While attending the NYC luncheon to push Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 towards awards contention earlier this month, director David Yates, producer David Heyman, and actor Daniel Radcliffe commented on the chances of the finale of the series, which generated some of the best reviews of the year, getting Oscar recognition in major categories. They even went as far as to compare it to the third installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, which swept all 11 categories it was nominated in, including Best Picture of the year, in 2003.

"The film was so brilliantly received--we were probably one of the best reviewed movies of the year by a long way--and for a big, popular commercial film to get that great a response is really encouraging and heartening and I think it gives us all a bit of confidence for the Oscar campaign," he [said].

Yates continued, "It's the last film in the series and we all put so much into it and Stuart Craig and the visual FX, Tim Burke did all the visual FX, and I think Dan, it's probably the best performance in the whole run of the eight films, and Emma and Rupert did really well. I think David Heyman's achievement, 8 films across 11 years is an extraordinary journey, and to manage it all so brilliantly."

"Peter Jackson is a brilliant director and he chose to end his a certain way. I think we were very conscious of not having 'endingitis' and also Jo's books are such a gift. The other person to really shout out is Steven Kloves, the screenwriter, who did such a great adaptation, because even though this is two movies, there was still a matter of culling it and shaping it and he worked with David Yates and all of us really closely."

"Warner Brothers believes in it," his producer agreed. "I think this is the accumulation of eight films. I'm really proud of the film, and actually, it was well-reviewed, I think it was 97% on Rotten Tomatoes."

"I think it's a great film," Radcliffe [said]. "It's stirring, it's epic, it pulls a lot of loose ends together, which is not an easy thing to do when a story still had to go at such a pace, but it's the advantage of splitting it. It meant we took all that time in film 1 setting up film 2, so when we got into film 2, it could just be that non-stop ride. I haven't watched it since the premieres but I've never liked a 'Harry Potter' film as much as I liked this one. Part 2 is the one I'm proudest of."

The three also commented on the final film itself, including some of their favourite sequences to shoot and be a part of, and how the Blu-ray set has little nuggets that say goodbye to the Harry Potter series.

"If you look at the DVD extras, you can really get a sense of some of those goodbyes. It was an emotional time, and I think everybody really wanted to go out on the right note. Everybody pushed the envelope just that little bit more. And the book is an end, and we didn't want to have 'endingitis' but the book has an end, so it was a bit of closure for all of us," [said Heyman].

"Actually, we were all having quite a lot of fun doing that, bizarrely. Having created it all with such detail, there was a bit of a childish enjoyment about pulling it all apart, but you're right, there was an investment - Dan, Rupert, Emma knew it was the last time." [said Yates]

"I knew it was my last chance to make one of these films, so there was an odd investment from everybody, and we just knew how important the films were to people outside of the world we were in. it's a rare experience to be making something and for it to be so anticipated, and it was a process for saying 'Goodbye.' That definitely imbues the way you approach your job. Every day when you go to work, you know that it's the last film, it's the last scene, it's the last chance you get to direct Alan Rickman or Daniel in those roles."

On King's Cross: "I love that scene," [Radcliffe] concurred. "I find it very witty and very funny and I think if we could distill all of Jo Rowling's life philosophy into one scene, I think that's it. She may as well be playing Dumbledore in that scene.

"I think we made a really great film, and I have to hand it to David Yates. Halfway through filming, I was like 'How are we going to do this?' cause it does seem like when you're nine months in with nine months to go, you just go 'How is this going to get done?' To somehow manage to get all that across that time, to know all that time what he wanted to do in the film. It's really impressive to be honest with you."

Order the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 DVD and Blu-ray sets, out today in the U.S. and December 2 in the UK, at the Amazon links below, or through the official Warner Bros Shop.

Amazon.com (US) - Deathly Hallows 1-disc DVD | Deathly Hallows 1-disc Blu-ray | Deathly Hallows 3-disc Blu-ray triple play | The Complete 8-Film Collection DVD | The Complete 8-Film Collection Blu-ray

Amazon.co.uk (UK) - Deathly Hallows 1-disc DVD | Deathly Hallows 3-disc 3D Blu-ray | Deathly Hallows 3-disc Blu-ray triple play | Deathly Hallows 2-disc DVD | The Complete 8-Film Collection DVD | The Complete 8-Film Collection Blu-ray | The Complete 8-Film Collection BD limited edition