FILM · 2009 · UK
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Directed by
- David Yates
- Runtime
- 153 min
- Studio
- Warner Bros. Pictures, Heyday Films
159 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Dumbledore tries to prepare Harry for the final battle with Voldemort while Death Eaters wreak havoc in both Muggle and Wizard worlds.
159 Interesting Facts About Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Interesting Facts (50)
- #001
Dame Maggie Smith finished filming her scenes while undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer.
- #002
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Dumbledore's fall from the tower filled Alan Rickman with nostalgic glee, as it recalled his first hit, Die Hard (1988), in which his character falls from a tall building. At least this time, Rickman felt, "he was on the other end in this film!"
- #003
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Horace Slughorn's (Jim Broadbent) costumes were designed to look rich and elegant but also old and worn: they were distressed and washed in a dusty solution so they'd look as if they had gathered dust during his years of retirement.
- #004
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The shooting script originally had Harry seizing the wand after Dumbledore is killed. Shortly before filming began, the final book came out and revealed that Dumbledore's wand, and who owned it, mattered a great deal, so the script had to be changed.
- #005
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About twenty minutes in, the tiny dragon roasting chestnuts in Diagon Alley is a miniature Hungarian Horntail, the dragon Harry faces in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).
- #006
Emma Watson considered not coming back for this film. As the only girl among a group of boys, she felt as out of place as her character, and she often felt rather lonely on set as she struggled with the fame the films brought. In the end, though, she decided "the pluses outweighed the minuses," and she couldn't bear the thought of someone else playing Hermione.
- #007
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About two hours in, as Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is forced to make Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon) drink the cursed water in the cave, Dumbledore can be heard saying, "It's my fault! It's all my fault!" The final book, Deathly Hallows, reveals that Dumbledore's sister was killed by a stray curse during a duel between him, his brother and his closest friend, a trauma he always blamed himself for.
- #008
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As the film goes on, Dumbledore grows weaker and his voice hoarser, because the ring's curse is slowly killing him; as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) reveals, Snape had warned him the curse could only be held off for a time. That's why Dumbledore wants Snape to kill him: to end his pain, to spare Draco Malfoy and to secure Snape's place among the Death Eaters. When he calls out to Severus just before he dies, he isn't begging for mercy; he's asking Snape to kill him.
- #009
In an interview, director David Yates said the film's color palette and lighting were largely inspired by the Dutch painter Rembrandt, known for his mastery of light and shadow.
- #010
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Voldemort came into the world on New Year's Eve, 1926.
- #011
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(About ten minutes in) Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) says he taught every member of the Black family except Sirius. Since Hogwarts has only one teacher per subject, it may seem odd that he never taught Sirius, but the book explains it differently: besides teaching Potions, Slughorn was head of Slytherin House, where every Black except Sirius was sorted. In other words, he taught Sirius but never had him in his house.
- #012
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"I'd pitch myself off the Astronomy Tower," says Draco Malfoy on the Hogwarts Express; by the end of the film, that's exactly Dumbledore's fate.
- #013
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In the Weasley twins' joke shop, the toy riding a unicycle across the ceiling is a figure of Dolores Umbridge saying, "I will have order."
- #014
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As Hermione describes what she smells, the steam from the Amortentia changes color: green (grass), orange-brown (parchment) and blue (mint toothpaste).
- #015
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Horace Slughorn's (Jim Broadbent) look in the film is strikingly different from the book, probably more than any other character's. The book describes him as extremely fat and bald, with a "walrus-like" moustache; here he is only slightly overweight, with thinning hair and no facial hair at all. His personality is much the same, though: in both book and film he is somewhat cunning and opportunistic, yet a friendly man who breaks with the cold, unsympathetic image of most Slytherins.
- #016
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Some fans disliked Slughorn's favoritism, but J. K. Rowling saw it differently: Slughorn is a meritocrat who takes an interest in and values students who are clever, talented and well connected. To win his attention, a student has to excel, so by being choosy with his favor, Slughorn pushes all his students to try harder.
- #017
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Rupert Grint said that, even though it was only acting, he felt guilty playing Ron deliberately sitting down between Harry and his sister Ginny after the two had been left alone on the couch.
- #018
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(About fourteen minutes in) As Harry, Ron and Hermione talk about Dumbledore's age, Ron says, "About 150, give or take a few years," and they laugh as if it were a joke. J. K. Rowling said the same thing in an interview, but later stated officially on her website that Dumbledore was 115 when he died.
- #019
The night scenes were shot over three nights between 25 and 28 October 2007 in the pretty village of Lacock and the cloisters of Lacock Abbey; residents of the street were asked to cover their windows with dark curtains until 5 a.m.
- #020
Professor Slughorn's office is a rearranged version of the Trophy Room set from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005); the same set also served as the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), as it does here.
- #021
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(About one hour and forty-five minutes in) The drinking song Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) sing is "Odo the Hero." J. K. Rowling wrote it, but only its last four lines are known.
- #022
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In Chapter 22 of the book, Professor Slughorn once mishears Ron's name and calls him "Rupert." Ron Weasley was played by Rupert Grint.
- #023
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In the Slug Club photograph Slughorn shows of Lily Potter, she has a "bump" and wears a loose dress, meaning she was pregnant with Harry when it was taken.
- #024
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(About forty-two minutes in) Lord Voldemort himself (not Tom Riddle) appears in the film for just one second, in a flashback.
- #025
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Reading the script, J. K. Rowling came across a line in which Dumbledore mentions a girl he fell for when he was young. She then told the producers that Dumbledore was in fact gay, and that his only love was the wizard Grindelwald, whom he would later have to defeat in a duel. She made this public while promoting her final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
- #026
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About forty-four minutes in, the tapestry near the Room of Requirement is "The Unicorn in Captivity," the last of the seven tapestries in "The Hunt of the Unicorn" (or "Unicorn Tapestries") series; the real one hangs at the Cloisters in New York City.
- #027
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In the previous book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," Luna Lovegood wears a roaring lion's-head hat to support Gryffindor, along with a pair of Spectrespecs, but neither made it into that film; here she wears both.
