The book itself is absolutely gorgeous. The biggest and heaviest book I own by far, and it's one of those books that you will look over again and again for years to come. It would have been nice to have a ribbon bookmark included for the book though, just as a useful crowning glory. Harry Potter: The Character Vault / Harry Potter: The Creature Vault / Harry Potter: The Artifact Vault An amazing Christmas gift... no way is this amazing volume going to be merely a coffee table book. I plan to read it cover-to-cover and soak up every amazing little detail that went into making this series. The Good & The Bad: I read another book on a *very* similar topic earlier this year, Harry Potter Film Wizardry. You might ask what the difference between them is, and the surface answers would be size and the fact this book encapsulates the final film, while the other (rushed out for last year's holiday gift-giving season) did not. But on a more realistic level, this is a book for a student of the films, not a fan. You have to have a real interest in production and art direction (which I'd say I somewhat do...but not quite to this degree) to really appreciate the final detail included here. As soon as I got this book, I knew I would have to read it cover to cover to really feel complete. I couldn't just skim, I had to know everything! And it was lovely and so rewarding. I knew a lot of stuff, granted, but that's what comes with being so immersed in this universe for so long.

The book consists of a detailed chapter on each of the films, characters, costumes, locations, sets, creatures, makeup /digital effects, artifacts and prop making. For the fiftieth anniversary of the film, W.K. Stratton's definitive history of the making of The Wild Bunch, named one of the greatest Westerns of all time by the American Film Institute. Discover the filmmaking secrets that brought Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the other Hogwarts students to life on-screen. Discover the filmmaking secrets behind Diagon Alley, the Ministry of Magic, and the other magical locations of the Wizarding World.This book is highly recommended to fans of the Harry Potter films. It gives a new sense of appreciation for the film and the people who worked behind the scenes. It's something you'll want to make the magic last a bit longer. The only thing I missed, and would have liked to see was maybe a short interview from JKR herself. Although there are mentions of her collaboration in the book, it would have been nice to read her thoughts on seeing her magical world on the big screen. There are three parts to the book. The first is "The Making of Harry Potter" and covers the complete film making process of all the seven Harry Potter titles. The second is "The Art of Harry Potter" and that covers the characters, locations, creatures and artifacts. The third is the epilogue. It took me several days to finish reading. I want this book! I've put it on my wish-list but unfortunately I live in Denmark so it's going to cost a million to get it over here, it's so huge. The stories on set designs are really interesting. You can find out how sets are constructed, like Hogswarts and all the different rooms and secret locations. I thought the underwater scene in Goblet of Fire was totally CGI but it turned out that Daniel Radcliffe actually had to swim, while holding his breath, and act in a water tank. And of course, there are details on how that water tank was built, with heaters, bacteria-killing UV lights, and the little things that don't cross our minds.

There are exclusive photographs of the actors and the crew. There's a list of the actors' heights at the start of the franchise, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. There's sketches of Dobby and Kreacher and Quidditch. There are concept arts. There are costumes. There are character references. This book is what happens when someone converts all the behind-the-scenes portion of the DVDs into writings on the printed papers of a hardbound tome. (And the DVD's extra features still can't compete with even half of the book.) Michael Gambdon (the 2nd, and far worse Dumbledore) never even read the books!!!! No wonder he didn’t have a clue how Dumbledore should act. This is one huge book and quite an expensive one. But it is well worth the cost if you are a Harry Potter fan.Emma Watson (Hermione) had a huge crush on Tom Felton (Draco) during the filming of the first several movies Richard Harris actually thought the animatronic Fawkes was a real bird, it looked that lifelike on the set. Thanks for another great review! I'm definitely getting this book :) Does anyone here know if there is any difference between the Titan Books and the Harper Collins versions?

The parts where they were putting together towers and parts for the school was just amazing. I was so enthralled with all of these things. It certainly makes me want to get out the blu rays and have my own Harry Potter day :)It's very well written, and the balance between photos and information is just right. The behind the scenes anecdotes and unknown tidbits, really make this an interesting and enjoyable read. All of the sections were informative, without tipping over into the over detailed, boring and sometimes irrelevant info, that film tie-ins can sometimes lean towards. At first, I was in love with this book. I am a big fan of the books and then the movies, and I always wondered how they adapted those wonderful books for the big screen. There is just so much information in this book, and it is presented artistically through pictures as well as words. When I finished it, I felt like I knew so much more than I could have ever asked for. However, after a while, I realized that something was missing. The book discussed the changing directors and how they brought their visions to films that became progressively more dark, but the changing composers that brought music to these films are never discussed. Being a musician, I was somewhat disappointed. I would have liked to read about how John Williams was chosen to start the series, why he left, and how he and the others created the music that brought so much feeling to these films. Bohemian Rhapsody will look at all aspects of the making of the Queen biopic and the story of Freddie Mercury and Queen. Foreword by Brian May and Roger Taylor. Bob McCabe is a noted author, film critic, broadcaster, and screenwriter. He has written over twenty books, including the celebrated Pythons' Autobiography by the Pythons; Dreams and Nightmares: Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Grimm & Other Cautionary Tales of Hollywood; and The Rough Guide to Comedy Movies. He has written extensively for British periodicals such as Empire magazine, Sight & Sound, and the Sunday Times, and has appeared on numerous BBC film-related radio broadcasts. His screenwriting credits include Küssen verboten, baggern erlaubt and Out on a Limb. He lives in London. How I Came To Read This Book: I believe I first saw it in Entertainment Weekly and thought it'd be a good fit for my blog, so I requested a review copy.

Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown This book has kind of made producer David Heyman one of my heroes. Love how he said he first grew interested in working on Harry Potter because he just generally adored reading so much. SNEAkoscope The Sneakoscope, used to detect untrustworthy or Dark magic, was created for a scene in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that takes place after Ron and Hermione return from their first trip to Hogsmeade. Sad that Harry couldn’t join them, Ron gives him a Sneakoscope he bought for him at Zonko’s Joke Shop. Unfortunately, this scene ended up on the cutting-room floor.It was fascinating to read what each actor thought of their own character-- Fiona Shaw had the most keen insights into her character of Mrs. Dursley that has sparked within me a desire to revisit the early HP novels and pay closer attention to the lesser-focused Dursley dynamic between the matriarch and her nephew (that is often overshadowed by the more comic relationship between Dudley and Harry). I often begrudge movies the fact that they are not like the book, but it's really like comparing apples and oranges-- though similar, they are inherently different. It's fun to see which anecdotes I remember from magazine articles over the years, and which details are entirely new... Admittedly, it got a little rote. The first half of the book was definitely the most interesting to me, although even then it veered into really dry territory. The second half had much less substance and was almost distracting with all the photo / captions. I mean really, did you ever really care to know what thought went into Percy Weasley or Crabbe & Goyle's "Looks"? No. All too often, the book felt like it was written for the people on the film, as a way to sing the praises of the very talented designers behind-the-scenes that you probably don't give a second thought about, but would if they weren't doing their jobs as well as they were. Sort of a catch-22. the Sorting Hat from pre-production on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. 8 MIDDLE The final Sorting Hat 8 ABOVE Steve Kill, a member of the design team, breaks down a group of Sorting Hat props to ready them for filming.