The film's teaser is officially out:

http://www.hpana.com/news.20564.html

Good grief, the kid's freaken Damien!

Ooohh... creepy trailer.  I likes.

Well, now here's a disappointing shock.  Half-Blood Prince has been pushed back to July 2009:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37931

States WB: "Our reasons for shifting 'Half-Blood Prince' to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment. Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers' strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films--changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of. We agreed the best strategy was to move 'Half-Blood Prince' to July, where it perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer."

Dunno, Potter films have always felt more appropriate for the Autumn.  Something about the cold, dark, chilliness of the season just makes it so.

Yeah, I don't like when they come out in the summer.  I see them as November/December type films.  But whatever.

New trailer, labeled "4a":

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/harryp … oodprince/

Damn, it's looking amazing.  Especially love that new reprise of the "Prologue" main theme at the end, and I'm hoping it doesn't end up simply as a temp track. 

I have high hopes that Hooper will bring about redemption after his Order of The Phoenix score.

Little hope for Hooper but I think this movie is going to kick ass.

Hooper's "Order" was pretty good. Flight of the Order of the Phoenix may have a clumsy name but the composition itself soars, one of the best triumphant "flight" themes I've ever heard. "The Hall of Prophecies" is a very gripping, atmospheric track, and the Umbridge tracks have a twisted quality that fits the character. Williams composed a very nice main theme for the series, but his other compositions tend to be way too much by the book.

As for the new trailer, wow. They're pulling out all the stops. But I do like the third trailer that gives less of an actioney feel.

The new trailer is excellent, but since the director is still Yates and the composer is still Hooper, I have little hope for the final film.

Might be time to stop ignoring these movies. I read the books up to Order of the Phoenix, and liked them, but never saw fit to read the rest of the series.

Christian Clemmensen's got his Filmtracks review of the score up.  It's not sounding too promising:

http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/halfblood_prince.html

Also, be forewarned that there's a MASSIVE PLOT SPOILER in the track listing.  Why soundtrack producers do this is beyond me.  It's just like Goblet of Fire before it.

The prospect of Williams returning for Deathly Hallows, though, is an exciting one.  Let's hope it happens!

You can hear the whole score here:

http://new.music.yahoo.com/programs/earlyedition/

Nice.  I'll give it a full listen tomorrow, but I'd definitely be interested to hear what you think of it.

My first listen didn't make much of an impression, aside from "Opening" and especially "Journey to the Lake." There's a lot of dark, brooding music that likely sets the tone in the movie well but doesn't make for interesting listening outside of it. And, unlike the fifth score which had several new themes, there isn't much of a thematic presence. Tracks like "The Killing of SPOILER" are especially disappointing because you'd expect so much more from them.

I'm just about to finish off my Harry Potter movie marathon. I watched the first four movies over the week and I'll be watching the fifth tonight. It never hurts to get ready for the sixth. My impressions of the movies have pretty much held firm over the years. #3 remains my personal favorite.

That appears to be the gist of Clemmensen's review.  At least there's darker overtones; for a film like Potter, especially at this stage of the story, I'd take dark and brooding over Phoenix's light and flighty any day.

I've grown to like Azkaban as well, but Goblet of Fire is still my favorite of the Potter flicks.  Mike Newell really nailed a great movie.

Not sure it counts as a massive plot spoiler when what you're obviously referring to was spoiled two weeks before the book came out, which was...4 years ago?

Scans of page 606 was a massive plot spoiler. If you're going into this film without knowing that SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE (I dare you to get that censored), you haven't been paying enough attention. Seriously, it's about as spoilerific as someone shouting "Sephiroth killed Aeris!" Yeah, we know.

(this is also relevant) -- specifically for the Tyler Durden alt text

The death of Qui-Gon Jin from Star Wars Ep. I was revealed in the OST's tracklist. That was the only time I've been legitimately "spoiled" by a soundtrack. And at this point, it's like, who really cares...

Ramza

I'm certain there's a faction of people who have yet to read the books, but are waiting up to see the movies.  By that count, yes, it's a serious offense to put something as spoiler-heavy so publicly out there.  Especially for the film fan, who, I don't know..... enjoys film music?

