Post by Vizsual on Jul 21, 2005 10:26:06 GMT -5
The Harry Potter books are primarily aimed at younger children, but have fans of all ages, as demonstrated by the publication of editions of each book with cover artwork intended for adults. There is also a series of Warner Brothers films based directly on the books, the first of which was released in 2001.c According to the author, J.K. Rowling, the stories appeared in her head while she was on a train from Manchester to London. Her favourite place to write the first book was at an Edinburgh café table, while drinking endless cups of coffee. Sales from the books, as well as royalties from films and merchandise, have made Rowling the 552nd wealthiest person in the world [1]. Rowling is richer than Queen Elizabeth II.
The series Spoiler Warning
#1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
The book opens with the seemingly normal Dursley family. Vernon Dursley goes to work, but finds several peculiarities in town, such as strangely dressed people in town and a cat reading a map. After the Dursleys turn in, an elderly man named Albus Dumbledore appears at their home and the cat transforms into Minerva McGonagall.
Dumbledore and McGonagall talk about Lord Voldemort's recent downfall at the hands of year-old Harry Potter and discuss several topics over the reader's head. Eventually, Rubeus Hagrid arrives with a motorcycle he borrowed from Sirius Black. Dumbledore, McGonagall and an emotional Hagrid leave baby Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep and depart.
Though Harry is taken in by the Dursleys, they mistreat him and favour their own son Dudley. Harry, though he displays bitter feelings, accepts his place in the family. However, a few days before his eleventh birthday, Harry receives a mysterious letter. Uncle Vernon wouldn't let Harry read the letter, but another one arrives the next day and another one after that and another one after that and so on and so forth.
In an effort to escape the unending letters, Uncle Vernon goes to several humorous extremes, eventually moving his family to a small hut on a rock in the ocean. In the night, Hagrid arrives and informs Harry he is a wizard and that the Dursleys had been systematically lying to him about his parents' deaths. Lily and James Potter were not killed in a car crash, but murdered by Lord Voldemort, who tried to kill Harry as well.
#2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry is warned not to return to Hogwarts by Dobby, who informs him that if he goes back to Hogwarts he will be in mortal danger. Harry decides to return. Unfortunately, the Dursleys have locked his books and wand up, so Harry is a prisoner. The Weasleys come to the rescue with their flying car.
However, Harry's second year at Hogwarts takes a really bad turn when the Chamber of Secrets is opened again and someone or something goes on a rampage, petrifying students. According to legend, the Chamber was built by Salazar Slytherin and can be opened only by his true heir to purge Hogwarts of students whose lineage is not purely magical.
#3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry's life at the Dursleys takes a horrible turn when his Aunt Marge comes to stay. Harry grows so angry at her insulting his parents that he "blows her up" and she floats away on her own hot air.
The story takes an unexpected turn when Harry finds that Sirius Black was innocent and wrongly sent to Azkaban. The real criminal is Peter Pettigrew, who is believed dead at the hands of Sirius Black. It was Pettigrew who betrayed Harry's parents to Lord Voldemort, and later killed a number of Muggles in an incident for which he framed Sirius Black and faked his own death. Pettigrew is an animagus, a wizard who can take the form of a particular animal at will, and has really spent the last twelve years disguised as Ron's rat, Scabbers.
#4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
In this book, Harry Potter spends the end of his summer with the Weasleys in anticipation of the Quidditch World Cup.
When Harry arrives at Hogwarts, he finds that the Triwizard Tournament - which had been banned since many participants died during it - was to be restarted, and to be held at Hogwarts. The names of all intending participants would be put into a goblet - known as the Goblet of Fire - which would shoot out one name from each of the three competing wizarding schools
#5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The story begins with Harry at the Dursleys' home experiencing some teenage angst. Harry is frustrated because he doesn't know what the newly reborn Lord Voldemort is planning and his friends won't share any information through correspondence.
After being locked in his room for several days, a large menagerie of wizards and witches come to rescue Harry. They take him to the home of the Black Family, who used various techniques to hide the building, making it ideal for the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix of which the title speaks. The Weasleys, Hermione, and Sirius are all staying there. Sirius has been ordered not to leave the house because of the Ministry's continued search for him (see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for details). Harry is angry about being kept in the dark, examining his darker personality, and also perturbed by the fact that Ron and Hermione were made Prefects while he was not. Everyone explains that the secrecy was under Dumbledore's orders; Harry also manages to learn quite a bit about what has transpired since the summer began.
