I have read all of the Harry Potter books numerous times and seen all the movies several times.  I've already seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 twice.  I love Harry Potter.  I first saw Harry Potter Film Wizardry in the local bookstore.  I ended up ordering the book online since it was cheaper.  I just finished reading it and am very glad that I picked it up.

Harry Potter Film Wizardry is an oversized hard back book that comes in shrink wrap.  This is the first book I've gotten that has been covered in shrink wrap.  Because of that, I wasn't able to flip through the copy in the local bookstore like I normally do when I find a book tied to a movie.  Despite that, there was enough information on the back cover for me to know that I wanted the book.  This is a more expensive book at $39.99, but I got it for almost half that price, so people should definitely check online for it.

I have been a little disappointed by the fact that there weren't any books about the previous movies.  I have books that share things about how other movies are made and I enjoy them.  I was very glad to find Harry Potter Film Wizardry, though it still would have been nice to have books for each movie.  The author, Brian Sibley, has also written one or two other books about movies that I have.

There is no plot to Harry Potter Film Wizardry which makes sense since the book is just sharing information about the movies.  Events from the movies are mentioned, but there aren't any actual plot summaries from the movies shared in the book.  There are replicas of some of the props from the different movies as well, like the letter Harry receives about being accepted to Hogwarts or one of the educational decrees from the fifth movie.  I love that those things have been included in the book.  The props are attached to pages and most of them are in some kind of envelope.  People who haven't seen the movies probably won't be interested in this book.  Some of the things that are covered in the book could be spoilers for people who haven't seen all of the movies yet.

Harry Potter Film Wizardry shares information about all of the Harry Potter movies up through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.  There are a few pictures of things that will be in the final movie, but no information other than the tiny bit in the captions.  It would have been nice to have more information tied to the final movie, though I get that they didn't want lots of spoilers for the final movie in the book.  While I am happy to have the book, I sort of wish it had been released closer to the final movie so there could have been more information about some things from it.  

For the most part, information is shared in Harry Potter Film Wizardry in the order of how the things were introduced in the movies.  The main difference is for some of the characters who have been around since the first movie but weren't talked about until sections for the sixth or seventh movie.  I think that was done with a few characters because they became more important in the later movies.  Some of the prop replicas are included in sections for a movie that the prop wasn't in or was barely in.  The Advanced Potions book isn't seen until the sixth movie, but it is included much earlier in the book for some reason.  The Marauder's Map is first seen in the third movie, but it isn't dealt with in the book until much later.  That does seem odd to me.  I wasn't confused by the order things were introduced in since I'm so familiar with the books and movies.  I just think the organization could have been slightly better.  

Harry Potter Film Wizardry begins with notes from Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson mentioning things about being part of the Harry Potter movies.  That is followed by an introduction from David Heyman, a producer for all the movies.  It is interesting to learn how he became involved in making the movies.  The next two pages have the title Muggles Making Magic and the author of the book talks about getting to be on the sets while working on this book.  He mentions seeing different things that I would love to see.

The majority of Harry Potter Film Wizardry is devoted to the first seven Harry Potter movies with a section or chapter for each movie.  The few things tied to the final movie come up at the end of the section about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.  The table of contents lists each section along with the subjects covered in them.  That makes it easy to see what is covered in the book, or to go back and reread something.  Each section begins sharing some general information about whichever movie the section is focused on.  After that, different things about each movie are discussed.  The first section is the longest since it covers more information on the casting of the main characters and decisions about certain things, like the look of Hogwarts.

Each section of Harry Potter Film Wizardry has quotes from David Heyman as well as some of the cast and crew.  There are some quotes from the different directors that have worked on the movies.  Heyman does talk about some of the changes that were done for the movies.  It comes across to me like he is trying to justify some of the decisions that fans of the books weren't that happy with.  While Heyman does say it is difficult to decide what to cut, a very positive spin is put on those decisions when they are mentioned.   Each chapter has a little section called Producer's Diary in which Heyman discusses something about that particular movie.

Costume, set, and make up decisions are discussed throughout the book, including how so much detail was put into little things in the backgrounds of scenes.  The people who worked on the production design of the movies also worked on Harry Potter Film Wizardry.  The book has a look that fits very well with the movies.  There are all kinds of pictures from the sets taking during filming as well as some that look to be pulled from the finished movies.  The pages about Daniel Radcliffe have a sort of time line across the bottom of them, showing how he looked in each of the movies.  That shows really well how much he changed between some of the movies.  There are a lot of other pictures of him, along with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, throughout the book.  

In addition to the pictures from the movies and sets, there are a lot of other visuals in Harry Potter Film Wizardry.  There are early sketches of things, like Hagrid's Hut.  The quick map of the grounds of Hogwarts that J.K. Rowling drew for one of the production designers before the first movie was made is shown.  Concept art for different things like locations or creatures is included.  Some of the storyboards for certain sequences are shown as well.  I love seeing all those things.  With some of the things shown in the book, the finished items in the movie ended up looking a lot like the early drawings or concept art.  The replicas of things look just like they did in the movies.  The program for the Quidditch World Cup is several pages long and even includes an ad for pumpkin juice.  There is a product catalog for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes that is also several pages long and features different products that Fred and George developed over the course of the series, some while still at Hogwarts.  Unfortunately, not all of the things mentioned in the catalog have really shown up in the movies, but it is still cool to see the catalog.  It looks like it belongs in that world.  

Most of the pages of Harry Potter Film Wizardry are covered with the various pictures and other illustrations.  There is a decent amount of text included as well, so a lot of information is still shared.  The font isn't tiny, though it is sort of smaller, so that allows for more to fit in around the pictures and other illustrations.  The font size could be an issue for some people, but I don't think it is too small.  The book is 159 pages long, including the two pages just of pictures and captions tied to the final movie, and it didn't take me long to read it.  I did spend time looking closely at the pictures and replica props, so that added to the total reading time.

Harry Potter Film Wizardry is a wonderful book for fans of the Harry Potter movies.  The book is full of all kinds of interesting information tied to the making of the movies and there are cool replicas of props.  

Harry Potter Books
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ The Tales of Beedle the Bard ~ Harry Potter Film Wizardry ~ Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey ~

Harry Potter Movies
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ~ Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter ~

Scene It? Harry Potter 2nd Edition (Game) ~ Hallmark 2010 A Gift for Doby Ornament ~ 2011 Harry Potter Golden Snitch Ornament ~ Harry Potter Uno ~

Recommended: Yes