Synopsis:

I've always loved the Harry Potter books, but the movies have been pretty hit or miss for me. I completely love what they have made, but there are many scenes of poor acting, or bad character choices that are completely fixable. My main goals overall: - Create light edits that don't try to reimagine or create anything new, but rather just enhance the original movies - Remove small annoyances and some poor performances (Harry shushing Ron, Barty Crouch Jr tongue flicks, dumbing down Hagrid, etc) - Retain as much world building as possible (Clock in the Weasley's home, monster roar at housekeeping in PoA, etc) - Keep the original music to their own movies, except for a few rare occasions - Tighten up action wherever I could Goals for Half-Blood Prince: - Incorporate most of the deleted scenes - Try to establish Harry and Ginny's connection better - Cut out as much bad acting, dialog and writing as I could

Intentions:

Harry Potter is one of my favorite series' ever. I've got so much nostalgia from growing up with the books and movies. But even watching as a kid I remember disliking some things about the movies. I don't want to rob the movies of their charm, but I did see some things that I believe would be better changed or removed. I think these small changes make the experience a better one overall.

Change List:

- Added all extended scenes in except the ending one with Harry asking Hermione and Ron to keep the snogging to a minimum - Right after Harry and Dumbledore are hit with all the camera flashes I added a new intro, bringing Snape's unbreakable vow here. I felt that this is a better intro to the movie - When Harry first shows up at the Weasley's house there is an awkward reflection on Harry's glasses and I can't ever look at anything but it when he walks up. I tried to tone it way down by darkening the shine. - Adjusted when Harry hugs Ginny when he arrives at their house. Slight rotation to the frame so it appears that Ginny isn't towering over him. I know it's dumb but I always felt weird that she was so much taller than him - Cut Ron pointing out Hermione has toothpaste on her. It's so awkward - Heavily trimmed the trio overly laughing at Ron's joke about Dumbledore's age - Cut Ginny asking why Harry is always covered in blood. Her delivery is so stiff - Cut Dumbledore asking if Harry is into Hermione - Trimmed Dumbledore and Tom's first meeting for pacing - Cut Ron pointing out Hermione's butterbeer mustache. Again another really awkward scene. Didn't feel cute or funny, just really awkward - When McGonagall asks why whenever something bad happens why is it always you three, I cut Ron's response because the question really felt more rhetorical - Added a bit of playful music behind Ron and Harry talking about Ginny - After Hermione asks Harry how it feels to see Ginny with someone else they see Ron walk in. Way later Harry finally says "like this." I cut this line - When Ginny feeds Harry I adjusted it so you don't see Harry bite it out of her hand, and I also added some music this scene. I felt like this scene needed to stay, but I tried really hard to make it less cringey - Color corrected Harry talking to Mr. Weasley in the garage - Cut the shoelaces scene. We already have Harry and Ginny's interaction just before this to show that they like each other. Now it goes straight to the attack without this awful scene. I know a lot of people don't like the burning of the burrow but I'm okay with keeping it in. I think it further bonds Harry with Ginny, and we definitely need more from them. - Added deleted scene of Harry talking to Hermione about Malfoy in the corridor. Had to color correct and blend with the previous scene as it cuts in during the middle of the original shot - Added deleted scene of Harry talking to Hermione in Gryffindor tower - Cut just a bit back on Lavender's "Won Wons". Only one spot - Did more rotations to the frame as Harry and Ginny hide the book in the Room of Requirement. Slight rotations to make Harry look taller. - Cut when Harry and Ginny both say "What was that?" together - Replaced the music when Harry and Ginny kiss with the song Ron Returns from Deathly Hallows pt1. This music and scene is still bittersweet because of the circumstances, but now it feels like there is a more romantic connection - Fade out on their kiss. Feels a lot less awkward now - Cut Slughorn taking the spider venom. It was an unnecessary break right here - Cut Harry saying "Poof" - Trimmed a bit of Harry convincing Slughorn to give him the memory. He ends with him saying that if Slughorn doesn't give him the memory then his mother died in vane, rather than continuing a bit more - Cut Dumbledore noticing Harry needs a shave when his face is as smooth as can be - Added deleted scene of Dumbledore at the cave entrance talking about the kids Tom damaged there. Added ominous music over it, and heavily color corrected to match the scene - Cut Harry using Sectum Sempra on the water zombies. He now only uses it on Malfoy and tries to on Snape. I think it gives just slight more impact to his final moment with Snape in this movie - Added deleted scene of them escaping the cave and Dumbledore saying he's not worried because he's with Harry - Blended into the alternate deleted scene of the sad music montage before the Death Eaters get let in - Added deleted scene of Harry alone in his bedroom mourning Dumbledore - Minor trim, the last line is now Hermione telling Harry that he needs them, rather than Harry looking out over the lake saying that he never realized how beautiful the place is. I feel like it's a better line to end on

Additional Notes:

I didn't want to do anything too drastic, but instead create a very light edit to remove things that might take you out of the viewing experience.

Other Sources:

Special Thanks:

Anjohan (Andreas), and JJPotter! I took a lot of inspiration and some exact cuts from their edits to make my own. Poster art by Carlossap on TPDb: https://theposterdb.com/user/Carlossap