The Summer of Harry Potter

If you are a true died in the wool fan of Harry Potter, I am sure you are well aware that this is truly the summer of Harry Potter. This summer we will find out once and for all how this much loved and highly controversial series will end. In addition to the final book installment for the series we will also see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in theaters a few short days prior to the release of the final book.

I am looking forward to this with a mixture of joy and sadness, as I am sure many other fans of this captivating series are as well. The final book will end the story and the series answering many questions that I am certain other fans, like myself, are brimming with. However, knowing that all good things must end and witnessing the final moment are always two different things. There will be sadness at completing this one book with the knowledge that there will be no new book to follow. I can understand Rowling's point of view however. She had a story to tell, and the story ended with the end of Harry's time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released at midnight on July 21st only days after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will appear in theaters. I guess the good news for fans is that you have a week to go and see the movie before getting sucked into the book. Of course if you are anything like me it will only take a day or two to inhale the book so there will not be much time lost prior to or after watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

If you have not had the opportunity to see the other movies in the series or read the book there is no time like the present to get started. If you begin now you should have plenty of time to not only read each book but also watch each DVD before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premieres in theaters on July 13, 2008. Other movies in the series include the following:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Fire
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

Each of the books in the series chronicles one year that Harry Potter spends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There are seven years in which students study at Hogwarts and the story will end with the final installment: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The movies through this point in the series have included:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Fire
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This summers release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix represents the fifth installment of these books on film. According to MovieWeb there will be a movie version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The release for that installment is set at the moment for November of 2008.

I will admit that I love books and have a difficult time actually enjoying a movie once I've read the book. I find too many things that I felt were important are often left out of the movie version. It would seem that either the screenwriters or the directors didn't share my view of what was and wasn't important. At any rate, the same holds true for most of the Harry Potter movies though I understand that with a limited time to tell the story some things must be left out. For this reason alone I approach watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with some degree of mixed emotions as well. I also know how this story ends and will experience a sense of dread during the entire movie knowing what the ending holds.

For those of you who are fans of the Harry Potter series this is the summer of all summers. July represents the end of the series in addition to another film so that fans can enjoy their own double feature of sorts.