Deleted Scene from DH ~ Petunia and Harry at Privet Drive

[rattlesnakeroot]

The first deleted scene from the DH-1 dvd. Thanks to Fury on Chamber of Secrets Forum.

What do you think? Should it have been included in the movie? Should there have been more dialogue? Or would inclusion of this scene have messed up "the flow" of the opening sequence as some have said elsewhere?

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Comments

[shyfoxling]

Hmmm. I can see why they deleted it in terms of pacing, but I think the film is poorer emotionally for it. This is about the only really human glimpse of Petunia we would have gotten in the films, I think; everywhere else she's that uptight proper Muggle who spoils her undeserving son caricature, yeah?

[rattlesnakeroot]

Exactly! Petunia actually saying something semi-nice about Lily while speaking to Harry is a great touch.

[drinkingcocoa]

I'm glad they left it out. The "I lost a sister" bit and the acknowledgment of the magical world change JKR's portrayal of Petunia. The only thing I like about this scene is the way Harry starts forward because he thinks she might be coming to hug him or something, and then the way she walks past. But that point is made even better with complete omission.

[kamion]

I did miss this kind of scene and really didn't like it that the whole departing of the Dursleys was just "get-in-the-car"
otherhand it would have little sense to the audience unfamiliar with the books.
but Harry could hardly handle the humanity shown by Dudley in the book, let alone handle humanity shown by Petunia in the movie.

still glad they take this scene and it isn't lost.

[rattlesnakeroot]

My perception is that most moviegoers who haven't read the books (at least in the U.S., anyway) love the Dursleys and enjoy the scenes with them. But, I can see your point - in some ways having Petunia say that is too little too late. In the books, it comes at the beginning of OotP when Petunia won't let Vernon throw Harry out after the dementor attack.

[ms_arithmancer]

Erm...WOW. That was amazingly good. I think it is too bad they did not fit it in.

[silentkw]

I liked it. It's true that it didn't fit with the flow of the other opening clips (Hermione w/ parents), but it still liked it, and wished it could've been included somewhere. I don't think it would've confused non-book audiences, cuz the non-book audiences aren't stupid. Non-book audiences get confused by the HUGE omissions in the films, which unfortunately, are quite a bit.

[rattlesnakeroot]

I enjoyed the scenes with Hermione and her parents, but I think we needed more about the Dursleys because they were around so much in the previous films. It's a loose end and I like the way the extra scene shows that maybe Petunia and Harry have both changed. As a kid, he wouldn't have cared if the Dursleys were tortured, would he? He wanted to curse Dudley, after all. So this new scene is a nice way to show that Petunia "gets" the magical world and shares Harry's grief.

I just like it! :)

[silentkw]

You know, I wish they had included some Snape/Lily foreshadowing in the deleted scene, you know, mention the "awful boy". When she says she knows what they're capable of, the DE's, but also she could've mentioned all the magic she saw from her sister and snape...I dunno, I thought it would've been good to include a line like that or something.

But I still love the scene, very emotional, well, Fiona Shaw is a brilliant actress so I expected nothing less, but it still hit me. And then there is supposed to be a deleted scene with Harry and Dudley. Its rotten that the Dursley's were pretty much left out, cuz I loved the scene in the book where Harry and Dudley come to a bit of an understanding.