As a die-hard Potterphile, I freely admit that I am just a little bit outraged that this scene was cut from the movie.
The Quibbler headlines the MoM's declaration that Harry is "Undesirable No. 1"
Just under a minute in length, the scene shows viewers a different side to Petunia Dursley, one that book readers have had a brief glimpse of in the book version but one movie watchers have never seen until now. Personally, I think this one scene is one of the best filmed, and hope that in some future DVD release we’ll be able to see this – along with other deleted scenes – in an extended release of the film (hint, hint, Warner Bros.)
The scene may not resonate as important enough for fans who have only watched the films, but for fans of the original written work, the brief scene is a powerful reminder of how a few sentences of dialogue can change your whole outlook on who you think a character is. It also shows how much the omission of a simple scene could possibly have changed the whole tone of a film.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 will be released on DVD April 15.
Mar 24, 2011 @ 21:02:09
Interesting. The movies do not have much Dursley time in any of them really. Especially the later films.
Mar 24, 2011 @ 23:23:58
Great scene. Like you, I feel as though if you’ve not been a fan of the books, it might not resonate as much. But for those of us who are die hard fans… well, to give Harry this one thing would have been brilliant.
Mar 25, 2011 @ 08:47:58
THANK YOU for posting the clip!!! Oh, I wish it were in the final cut.
Mar 31, 2011 @ 10:34:42
I was so disappointed that the Dursely’s were cut from this film. It wouldn’t have taken much time out of the film just to include the moment where Dudley says goodbye to Harry and shakes his hand – to me it is a beautiful moment and gave us all hope that Dudley Dursley really had changed and was not going to end up like his parents.
I do think that this is a very powerful scene and it should definitely have been included. Not only to give the non-readers a glimpse at how the Dursely’s really felt about Harry but to give us readers a chance to see Petunia say what she never said in the book, even though we all know that she wanted to.