Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
220px-Harry_Potter_and_the_Order_of_the_Phoenix_poster.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by David Yates
Produced by David Heyman
David Barron
Screenplay by Michael Goldenberg
Based on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by J. K. Rowling
Starring Daniel Radcliffe
Rupert Grint
Emma Watson
(See below)
Music by Nicholas Hooper
Cinematography Sławomir Idziak
Editing by Mark Day
Studio Heyday Films
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s) 11 July 2007
(United States)
12 July 2007
(United Kingdom)
Running time 138 minutes
Country United Kingdom
United States
Language English
Budget $150 million
Box office $939,885,929

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film, which is the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, was written by Michael Goldenberg and produced by David Heyman and David Barron. The story follows Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts as the Ministry of Magic is in denial of Lord Voldemort's return. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and is followed by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Live-action filming took place in England and Scotland for exterior locations and Leavesden Film Studios in Watford for interior locations from February to November 2006, with a one-month break in June. Post-production on the film continued for several months afterwards to add in visual effects. The film's budget was reportedly between £75 and 100 million ($150–200 million). Warner Bros. released the film in the UK on 12 July 2007 and in North America on 11 July, both in conventional and IMAX theatres; it is the first Potter film to be released in IMAX 3D.

Order of the Phoenix is the unadjusted 18th highest-grossing film of all time, and a critical and commercial success, acclaimed as "the best one yet" by Rowling, who has consistently offered praise for the film adaptations of her work. The film opened to a worldwide 5-day opening of $333 million, fourth all-time, and grossed nearly $940 million total, second to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for the greatest total of 2007.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Further information: Plot of the novel

The Order of the Phoenix, a secret organisation founded by Albus Dumbledore, inform the now 15-year-old Harry Potter that the Ministry of Magic is in denial of Lord Voldemort's return; under the Ministry's influence, The Daily Prophet has launched a smear campaign against Harry and Dumbledore due to Harry's supposed encounter with Voldemort at the end of the previous year. This encounter has had a huge psychological effect on Harry – he has nightmares not only about what happened in the graveyard but also about the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. While at the Order's headquarters, 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, mentions that Voldemort is after an object which he didn't have last time.

Upon arrival at Hogwarts, Harry learns that Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge has appointed a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor: Dolores Umbridge, a senior Ministry official who refuses to teach practical magic due to her belief that Dumbledore is forming a rebellion against the Ministry. Umbridge and Harry immediately clash, as she refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned and forces Harry to carve 'I must not tell lies' into the skin on the back of his hand through a cursed quill. When Ron and Hermione notice these scars, they are outraged but Harry refuses to go to Dumbledore as he has distanced himself from him since the summer. As Umbridge's control over the school increases, Ron and Hermione aid Harry in forming a secret group to train students in defensive spells, calling themselves "Dumbledore's Army". The Slytherin students are recruited by Umbridge to uncover the group. Meanwhile, Harry and Cho Chang develop romantic feelings for each other and begin a relationship during Christmas, Cho being Harry's first kiss at the last DA meeting before the holidays. However, Harry discovers that his behaviour is becoming erratic and possibly more similar to Voldemort's.

Harry has a vision involving an attack upon Arthur Weasley in the Department of Mysteries, from the point of view of Arthur's attacker. Fearing Voldemort will exploit his connection to Harry, Dumbledore instructs Professor Snape to give Harry Occlumency lessons to block his mind from Voldemort's influence. These lessons increase Harry's psychological problems, as he is forced to relive everything bad that has ever happened to him. During one lesson, Harry got annoyed at what he saw and requested a break but Snape refused and forced Harry to continue the lesson. This only got the spell reversed on him by Harry where Harry sees the Vision on why Snape hates his father, James, who often had bullied him. The connection between Harry and Voldemort leads Harry to distance himself from everyone, and he pushes not only Ron and Hermione but Ginny, Neville, the Weasley twins and Luna away, as he feels "so angry all the time". Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius' deranged cousin, escapes from Azkaban along with nine other Death Eaters. At Hogwarts, Umbridge and her Inquisitorial Squad uncover Dumbledore's Army after illegally interrogating Cho with Veritaserum. Dumbledore covers up for Harry, but escapes as Fudge orders his arrest. With Dumbledore gone, Umbridge becomes the new Headmistress. Harry's relationship with Cho falls apart, mostly due to Cho having betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Umbridge (unknown to Harry, however, is that Cho was under the influence of Veritaserum, a truth potion).

During an O.W.L. exam, the Weasley twins revolt and set off fireworks in the Great Hall, causing chaos for Umbridge. During this event, Harry has a vision of Sirius being tortured by Voldemort within the Department of Mysteries. Harry, Ron and Hermione rush to Umbridge's fireplace to alert the Order via the Floo Network, since it is the only one not being monitored, but Umbridge stops them before they can do so. When she threatens to use the Cruciatus Curse to get information out of Harry about the trio's intentions, Hermione tricks Umbridge into entering the Forbidden Forest in search for Dumbledore's "secret weapon". She and Harry lead her to the hiding place of Hagrid's half-giant brother, Grawp, only to be confronted by centaurs who kidnap Umbridge after she attacks them. When Umbridge tells Harry to make the centaurs let her go and that she means no harm Harry says, "Sorry, Professor. I must not tell lies". Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny fly to the Ministry of Magic on Thestrals in an attempt to save Sirius.