Although both Harry and Dumbledore have told the world that Lord Voldemort is back, no one believes them. Indeed, the Ministry of Magic has made it their job to discredit them both, using the wizarding newspaper The Daily Prophet to slander the duo. Those in the know, however, have resurrected the Order of the Phoenix, which existed the last time that Lord Voldemort threatened the world. A number of new members are in the Order as well, and it is dedicated to saving everyone from the resurgence of Death Eaters and Voldemort.
#6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Rufus Scrimgeour replaces Cornelius Fudge as Minister of Magic due to Fudge's inability to deal with Lord Voldemort. Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and the dementors begin to act openly, causing widespread fear, depression, and paranoia in Britain. Severus Snape makes an Unbreakable Vow to Draco Malfoy's mother that he will aid Draco in his first mission as a Death Eater: killing Albus Dumbledore.
Professor McGonagall becomes the headmistress, but she and the other teachers fear that Hogwarts may have to be closed. Harry decides not to return to school so that he can devote his time to destroy the remaining horcruxes and to kill Voldemort.
#7 Harry Potter Unnamed Seventh Book
N/A
Easter Eggs
Movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Susan Bones
Chris Columbus, the director of the film, made sure that Harry Potter consisted of an all British cast. However, there was a single American in the film. His daughter, Eleanor Columbus. During the sorting hat scene (scene 12 for those of you with the DVD version) all the major characters are sorted, starting with Hermione. After her, a long hair red headed girl named Susan Bones is called forward. This is unusual because she is never mentioned in any of the four current Harry Potter Books nor any other part of the movie. Susan Bones is played by Eleanor Columbus. She is in the credits too.
Movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - And The Trophy Goes To...
For those watching on DVD, go to chapter 15, or fast forward on your vcr to the scene where Harry first rides his broomstick. As Harry, Ron and Hermione approach the trophy case to see Harry's father's trophy, you can read names on two other awards. On the right is a trophy awarded to M. G. McGonagall, an obvious reference to Professor Minerva McGonagall. To the left however is a trophy with the name R.J.H. King on it. This is a secret nod to one of the film's supervising art directors, John (J.) King, and one of the set designers, Rosie Hardwick (the R.and H.).
DVD Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Hidden Hogwarts Letter
1. Put disc one in your DVD drive and start it up.
2. When you are on the title screen, move your cursor to the right. this will highlight an object.
3. Click on this and you will be taken to a screen with the Hogwarts acceptance letter that Harry gets in the movie.
Movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Ron's Erection
At the end of the movie when Ron and Hermione are waiting for Harry to get out of the hospital wing, they are whispering very intently. If you turn up the volume really high, you can hear Ron say, "I have an erection."
Movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling makes appearance!
Harry Potter has just taken his first trip by Floo Powder from the Weasley's house. He ends up in Knockturn Alley. Remember those freaky witches that come up to Harry? The very first witch was JK Rowling herself! JK is the author of the Harry Potter Series.
Movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Gandalf!
You should use DVD with zoom/slowdown feature.
When Harry is sent up to Dumbledore's office after Justin and Nearly Headless Nick are petrified, look at the portraits of past headmasters on the walls. On the farthest to the right, right above the door when Harry first enters, is a picture of Lord of the Rings' Gandalf! (Because, the picture is small and the camera angle changes quickly, it's much easier to see with the DVD's slow motion and zoom features)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Bookshop
As Harry and Hagrid are going from Knockturn Alley to Diagon Alley as Harry has gone the wrong way through the Floo system, they pass a bookshop. If you look closely enough, you'll see the first 4 Harry Potter books in the window- but you have to look really closely!
Book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Homage to a deceased fan
This was a sweet tribute from J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, to a young girl who wrote to her. Natalie McDonald was a real girl who was suffering from a terminal illness; she knew she wouldn't live to see the end of the Harry Potter series, so she wrote to Rowling and asked how everything would turn out. Rowling, who has a young daughter herself, wrote back to Natalie and detailed the whole remaining storyline for her. Unfortunately, Natalie died a few days before the letter arrived. Hearing of her death, Rowling did an edit on "Goblet of Fire" to include Natalie as a character.
On page 180 (of the hardcover edition, anyway), you can see where Natalie is participating in the Sorting Ceremony at the start of Harry's school year. Significantly, she gets sorted into Harry's house -- Gryffindor.
Book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Ministry of Magic Dial-Up!
Look on page 125 at the bottom. The quote is:
"No, no, I'm sure it's fine," said Mr. Weasley, holding the receiver above his head and peering at the dial. "let's see...six..." he dialed the number, "two...four...and another four...and another two..."