- #028
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In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Madam Amelia Bones (Sian Thomas) of the Wizengamot presides over Harry's disciplinary hearing and clears him of all charges. Her picture can be seen in a newspaper as Harry and Hermione talk after the Death Eaters' Christmas attack on the Weasleys. As head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the post from which Ministers for Magic are usually drawn, she was the strongest candidate once Fudge's job fell vacant, but Lord Voldemort, who saw her as a threat, attacked her at home; known as one of the greatest witches of her time, she put up a fierce fight when he came to kill her. She was Susan Bones's aunt.
- #029
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About forty minutes in: according to production designer Stuart Craig, Tom Riddle's orphanage is based on buildings in the Liverpool docklands and influenced by Victorian-Georgian architecture; original Victorian glazed bricks were even used on the exterior to give the set a very harsh look.
- #030
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Harry briefly reacts to the ring, foreshadowing "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," since this was the first screenplay written by people who knew how the series ended.
- #031
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Unlike in the book, Harry never asks Dumbledore how his hand was blackened; in the book, Dumbledore decides not to tell him yet, saying it's an exciting story.
- #032
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(About forty minutes in) Young Tom Riddle's bedroom in the flashback is papered with the same wallpaper used for the Department of Mysteries in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).
- #033
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In The Bob Next Door (2010), Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer) gives away the ending, calling his plan "the greatest murder since Snape killed Dumbledore."
- #034
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(About two minutes in) At the start of the film, the Death Eaters destroy London's Millennium Bridge. In the book, set in 1996-1997 according to the canon timeline, the bridge destroyed was Brockdale Bridge; the Millennium Bridge wasn't built until 1998 and opened on June 10, 2000.
- #035
Its 250-million-dollar budget made it the costliest Harry Potter film, the costliest film of 2009 and the third most expensive film ever made at that point, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) (300 million dollars) and Spider-Man 3 (2007) (258 million dollars).
- #036
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In the memory scenes with young Tom Riddle, the orphanage included, the setting is green, one of the Slytherin colors, and Tom Riddle is the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin.
- #037
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(About thirty-seven minutes in) Toward the end of the Potions class, Emma Watson's hair gets fuller, matching the book's description of Hermione's hair growing bushier as the lesson goes on.
- #038
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Regulus Black (Tom Moorcroft), Lily Evans (Susie Shinner) and Lucius Malfoy (Brett Underwood) were meant to appear among Horace Slughorn's former favorites in his photographs, along with "Daily Prophet" Editor Barnabas Cuffe (Roger C. Bailey) in another picture shown to Harry. Unfortunately, only long shots or the backs of the frames were shown, so all of these actors ended up cut.
- #039
Warner Brothers spent an estimated 155 million dollars marketing and distributing the film.
- #040
Some cinemas received the film under the title "Candlelit."
- #041
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This is the second Harry Potter film not to open with a "Harry-centric" event. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) opened with a scene from the fourth book's chapter "The Riddle House"; this one opens with the event mentioned in the sixth book's first chapter, "The Other Minister," in which Death Eaters destroy London's Millennium Bridge. (Although the very first images show Harry and Dumbledore at the Ministry of Magic after the battle with Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), the first proper, complete scene is the Death Eater attack.)
- #042
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Some characters blame Snape's old textbook for the change in Harry's personality, especially after his fight with Malfoy, but unlike Tom Riddle's diary, the Horcrux that possessed Ginny Weasley, the book was never shown to be magical in any way.
- #043
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(About one hour and sixteen minutes in) Mr. Weasley's (Mark Williams) storeroom of Muggle artifacts includes two Remington Quiet-Riter portable typewriters and an HP LaserJet 4; Harry's initials, of course, are "H. P."
- #044
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(About one hour and twenty-nine minutes in) Professor Slughorn's toast "To life" closely echoes the Jewish toast "L'Chaim!", a celebration of the joys of life and all its astonishing (and sometimes unexpected) turns.
- #045
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At Professor Slughorn's Christmas party, Draco Malfoy says "Take your hands off me, you filthy squibb" as Mr. Filch drags him in. In the wizarding world, a squib is someone born to a magical parent but with no magical ability of their own.
- #046
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The film has two pairs of twins: James Phelps and Oliver Phelps (born 25 February 1986) and Amber Evans and Ruby Evans (born 7 January 1979). The Phelps twins play the Weasley twins; the Evans twins are credited as "Twin Girl 1" and "Twin Girl 2".
- #047
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At the Three Broomsticks, Hermione orders Butterbeers for all three of them, with a request: "And put a little ginger in mine."
- #048
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Dumbledore's Funeral was cut because it wouldn't have fit with the other scenes around Dumbledore's death, and the ending was meant to be less about the ceremony than about something else. Although it was never filmed, concept art shows how it would have looked, with the remaining characters, including Hagrid, Remus, Tonks and Alastor Moody, in attendance.
- #049
Isabella Laughland and Teresa Mahoney make their screen debuts here.
- #050
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In the film, young Dumbledore and Tom Riddle swap places: Tom sits in a chair and Dumbledore on the bed, whereas in the book the two sit in facing chairs.
Production Story (72)
- #051
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On 12 December 2009, owners of the film's Blu-ray were treated to a first-of-its-kind "BD-Live" screening event: they watched the film on Blu-ray while listening live to Daniel Radcliffe and David Barron (standing in for the ill David Yates), who watched along and hosted. The two talked about all aspects of the series as the film played and even took questions from viewers. Among the titbits they revealed about this film: the "Butterbeer" the students drink is actually a well-known British fruit drink, "J2O," with fake foam on top, though an official "ButterBeer" recipe was being developed for a planned Harry Potter theme park. In one scene, the foam in Ron's mouth was egg white. Daniel admitted that, on Kenneth Branagh's advice, he never tries to "cry real tears" in such scenes, relying instead on acting and "tricks of the trade." The strange "fluid" in Dumbledore's Pensieve was entirely CGI, and the agonizing liquid Dumbledore drinks in the cave was milk diluted with water and later "corrected" visually by the CGI department. Barron said that he, David Yates and the composer spent "months" trying to create a special "Phoenix song" for the scene of the bird leaving Hogwarts that would match the book's description; several versions were composed and tested before they nearly gave up and settled on the very simple score heard at the end of the film.
