The similarities between the Harry Potter series and Star Wars just keep popping out at me.
I just stumbled upon this website (www.starwarsuncut.com), which offers the original Star Wars movie, later subtitled "A New Hope", completely refilmed in a world-wide smashup of styles. The organiser divided George Lucas' epic film into 15-second segments, then asked people from all over the world to sign up to recreate each segment in their own fashions. He then collected the resulting pieces and sewed them together in to a single film, a bizarre and bizarrely effective retelling of the original.
The result is hilarious, often surprising and sometimes artistically impressive. It's worth a look.
But, as I watched the final film, I couldn't help but notice all of the small details that Rowling seems to have adopted, adapted or paid homage to in her novels.
Most striking to me was Obi Wan's whispered assurance to Luke that "the Force will always be with you" as the film draws to a close.
It reminded me so strongly of Albus Dumbledore's repeated assurance to Harry that "help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for/deserve it".
I know, the words are very different but the sentiment, and the situation, are very similar.
I'm not suggesting that Rowling did anything inappropriate (no more than Lucas did when he borrowed so heavily from Akira Kurosawa's film, The Hidden Fortress, in writing Star Wars). I'm just saying that the parallels between these two great stories are interesting and often amazing.
Even more amazing to me is the fact that not one contributor to Star Wars Uncut seems to have seen the Harry Potter parallels and included references to it in their contribution to the film. Goodness knows there are enough Star Trek references littered throughout the final version of Star Wars Uncut!
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