Harry Potter: Magical Places From The Films by Jody Revenson (book review).
It’s a big one. Just to remind us of how much we embraced Potterdom, this large glossy book, ‘Harry Potter: Magical Places From The Films’ by Jody Revenson, encompasses the production and offers up some more of the vast trove of Potter photos that must fill a goblin vault somewhere.
In the desire to catalogue every moment of modern life, there comes a point when surely we have had enough of the never ending stream of photos and memorabilia. With the Internet offering access to huge store rooms, the time of the coffee table book must be passing. We do not browse books anymore. We still read them, thank goodness, but we don’t need to store them in our own homes now we have the cloud. So why the big glossy book you ask? Why indeed but still fans want hard copy and they shall have it. Perhaps these are stocking fillers for parent who don’t know what to get their kids although mostly they only be browsed in store.
There is something very tactile and inviting about a real book that, since the invention of the printing press, has captivated and intrigued us. As the ‘Harry Potter’ films are set in a seat of learning, it is appropriate that many books now support the originals and the films. This one has a beautifully designed cover that you can run your fingers over and admire the red and gold graphics. The whole thing has a feeling of an event with pretty endpapers and a line drawing of Hogwarts on the title page.
Inside, it does remind me rather of how you design a photo album on the many on-line photo shops now available. This mostly overcome by the sheer exuberance and quantity of the pictures with the sense of trying to show off and reminding the viewer how much detail and care went into the sets of the Harry Potter films.
Text is secondary to the glorious profusion of photographs, concept art and some more line drawings from the drawing boards of the productions. Although this is not predominantly text, the book’s articles about the various set designs and inspirations and revelations about the how’s and why’s of the various films.
There’s nothing quite like a real book and this one, although probably covering copy already seen on the Internet, has a more solid feel giving it more authority than the transience of snippets on-line. It would make a lovely gift book for a fan to dip into and enjoy alongside a revisit of the 8 films.
Sue Davies
November 2015
(pub: Titan Books. 207 page large hardback. Price: £24.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-78329-602-6)
check out website: www.titanbooks.com