- #052
Dame Maggie Smith completed filming on this movie while undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer treatment.
- #053
The film does not explain why Severus Snape is called the "Half-Blood Prince." At the end of the book, Harry learns that Snape is a half-blood wizard because his mother was a witch and his father was a Muggle. But he also learns that his mother's maiden name was Eileen Prince. Because Snape identified more with his magical heritage and was aware that he was not pure-blood, he invented the title "Half-Blood Prince" for himself.
- #054
Hero Fiennes Tiffin was cast as the eleven-year-old Tom Riddle; his uncle Ralph Fiennes played Lord Voldemort (formerly Tom Riddle). His parents are Martha Fiennes (Ralph's sister) and George Tiffin. Director David Yates says he hired Hero because of his resemblance to his uncle, but not specifically because the actor was his nephew. He liked the young actor's dark, haunted quality.
- #055
(At around two hours and five minutes) When Draco Malfoy goes to the Room of Requirement for the last time, you can see the harp that put Fluffy to sleep in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and the King from the chess game.
- #056
Horace Slughorn's (Jim Broadbent) costumes were designed to look very rich and elegant as well as old and worn. The costumes were distressed to look worn and also washed in a dusty solution so they would look as though they had gathered dust during Slughorn's years of retirement.
- #057
Daniel Radcliffe's least favorite performance in the series, which he called "hard to watch" in a 2014 interview, saying he was "just not very good in it." He also revealed that he struggled with alcohol during filming and could tell he was drunk in some scenes.
- #058
Initially, the shooting script was written so that Harry takes Dumbledore's wand after Dumbledore is killed. Shortly before filming began, the final book in the series was released, in which Dumbledore's wand and who owns it turn out to be important issues, so the script had to be changed.
- #059
Robert Knox (Marcus Belby) was tragically stabbed to death on May 24, 2008, only a few days after filming was completed.
- #060
(After about one hour and seventeen minutes) In the Burrow, Tonks (Natalia Tena) calls Lupin (David Thewlis) "sweetheart." This indicates that they are already dating; in the books, it is stated that Lupin long rejected Tonks's advances because he did not want to send her into a life with a werewolf, but that they finally came together after Dumbledore's (Sir Michael Gambon) death.
- #061
Steve Kloves's screenplay initially used all six of Voldemort's flashbacks described in the book. Only two of them, directly relevant to the plot, were used in the film. If all the remaining flashbacks had been kept, they could have provided more explanation and backstory, such as how Merope Gaunt (Tom Riddle's mother) met Tom Riddle, Sr. (his father) in the 1920s and seduced him with a love potion; how young Voldemort tracked down his uncle Morfin Gaunt in Little Hangleton in 1943, stole the black family ring and killed the Riddle family; the origins of Hufflepuff's Cup being a Horcrux, which pays off in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011); and finally, an explanation of why the Defense Against the Dark Arts job is jinxed, with every teacher since 1956, when Dumbledore turned down Tom Riddle's request to teach in that position, not lasting more than a year.
- #062
(After about twenty minutes) The tiny dragon seen being roasted on Diagon Alley is a miniature version of the Hungarian Horntail that Harry faces in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).
- #063
Three new scenes not in the book were added: the collapsing Millennium Bridge (seen at the beginning of this film and in the third trailer); Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) flirting with the waitress (Elarica Johnson) at the station before meeting Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon); and the Death Eater attack on the Burrow (seen in the second trailer). In fact, the book's original opening, written by Cornelius Fudge, mentions an attack on a Muggle bridge, but only after the fact.
- #064
Emma Watson considered not returning for this film. Being the girl among a group of boys made her feel as out of place as her character, and because she struggled with the fame that came with the films, she often felt a little lonely on set. But in the end she decided that "the pluses outweighed the minuses" and could not bear the thought of someone else playing Hermione.
- #065
(After about two hours) When Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) has to force Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon) to drink the cursed water in the cave, Dumbledore can be heard saying, "It's my fault! It's all my fault!" In the final book, Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Dumbledore's sister died from a stray curse while he, his brother and his closest friend were dueling; a psychological trauma for which he always blamed himself.
- #066
As the film progresses, Dumbledore weakens and his voice grows hoarser. This is because the ring's curse is harming Dumbledore; as revealed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), Snape had warned him that the curse could only be temporarily contained. This explains why Dumbledore asks Snape to kill him: to end his pain, to protect Draco Malfoy, and to secure his own position among the Death Eaters. When Dumbledore calls out to Severus just before his death, he is not asking for Severus's mercy; he is asking him to kill him.
- #067
On 12 December 2009, a special "BD-Live" screening event, the first of its kind, was held for owners of this film's Blu-ray. It allowed people to watch the film on Blu-ray while listening live to Daniel Radcliffe and David Barron (who stepped in for the ill David Yates), who watched and hosted the event. There, while the film was shown, they discussed various aspects of the entire series and even had some questions from viewers that they had to answer. Among the few trivia items about this particular film that they revealed during this screening: the "Butterbeer" the students drink in this film is actually a well-known British fruit drink called "J2O", with fake foam added on top. However, an official "ButterBeer" is in development for a planned Harry Potter theme park. In one scene, the foam in Ron's mouth was made of egg white. Daniel admitted that, on the advice he received from Kenneth Branagh, he never tries to "cry real tears" in such scenes. Instead, he relies on acting and "the tricks of the trade" to achieve the desired effect. The strange "fluid" in Dumbledore's Pensieve was made entirely with CGI. The extremely painful liquid Dumbledore drinks in the cave was actually some milk diluted with water and then visually "corrected" by the CGI Department. Barron said that David Yates and the composer worked for "months" to create a special "Phoenix song" piece of music for the scene in which the bird leaves Hogwarts, which they thought would match the book's description. Several different things were composed and tested before they nearly gave up trying, and the very basic score we now hear at the end of the film was decided upon.
