Buy This DVD Set Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!
Stars:
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon,
Richard Griffiths, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Timothy
Spall, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, and Julie Walters
Writer:
Steve Kloves
Based
On The Novel By: J.K. Rowling
Director:
Alfonso Cuaron
Feature
length: 142 minutes
Extras:
Never-Before-Seen Footage, “Creating The Vision” Featurette, Set-Top Games,
Self-Guided Tours Of Honeydukes And Professor Lupin’s Classroom, “Conjuring
The Scene” Featurette, “Meet The Animal Trainers In Care Of Magical
Creatures” Featurette, Theatrical Trailers For All Three Films, Game Preview
DVD-ROM
PC Features: Hogwarts Timeline And Magical Trading Cards
Languages:
English, French, and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Single-Sized Two-Disc Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 35
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2004
Theatrical
Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video
MPAA
Rating: PG
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
The
third entry in Warner Brothers’ fantasy film series based upon the novels
written by J.K. Rowling is the in some ways the most adult adventure in the
series in part because the kids are now supposed to be approximately 13 so they
are just beginning to behave more like young teenagers and it is also the
darkest of the three films because of the nature of the story itself. Harry
(Daniel Radcliffe) is no longer the innocent boy who just learned about his
heritage. Harry is now more angst ridden and as a result it is harder for him to
control his emotions, which at times manifest themselves in acts of defiance
such as a humorous scene involving his step aunt in the beginning of the film.
Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are also experiencing growing
pains of their own as they join Harry in this third big screen adventure that
serves in many ways as a prologue for things to come in the later books and
hopefully films.
Sirius
Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban prison, where he has been
incarcerated for being an accomplice in the murder of Harry’s parents. It is
believed that he will go after Harry so Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambone)
has allowed the wraith like Dementors to patrol to grounds that surround
Hogwarts. The Dementors are attracted to Harry Potter and often attempt to suck
his life essence out of him whenever possible. This has not escaped the notice
of the new Defense Against The Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Lupin (David Thewlis),
who attempts to help Harry confront his fear and anger by learning how to repel
the insidious creatures. However Harry wants more than to face his own fears, he
wants Sirius Black to come for him so he can confront him.
Director
Alfonso Cuaron steps in for Chris Columbus this third time around and he brings
a certain sensibility that goes well with the tone of the story. Some people
might be put off by the fact that the three lead actors are no longer kids, but
since each movie is supposed to represent another year of study at Hogwarts so
it is only natural that these actors do get older and to add to their defense, I
hope they are kept for the next four films to come because not only is it
interesting to watch them grow up from film to film, but it is not like these
kids are somehow drastically changing as they get older. Danielle Radcliffe and
Rupert Grint look like they will be handsome young men some day and Emma Watson
will some day be a beautiful young woman. I like Michael Gambone better as
Professor Dumbledore. He brings a certain playful edge to his character that
reminds me of the headmasters of the private schools I attended as a kid. They
are sort of intimidating, but at the same time they really do care about the
students and will go out of their way to push them in the right direction even
if they won’t admit it openly to their students. The late Richard Harris was
very good in the role and he came across like a grandfather figure to the
students in the first two films, but he also seemed a bit too frail at times.
The special effects for this new entry are better than the previous two films
too. About the only caveat I had about the film, as a whole was that it didn’t
feel so much like complete adventure as it did a prologue for things to come. To
get into specifics might reveal spoilers for those who have not read the book or
seen the film so that is as far as I will go into it.
Finally
available commercially in a keep case instead of a Digipack gatefold within a
slipcase, which was how the first two films were originally released on DVD,
“Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban: 2-Disc Widescreen Edition” scores
bonus points just for delivering consumers a more pleasing and durable style of
packaging alone. Both discs come housed within a single-sized two-disc keep case
with an insert containing scene selection information as well as a map of where
the extra value features are on each disc. Presented in an anamorphic widescreen
(2.35:1) aspect ratio, “Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban” looks
quite solid with only a faint grain visible in select scenes. The English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is very discrete and well mixed. A French
(Dubbed in Quebec) and a Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack
are also encoded onto the first dual layered DVD along with English Captions and
Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language
Subtitles as options. Optional English and French Language Subtitles are also
available for select extra value features on disc two.
The
theatrical trailers for “Harry Potter And The
Sorcerer’s Stone” (2:23), “Harry
Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets” (2:12), and “Harry Potter And The
Prisoner Of Azkaban” (1:50) are also included on disc one along with an
onscreen cast and crew list. Watching all three trailers back to back is
interesting since one can truly see how fast these kids are growing up. The
interactive menus on disc one feature full motion scene transitions to standard
interactive still frame menus and are easy to navigate.
The
narrated interactive menus on disc two are fully animated, easy to navigate, and
are made out to be a representation of the Marauder’s Map from the film. There
are five areas of the map to explore. Under the “Divination Class” heading
are five additional scenes that are not in the final film and do not feature
completed visual effects. These scenes are presented in a letterboxed (2.35:1)
aspect ratio and are rather incidental and short with three only lasting less
than a minute and the longest scene not equaling two minutes in length.
Next is the “Creating The Vision” featurette (11:43), which features
a somewhat informal interview with Author J.K. Rowling and Director Alfonso
Cuaron. This is supported by a series of interview featurettes with the talking
shrunken head from the film present with the cast and filmmakers. These
interviews can be viewed individually or as one reel (43:13) and some are rather
interesting though the shrunken head comments get tiring fast.
Under
the heading “Defense Against The Dark Arts” there is a memory game called
“Magic You May Have Missed” and a self guided 360-degree tour of Professor
Lupin’s Classroom. In “The Great Hall” is the read-along choir practice
scene from the film (1:39) as well as an interactive game entitled “Catch
Scabbers” and “The Quest Of Sir Cadogan” interactive game. All three of
these set top DVD-Video games do not require a DVD-ROM player. One can also take
a self-guided 360-degree tour of “Honeydukes” or visit the Hagrid’s Hut
for a featurette on the animal trainers and their star animals in the film
(4:44) as well as a special effects featurette (15:35). A preview for the
“Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban” video game (1:02) as well as a
reel of trailers that feature “The Polar Express” and “Elf” (4:51) wrap
up the DVD-Video extra value features included within the two-disc set.
Windows
based PC users with a DVD-ROM drive will also have access to various web links
as well as a “Hogwarts Timeline” and “Wizard Trading Cards.” “Harry
Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban: 2-Disc Widescreen Edition” will debut on
DVD-Video at retailers on and offline on Tuesday, November 23, 2004 courtesy of
Warner Home Video.
Harry
Potter Publishing Rights © J.K. Rowling. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and
related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.
“Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban: 2-Disc Widescreen Edition” DVD Set Review At GENRE ONLINE.NET – © Copyright 2004 By Mark A. Rivera. All Rights Reserved.
Buy This DVD Set Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!