is one of the points where huge changes were made in the story. As per the book, Professor Slughorn invites Harry along with some other students from a famous wizarding background to his cabin for a small meeting (Slughorn Club). After returning from the meeting, Harry goes to the Slytherin compartment in his invisibility cloak and hides beside the luggage. He overhears Malfoy’s conversation, and when everyone from the compartment leaves for the school, Malfoy discovers and freezes him. Thanks to Nymphadora Tonks, who finds Harry and saves him from going back to London in the frozen state. They actually have to jump out of the running train.
In the Movie, Harry never meets Professor Slughorn and directly goes to Malfoy’s compartment. He wears the cloak at the last minute, and at last, after Malfoy’s curse, Luna Lovegood comes to her rescue instead of Tonks.
7. Quidditch Cup win by Ginny Weasley – Harry had very strong feelings for Ginny but was reluctant to accept due to her being the sister of his best friend. He doesn’t play for Gryffindor due to detention with Professor Snape, and it was actually Ginny, their seeker, who helped win the game against Ravenclaws. This point was very crucial as Harry kisses Ginny in front of everyone during the celebration, and Ron, though a bit hesitant, gives them his nod.
There is no such portion in the movie; in fact, only one Quidditch Cup match is shown, in which Ron supposedly takes the Liquid Luck potion. Also, Ginny is shown kissing Harry when they try to hide the Half-Blood Prince’s book, which is never the case in the book.
8. Harry’s continuous attempts to find out Malfoy’s intentions: Throughout the plot of the story, Harry is suspicious of Malfoy as he hears his conversations inside the train, in Borgin and Burkes, and with Snape. He also raises his concern (Malfoy being a Death Eater) with Arthur Weasley and Dumbledore and tells them the same, but no one believes him. He uses his invisibility cloak numerous times and even finds out where Malfoy is disappearing almost every day. He tries to open the Room of Requirement several times to uncover the truth, but all in vain. He was so curious to find out about Malfoy that he forgot to collect Professor Slughorn’s memory. Hermione repeatedly asks him to focus on the task at hand. Finally, Dumbledore expresses his displeasure to Harry for his carelessness, which brings him back on track.
In the movie, all these attempts are shown to a bare minimum. Harry chases Malfoy, and almost from the start of the movie, it is revealed that Malfoy is trying to open some passage. There is very little mention of Room of Requirement and actually no use of the invisibility cloak. Seems like the directors were not very impressed with the cloak. 🙂
9. Crabbe & Goyle help Malfoy: Crabbe & Goyle actually have an important role in the story. They used to guard the Room of Requirement when Malfoy was inside. To avoid suspicion, they actually took the form of girls, and there was also one instance when Hermione and Harry met them but couldn’t identify them. It was they who helped Malfoy to carry out his experiments.
Best buddies of Malfoy have nothing to do in the movie. There are just 2-3 scenes of them simply sitting like idiots.
10. Dumbledore’s memories for Harry: During the private lessons, Dumbledore shows Harry a few memories. One is related to Dumbledore’s meeting with the young Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort), the other is Professor Slughorn’s memory about Tom Riddle’s curiosity for Horcruxes, and a few other memories are related to Tom Riddle’s family – his mother, father, grandfather, and maternal uncle. Those memories were crucial to fully understanding Voldemort. How was he connected to the Slytherin family? How was he a Parselmouth? How did he possess his second Horcrux ring? Who was his mother, and why did he hate his father ? How did he become an orphan? How did he murder his father and blame his maternal uncle? What job did he do after schooling, and what murders did he commit before creating Horcruxes? This was crucial information that was completely left out of the movie.
In the movie, the first two mentioned memories were filmed, which provided a very basic idea about Tom Riddle. Without Tom’s family background, it is hard to understand him and his hatred towards Muggle and half-bloods.
So these were a few points that made a huge difference in both media. I will share more points in my next post. Stay tuned !!!
To know more – click Part 2
Happy Reading ! Keep Traveling !!!
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