- #068
In an interview, director David Yates stated that the color palette and lighting methods used in this film were largely inspired by the Dutch painter Rembrandt, known for his techniques of light and shadow.
- #069
Christian Coulson, who played Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), expressed a desire to return as Riddle in this film, but director David Yates realized that Coulson was too old for the role, being nearly thirty in 2008/2009.
- #070
More than 7,000 girls auditioned for the role of Lavender Brown, reading a scene featuring Madam Pomfrey, Hermione and Ron. Ironically, Emma Watson suggested Jessie Cave for the role even though she had not attended any of the auditions.
- #071
(At about two hours and fifteen minutes) At the end of the film, while Harry is in Dumbledore's office, a bowl of lemon sherbet can be seen on his desk. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Dumbledore explained that these were his favorite Muggle sweets. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), it is the password to enter Dumbledore's office.
- #072
(At about two hours and five minutes) According to visual effects supervisor Tim Alexander, completing the Inferius attack took several months: "It was much bolder and scarier than we imagined it would be in a Potter film. David Yates was really careful not to turn this into a zombie film, so we were constantly trying to make sure these dead people didn't look like approaching zombies. A lot of that came from their movement. They don't move fast, but they don't move really slowly either, or with moaning and groaning, and we set off with an extremely realistic style." He also noted that the Inferi are weaker than zombies, as well as waterlogged and gray.
- #073
Director David Yates, wanting to give the film a different look, chose French cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, known for his stylized color palettes dominated by earth tones. At first the color grading on the film was extensive, and because of the excessively dark tones Warner Brothers asked Yates and Delbonnel to add more color to the film, since they could barely see anything on screen. Yates and Delbonnel were initially hesitant to do so, but after touching up some scenes Delbonnel realized he had overused the grading and that the final product was better. Yates described Delbonnel's work on this film as "The choice of angles, the extreme close-ups, the pacing of the scenes, it's very layered, incredibly rich." This was the first (and ultimately only) film in the Harry Potter series to be nominated for a Cinematography Oscar.
- #074
The film includes a scene in which Death Eaters led by Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback attack the Burrow, where Harry, the Weasleys, Lupin and Tonks are staying. This particular scene was not in the book, but it was made to serve as a representative of all the news scattered throughout the source novel about the Death Eaters' various attacks on the wizarding community. Rather than hearing or reading about what happened to other students or their relatives, having Harry experience such an attack firsthand was thought to give the film a better pace.
- #075
(About forty minutes later) In the flashback scene where Dumbledore visits young Tom Riddle at the orphanage, a photograph on the wall of Tom's room depicts the seaside cliff that Dumbledore and Harry later travel to in search of the third Horcrux (the locket). There are also seven rocks by the window, the same number as the Horcruxes Tom/Voldemort created. In the book, the cliff is described as a place where young Tom Riddle used magic during a trip to frighten his orphanage friends, so it holds special meaning for him. There is no picture of it in the book, which implies that Dumbledore learned of it from orphanage staff or students.
- #076
(About ten minutes later) Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) says he taught the entire Black family except Sirius. Since there is only one teacher for each subject at Hogwarts, it might seem a little odd that he never taught Sirius. But the book explains this differently. In addition to being the Potions teacher, Slughorn was also head of Slytherin House, into which all the Blacks except Sirius were sorted. So Slughorn did teach Sirius, but never had him in Slytherin.
- #077
When Hermione confuses Cormac McLaggen during the tryouts, it may look as though she has stolen a slightly better player for the Quidditch team. But the books make clear that Ron is the better choice here: McLaggen will replace Ron after the poisoning, which results in a disastrous match lost because of McLaggen's arrogance.
- #078
On the train to Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy says "I'd pitch myself off the Astronomy Tower," which is what happens to Dumbledore at the end of this film.
- #079
In an interview, Tom Felton stated that during the sequence near the end of this film, after Snape kills Dumbledore and leads the other Death Eaters from Hogwarts to the Great Hall, an accident occurred on set a few minutes into filming. Before the actors and actresses began the take, Alan Rickman "turned around in this very sinister way and said, 'don't step on my cloak,'" (it was not clear at the time whether he was joking for his co-stars), and David Yates had instructed the other actors and actresses to stand behind Rickman when filming began and follow him without looking at their feet - a difficult task given the trailing length of Snape's cloak. When filming began on the second take, Felton, the person closest to Rickman in the scene, accidentally caused his heel to catch in the cloak and Rickman's neck to be torn. Felton reported that there was a strange silence after the incident and that it was clear Rickman was not in a good mood after the accident. Felton then apologized to Rickman repeatedly, as Rickman accepted it and later joked about the accident.
- #080
In the Weasley twins' joke shop, the toy seen on the unicycle passing across the shop's ceiling is a figure of Dolores Umbridge saying "I will have order."
- #081
Many fans voiced displeasure at Harry being shown at a train station and said that, as in the book, it would make more sense for him to be mourning Sirius while still at the Dursleys': Dumbledore later pays a visit and explains that Harry has inherited Sirius's old house at Grimmauld Place, confirming it by summoning the house-elf Kreacher, who now obeys Harry and thus acknowledges him as his owner. Dumbledore also explains that after Harry's 17th birthday he will leave the Dursleys permanently, meaning he will come of age and his mother's protective charm will be lifted. The train scene is in fact a nod to the book, because Harry said he liked riding trains and that it "helped take his mind off things."
- #082
When Hermione describes what she smells, the colour of the Amortentia potion's fumes changes: green (grass), orange-brown (parchment) and blue (mint toothpaste).
- #083
Some fans expressed that they disliked Slughorn playing favourites with students, but J. K. Rowling explained it differently. Professor Slughorn is a meritocratic teacher. He shows interest in and appreciation for those who are clever, talented and well connected. If a student wants to attract attention, they must succeed in their studies. By being selective about his favours, Slughorn encourages all his students to try harder.
- #084
(At about one hour and forty minutes) When Ginny and Harry enter the Room of Requirement, a familiar mirror can be seen behind them. Its shape is the same as the Mirror of Erised from the first film and the book.
