As the Harry Potter novels devoured increasing chunks of woodland in its pursuit of pages, the film series somehow managed to rein itself in despite the books’ increasingly labyrinthine plot arcs. In an attempt to highlight the best scenes lost in translation (that is, not even filmed as DVD extras), here is a (potentially spoilerific) list of moments you might have missed.

It must be a right pain in the proverbial to be one of those directors who is only known for one project. Sure, that project may be the last four films in the Harry Potter franchise and has made him very rich and very famous – but let’s spare a thought for those nineteen years prior to Hogwarts with this week’s David Yates Cheat Sheet shall we?

Wizard King Daniel Radcliffe tells how the fame of Harry Potter led him down the path of booze

Argh! Give me your booty!

Over the last decade, Harry Potter has played a part in a number of our Christmases. A less painful tradition than the Queen’s deceptively short speech, we review The Boy Who Lived’s six Christmases to date. From Christmas in the girls toilets to Yuletide in a burning Burrow, we pose the question: just why is the boy wizard synonymous with Christmas?

With Harry Potter apparating back into screens next weekend with seventh instalment The Deathly Hallows Part I, Best for Film have endeavoured to catch you up to speed in terms of both the onscreen saga to date as well as the recent promotional campaign. Marketed as ‘The Motion Picture Event Of A Generation’, we would hate for anyone to miss out on either this phenomenal cinematic achievement or the expertly orchestrated promotional propaganda which is preceding it. Now, where did I leave my Quick Quotes Quill?

According to figures released today from the UK Film Council, 2009 had the highest cinema attendance in the last six years, with over 170 million people visiting their local theatre. This means that contrary to popular prediction, the film business is alive and booming.