Harry Potter: the director reveals which film was the most difficult to make (thanks to the magic of editing)

BeforeHarry Potter does not become an HBO series, the question of the adaptation of the literary work is brought back to the fore by David Yates, the director of the last four films of the saga (from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in the grand finale, THE The Deathly Hallows part 2.)

Density of the original novel, abundance of characters, intersection of different narrative arcs, request for special effects: What problem was the most difficult to overcome during the production of the last four works? The director’s answer may surprise you.

The only Harry Potter “without a third act”

In full promotion of his new film Bread pushers presented at TIFF, David Yates revealed some production secrets Harry Potter. When Collider asked him which episode of the saga was most difficult to makethe director confided:

“Oh, that’s a good question. Probably Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. The big challenge of this film was that it didn’t have a third act. She’s got some he ran out of gas halfwayand Marco [Day – le monteur des quatre derniers films Harry Potter] and I would often sit and think, over and over again, “This movie doesn’t have a third act. How are we…? Hang in there, this is crazy. It doesn’t have a third act. »

According to David Yates, it’s good for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 That the editing turned out to be a real instrument of magic.

The director explained on which all the other works in the saga are based the same tripartite structure, modeled on JK Rowling’s novels. Located within the walls of Hogwartshistory shows for the first time an initial situation Then a challenge in front of the famous trio, Harry, Hermione, Ron. As for the third act, it still consists of a solution to this challenge and in a victory, which occupies and closes the school year.

A “road movie where not much happens”

In case of Deathly Hallowsera impossible to repeat this pattern as JK Rowling’s book constitutes a single volume, rather than being divided into two. This is also the first episode outside Hogwarts.

From that moment on, the director had to find a convincing breaking point between the two works, providing sufficient suspense at the end of the first. In his interview for ColliderYates explained that this scripting and editing work was all the more difficult since relatively little was happening at that point in history.

The director noted in particular that, for the first time in the saga, the movie was a lot like street film, the three heroes travel across Britain to escape the Death Eaters. A program that perhaps has something to confuse the accustomed viewer films in which the plot moves at full speed and multiplies the twists and turns :

“The idea of ​​the film was to make a road movie where you take the kids out of school, put them in danger outside of this safe place and see how they grow as their relationship is tested.

But then you we meet directly In the climax and the fireworks until the finale. We therefore imagined a party that gave the illusion of an increase in power when in reality it was : “Tada! ». [Rires] Not much happens at the end of the second half of the film.

That’s why I’m always happy when moviegoers tell me “Deathly Hallows Part 1 is my favorite movie.”. It was so incredible. It was like a European road movie. » I answer them: “Yes, but what was incredible was the work we did on the editing. »

David Yates then had to do it be more creative when editing to do certain events the highlights of the first work.

One thing is for sure, magic happened and David Yates met his challenge with flying colours. Proof : we haven’t recovered yet this famous sequence at the end of the first part of Deathly Hallows…

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