Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) and the seventh instalment in the Harry Potter film series.

The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, respectively, reprising roles as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The story follows Harry Potter, who has been asked by Dumbledore to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's secret to immortality – the Horcruxes. Filming began on 19 February 2009 and was completed on 12 June 2010.

It was released in 2D cinemas and IMAX formats in the United Kingdom and in the United States on 19 November 2010, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received positive reviews with critics praising the performances, cinematography, visual effects and musical score.

In the film's worldwide opening weekend, Part 1 grossed $330 million, the third-highest in the series, and the highest opening of 2010, as well as the eighth-highest of all time. With a worldwide gross of $977 million, Part 1 became the third-highest-grossing film of 2010, and the third-highest-grossing Harry Potter film in terms of worldwide totals. The film was nominated for many awards, including the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects.

The film was followed by the concluding entry, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011.

Plot

At Malfoy Manor, Severus Snape meets with Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He reports that the Order of the Phoenix will move Harry Potter, no longer under his mother's protective spell, to a safe location. Voldemort confiscates Lucius Malfoy's wand; his own is powerless against Harry because it and Harry's wand are "brothers" by sharing the same phoenix feather core. During the move, Harry survives Voldemort's attack but Mad-Eye Moody and Hedwig are killed.

During preparations for Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding, the new Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour arrives. He informs Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Albus Dumbledore left each a bequest: Ron a Deluminator, Hermione a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and Harry the Golden Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match. Dumbledore had also bequeathed the Sword of Gryffindor to Harry, but it has gone missing.

News arrives during the wedding that the Ministry has fallen and Scrimgeour is dead. Death Eaters attack and Harry, Ron, and Hermione escape to Number 12, Grimmauld Place. While there, Ron realizes that Sirius' brother, Regulus Black, is the R.A.B. who stole Salazar Slytherin's locket from Voldemort. Local thief Mundungus Fletcher later sold it to Dolores Umbridge. Harry, Ron and Hermione infiltrate the Ministry and recover the locket but they are chased by Death Eaters in a chaotic exit. Hermione disapparates them to a forest. Meanwhile, Ron is injured. The trio decide to start their journey to discover and destroy all of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, starting from the locket.

Attempts to destroy the locket fail. Hermione deduces that Gryffindor's sword can destroy Horcruxes because it is impregnated with basilisk venom. Ron, affected by the dark locket, is frustrated with their slow progress and irrationally jealous of Harry and Hermione. He argues with Harry, then disapparates, leaving Harry and Hermione to continue their journey. When Harry touches the Snitch to his lips, it reveals a cryptic message: "I open at the close." Hermione notices a strange symbol drawn in Beedle the Bard that is identical to one Luna Lovegood's father Xenophilius wears.

Harry and Hermione search for the sword in Godric's Hollow and encounter the same strange symbol in a cemetery. Elderly historian Bathilda Bagshot invites them in her cottage, where they find a photo of the young man in Harry's dream who stole a wand from wandmaker Gregorovitch. Bathilda morphs into Voldemort's snake Nagini and attacks Harry. Hermione disapparates them to safety, but her rebounding spell accidentally destroys Harry's wand. Hermione identifies the man in the photo as dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. That night, a doe patronus leads Harry to a frozen pond where Gryffindor's sword lies on the bottom. Harry dives into the frigid water, but the locket around his neck tightens, strangling him. Ron appears, retrieves the sword, and saves Harry. They destroy the locket Horcrux with the sword. Ron explains that the Deluminator led him to their location.

Harry, Ron and Hermione visit Xenophilius Lovegood and learn the symbol represents the Deathly Hallows. Many years before, three brothers each received a prize that evades Death: the Resurrection Stone, the Cloak of Invisibility, and the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand known. Possessing all three makes one the Master of Death. Xenophilius secretly summons the Death Eaters, hoping to exchange Harry for a kidnapped Luna. The three escape, but Snatchers capture them. During a vision, Harry sees an elderly Grindelwald telling Voldemort that the Elder Wand is buried with Dumbledore.

At Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix Lestrange sees a Snatcher has Gryffindor's sword that she believed was in her Gringotts vault. Harry and Ron are locked into the cellar where they encounter Luna, Ollivander, and Griphook. Upstairs, Bellatrix tortures Hermione. Harry begs for help using a mirror shard in which he believes he glimpsed Dumbledore; Dobby appears in response and helps save everyone while Harry grabs their captured wands from Draco Malfoy. As they disapparate, Bellatrix throws a knife, killing Dobby. Harry buries him near Bill and Fleur's seaside cottage, an Order safe house. Meanwhile, Voldemort retrieves the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb.

Cast

Production

Main article: Production of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Daniel Radcliffe filming Dobby's death scene in Pembrokeshire, Wales

Part 1 was filmed back-to-back with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 from 19 February 2009 to 12 June 2010.[20][21] Director David Yates, who shot the film alongside director of photography Eduardo Serra, described Part 1 as "quite real"; a "road movie" that's "almost like a vérité documentary".[22][23]

Originally set for a single theatrical release, the idea to split the book into two parts was suggested by executive producer Lionel Wigram due to what David Heyman called "creative imperative". Heyman initially responded negatively to the idea, but Wigram asked, "No, David. How are we going to do it?". After rereading the book and discussing it with screenwriter Steve Kloves, he agreed with the division.

The production filmed at the Dartford Crossing for the dramatic chase where Harry and Hagrid are being ambushed by Death Eaters.