Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey [Import] [ハードカバー]

A tome this most certainly is! Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey is a behemoth of a book, and I had not expected it to be this huge (not that I'm complaining). It is an oversized hardcover with an embossed photograph of Hogwarts on the cover. It looks like a magickal volume and in a way it is, for it captures all of the magic of the Harry Potter movies, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone all the way to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two. Any self-avowed fan of the HP stories and movies will treasure this beautiful volume filled with movie lore, and many more.

The first color photograph one comes across as one flips the book open is a full size portrait of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts (Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in HP films 3-8). His face expresses both concern and puzzlement, and it is almost as if he is there to welcome readers on a journey of knowledge and discovery which is what this book ultimately rewards the reader with. Flip to the next page, and one's attention is captured by a double-page (full spread) painting of Hogwarts, majestic in all its splendor, though details are rather fuzzy. There is also a fold-out spread of the main cast in movies 1-8 - the actors portraying Dumbledore, Hagrid, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Prof McGonagall, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, the twins Fred and George, the Dark Lord, and many more.

So, the contents...the book (531 pages) is divided into three parts:
Part I: The Making of Harry Potter
Introduction
Setting the Scene
HP and the Sorcerer's Stone
HP and the Chamber of Secrets
HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
HP and the Goblet of Fire
HP and the Order of the Phoenix
HP and the Half-Blood Prince
HP and the Deathly Hallows

Part II: The Art of Harry Potter
Introduction
Characters: Costuming
Locations: Set Design
Creatures: Special Makeup and Digital Effects
Artifacts: Prop Making

Part III: Epilogue
The Golden Boards
Acknowledgements and Colophon

The book goes in-depth into the many aspects of the film-making process, including valuable insights from and about the directors, actors, and all the other significant people who have worked on the movies, not forgetting the author of course. If you've ever wondered how the cast was put together, the process by which the directors for the movies were picked, etc. then this wonderful book answers all these questions and more. These details are enhanced by the hundreds of photographs that are found throughout the book, and what makes these pictures all the more extraordinary and valuable to the discerning reader is the fact that many of them were taken on set, during the making of the films, and apart from the photographs there are also full-color paintings in glorious detail. As a dragon fan myself, I was positively enraptured by the concept art of Paul Gatling depicting the mighty Hungarian Horntail in all its wondrous glory, which dare I say surpassed even the beauty of the dragon depicted on film? These are not minuscule drawings, but large-scale drawings in fold-out form. Other magical creatures get their share in this book such as the centaurs, dear old Buckbeak, the thestrals, the dementors, the process of transformation of Remus Lupin into a werewolf and many more. Be still my beating heart!

Remember all those newspaper headlines from The Daily Prophet, the Quibbler editions, and the Wanted Posters? They are depicted here in detail and also in the case of The Quibbler, in color! Ever wondered about the inspiration for those Death Eater's Masks? Its covered here in full-color. The significant places in the world of Harry Potter - Hogwarts, Diagon Alley (loved the map), the Burrow, Hagrid's Hut, the Forbidden Forest, and many more are also given descriptions and explanations in this magnificent volume.

As I continue reading through this tome, I have found some little things to gripe about - certain characters, albeit minor ones, are not really given any coverage, just a mere mention. Remember the ghost that haunts the abandoned toilet in Chamber of Secrets, i.e. Moaning Myrtle? Just a mention and that's it. I would have loved to see at least some description of the filming of the bathroom scene in HP and the Goblet of Fire in which Moaning Myrtle makes another appearance and helps Harry puzzle out the riddle, but no such luck. The book does however go into detail about the second task and the glorious underwater lake scene in Goblet of Fire, and how the lifecasts were conceived and made. But poor Hedwig gets left out here - except for a brief mention on p.238 and concept art depicting Harry and Hedwig overlooking Hogwarts.

Btw, for those who are wondering about how this compares to Harry Potter Film Wizardry, I'd say they are both complementary (I own a copy of HP Film Wizardry) to each other. While Page to Screen provides more details on the movie-making process and covers just about everything (I say just about as there are some things not covered), Film Wizardry provides more of an overview with many fun elements thrown in for devoted fans such as the various foldouts and inserts. For example, in HP Film Wizardry, readers will get a chance to peruse a copy of the Marauder's Map, Harry's acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a catalogue from Borgin and Burke's, stickers in the Advanced Potion-Making pamphlet, two boxes of treats (sans the treats) from Honeydukes of Hogsmeade (you can tear them out and fold them into actual treat boxes, not that I would!), a Quidditch World Cup Programme, a copy of the Yule Ball Programme, Educational Decree No. 29, a product catalogue of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and a Ministry of Magic ID card. Such goodies are not to be found in Page to Screen, so I'd definitely recommend getting both books. I've frequently found myself reading both together, and comparing notes.

My one complaint here is the absence of an Index - how could they have produced such a wonderful companion book to the movies and not have an index to help readers look up any detail that springs to mind? I can't fathom it, but I envision myself spending lots of quality time enjoying the delights of this book, so I shall not let this trouble me too much:) In fact, I am sorely tempted to purchase another book to keep as a collector's item as I can see myself thumbing through this copy until it becomes dog-eared! This is a beautiful volume of substance for any fan of the HP books and movies.

This new addition to my Harry Potter bookshelf is more than worthy of the considerable amount of space I had to clear for it. Page to Screen offers a more narrative and linear look at the making of all eight Potter films than its predecessor, Film Wizardry, with a more encyclopedic tone. That's not to say that this book isn't beautiful to look at; every single page features concept art, stills, or production photos, greatly enhancing the prose. Overall though, the pages are much more geometrically oriented, with text and pictures appearing in blocks, rather than the scrapbook style of Film Wizardry (and both are fantastic!)

The book is organized into two sections and almost feels like two books in one. Part one is a narrative of the making of each film, and part two highlights the people (and creatures), places, and things of Harry's world. Part one is more text-heavy and features numerous quotes from people who worked on all aspects of the films. One thing that I particularly appreciated was the (near) equal attention spent on each film. It is clear that every single decision about these films was made with love and care, with artistic considerations rather than monetary ones. Although we definitely learn about some of this in Film Wizardry, there is plenty of new information in this tome that makes it well worth the purchase. Learning more about the process of making these films and all of the thought that went into them helps the reader appreciate the films as more than a movie version of the books.

The second part is much more picture-heavy with "articles" about characters, props, sets, and creatures and resembles an encyclopedia. The artwork and stills in these sections are not just beautiful, they're eye-opening and are a testament again to the amount of thought, hardwork, and love that went into every part of these movies.

At 520 pages (and huge pages at that), this book has so much to offer by way of insights into and information about making the Harry Potter films. That being said, a second book of equal size and measure could undoubtedly be made without any overlapping information. Mind you, this is not a flaw of Page to Screen, just a request for a second volume :). My one small gripe with this book is that many times a prop or costume will be mentioned or discussed in the main body of the text without an accompanying picture. This is irksome when I want to look at the details being talked about rather than try to remember them.

With all of this being said, I can confidently recommend this book to any fan of the series, and even film making in general. I will be returning to this book for years to come.

For any Harry Potter fan, this is something you must add to your collection. It covers literally every topic under the sun in the making of the movies of Harry Potter, and it is all laid out beautifully in this enormous volume. I am in awe of the sheer amount of content. I read it for about an hour and a half on the day I received it, and I made an incredibly small dent. Though it does not include the props and replicas that "Film Wizardry" has, but this is intended to be more of an encyclopedia; "Page to Screen" goes into depth on topics that its predecessor only touched upon. The price may seem steep, but it's worth every penny.