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katiebell · #1 (**permalink**) 10-28-2011, 06:17 PM

I was skeptical. I admit it. Not that I wasn’t looking forward to perusing Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey, but what could it show me that I didn’t already know? Well, speaking from the perspective of a Harry Potter know-it-all, seen-it-all, heard-it-all, this book surprised me. Did I say book? I meant tome. This nine-pound volume, spanning the full Potter decade, is chock full of new images and new information.

Behind-the-scene photos of the cast are everywhere, with practically every page revealing never-before-heard stories. Additionally, a good half of the book focuses on the loving care that went into the art created for the films – images of everything from set design to costumes to make up to creatures. No prop is left unturned.

One of the best parts of the book is that the narrative ran with the photos, so it wasn't just a picture book, but told a story of how this immense and intimate cast and crew grew up together over the decade-long series. It helped that Daniel Radcliffe himself was helming the narration, as he was Harry and there for everything from beginning to end. Fans have seen the final products, but only get a tiny glimpse here and there at the behind-the-scenes works, and the Page to Screen book is wonderfully overflowing with that. While fans wait for the ultimate sets of Harry Potter DVDs and Blu-ray sets that we hope will have hours of extensive on-set material and bloopers of the cast at work (and outside of it), we at least get it in book form, which is definitely something incredible.

Naturally most fans would be drawn to the book because of all the inside information we get from the cast, as well as behind-the-scenes photos of them filming, but it's far more than that. The book shows the various departments who come together to make the final product of the film, and their creative works. Art design teams show off the multitude of props and sets required to shoot magical sequences at Hogwarts and the U.K., the special effects team bring the magic to the overall series, and crews of all departments are heavily focused, so you get to learn every little aspect imaginable about the series.

The book’s epilogue documents the film short created - as a loving goodbye to everyone who had worked on the film series - by using a dated sign which was held each day by various members of the cast and crew to count down the final days of filming for Deathly Hallows, as well as the series as a whole.

Kudos to author Bob McCable on a story well told. If you only buy one gift this holiday season for the Harry Potter fan in your life, this is the one.

Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey can be purchased at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.