Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: The 90 Minute Wicked Edition

aztek463 jun 21 2011

I’ve been a Harry Potter fan for a long time, since the first film came out and for a few years before that as the books were published. I thought Deathly Hallows Part 1 did the best of all the films (except for maybe the first two films) of adapting the books, so when I saw this as a WIP, I was interested, though hesitant. I’ll admit, it was difficult to remain objective on this one, and while there WERE a few things about this I didn’t care for, this still worked excellently. So, let’s start!

VIDEO/AUDIO:
The video has been level corrected from the original transfer on the Blu-ray disc, and even on the SL disc, it looks GREAT. It was much easier to make out what was actually going on in the darker scenes, which was a real challenge on the DVD release. The quality drop was noticeable in a few spots, but given that this was compressed from a Blu-ray source, it’s DAMN good regardless.
Audio was audio. I don’t have a 5.1 set up, so I couldn’t properly check the surround levels, but it all sounded good. The only variation was sound was on the deleted scene but…it took me a while to notice it anyways, so that was fine.
9/10

THE EDIT:
Okay, settle back, pop a cold one, and get ready, ’cause this is gonna be a lengthy section.

Right, so, how does the story hold up having been cut by 42 minutes? Wonderfully. Upon watching this, I realized just how bloated the original film is. What’s even better though? All the action and character beats (well, most of them) are intact even with all that was cut. The pace was improved consistently, and it definitely felt like a build up to something grand. The end result DID leave me feeling a tad empty, but…considering that the original left me feeling that way too, it’s fine. That was kinda the point of this being part 1 of 2 anyways.

There were a few bits that didn’t work, and while nothing too distracting on the whole, things worth noting:
When Bill Weasley talks about Fletcher fleeing and then mentioning Mad-Eye was dead just felt awkward. Granted, the original scene wasn’t perfect either, but I just felt that worked better.

Another awkward bit was the part with the flesh memories of the Snitch. It was noticeable that Hermione wasn’t actually speaking when they were discussing it outside of the tent, but it was fast and not too out of place.

Those two are the most standout, and while they certainly don’t detract in an extreme way, it’s something to make note of. Now, there’s a few other cuts I didn’t agree with as a fan of the book, but that’s purely subjective and in no way is going to bear on my score, especially considering the editing was seamless: no hard cuts, no bad audio fades, nothing. Perfect. In fact, this inspired me to do my own HP7 edit, though a combo edit of parts 1 and 2 when 2 is available on DVD.

I feel compelled to give this two scores:
As a Harry Potter fan, I give this a 7/10. There was a lot of story essential bits that were cut that I rather missed or that were important to Harry’s character.
But as a fan edit? I give this a 9/10 for smooth editing, great pace, and solid story that works well in the format. So, for a score, I’m going to compromise and give this an 8, and more than likely a vote in the FEOTM poll next month. Keep it up mate! :)

steelio2006 jun 21 2011

Watched this the other day. Have to say that this is an awesome edit. It definitely is a nice companion edit to have to fit on the shelf next to the extended edition that’s available as well.

This is what had got me excited bout the idea of it being possible to edit Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2 into a complete 150-180 minute movie.

The edit flows very well. And since it’s been a while since I’ve seen the original, I wasn’t able to notice the edits. Which is a great thing. One of the things that I thought was a bit better in this edit than in the original is the knife going through the wormhole. Cause now it’s a little bit more of a shock of what happens.

I’d give this edit a 9 out of 10. And the dvd itself a 9.5 outta 10. Loved the menu for the SL Dvd.

January 3, 2012

A job well done by AEmovieguy. The editing is fantastic and the edit looked and sounded great. For the most part I was satisfied with what was cut, but I felt it was too short. I know his intention was to do that, but I really liked HP7 pt1 and had no problem with the length or the pacing. Some good character development was gone but it still made for a great film.

While there are few awkward edits around Rons storyline, overall this edit is better paced than the theatrical cut without loosing the meat of the story. A fantastic edit.