Film trailer: eight 'Harry Potter' films in 5 minutes

(AFP PHOTO / CARL COURT)

As the countdown to the last Harry Potter film nears, this 5-minute retrospective, released this week, looks back at the seven prior installments in the franchise.

The compiled footage includes memorable moments from the previous films with an earlier colorful look and a lighter tone than the decidedly darker mood of the Deathly Hallows finale in 3D. It also shows the actors growing up over the last decade.

For fans of the films, it's a rapid tour from the Sorcerer's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets to the Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, and Half Blood Prince, through to the two-part film adaptation of the final book in the J. K. Rowling series of novels, Deathly Hallows.

As the end draws near, the seven films leading up to this film also star Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. The illustrious cast also includes Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, John Hurt and Tom Felton.

The finale stages the battle between good and evil forces as an all-out war in a climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK2WCPYMERg

http://www.harrypotter.com

RC