Well, there's plenty of the light and flighty as well. The film apparently spends a great deal of time with the relationships of the main three and the music follows suit. But yeah, Clemmensen is dead-on. I'll be looking forward to your impressions.

I watched Goblet of Fire for last night and while it's definitely a good movie, it's a little too disjointed for me to call it my favorite. The first fifteen minutes in particular are a whirlwind. There are definitely challenges in condensing a book as long as GoF (and the film is already 150-some minutes) but I would have liked more time to set things up. Once it gets going, it has a great deal of momentum.

A lot of people don't care for it but I like Doyle's score. He especially nails the big Harry/Voldemort climax.

I *loved* Doyle's score.  His style was really a terrific choice for the film; elegant, dynamic, and classy through and through.

I'd say it comes in a close second after Williams' Azkaban.

I'd agree with that. Azkaban is my favorite, and then GoF, Chamber, Sorcerer and finally, Order of the Phoenix.

What did you think of the use of music in the first movie? I watched it a few days ago and was struck with how annoyingly overbearing the music was. It was like the diametric opposite of Hooper's score to the fifth movie. I usually greatly enjoy John Williams but the music just wouldn't shut up!

My sister has essentially declared I will be seeing this at the theatre with her, much the same as she did when Phoenix came out. I'll be bringing earplugs this time because the last experience was defeaning and my impromptu tissue-plugs didn't entirely solve the problem.

I'm kind of a casual fan in that I've been following the movies instead of the books. I've nothing against reading, mind you, but I'd rather take in a film adaptation and later be impressed by a more-fleshed-out source novel than read the book first and be scandalized by a shoddy adaptation (as my sister was by Phoenix, which she still fumes about in fact). At any rate, this means that like many people I'm already aware of the story's megaton spoilers, but in a Headline News fashion, devoid of context or reasoning whatsoever. So it should be entertaining to find out why these things play out in this way.

That said, I'm not as interested as I once was. I liked the first film, loved the second and enjoyed the third nearly as much, but I completely despised the fourth with its darker tone and needless friction, and was thoroughly confused about nearly everything in the equally-menacing fifth (director's fault, my sister insists; I'll probably have to ask her for a rundown of the most important details before I sit down with my popcorn). What started out as a light fantasy with subtle overtones seems to be turning into another Grim Epic of Death and Shouting, and I'm always bummed when things devolve like that.

But to be fair I'm (mentally) old and stubborn about change anyway.

Yes, I saw Up. And yes, I loved it.

The fifth movie is a tricky animal. The book is almost 900 pages and there's only so much you can expect when it comes to adapting it. I think that it turned out as well as could be expected (and even better, with all the fluff cut out). Still, it's one of the shorter movies and probably could have used some expansion, to clear some things up.

If you don't care for the increasingly darker tone, you're probably not going to like what's to come. Grim Epic of Death is understating things.

To be fair, the movies are not to blame for that, because that is exactly what has been happening in the books as well.

The books don't make as much noise though

All right, just gave the Half-Blood score a go.   It may not be saying much, but I think it makes for a marginally better listen than Phoenix.  Despite its frequent and somewhat clumsy juggling of tonality, I've found it to at least be more stylistically varied this time around.  At its best, the orchestrations are again top-notch, with Hooper adding in (or perhaps further accentuating) some new choice instruments, and the score itself sounds like it could be perfectly functional in context.  I do concur, however, that this is pretty much a thematically barren affair.  Some of the more pivotal cues (or at least the ones labeled as such on the soundtrack) really do deserve more memorable showcasings, and several pieces never develop into anything remotely special.  That's probably the most frustrating thing about this score; that it sounds and feels masterfully crafted, yet it's so remarkably underdeveloped, that it offers little in the way of leaving a lasting mark.

The brooding stuff sounds apt for the passages of the tale that's about to unfold, but for the lighthearted, "anti-dark" pieces, I do appreciate that there's far less flightiness evident this time around.  More specifically, there's less of the obnoxious "dainty rhythmic prancing" as Clemmensen coins it.  (With the exception of Umbridge's theme, which makes a dreadful return in the track Living Death.)  It's these tracks that give the score its unique identity - the style and instrumental choices are varying and unabashedly different.  The Weasley Stomp, despite one section that uncannily brings to mind Giacchino's recent main theme for Star Trek, is a jaunting good time.  Wizard Wheezes comes straight out of left field with some hard-hitting swing 'n brass, and the added use of heavy bass and percussion in The Slug Party surmounts to a viable comedic track.  Farewell Aragog lets off a whiff of the Irish, with a surprisingly tender and emotive performance of fiddle and strings.

