Product Description

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph FiennesDirector: David Yates

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10192 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Fantasy
• Released on: 2007-11-12
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 132 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
While many movie franchises slide as they reach their later instalments, the Harry Potter films just keep getting better. The latest, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is easily the darkest of the series to date, and it’s also one of the best. For while it could easily have been little more than a holding film to set up the big encounters to come in the last two instalments of the series, it’s to the credit of British director David Yates that the end result is really very good.

It finds Harry coming under suspicion from his wizarding colleagues, who don’t believe his claims that the evil Lord Voldermort has returned. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix thus finds its title character on the backfoot for much of its running time, with a select band who firmly believe his story, and very powerful figures who don’t.

Where the movie of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix excels though is in its three trump cards. Number one is a far tighter script than we’re used to with Potter films, which, combined with trump card number two--the aforementioned David Yates behind the camera--cuts much of the slavish loyalty to the text away in favour of a film with real momentum. The third, and best, card though is the casting of Imelda Staunton as Professor Dolores Umbridge, who simply flies away with every scene she’s in. It’s a superb performance, and the film is poorer whenever she’s not on screen.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is not a film without a few problems, certainly: it’s a fair criticism that not too much actually happens, and one or two bits feel superfluous. But it overrides its problems with ease, to emerge as a compelling, highly enjoyable family film, which will leave you salivating for the Christmas 2008 release of movie number six in the series. --Simon Brew

DVD Description
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community has been denied the truth about his recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, in an inspired bit of casting). Fearing that Hogwarts' venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), is lying about Voldemort's return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students. But Professor Dolores Umbridge's Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves "Dumbledore's Army," Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead...

Synopsis
Young wizard-in-training Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts for his fifth year of studies, only to find that the magical community seems to be in a curious state of denial about his recent encounter with the sinister Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in the fifth instalment of the popular fantasy film series based on the best-selling books by author J.K. Rowling. Rumour has it that the dreaded Lord Voldemort has returned, but Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) isn't so sure what to make of all the hearsay currently floating around the campus of Hogwarts. Suspecting that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) may be fuelling the rumours regarding Voldemort's return in order to undermine his authority and lay claim to his job, Fudge entrusts newly arrived Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) with the task of tracking Dumbledore and keeping a protective watch over the nervous student body. The young wizards of Hogwarts will need something much more effective than Umbridge's Ministry-approved course in defensive magic if they are to truly succeed in the extraordinary battle that lies ahead, however, and when the administration fails to provide the students with the tools that they will need to defend Hogwarts against the fearsome powers of the Dark Arts, Hermione (Emma Watson), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Harry take it upon themselves to recruit a small group of students to form 'Dumbledore's Army' in preparation for the ultimate supernatural showdown.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Blu Ray transfer
This review is more about the blu ray transfer than the film itself.

The film is actually my second favourite after the prisoner of Azkhaban. Certainly gloomy but never dull, the secret training of Dumbledore's Army is great fun, and a climactic battle with Dumbledore himself is staggering.

The picture quality of this blu ray film is outstanding. Watched on a 40 inch sony with PS3 at 1080/24 it is brilliant. I did not notice any juddering mentioned in other reviews. The only quibble I have is that the picture quality is so good you notice some of the blue screen sfx, especially the flying on broomsticks through London, that was pretty sub par to be honest.

The visual display of the battle that Dumbledore has is absolutely amazing on Blu Ray. This film has some of the best visual quality scenes I have seen on Blu Ray.

The sound is only 5.1, I did not see any other options like DTS which is a disappointment, though the sound was still very good.

There are loads of extras, the walk through the set with Tonks is great fun, she is a talented singer ;) and I am frankly a bit smitten with her.

Overall an excellent blu ray disc, that I would frankly recommend buying or at least renting it even if you already have it on DVD.

A great film, but I have some misgivings
Book 5 of the Potter series is rather gloomy. Harry is feeling alienated, nightmarish and insecure, and Voldemort is rising in power. However, what worked extremely well for the book, works a bit against the film. A film is a different means of communication from a book and to strive to follow the book too closely is to do an injustice to both.

In this case the gloom drips off the screen and almost takes over everything else. Aside from the end there is little suspense, the much needed comic relief is scarce and even the characters seem only to be partly present. The film focuses a lot on Harry, but does not always reflect his feelings very well. Hermione and especially Ron are reduced to minor characters with little to say, and other minor characters, such as Ginny Weasley and newcomer Nymphodora Tonks seem to be merely window dressing.

In my opinion, this is still a good enough film, but because it has tried too hard to incorporate as much of the 800 pages of the book as possible, in events, and not in depth, quality has had to make room for quantity. Better to have extended the film to add some depth, or trimmed down some of the events and the amount of characters, than to have a somewhat watered down and rushed story, where an important event (the death of someone very dear to Harry) almost seems inconsequential.

The positive aspects of the film are of course the story, but also the excellent typecasting of the characters Luna Lovegood, Dolores Umbridge and Bellatrix Lestrange. There are still a few funny moments, and if you can get used the gloom, this is a beautiful film, though I believe the previous two were a tad better.

Own a PS3? This is fantastic!
I collected all the Harry Potter films but was un-sure whether to get it for my PS3 as it didnt match the other boxes. But boy does it look fantastic on my PS3. The picture is super sharp and the action looks brilliant on my 52" 1080p, my kids were just mesmerized.

At only £18.00 is a great buy for Christmas.