- #085
(At about two hours and five minutes) Visual effects supervisor Tim Alexander described Dumbledore's (Sir Michael Gambon's) ring of fire as "someone sprayed propane and then lit it." Afterwards, the visual effects team did a great deal of research on other references, including molten volcanoes and underwater burning flares (which have a lot of heat but no actual flame), to enhance the effect. The entire fire scene, on which computer graphics artist Christopher Horvath spent eight months, was very time-consuming.
- #086
Although it was only acting, Rupert Grint claimed that he felt guilty for playing the part in which Ron deliberately sits between Harry and his sister Ginny after the two are left alone on the sofa.
- #087
The night scenes were shot over three nights between 25-28 October 2007 in the charming village of Lacock and in the cloisters at Lacock Abbey. Residents of the street were asked to black out their windows with dark curtains until 5 a.m.
- #088
(At about thirty minutes) This is the first Harry Potter film that does not directly show any aspect of Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons on screen (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)) or indirectly (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)). The only mention of the subject comes when Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon) announces that Snape (Alan Rickman) has been appointed to the open teaching position. The book describes one of Snape's lessons, in which Snape, typically, taunts Harry into giving him a cheeky answer and then punishes him.
- #089
Warner Brothers received death threats after pushing the film's release date from 2008, when it was planned to be released, to 2009.
- #090
(At about one hour and forty-five minutes) The name of the drinking song sung by Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) is "Odo the Hero". It was written by J. K. Rowling, but only the last four lines are known.
- #091
In the book, after Dumbledore's death, violent battles break out within the walls of Hogwarts between the students and members of the Order of the Phoenix on one side and the Death Eaters as they leave on the other. The omission of this battle in the film was because the writers did not want to revisit it when filming the battle that culminates in the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).
- #092
In the book, Professor Slughorn once misheard Ron's name and referred to the character as "Rupert" - Chapter 22. Ron Weasley was played by Rupert Grint.
- #093
Like much of the fashion at Hogwarts, Professor Slughorn's mortarboard has a rich history. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries it was used to identify humanists, students, artists and educated people in general. Slughorn's tassel is black and signifies an advanced degree.
- #094
J. K. Rowling read the script and found a line in which Dumbledore mentions a girl he loved when he was young. After reading it, she informed the producers that Dumbledore was in fact gay and that his only romantic love was the wizard Grindelwald, whom he would later have to defeat in a wizards' duel. She later made this information public while promoting her final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
- #095
The character Fenrir Greyback is a direct reference to the wolf Fenrir depicted in Norse mythology. In this legend, Fenrir bit off Tyr's arm and was the subject of a prophecy involving Odin's death, but he was ultimately to be killed during Ragnarok by Tyr's brother Vidar. The novel shares similar mythology: Ron's brother Bill Weasley was attacked by Fenrir, whose face was scarred during the conflict just as Fenrir bit Tyr's arm; just as Fenrir was connected to Odin's death, Fenrir was among the group involved in Dumbledore's murder; the Deathly Hallows resolves the story. An interesting fact never mentioned in this film is that Fenrir is the werewolf who once bit Remus Lupin in his wolf form and turned him into a werewolf as well.
- #096
(At about forty-four minutes) The tapestry seen near the Room of Requirement is the last of the seven tapestries in the "The Hunt of the Unicorn" (or "Unicorn Tapestries") series, titled "The Unicorn in Captivity." The actual tapestry can be found at the Cloisters in New York City.
- #097
In a tribute to J. K. Rowling, Stephen King, a fan of hers, included a reference to the series in his novel "The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla," in which Snitches appear as flying hand grenades. "The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla" was published a year before the novel "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Rowling returned the favor: the Gaunts (Voldemort's maternal family, though Dumbledore does not mention this in the film) referred to Leland Gaunt, the main antagonist in King's novel "Needful Things" (played by Max von Sydow in Needful Things (1993)).
- #098
Unlike the book, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ginny (Bonnie Wright) become an item during the Christmas holiday. Why Ginny and Dean (Alfred Enoch) broke up is never explained in this film, but it is strongly implied, as Hermione (Emma Watson) hints in the Slug Club scene, that they argued a great deal.
- #099
In the previous book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," Luna Lovegood wears a hat shaped like a roaring lion's head to show her support for Gryffindor and a pair of Spectrespecs, but they could not be included in the film adaptation. In this film she wears both.
- #100
Terry Gilliam, J. K. Rowling's personal choice to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), was approached to direct this film. However, Gilliam said: "Warner Brothers had their chance the first time around, and they blew it."
- #101
(At about forty minutes in) According to production designer Stuart Craig, Tom Riddle's orphanage is based on buildings in Liverpool Docklands and is influenced by Victorian-Georgian architecture. In fact, original Victorian glazed bricks are used on the orphanage's exterior to give the set a very harsh look.
- #102
(About eight minutes in) As with the first book, there are some differences between the British and American editions of the text. One such difference is the scene in which Dumbledore takes Harry to meet Slughorn. In the American edition of the book, Dumbledore asks permission to use the toilet. In this film he uses "loo", the more British term. This contrasts with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), in which such references were shot twice to appeal to American and British audiences.
- #103
The Pensieve in this film is different from the version in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). The Pensieve can somehow float in the air, possibly thanks to a spell, and Harry is not seen in the Pensieve this time, though it can be argued that the memories are seen by Harry in first person. Unlike the book version of this film, Harry sees the first two memories without Dumbledore, but the two are implied to view Slughorn's real memory together.
- #104
Unlike in the book, Harry never asks Dumbledore how his blackened hand was injured, but Dumbledore decides not to tell him yet, even though he says the story is exciting.
- #105
(About forty minutes in) In the flashback, the flooring in young Tom Riddle's room is the same flooring as the Department of Mysteries in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).
- #106
(About two minutes in) At the start of this film, the Death Eaters destroy the Millennium Bridge in London. The book takes place in 1996-1997 according to the canon timeline. The Millennium Bridge was not built until 1998 and opened on 10 June 2000. The bridge destroyed in the book was Brockdale Bridge.