So, I dunno.  I don't love the score, but I don't exactly hate it either.  As said, it's a step up from Phoenix, but not by much..... which still makes this one of the weaker soundtracks in the series.  Still looking forward to hearing it contextually within the film.

It's been a while since I've seen the first movie, so I couldn't make the call.  From what I can remember, though, Sorcerer's Stone was somewhat less restrained in tone and mood than, say, the third and perhaps even the second films.  But perhaps it was a necessary first step to lay down the thematic groundwork for the rest of the series?

I watched OotF last night and the music was perfectly functional. The six-minute "Room of Requirements" cue remains the best in the score (and soundtrack). It's just that Hooper doesn't go the extra mile to make it more than functional. And when you're scoring a series that includes excellent efforts by John Williams and Patrick Doyle, the bar is cast VERY high.

It felt like the music was pushing too hard to set the tone and mood. Full-blown statements of Hedwig's Theme are made every ten minutes. Whereas in Azkaban, the score is remarkably subtle. It's also worth noting that most of the themes in the first movie were later discarded. either by Williams himself or the composers who followed him.

I saw snippets of one of the trailers on a DVD a family member rented. I haven't seen past the....third movie, or possibly even just the second. Is there a point at the series in which the events of the magic-casting peoples has repercussions on the real world? Or do the muggles or whatever just get mind wiped afterwards?

Early reviews on the film have been resoundingly positively so far.  General consensus is that, like the book itself, Half-Blood is a slower, more deliberate entry in the film series -- more character and exposition driven, and a superb build-up to The Deathly Hallows.  Most concur that Yates has a better handle on the material over his first attempt with Phoenix, perhaps due in part to a more generous running time and the return of screenwriter Steve Kloves.  Says IGN's Chris Tilly: "This is the first Potter flick that functions as a fully working thriller."

I like Drew McWeeny's review.  Some choice quotes:

"This is absolutely the best of the "Harry Potter" films so far.  That may sound like faint praise, but it's not.  Even removed from the sliding scale of this particular series, "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince" is a remarkable fantasy adventure, dense and serious and adult, and it serves as a fascinating benchmark for just how far this series has come since 2001.  I've always liked the ambition more than the execution, but now, finally, it feels to me like we're seeing the full potential of the series realized, and the result is somewhat breathtaking."

"But in spirit, this is the first time I've felt like I can wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone as a great film, not just a great entry in this particular series.  That's surprising considering how far down the road we are, and I sincerely look forward to seeing this one again as soon as possible."

The movie is excellent, my second favorite after Azkaban.

I have a few quibbles with some of the choices they made in the adaption but that's all they are. Quibbles. This is the first film since Azkaban that hasn't felt rushed. I'll admit it isn't especially plot-heavy but that leaves room for some tasty character development (and a surprising amount of humor. This is probably the funniest of the films).

The look of the film deserves special note (and the cinematography should get an Oscar nod). The castle has never looked so beautiful... and yet so foreboding. Definitely a far cry from the Sorcerer's Stone days.

I saw the movie myself last thursday, my first IMAX experience, and although I agree with you that it's definitely one of the best, I thought there was a surprising LACK of humor this time round. It was pretty serious throughout, and the comedy that WAS there wasn't particularly good.
I remember the 4th and 5th as being more enjoyable in that respect.

Also, to me, it STILL felt rushed, like all the other movies, but I have come to accept this.
The books are quite long so this is probably a necessary evil.

It would have been nice if they had spent a bit more time on developing Tom Riddle's character, like the book, and two of the most dramatic moments in the story, Dumbledore drinking the strange liquid, and Dumbledore getting killed by Snape are over surprisingly quick.
Especially the first of these two would have hit home far more if it had been drawn out a little, but maybe that's just me.