The number they dial is 62442. If you look on a standard telephone, there are letters underneath the numbers. What five-letter word would JK Rowling use for the Ministry? MAGIC! JK Rowling would use the best word for the job, and she did.
Source: The Easter Egg ArchiveTM and Wikipedia
The series Spoiler Warning
#1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
The book opens with the seemingly normal Dursley family. Vernon Dursley goes to work, but finds several peculiarities in town, such as strangely dressed people in town and a cat reading a map. After the Dursleys turn in, an elderly man named Albus Dumbledore appears at their home and the cat transforms into Minerva McGonagall.
Dumbledore and McGonagall talk about Lord Voldemort's recent downfall at the hands of year-old Harry Potter and discuss several topics over the reader's head. Eventually, Rubeus Hagrid arrives with a motorcycle he borrowed from Sirius Black. Dumbledore, McGonagall and an emotional Hagrid leave baby Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep and depart.
Though Harry is taken in by the Dursleys, they mistreat him and favour their own son Dudley. Harry, though he displays bitter feelings, accepts his place in the family. However, a few days before his eleventh birthday, Harry receives a mysterious letter. Uncle Vernon wouldn't let Harry read the letter, but another one arrives the next day and another one after that and another one after that and so on and so forth.
In an effort to escape the unending letters, Uncle Vernon goes to several humorous extremes, eventually moving his family to a small hut on a rock in the ocean. In the night, Hagrid arrives and informs Harry he is a wizard and that the Dursleys had been systematically lying to him about his parents' deaths. Lily and James Potter were not killed in a car crash, but murdered by Lord Voldemort, who tried to kill Harry as well.
#2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry is warned not to return to Hogwarts by Dobby, who informs him that if he goes back to Hogwarts he will be in mortal danger. Harry decides to return. Unfortunately, the Dursleys have locked his books and wand up, so Harry is a prisoner. The Weasleys come to the rescue with their flying car.
However, Harry's second year at Hogwarts takes a really bad turn when the Chamber of Secrets is opened again and someone or something goes on a rampage, petrifying students. According to legend, the Chamber was built by Salazar Slytherin and can be opened only by his true heir to purge Hogwarts of students whose lineage is not purely magical.
#3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry's life at the Dursleys takes a horrible turn when his Aunt Marge comes to stay. Harry grows so angry at her insulting his parents that he "blows her up" and she floats away on her own hot air.
The story takes an unexpected turn when Harry finds that Sirius Black was innocent and wrongly sent to Azkaban. The real criminal is Peter Pettigrew, who is believed dead at the hands of Sirius Black. It was Pettigrew who betrayed Harry's parents to Lord Voldemort, and later killed a number of Muggles in an incident for which he framed Sirius Black and faked his own death. Pettigrew is an animagus, a wizard who can take the form of a particular animal at will, and has really spent the last twelve years disguised as Ron's rat, Scabbers.
#4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
In this book, Harry Potter spends the end of his summer with the Weasleys in anticipation of the Quidditch World Cup.
When Harry arrives at Hogwarts, he finds that the Triwizard Tournament - which had been banned since many participants died during it - was to be restarted, and to be held at Hogwarts. The names of all intending participants would be put into a goblet - known as the Goblet of Fire - which would shoot out one name from each of the three competing wizarding schools
#5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The story begins with Harry at the Dursleys' home experiencing some teenage angst. Harry is frustrated because he doesn't know what the newly reborn Lord Voldemort is planning and his friends won't share any information through correspondence.
After being locked in his room for several days, a large menagerie of wizards and witches come to rescue Harry. They take him to the home of the Black Family, who used various techniques to hide the building, making it ideal for the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix of which the title speaks. The Weasleys, Hermione, and Sirius are all staying there. Sirius has been ordered not to leave the house because of the Ministry's continued search for him (see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for details). Harry is angry about being kept in the dark, examining his darker personality, and also perturbed by the fact that Ron and Hermione were made Prefects while he was not. Everyone explains that the secrecy was under Dumbledore's orders; Harry also manages to learn quite a bit about what has transpired since the summer began.
Although both Harry and Dumbledore have told the world that Lord Voldemort is back, no one believes them. Indeed, the Ministry of Magic has made it their job to discredit them both, using the wizarding newspaper The Daily Prophet to slander the duo. Those in the know, however, have resurrected the Order of the Phoenix, which existed the last time that Lord Voldemort threatened the world. A number of new members are in the Order as well, and it is dedicated to saving everyone from the resurgence of Death Eaters and Voldemort.