- #107
Dumbledore's death is a visual reference to the Tower Tarot Card, which is generally associated with chaos and destruction and depicts a crowned figure falling from a tower, just as Dumbledore (headmaster of Hogwarts and leader of the good guys) falls from the Astronomy Tower after being killed by a spell. This reference is clearer in the novel, where Professor Trelawney mentions the "lightning-struck tower" (also a chapter title), another typical feature of this Tarot Card, which here may refer to the flash of green light of the Avada Kedavra curse.
- #108
In the memory scenes featuring young Tom Riddle, including the orphanage, the scenery is green, one of the colours of Slytherin, to which Tom Riddle, the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin, also belongs.
- #109
(About thirty-seven minutes in) Toward the end of the potions class, Emma Watson's hair becomes fuller, matching the book's description of her hair becoming more voluminous as the class progresses.
- #110
Regulus Black (Tom Moorcroft), Lily Evans (Susie Shinner) and Lucius Malfoy (Brett Underwood) were meant to be among Horace Slughorn's previous favourite students. They were among those in Slughorn's photographs. Another photograph shown to Harry belonged to "Daily Prophet" Editor Barnabas Cuffe (Roger C. Bailey). Unfortunately, either long shots were used or only the backs of the frames were shown. This resulted in the scenes being cut for all the actors.
- #111
Kevin McKidd was offered the role of the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, but could not take part due to his commitments to other projects, including Grey's Anatomy (2005). He has since stated that he is happy he did not take the role, as his young children would not have welcomed his appearance on screen. Ironically, McKidd had once starred in Dog Soldiers (2002), in which, like many films, events outside the 'The Rose Theatre' museum saw him fighting a pack of werewolves.
- #112
(In about thirty seconds) Although Robert Hardy, who played Cornelius Fudge, does not appear in the film, he has an uncredited voice part at the beginning of the film: right after Helena Bonham Carter's (Bellatrix Lestrange's) line, "I killed Sirius Black!" (from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)), Hardy/Fudge's last line from the same film can be heard: "He's back!" Fudge appeared briefly in the first chapter of the novel, where he announced to the British Prime Minister that he had been replaced as Minister of Magic after refusing to accept Voldemort's return.
- #113
The dead Aragog was portrayed with a full-scale model designed by Shaune Harrison and his team. The sculpture was based on the Chamber of Secrets Aragog moulds, but was manually reshaped to show its age and decay. The model was cast from the original to reproduce the translucent quality of a real dead spider, and its hairs were made from the same materials as the other puppet. Aragog was a beloved character for the creature effects team; so much so that the team actually wore black armbands during the filming of the spider's funeral scene.
- #114
The second Harry Potter film not to open with a "Harry-centric" event. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) opened with a scene from a chapter of the fourth book, "The Riddle House". This film opens with the event mentioned in the first chapter of the sixth book, "The Other Minister", in which the Death Eaters destroy the Millennium Bridge in London. (Although the first images in this film belong to Harry and Dumbledore at the Ministry of Magic after the battle with Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), the first legitimate and complete scene is the Death Eater attack.)
- #115
Although some characters in the film blame Snape's old textbook, especially after his fight with Malfoy, for causing a change in Harry's personality, unlike Tom Riddle's diary, a Horcrux that possessed Ginny Weasley, the book was never proven to be magical in any way.
- #116
Molly Weasley says that "What would we do without him?" about Dumbledore in the film's third act foreshadows Snape killing Dumbledore.
- #117
(At about one hour and sixteen minutes) In Mr. Weasley's (Mark Williams) Muggle artefacts storeroom, among other things, there are two Remington Quiet-Riter portable typewriters and an HP Laserjet 4. Interestingly, Harry's initials are "H. P."
- #118
(At about one hour and twenty-nine minutes) Professor Slughorn's toast "To life" closely resembles the Jewish toast "L'Chaim!", which means enjoying life and celebrating all its surprising (and sometimes unexpected) events.
- #119
During Professor Slughorn's Christmas party, Draco Malfoy says the line "Take your hands off me, you filthy squibb," as Mr. Filch drags him into the room. In the Wizarding World, a squib is a person born to a magical parent but who possesses no magical ability.
- #120
Dumbledore's Funeral was cut because it would not work in the other scenes revolving around Dumbledore's death and because his ending would be less about the ceremony. Although it was never filmed, there was concept art of how it would look and of the remaining characters who would attend, including Hagrid, Remus, Tonks and Alastor Moody.
- #121
Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon) says to Harry, "I'm an old man," and Harry responds, "You still look the same to me, sir." The original Dumbledore, played by Richard Harris, had a completely different appearance and voice.
- #122
In this film, young Dumbledore and Tom Riddle swap seats. Tom sits in a chair while Dumbledore sits on the bed, unlike the book, where the two sit in opposite chairs.
Behind the Scenes (5)
- #123
This is Daniel Radcliffe's least favorite of his own performances in the series; in a 2014 interview he said he was "just not very good in it" and called it "hard to watch." He also revealed that he was struggling with alcohol during filming and can tell he was drunk in some scenes.
- #124
Contains a major spoiler — show
Production designer Stuart Craig explained that the Three Broomsticks was first designed for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, and the crew then built a full replica of it for filming.
- #125
Contains a major spoiler — show
Tom Felton said in an interview that an accident happened a few minutes into filming the sequence near the end where Snape, having killed Dumbledore, leads the other Death Eaters out of Hogwarts through the Great Hall. Before the take, Alan Rickman "turned around in this very sinister way and said, 'don't step on my cloak,'" (no one could tell at the time whether he was joking), and David Yates had told the other actors to follow close behind Rickman without looking at their feet, no easy task given the trailing length of Snape's cloak. On the second take, Felton, the closest to Rickman, accidentally caught his heel in the cloak and yanked Rickman back by the neck. Felton described an odd silence afterwards; Rickman was clearly not in a good mood. Felton apologized again and again, and Rickman accepted it and later joked about the accident.
