Continuity mistake: In the dormitory, when lovestruck Ron is going gaga over Romilda, he is wearing a brown sleeveless tee shirt and its tan trim has many holes. When Harry brings Ron to Slughorn, Ron is still wearing that tee shirt, but now some of the holes are gone and the rest of the holes have changed position. (01:26:50)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Jim Broadbent, Michael Gambon, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Timothy Spall, Julie Walters, Tom Felton, Rupert Grint, Warwick Davis
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Harry Potter, Mystery, Romance
Revealing mistake: It is not what is seen here that is the problem, but what we don't see on the Hogwarts Express; first on the way to Hogwarts when Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in their compartment talking about Draco, and second, during holiday break, when Harry and Ron are talking about Unbreakable Vows. As the camera faces the large compartment window, we see the scenery out the window, but as the train speeds along, the scenic reflection of the windows opposite it, in the corridor, should be seen but isn't. What is reflected is the light colored wall of the compartment beneath the blacked-out window. The camera filming the shots from this angle is positioned at that window, and to hide the camera/crews' outline, the window was covered.
Continuity mistake: In Potions class, when Hermione stands before the cauldron explaining what she is smelling in her closeup, we see Neville behind her with the broad space to his right (viewer's left), just as she says, "Spearmint toothpaste". In the instant cut to the wideshot, Harry is now shoulder to shoulder with Neville, too fast for him to suddenly be standing that close to Neville. (00:34:35)
Trivia: Young Tom Riddle is played by newcomer Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, who is the nephew of Ralph Fiennes, the actor who plays Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Riddle.
Trivia: Christian Coulson, who played Tom Riddle in the second film, expressed interest in returning for this film, but David Yates felt Coulson was too old to convincingly play the role again. Ironically, Coulson was "too old" to begin with, being almost ten years older than the age group Chris Columbus had set for auditions.
Hermione Granger: She's only interested in you because she thinks you're the Chosen One.
Harry Potter: But I AM the Chosen One.
Albus Dumbledore: Take my arm. That was fun. Most people vomit their first time.
Hagrid: Seriously misunderstood creatures, spiders are. It's the eyes I reckon. They unnerve some folk.
Harry: Not to mention the pincers.
Question: Why is Harry not punished by Snape for almost killing Malfoy in the bathroom?
Question: When Harry sees into the past of Dumbledore's meeting with young Tom Riddle, Tom admits that he hurts people if they are mean to him. Since Tom openly admits this with obviously no guilt or remorse, why would Dumbledore take him to Hogwarts to learn magic instead of leaving him at the orphanage?
Answer: Leaving an untrained young wizard, who obviously has some behavioral issues and has no idea he is magical, alone in the Muggle world would be extremely dangerous. Dumbledore does not yet know that Riddle will become evil, but like any teacher, he wants to give a troubled youth an opportunity to find a new path in life.
Question: Instead of using the Pensieve to view Voldemort's and Slughorn's memories, wouldn't it have been much easier for Dumbledore to simply tell Harry of his first meeting with Tom and Harry simply asking Slughorn what he knew?
Answer: The purpose of the Pensieve is to preserve the memory exactly as it was recorded. Telling Harry something years after an event occurred is not as effective or as accurate as seeing. It is more impactful if Harry can watch events exactly as they unfolded. Regarding Slughorn, he had refused to give his complete memory because he was ashamed of the unintentional part he played in Voldemort's plan to create the Horcruxes. He was duped by Riddle, but he still did not want anyone to know how foolish he was.
Answer: Dumbledore went to great lengths to recover the modified memory from Slughorn and convince him to return to Hogwarts as a teacher. Asking Slughorn about the memory upfront would greatly reduce their chances of getting the rest of the memory. It was important for Harry to charm Slughorn because that was one of his weaknesses. He held Harry's mother in high regards, so Harry really was the only key to getting the memory.
Answer: It would have been pointless for Harry to simply ask Slughorn about Riddle because, as Slughorn previously did, he would react angrily, simply refuse, lie, or alter or delete facts as it was too painful and he was too ashamed to admit what he'd done. Even if Slughorn did tell him, memories are tricky, and, over time, people recall facts differently than what actually happened. Dumbledore needed the pensieve for both his and Slughorn's memories so Harry would have an accurate as possible picture of what happened. This is also J.K. Rowling's magical world. It would be pretty dull, literary-wise, to simply have Dumbledore or Slughorn tell Harry what happened.
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Chosen answer: Snape wants to know how Harry knew Sectum Sempra. As shown by him using Occumelancy to see where his copy of Advanced Potion making is. But at the same time, if Snape punished Harry for a spell in a book, Harry could show it to Dumbledore, who would recognise Snape's handwriting. Additionally, Harry was certainly punished in the book - he got detention with Snape every Saturday for the rest of the term. The movie most likely had to cut this for time issues, and also perhaps because the scene is more dramatic if Snape only silently glares at him.
Ssiscool ★