ALMOST THERE

HERE IT IS.... A breakdown of each of the deleted scenes contained on the "Order of the Phoenix" DVD are as follows (spoilers!)

The second disc menu opens with a sweeping shot of the Black Family Tree Tapestry – stunning! Though I couldn’t see much it moves quite quickly. There were tantalizing glimpses including – the Black Family Crest – a coat of arms topped by a skull, with three ravens and an armoured hand holding a wands, and the motto Toujours Pur. Plus all those names – the Prewitts, Weasleys, Tonks’s, Regulus and Sirius, and someone called Orion Walburg (1925-195/8?). The shot ends with Lucius and then great embroidered face of Draco Malfoy. The branches also have little skulls, dragons, Griffons, and a Snake on the branch. Then the menu comes (still in tapestry form) and you choose from: additional scenes,Trailing Tonks, Hidden secrets of HP, HP: the magic of editing

Trelawney Eating
An extended shot of Trelawney eating her way through her dinner while Umbridge is making her speech in the backgrounds. Obviously, the cameraman couldn’t move on because Emma is so truly hysterically funny. Lots of fumbling and bumbling (I won’t spoil it for you by giving you all the details). A lovely touch is the ironic counterpoint of Umbridge’s phrases ( “utmost seriousness, practices which must be pruned, improve what can be improved, etc.) with Trelawney’s muddled messes. What’s nice is that you get to see lovely details of the table settings.

Neville in Common Room
Additional bit (only a few seconds long) after Harry’s confrontation with Seamus in the Gryffindor common room, where Neville talks about it being the Daily Prophet that’s rubbish.

Gryffindor Common Room
This is one continuous sweeping shot of the common room taking in all the other students before coming to rest on Harry sitting alone in front of the fire. I think it is after the detention with Umbridge and before Harry’s chat on the sofa at the fire with Ron and Hermione. There are some delightful touches, including a couple snogging on the stairs, Nevillle tending his Mimbulus Mimbletonia, some girls plaiting each other’s hair, Seamus and Dean playing cards, and glimpses of the tapestries on the walls. They should definitely have kept this scene! It’s just a complete contrast to the horror Harry has just endured with Umbridge, and it emphasizes how alone and apart from other students Harry is, how much more serious his worries are.

Umbridge questions Trelawney during a dream interpretation class
This is a lovely scene, with a sarcastic Umbridge interrupting and generally terrorizing Trelawney. There are also some great cuts to Ron (canon Ron - yay!) and Harry. Harry shows more grim, adult-like expressions as we see his dawning realization of how cruel Umbridge is, how she enjoys her power, how she is beginning to interfere at Hogwarts. They have cut this longish scene up into short cuts which they have spliced into the Umbridge Montage in the final cut of the film. Although the gist of the scene is kept, the mounting/dawning realization of what is happening (“The Minister’s eyes and ears”), is lost. Slytherins are grinning in the background, enjoying the cruelty. I think this sets up their later conversion to the Inquisitorial Squad. The scene also sets up Trelawney’s dismissal very nicely

Umbridge and Filch
Just a few seconds of Umbridge and Filch looking down from a high tower or balcony while some Slytherins (including Draco, Crabbe and Goyle) bully a young Ravenclaw student in the quad below. The scene shows her tolerance of evil as long as it supports her domination of the school, and her natural inclination to sadism, but not much is lost by omitting this from the movie.

Filch and Umbridge’s hair
Filch sniffing then blowing on Umbridge’s still smoking hair (after the fireworks)

Extended forest scene with Umbridge, Hermione and Harry
A longish scene in which Umbridge explains herself more, justifies her actions, and tries to elicit sympathy from Harry and Hermione. She winds up crying “Look what you’ve done to me, I cannot take it anymore!”

Harry in DD’s office
After the battle at the ministry, a rather battered Harry enters Dumbledore’s office. There are nice details of the office, the whirring and clicking instruments, the Gryffindor sword (I think – though it looks a little plain) on the desk, and cabinets full of mysterious objects in the background. But sadly (sigh) Harry does not go mad with grief and rage and smash things up. Harry spots the sorting hat again, then angrily turns to walk out but is called by back by DD.

Harry packing
Extended version of the scene in which Harry is packing to go home. Ron comes in and Harry tells him to go on to the feast without him (Harry). Ron returns to Hermione in the common room, and just shrugs in response to her enquiring glance. Nice canon Ron, good emphasis of Harry’s grief and aloneness, but to my taste, the poignancy of the scene is lost when Hermione half smiles in response to Ron’s shrug.

TRAILING TONKS
A high Energy Natalia Tena roams around Leavesdon Studios, using a marauder’s map type effect to show the viewer which department will be viewed next. We get to see her: in hair and make-up, the sound desk on one of the sound stages (not much to see there), the canteen, singing while playing a guitar in her trailer, cuddling the boarhound who plays Fang, Matt Lewis and Alfie Enoch (Dean) playing some cricket out on a nearby field, art departments – with a model of Kreecher’s head and one of the brooms, and brief views of some models of the set (e.g., atrium of the Ministry, Hogsmeade Village), graphics dept where we see Daily Prohpet newspapers, Sirius “Wanted” Poster, Marauders’ Map (yay!), special FX dept (wands, locking door from Gringotts movie I, prophecy ball, sound stage with fighting (wand dueling) training session, soundstage in the room of requirement, brief chat with Dan. Here everyone was wearing wierd blue surgeon-type shoes (so as not to muck up set floor?) Grimmauld Place kitchen and house (super-brief) Ministry atrium with set men scattering the floor with the shattered glass, model shop (centaurs, Mimulus Mimbletonia)

extra feature “Secrets of HP”
Narrated by the sexy-voiced Jason Isaacs (I knew you’d like that, Sue!), this is a long feature along main HP themes (e.g., Things are not what they seem; Choice; Pride and Prejudice; Battle for Harry; It includes: cuts and a few stills from all the movies so far,brief comments by all the major cast members (except Gambon ), David Heyman, and David Yates. Also no Alan Rickman (maybe he was still sitting on his Snapey secrets!) and theorizing by commentators including Jane Scott Batchler (author of “What will Harry Do?”), John Granger (author “Unlocking Harry Potter) and a fair few comments from Steve Vander Ark. No new movie material (I think). It gives the backstory of Harry, and his connection to Voldemort, his developing identity, etc.It’s a nice feature, though it could have been more in-depth for the true fan’s liking.

Extra feature: "Harry Potter and The magic of editing"
This is a shortish featurette on the difference that editing, visual effects, music and sound can make to a scene, with an interactive exercise at the end where you can choose the edits and accompanying sound and music for a scene (DA practice). I couldn't get this "game" feature to work, but this may be due to deficiencies in my DVD player, or my (non-existent) gaming ability.