Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1829 in VHS
• Released on: 2003-04-11
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Surround Sound
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 154 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The world's most famous boy wizard dives straight into a darker and more thrilling magical adventure in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It's practically the same set-up--something evil's afoot at Hogwarts; Harry and his pals must put it right--but fans of the books won't be disappointed. Director Chris Columbus, whose artistic licence is necessarily limited by the demands of adapting JK Rowling's phenomenally popular novel, does a spectacular job rendering Rowling's imaginary world: the production design and costumes are fascinating in their own right; such is the impressive attention to detail.

Daniel Radcliffe gives a more assured performance here as Harry, though he's not quite strong enough to carry the film without the aid of an excellent ensemble cast of experienced adults, notably a twinkly-eyed Kenneth Branagh. Of course, most viewers will already know what's going to happen as far as the story is concerned, so for them the pleasure in watching The Chamber of Secrets lies in the visualisation of Rowling's magical creations and the verve brought to the action sequences. It's fantastic fun for kids and a good excuse to regress back to childhood for the rest of us. --Laura Bushell

On the DVD: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets's first disc offers the film in all its fine widescreen (2.35:1) and surround-sound glory--it's a shame they didn't think of adding a commentary.

The second disc's special features are sparse compared to last year's release, most notably the games, which are simpler and dull in comparison to The Philosopher's Stone. Gilderoy Lockhart's classroom offers nothing magical, and the interviews with teachers and students offer only snippets of the actors' thoughts on their characters. Don't get over excited about the "Build a Scene" feature as, unfortunately, this is not a miracle of modern DVD technology, but a simple featurette. The real gem on the disc is a 16-minute interview with JK Rowling and Steve Kloves about the transfer from book to screen. --Nikki Disney

Synopsis
Harry returns for his second year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with his best friends Hermione and Ron. He ignores warnings not to go back to Hogwarts by a mysterious house elf named Dobby. Soon into the school year strange things start happening. Students are found in a petrified state, messages written in blood appear on the walls and Harry starts to hear voices in his head. It becomes apparent that someone has opened The Chamber of Secrets... but who is responsible and can the dark forces that lurk there be stopped?

Customer Reviews

Another triumph
After accompanying my children to the cinema to see the first Harry Potter adaptation, I must admit that I was quite looking forward to spending 2.5 hours in the company of the Hogwarts hosts, and my enthusiasm wasn't un-rewarded. Once again the time flew by far too quickly and my kids were again awestruck by the sheer scale of the deception.

There were shocks and surprises along the way. The first shock was how much Daniel and Rupert have grown since the last film, in looks, height, and confidence. Daniel's lower voice took a few scenes to get used to as well. The biggest surprise was the brilliant portrayal of Gilderoy Lockheart by Kenneth Branagh, who stole every scene he appeared in and brought much of the humor of the books into the script.

Obviously keen to overcome some criticisms of the first film, director Chris Columbus tried to include as many parts of the storyline from the book as he reasonably could in the time and as a consequence the pace never lets up. Fortunately the plot isn't too complicated (unlike the next book) so kids won't have too much trouble keeping up.

Once again excellent performances from the adults and the 3 lead children, Emma Watson settling into the role of Hermione as if she was born to play her. Ruperts facial expressions of fear, whilst funny at first, did start to wear thin towards the end, and Tom Feltons portrayal of Draco was, to be honest, embarrassing, but cut thankfully short.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable film, better than the first, a little scarier (especially if you are afraid of spiders !) and a must have DVD for your collection when released.

If you're a Muggle, look away now.......
As a huge fan of the Harry Potter series of novels, I really wanted to see just how well Chris Coloumbus made the transition from book to film. The first outing for Harry was excellent, and introduced old readers and new viewers alike to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of Hogwarts' staff.
In 'The Chamber Of Secrets', Harry is developed as a character, as are his friends, although in reality a little more of the book has been edited out than I really would have liked. But that is my only real criticism of this film.
Daniel Radcliffe proves that he has developed as an actor since 'The Philosopher's Stone', and he is well backed up by his co-stars, both in Ron and Hermione, but also in Malfoy and his cronies.
I am a big fan of both Alan Rickman and Keneth Branagh, and their performances are just briliant, tongue in cheek enough for the older viewers, but Alan Rickman's bad guy Snape and Branagh's comic Lockhart will also appeal to younger watchers.
I love the Harry Potter movies, and I think that they will, perhaps not be as classic as the books, but still will remembered as some of the best children's films in recent years. I personally think that they are great,and I will enjoy them for many years to come. I hope you do too.

It Gets Better And Better
When I went to see this film I was expecting a lot and that's exactly what I got. The children's acting abilities have come on leaps and bounds, especially Rupert Grint and Emma Watson who now seem a lot more confident. Jason Isaacs performance as Lucious Malfoy depicts him as the ultimate children's film villain (despite the fact it's Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series) but it's Kenneth Brannagh that steals the show. I wasn't sure how well he'd do but he hams up the part of Gilderoy Lockheart to perfection.

As for the actually DVD release, they seem to be doing a "Lord Of The Rings" style film with 19 new or extended scenes (much better than the previous film's seven hidden scenes) as well as cast interviews, interactive games and much more. Hopefully it will be easier to navigate than the Philosophers Stone DVD.

If the bonus features live up to the standards of the film, it will definitely be worth buying. Check it out.