#6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Rufus Scrimgeour replaces Cornelius Fudge as Minister of Magic due to Fudge's inability to deal with Lord Voldemort. Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and the dementors begin to act openly, causing widespread fear, depression, and paranoia in Britain. Severus Snape makes an Unbreakable Vow to Draco Malfoy's mother that he will aid Draco in his first mission as a Death Eater: killing Albus Dumbledore.
Professor McGonagall becomes the headmistress, but she and the other teachers fear that Hogwarts may have to be closed. Harry decides not to return to school so that he can devote his time to destroy the remaining horcruxes and to kill Voldemort.
#7 Harry Potter Unnamed Seventh Book
N/A
Easter Eggs
Movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Susan Bones
Chris Columbus, the director of the film, made sure that Harry Potter consisted of an all British cast. However, there was a single American in the film. His daughter, Eleanor Columbus. During the sorting hat scene (scene 12 for those of you with the DVD version) all the major characters are sorted, starting with Hermione. After her, a long hair red headed girl named Susan Bones is called forward. This is unusual because she is never mentioned in any of the four current Harry Potter Books nor any other part of the movie. Susan Bones is played by Eleanor Columbus. She is in the credits too.
Movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - And The Trophy Goes To...
For those watching on DVD, go to chapter 15, or fast forward on your vcr to the scene where Harry first rides his broomstick. As Harry, Ron and Hermione approach the trophy case to see Harry's father's trophy, you can read names on two other awards. On the right is a trophy awarded to M. G. McGonagall, an obvious reference to Professor Minerva McGonagall. To the left however is a trophy with the name R.J.H. King on it. This is a secret nod to one of the film's supervising art directors, John (J.) King, and one of the set designers, Rosie Hardwick (the R.and H.).
DVD Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Hidden Hogwarts Letter
1. Put disc one in your DVD drive and start it up.
2. When you are on the title screen, move your cursor to the right. this will highlight an object.
3. Click on this and you will be taken to a screen with the Hogwarts acceptance letter that Harry gets in the movie.
Movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Ron's Erection
At the end of the movie when Ron and Hermione are waiting for Harry to get out of the hospital wing, they are whispering very intently. If you turn up the volume really high, you can hear Ron say, "I have an erection."
Movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling makes appearance!
Harry Potter has just taken his first trip by Floo Powder from the Weasley's house. He ends up in Knockturn Alley. Remember those freaky witches that come up to Harry? The very first witch was JK Rowling herself! JK is the author of the Harry Potter Series.
Movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Gandalf!
You should use DVD with zoom/slowdown feature.
When Harry is sent up to Dumbledore's office after Justin and Nearly Headless Nick are petrified, look at the portraits of past headmasters on the walls. On the farthest to the right, right above the door when Harry first enters, is a picture of Lord of the Rings' Gandalf! (Because, the picture is small and the camera angle changes quickly, it's much easier to see with the DVD's slow motion and zoom features)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Bookshop
As Harry and Hagrid are going from Knockturn Alley to Diagon Alley as Harry has gone the wrong way through the Floo system, they pass a bookshop. If you look closely enough, you'll see the first 4 Harry Potter books in the window- but you have to look really closely!
Book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Homage to a deceased fan
This was a sweet tribute from J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, to a young girl who wrote to her. Natalie McDonald was a real girl who was suffering from a terminal illness; she knew she wouldn't live to see the end of the Harry Potter series, so she wrote to Rowling and asked how everything would turn out. Rowling, who has a young daughter herself, wrote back to Natalie and detailed the whole remaining storyline for her. Unfortunately, Natalie died a few days before the letter arrived. Hearing of her death, Rowling did an edit on "Goblet of Fire" to include Natalie as a character.
On page 180 (of the hardcover edition, anyway), you can see where Natalie is participating in the Sorting Ceremony at the start of Harry's school year. Significantly, she gets sorted into Harry's house -- Gryffindor.
Book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Ministry of Magic Dial-Up!
Look on page 125 at the bottom. The quote is:
"No, no, I'm sure it's fine," said Mr. Weasley, holding the receiver above his head and peering at the dial. "let's see...six..." he dialed the number, "two...four...and another four...and another two..."
The number they dial is 62442. If you look on a standard telephone, there are letters underneath the numbers. What five-letter word would JK Rowling use for the Ministry? MAGIC! JK Rowling would use the best word for the job, and she did.
Source: The Easter Egg ArchiveTM and Wikipedia
I'm Captain Kirk! 