Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is the seventh film in the *Harry Potter* film series and the first of two cinematic parts based on J.K. Rowling's 2007 novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film). Released in 2010 and directed by David Yates, the film departs from the familiar setting of Hogwarts and follows Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger as they go on the run from a newly empowered Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Their primary mission is to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, facing unprecedented danger, isolation, and loss along the way (film).

The film opens with the wizarding world in crisis. The Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, addresses the magical community, acknowledging the dark times, while Hermione Granger is shown erasing her parents' memories of her for their own protection (film). Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters convene at Malfoy Manor, where he murders the captured Hogwarts Muggle Studies professor, Charity Burbage. The Order of the Phoenix executes a plan to move Harry Potter from Number Four, Privet Drive to the safety of The Burrow. Six members of the Order, including Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Fleur Delacour, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Mundungus Fletcher, take Polyjuice Potion to become decoys for Harry. During their flight, they are ambushed by Death Eaters. In the ensuing battle, known as the Battle of the Seven Potters, Hedwig is killed by a Killing Curse, and George Weasley loses an ear. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody is also killed. At The Burrow, the survivors regroup for the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. The celebration is cut short when the Patronus of Kingsley Shacklebolt arrives, announcing that the Ministry of Magic has fallen and Rufus Scrimgeour is dead. Death Eaters attack the wedding, forcing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to flee. The trio takes refuge at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, where they discover that the “R.A.B.” from the locket they found in the sea cave was Regulus Arcturus Black. They learn from Kreacher that the real Horcrux, Salazar Slytherin's Locket, was stolen by Mundungus Fletcher and is now in the possession of Dolores Umbridge. The trio infiltrates the Ministry of Magic, which is now a tyrannical regime persecuting Muggle-borns. They successfully retrieve the locket from Umbridge but are forced to abandon Grimmauld Place as a safe house. Unable to destroy the locket, the trio camp in various locations while the Horcrux negatively affects their morale. After a heated argument with Harry, Ron abandons his friends. Harry and Hermione continue the quest, visiting Godric's Hollow in hopes of finding the Sword of Godric Gryffindor. There, they visit the graves of Harry's parents and are ambushed by Voldemort's snake, Nagini, who is hiding in the guise of Bathilda Bagshot. They barely escape, but Harry's wand is broken in the process. Weeks later, a silver doe Patronus appears and leads Harry to a frozen pond in the Forest of Dean where the Sword of Godric Gryffindor rests. When Harry tries to retrieve it, the locket Horcrux attempts to strangle him. Ron, guided back by the Deluminator, arrives just in time to save Harry and destroy the locket with the sword. Reunited, the trio visits Xenophilius Lovegood to ask about a symbol seen in a book Hermione inherited from Dumbledore. He explains it is the symbol of the Deathly Hallows: the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak. He then betrays them to the Death Eaters to save his captive daughter, Luna Lovegood, but the trio manages to escape. Soon after, they are captured by a group of Snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback and taken to Malfoy Manor. There, Bellatrix Lestrange tortures Hermione for information about the sword. Imprisoned in the cellar with Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, and Garrick Ollivander, Harry desperately calls for help using a piece of the Two-Way Mirror he carries. Dobby the house-elf appears and orchestrates their escape. In the ensuing struggle, Harry disarms Draco Malfoy. As they disapparate, Bellatrix Lestrange throws a silver dagger, mortally wounding Dobby. The group arrives at Shell Cottage, the home of Bill and Fleur, where Dobby dies in Harry's arms. The film's final scene shows Voldemort breaking into Albus Dumbledore's tomb at Hogwarts and taking the Elder Wand for himself (film).

As a film adaptation, Part 1 includes several changes, additions, and omissions from its source material, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

• Additions and Alterations:
  • The opening scene explicitly shows Hermione Granger modifying her parents' memories. In the book, she recounts this event later. (film)
  • A scene where Harry and Hermione dance together in their tent was added to highlight their friendship and shared despair after Ron's departure. This scene is not in the book. (film)
  • Peter Pettigrew is not killed by his enchanted silver hand for hesitating to harm Harry. Instead, he is simply stunned by Dobby in the cellar of Malfoy Manor. (film)
  • The film ends with Voldemort acquiring the Elder Wand. While this event occurs in the book, it is not the chapter's or the book's midway point, which includes subsequent planning for the Gringotts break-in.
• Omissions:
  • The full backstory of the Dursleys is omitted, including Dudley Dursley's reconciliation with Harry and Petunia Dursley's unspoken farewell.
  • Kreacher's tale about Regulus Black's sacrifice and his mission to destroy the locket is significantly condensed.
  • Harry's seventeenth birthday party at The Burrow is largely removed.
  • Viktor Krum's appearance at the wedding, his discussion about the Deathly Hallows symbol on Xenophilius Lovegood's necklace, and his history with Gellert Grindelwald are absent.
  • The clandestine radio broadcast Potterwatch, hosted by Lee Jordan, is moved to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
  • The extensive subplot involving the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black, which Hermione uses to gain information, is cut.

• Splitting the Book: The decision to adapt the final novel into two separate films was announced in March 2008. The producers stated that a single film would not be able to do justice to the book's dense and complex plot (J.K. Rowling interview, producer interviews).
• Music: The film's score was composed by Alexandre Desplat, taking over from Nicholas Hooper, who scored the previous two films. John Williams' iconic “Hedwig's Theme” remains a recurring motif. (film)
• Harry's Broken Wand: In the book, Harry's holly and phoenix feather wand is broken beyond repair and he uses Hermione's for a time. In the film, he attempts to repair it with a Reparo charm, but it only works for a brief moment before sparking out. (film)