Still, definitely one of the best so far.

Oh, and Snape is awesome, as always. Alan Rickman FTFW.

Saw it Wednesday night.  Very good, IMO.  Most importantly, this movie actually moves at an easy pace and spends most of its energy on character development.  After the last three blazed through scenes, it was nice to slow down and enjoy the relationships among the characters for a change.  It would have been nice if they hadn't cut out so much of the Tom Riddle backstory, but in the context of the films, I can understand why they did.  My only real complaint is that the final scenes were over way too fast and as a result, fell flat.

After being extremely disappointed with Yates' work on the fifth film, I'm glad to see he's shown remarkable improvement on this one, and I'm optimistic for how we will handle the next two.  That said, his big weakness seems to be with action scenes, and since the eighth film will have some pretty major action scenes, I hope he gets some good help for it.

Concerning Hooper's score, he's still far and away the weakest of the HP composers, but he did a better job than in the last one, so at least he showed some ability to improve.

In Yates' defense, he hasn't really been given the chance to direct a full-blown action scene. Most of them have been over in two or three minutes. But yeah, he'll have to really step up to the plate for the big scenes in the seventh book.

(I did enjoy the Dumbledore/Voldemort duel in the fifth movie.)

I've noticed that people have been split on the humor. I dunno. I personally thought Ron on the love potion was hysterical (followed by Harry feeling lucky). I was also in a theater filled with people who were very receptive to these moments.

Hooper's score was functional. He adequately covered the emotions necessarily but the music itself doesn't have much identity or thought put into it. The only scene I thought he really bungled was Dumbledore's last. I also noticed some music from the fifth movie was tracked in.

Rumor has it that John Williams has been approached to score the last two movies. It all depends on his schedule, so I hear. This would obviously be ideal.

I'll have a formal write-up sometime in the future, but I thought this was a tremendously satisfying film.

Still gonna have to give the nod to Goblet as my favorite, but Half Blood certainly finishes a close second alongside Azkaban.

Agreed.  Since reading how lauded cinematographist Bruno Delbonnel is, I was paying particular attention to how the movie was shot.  It's masterful, to say the least.

Much of the humor stems from the teen romance angle, which can be a take it or leave it sort of thing for many.  Personally, I thought the kids did a terrific job emoting the proper balance of nuance acting in this one; the furtive glances, the uncomfortable reactions, and the remarks laced with subtle sexual innuendo.  Though to me, nothing comes close to genuine hilarity than the Moaning Myrtle bathtub sequence in Goblet of Fire. :p 

On the opposite side of the coin, Half Blood does feature one of the most emotionally-charged scenes I've seen in the film series yet -- and that's when Harry consoles Hermione out in the corridor.  Watson was tragically wonderful here.

I did mention it in passing prior, but yes, getting Williams back would be a real coup for the finale of the series.  The question is, how would he approach it?  Would he choose to continue off of the thematic material he introduced in the first three films?  Would he adapt any pieces contributed by Doyle and Hooper?  He'd be in a most intriguing musical position, to be sure.

My favorite shot is right after the Hermione crying scene, where the camera zooms out to the tower they're in, crawls up it and centers on Draco Malfoy brooding on the top of another tower. Gorgeous. This will definitely be a Blu-ray purchase.

Yates seems to have great taste in cinematographers. He grabbed Eduardo Serra for the Deathly Hallows films. He's best known for his stunning work in Girl With a Pearl Earring.

Definitely lots of awkwardness. A lot of the laughs for me came from Lavender Brown. Jessie Cave was hysterical in the part.

Hard to say. He certainly has a bunch of themes he can work with. From Doyle, there's the Harry theme as well as the creepy ascending Voldemort theme (although Williams is more likely to use his own, from Sorcerer's Stone). Depending on whether Umbridge appears in the next film, her theme could make a cameo. Just depends on how interested in continuity Williams is.

Aside from Hedwig's Theme (and mostly just the A part of the theme), neither Doyle or Hooper were especially interested in working with Williams' material.

The Half-Blood Prince is out on home release this week, but more importantly is that the Blu-ray edition houses the first teaser trailer for The Deathly Hallows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAAYsGJnh60

Higher quality versions will likely become available soon.