Friday, January 16, 2015

Favorite Scene Friday! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Dumbledore vs. Voldemort

Beware spoilers!

Sometimes I just get sad when I think about the fact that we no longer get a new Harry Potter film every few years. I know, some new ones are supposedly on the way, but I'm not really interested. They're based on J.K. Rowling's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", a book that started out as a fictional textbook in the Harry Potter series that eventually became an actual piece of fiction. This all seems a bit like a cash grab. But we'll see.

Let's cheer ourselves up with a bit from one of those great HP flicks, shall we? For this week's FSF - for Escape-athon 2015 no less - we'll be taking a look at the duel between Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), which appeared in the Order of the Phoenix.

This is one of the high points of the series for me. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends have been battling some Death Eaters (Voldemort's cronies) in the Ministry of Magic. Some adults - including Harry's godfather, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) - show up and get in on the action. Tragically, Sirius is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) and Harry goes after her. Unfortunately, Voldemort then goes after Harry.



One of the first things I notice about this scene is actually the sound design, which is impressive, given the amazing visual effects on display. Take, for instance, the sound Dumbledore's wand makes when he encases Voldemort in a ball of rushing water. If you're wondering if this flick was nominated for the Oscar for Sound, it wasn't. It was, however, nominated for "Best Sound Editing" by the Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA.

A couple moments from the performers shine through the insane sounds and visuals in this clip. Dumbledore's exchange with Voldemort at the beginning is fun and that weird thing Voldemort does with his tongue (ever the snake) after he threatens Dumbledore was a nice touch by Fiennes. Gambon nicely balances Dumbledore's duel with Voldemort and his need to protect Harry. It's nice to see these movies holding up so well, since I might just revisit them instead of checking out those new flicks.

What's your favorite scene from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 AND are you looking forward to the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series?

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