- #126
Contains a major spoiler — show
(About two hours and five minutes in) Visual effects supervisor Tim Alexander described Dumbledore's (Sir Michael Gambon's) ring of fire as looking like "someone sprayed propane and then lit it." The effects team then researched other references, from molten volcanoes to underwater flares (lots of heat, no actual flame), to enrich the effect. The whole fire sequence, on which computer graphics artist Christopher Horvath spent eight months, was extremely time-consuming.
- #127
The dead Aragog was a full-scale model designed by Shaune Harrison and his team. The sculpture was based on the Chamber of Secrets Aragog molds, but reshaped by hand to show his age and decay; it was cast from the original to capture the translucence of a real dead spider, and its hairs were made from the same materials as the earlier puppet. Aragog was so beloved by the creature effects team that they wore black armbands while filming the spider's funeral scene.
Characters & Cast (9)
- #128
Christian Coulson, Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), wanted to play Riddle again in this film, but director David Yates felt he was too old for the part, noting that by 2008/2009 he was nearly thirty.
- #129
More than 7,000 girls auditioned for Lavender Brown, reading a scene with Madam Pomfrey, Hermione and Ron. Ironically, it was Emma Watson, who hadn't auditioned at all, who suggested Jessie Cave for the part.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, in the streetImage: Wikimedia Commons · Chris Marra, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #130
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Hermione confounds Cormac McLaggen at the tryouts, it may look as if she's cheating the Quidditch team out of a slightly better player. The books make clear Ron is the better choice, though: McLaggen replaces Ron after the poisoning, and his arrogance costs them a disastrous match.
- #131
Contains a major spoiler — show
After Bill Nighy expressed interest, David Yates confirmed he would be his first choice for Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour, who replaces Cornelius Fudge several times in the novel. Scrimgeour was ultimately cut from this film, but Nighy played him in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010). Likewise, Ron's brother Bill Weasley (named and prominent since the first book) gets his werewolf wounds at the end of the book fighting Fenrir Greyback at Hogwarts, but he and his scars don't appear in the films until Deathly Hallows Part I.
- #132
Contains a major spoiler — show
(About thirty seconds in) Robert Hardy, Cornelius Fudge, doesn't appear in the film, but he has an uncredited voice part at the start: right after Helena Bonham Carter's (Bellatrix Lestrange's) "I killed Sirius Black!" (from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)), Hardy/Fudge's last line from that film, "He's back!", is heard. Fudge appears briefly in the novel's first chapter, telling the British Prime Minister that he has been replaced as Minister of Magic after refusing to accept Voldemort's return.
- #133
David Yates and the producers asked Wally Pfister to shoot the film, but he declined because of a clash with The Dark Knight (2008), which was filming at the same time.
- #134
It is the second time Tom Felton and Jim Broadbent worked together, after The Borrowers (1997), where they played members of a family fifteen centimeters tall, the son, Peagreen Clock, and the father, Pod Clock. Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley) also played the exterminator Jeff in that film.
- #135
Some media reported that Naomi Watts was approached to play Narcissa Malfoy but that she or her management let the chance slip. According to Watts, she would definitely have been interested, but neither she nor her management was ever formally asked. The role went to Helen McCrory.
- #136
Contains a major spoiler — show
Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon) tells Harry "I'm an old man," and Harry replies "You still look the same to me, sir." The original Dumbledore, played by Richard Harris, had a completely different appearance and voice.
Easter Eggs & References (4)
- #137
Contains a major spoiler — show
About one hour and seventeen minutes in, at the Burrow, Tonks (Natalia Tena) calls Lupin (David Thewlis) "sweetheart," showing they are already together; in the books, Lupin long rejected Tonks's advances because he didn't want to drag her into life with a werewolf, and they only got together after Dumbledore's (Sir Michael Gambon) death.
- #138
Contains a major spoiler — show
Many fans disliked seeing Harry at a train station, arguing it would have made more sense, as in the book, for him to mourn Sirius while still at the Dursleys': Dumbledore pays a visit and explains that Harry has inherited Sirius's old house at Grimmauld Place, proving it by summoning the house-elf Kreacher, who now obeys Harry and so acknowledges him as master. Dumbledore also explains that after Harry's 17th birthday he will leave the Dursleys for good, since he will come of age and his mother's protective charm will end. The train scene is actually a nod to the book, in which Harry says he likes riding trains and that it "helped take his mind off things."
- #139
Contains a major spoiler — show
As a tribute to J. K. Rowling, her fan Stephen King referenced the series in his novel "The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla," in which Snitches appear as flying hand grenades; "The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla" came out a year before "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Rowling returned the favor: the Gaunts (Voldemort's mother's family, though Dumbledore doesn't say so in the film) take their name from Leland Gaunt, the main villain of King's novel "Needful Things" (played by Max von Sydow in Needful Things (1993)).
- #140
Contains a major spoiler — show
Dumbledore's death visually references the Tower Tarot card, which typically shows a crowned figure falling from a tower and is associated with chaos and destruction, just as Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts and leader of the good side, falls from the Astronomy Tower after being struck by a spell. The reference is even clearer in the novel, where Professor Trelawney mentions the "lightning-struck tower" (also a chapter title), another typical feature of the card, which here may hint at the green flash of the Avada Kedavra curse.
Deeper Meaning (15)
- #141
Contains a major spoiler — show
Roughly two hours and five minutes in, as Draco Malfoy makes his last trip to the Room of Requirement, look for the harp that lulled Fluffy to sleep in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), and for the King from the giant chess game.
- #142
Contains a major spoiler — show
(About two hours and fifteen minutes in) At the end, as Harry stands in Dumbledore's office, a bowl of lemon drops sits on the desk. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) Dumbledore called them his favourite Muggle sweets, and in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) they are the password to his office.
- #143
Contains a major spoiler — show
The film includes a scene in which Death Eaters led by Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback attack the Burrow, where Harry, the Weasleys, Lupin and Tonks are staying. It isn't in the book; it was created to stand in for all the news scattered through the novel about Death Eater attacks on the wizarding community. Rather than having Harry hear or read about what happened to other students or relatives, letting him live through an attack was thought to give the film a better pace.