The six enter the Department of Mysteries where they uncover a prophecy involving Harry and Voldemort, the object Voldemort was after. However, they are ambushed by Death Eaters including Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. Lucius reveals that Harry only saw a dream of Sirius being tortured; it was not an actual situation, rather a method to lure Harry into the Death Eater's grasp. Lucius attempts to persuade Harry to give him the prophecy, telling him it will reveal why Voldemort could not kill Harry when he was an infant. Harry refuses and a fight between Dumbledore's Army and the Death Eaters ensues. The Death Eaters take everyone except Harry as hostages, threatening to kill them if he does not surrender the prophecy. Harry obliges just as Sirius and Remus Lupin arrive with Order members Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody. They attack the Death Eaters and Lucius drops the prophecy, destroying it. Harry and Sirius duel him. Just as Sirius defeats Lucius, Bellatrix kills Sirius. Despite Remus trying to hold him back, Harry goes after Bellatrix, who runs away continuously saying "I killed Sirius Black" in a song-like manner. Harry chases and corners Bellatrix in the Atrium and attempts to perform the Cruciatus Curse on her, but to little avail (it knocks her down). Voldemort appears, but Dumbledore arrives through the Floo Network moments before Voldemort can kill Harry.

A duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore ensues while Bellatrix escapes. After the two prove evenly matched, Voldemort possesses Harry in order to try to get Dumbledore to sacrifice Harry in the hope of killing him, but the love Harry feels for his friends and Sirius makes it impossible for Voldemort to remain in his body. Ministry officials arrive before Voldemort disapparates; Fudge is forced to admit that Voldemort has returned and is sacked as Minister. Dumbledore returns as headmaster of Hogwarts after he and Harry are vindicated. Dumbledore explains that he distanced himself from Harry all year hoping it would lessen the risk of Voldemort using their connection. Harry comes to terms with the prophecy; "Neither can live while the other survives." As Harry and his friends head towards the Hogwarts Express, Harry tells his friends that even though a war is beginning, unlike Voldemort, they have something worth fighting for.

[edit] Cast

Further information: List of Harry Potter cast members

[edit] Casting

Casting began as early as May 2005, when Radcliffe announced he would reprise his role as Harry. Across the media frenzy that took place during the release of Goblet of Fire, most of the main returning actors announced their return to the series, including Grint, Watson, Lewis, Wright, Leung, and Fiennes.

The announcements of the casting of the rest of the new characters to the series was spanned across 2006. Evanna Lynch won the role of Luna Lovegood over 15,000 other girls who attended the open casting call, waiting in a line of hopefuls that stretched a mile long.

The inclusion or cutting of some characters sparked speculation from fans as to the importance of the characters in the final book of the series, which was released just ten days after the film. In April 2006, representatives of Jim McManus said he would be playing Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus' brother and the barman of the Hog's Head, in which Harry and his friends found the D.A. A week later WB announced that the role was "very minor", allaying some of the speculation to the significance of the role, which, before the final book, was not even a speaking part. MTV reported in October 2006 that Dobby the house elf, who appeared in the second film, Chamber of Secrets, and in the fifth book, would be cut, opening up "plot questions" as to how the role of the elf would be filled. MTV also reported about a month before the release of the final book that Kreacher, the Black family's house-elf, was cut from the film in one draft of the script. However, after Rowling prodded the filmmakers to include him, saying, "You know, I wouldn't [cut him] if I were you. Or you can, but if you get to make a seventh film, you'll be tied in knots", he was added back into the script.

Other minor roles were cut with subsequent drafts of the script. At the U.S. premiere of Goblet of Fire, series producer David Heyman said that former Hogwarts professor Gilderoy Lockhart, played by Kenneth Branagh in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was in the first draft of the script for Phoenix. However, neither Branagh nor the character of Lockhart appears in the final version. Tiana Benjamin was scheduled to return for the film in the role of Angelina Johnson, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but she had to withdraw due to a commitment to playing Chelsea Fox in EastEnders. The character, as well as the entire Quidditch subplot, was ultimately cut from the film. She did, however, record sound clips for the Order of the Phoenix video game.

The family of footballer Theo Walcott made a cameo appearance in the film. They were signed on by director David Yates, who is the partner of Yvonne Walcott, Theo's aunt. Theo himself was due to appear alongside his family, though his commitments to Arsenal Football Club forced him to pull out.

[edit] Production

[edit] Set design

[edit] Filming

[edit] Visual effects

[edit] Music

Main article: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (soundtrack)

[edit] Differences from the book

[edit] Distribution

[edit] Marketing

[edit] Theatrical release

[edit] Home media

[edit] Reaction

[edit] Critical reception

[edit] Box office

[edit] Accolades

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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