- #144
Contains a major spoiler — show
(About forty minutes in) In the flashback of Dumbledore visiting young Tom Riddle at the orphanage, a photograph on the wall of Tom's room shows the seaside cliff where Dumbledore and Harry later go in search of the third Horcrux (the locket). There are also seven stones by the window, the same number as the Horcruxes Tom/Voldemort made. In the book, the cliff is where the young Tom Riddle used magic on an outing to frighten other orphans, so it holds special meaning for him; the book has no picture of it, implying Dumbledore learned of the place from orphanage staff or children.
- #145
Contains a major spoiler — show
(About thirty minutes in) This is the first Harry Potter film not to show any part of a Defence Against the Dark Arts class on screen, whether directly (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)) or indirectly (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)). The subject only comes up when Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon) announces Snape's (Alan Rickman) appointment to the vacant post. The book describes one of Snape's lessons, in which he, typically, goads Harry into a cheeky answer and then punishes him.
- #146
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the book, after Dumbledore's death, fierce fighting breaks out inside Hogwarts between students and members of the Order of the Phoenix on one side and the escaping Death Eaters on the other. The battle was left out of the film because the writers didn't want to repeat it ahead of the climactic battle that concludes the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).
- #147
Contains a major spoiler — show
Fenrir Greyback is a direct nod to the wolf Fenrir of Norse mythology, who bit off Tyr's arm, was part of a prophecy about Odin's death and was ultimately destined to be killed during Ragnarok by Tyr's brother Vidar. The novels echo this: Ron's brother Bill Weasley is attacked by Fenrir and his face is scarred, as Fenrir bit Tyr's arm; just as Fenrir was tied to Odin's death, Greyback is among those involved in Dumbledore's murder; and Deathly Hallows brings the story to its end. An interesting fact the film never mentions is that Greyback is the werewolf who once bit Remus Lupin in wolf form, turning him into a werewolf too.
- #148
Contains a major spoiler — show
Unlike in the book, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ginny (Bonnie Wright) become a couple over the Christmas holidays. The film never explains why Ginny and Dean (Alfred Enoch) broke up, but Hermione (Emma Watson) strongly hints in the Slug Club scene that they argued a lot.
- #149
Warner Brothers approached Terry Gilliam, whom J. K. Rowling had personally wanted for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), but he turned them down: "Warner Brothers had their chance the first time around, and they blew it."
- #150
Contains a major spoiler — show
About eight minutes in: as with the first book, the British and American editions differ in places. One example is the scene in which Dumbledore takes Harry to meet Slughorn: in the American edition, Dumbledore asks to use the toilet, while in the film he says "loo," the more British term. This contrasts with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), where such moments were shot twice to suit American and British audiences.
- #151
Contains a major spoiler — show
The Pensieve here differs from the one in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005): it somehow floats in the air, perhaps thanks to a spell, and Harry isn't seen inside the memories this time, though it could be argued he sees them in the first person. Unlike in the book, Harry views the first two memories without Dumbledore, though the two seem to watch Slughorn's real memory together.
- #152
Originally due out on November 21, 2008, the film was pushed back by the studio to July 15, 2009. Studio chief Alan F. Horn officially blamed largely the writers' strike, but unofficially, as most people knew, the decision followed the huge success of The Dark Knight (2008), another of the studio's films released in that same July week. Twilight (2008), due in theaters on December 12, 2008, moved up to fill the vacated slot.
- #153
Contains a major spoiler — show
This is the first film since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) to show a full game of Quidditch; the Quidditch World Cup opens Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), and Quidditch is absent altogether from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).
- #154
It was the last of four Harry Potter films rated PG by the MPAA, following Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
- #155
Contains a major spoiler — show
Mr. Filch, the Hogwarts caretaker, is the only resident of the school never seen doing magic, because he is a Squib, born into a wizarding family but with no magical ability of his own.
Career & Awards (1)
- #156
To give the film a different look, director David Yates chose French cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, known for stylised palettes dominated by earth tones. The color grading was heavy at first, and the tones were so dark that Warner Brothers asked Yates and Delbonnel to add more color, since they could barely see anything on screen. Yates and Delbonnel hesitated, but after touching up some scenes Delbonnel realised he had overdone the grading and that the final result was better. Yates described Delbonnel's work as "The choice of angles, the extreme close-ups, the pacing of the scenes, it's very layered, incredibly rich." It was the first (and ultimately only) Harry Potter film nominated for a Cinematography Oscar.
Life & Family (3)
- #157
Eleven-year-old Tom Riddle is played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin, nephew of Ralph Fiennes, who plays Lord Voldemort (formerly Tom Riddle); Hero's parents are Martha Fiennes (Ralph's sister) and George Tiffin. Director David Yates says he chose Hero for his resemblance to his uncle rather than simply for being his nephew; what he liked was the boy's dark, haunted quality.
- #158
Contains a major spoiler — show
Steve Kloves's script originally used all six of the Voldemort flashbacks from the book, but only the two most directly relevant to the plot made it into the film. The rest could have supplied more explanation and backstory: how Merope Gaunt (Tom Riddle's mother) met Tom Riddle, Sr. (his father) in the 1920s and seduced him with a love potion; how the young Voldemort tracked down his uncle Morfin Gaunt in Little Hangleton in 1943, stole the black family ring and killed the Riddle family; how Hufflepuff's Cup became a Horcrux, which pays off in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011); and finally, why the Defence Against the Dark Arts job is jinxed, with no teacher lasting more than a year since 1956, when Dumbledore turned down Tom Riddle's request to teach it.
- #159
Contains a major spoiler — show
The original script included all of Dumbledore's memories of Voldemort from the novel; there would have been a flashback introducing Tom Riddle's mother and grandfather, for instance, and the black ring Riddle wears in his memory with Professor Slughorn. But according to screenwriter Steve Kloves, director David Yates insisted on trimming the memories, as he "wanted to showcase Voldemort's rise without getting overly involved with his past as Riddle."
Related pages
- The Twilight Saga: Eclipse — Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes up in the facts on that page
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets — Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes up in the facts on that page
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 — Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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