Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-12-07
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Hebrew, Icelandic, English
• Dubbed in: Hebrew
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 153 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series begins right where The Order of the Phoenix left off. The wizarding world is rocked by the news that "He Who Must Not Be Named" has truly returned, and the audience finally knows that Harry is "the Chosen One"--the only wizard who can defeat Lord Voldemort in the end. Dark forces loom around every corner, and now regularly attempt to penetrate the protected walls of Hogwarts School. This is no longer the fun and fascinating world of magic from the first few books—it's dark, dangerous, and scary.

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) suspects Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) to be a new Death Eater recruit on a special mission for the Dark Lord. In the meantime, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) seems to have finally removed the shroud of secrecy from Harry about the dark path that lies ahead, and instead provides private lessons to get him prepared. It's in these intriguing scenes that the dark past of Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Voldemort) is finally revealed. The actors cast as the different young versions of Riddle (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Frank Dillane) do an eerily fantastic job of portraying the villain as a child. While the previous movies' many new characters could be slightly overwhelming, only one new key character is introduced this time: Professor Horace Slughorn (with a spot-on performance by Jim Broadbent). Within his mind he holds a key secret in the battle to defeat the Dark Lord, and Harry is tasked by Dumbledore to uncover a memory about Voldemort's darkest weapon--the Horcrux. Despite the long list of distractions, Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) still try to focus on being teenagers, and audiences will enjoy the budding awkward romances. All of the actors have developed nicely, giving their most convincing performances to date.

More dramatic and significant things go down in this movie than any of its predecessors, and the stakes are higher than ever. The creators have been tasked with a practically impossible challenge, as fans of the beloved J.K. Rowling book series desperately want the movies to capture the magic of the books as closely as possible. Alas, the point at which one accepts that these two mediums are very different is the point at which one can truly enjoy these brilliant adaptations. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is no exception: it may be the best film yet. For those who have not read the book, nail-biting entertainment is guaranteed. For those who have, the movie does it justice. The key dramatic scenes, including the cave and the shocking twist in the final chapter, are executed very well. It does a perfect job of setting up the two-part grand finale that is to follow. --Jordan Thompson

DVD Description
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Adolescent wizard-in-training Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for another year of schooling and learns more about the dark past of the boy who grew up to become Lord Voldemort in this, the sixth installment of the film series that originated from the writings of author J.K. Rowling. There was a time when Hogwarts was thought of as a safe haven, but thanks to Voldemort's tightening grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, that simply isn't the case anymore. Suspecting that the castle may even harbour an outright threat, Harry finds his investigation into the matter sidelined by Dumbledore's attempts to prepare him for the monumental battle looming ever closer on the horizon. In order to discover the key to Voldemort's defences, Dumbledore enlists the aid of resourceful yet unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, who may have a clue as to their enemy's Achilles' heel. Meanwhile, teenage hormones cause the students at Hogwarts to lose focus on their true mission. As Harry and Dean Thomas clash for the affections of the lovely Ginny, Romilda Vane attempts to woo Ron away from Lavender Brown with some particularly tasty chocolates. Even Hermione isn't immune from the love bug, though she tries her hardest to suppress her growing jealousy and keep her emotions bottled up. But there is one student who remains completely aloof from the romance blossoming all around, and he intends to leave a dark impression on his classmates. With tragedy looming ever closer, it begins to appear as if peace will prove elusive in Hogwarts for some time to come.

Special Features:
Disc 1: Feature film

Disc 2:
Behind the Story: Close Up with the Cast of Harry Potter: Hosts Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and Alfie Enoch (Dean Thomas) lead us on an entertaining look at the cast of Harry Potter as they explore their interests away from acting and spend a day on set with the production team:
• Editing with Daniel Radcliffe: Daniel and editor Mark Day have a lighthearted conversation about film editing and how to get the right shot for a scene.
• Special Effects with Matthew Lewis, Oliver Phelps and Tom Felton: The guys get a "science lesson" from Special Effects Supervisor John Richardson and technician Matthew Harlow.
• Owl Training with Jessie Cave: Jessie heads outside for training tips with “hootie” and owl trainer Guillaume Grange.
• Stunt Training with Rupert Grint: Rupert shows off his thrill for danger with the stunt department.
• Costume Designs with Evanna Lynch: Evanna shares her jewelry designs with Costume Designer Jany Temime.
• Art with Bonnie Wright: Bonnie and graphic designer Eduardo Lima show off the fun props, products and set designs.
• Behind The Camera with James Phelps: In his debut performance in the assistant director department, James actually becomes a crew member on set.
• Make-Up with Emma Watson: Emma and designer Amanda Knight talk about the biggest challenges on this year’s film.

One Minute Drills: The cast has 60 seconds to describe their character’s personality, history, relationships and other traits before time runs out.

Extras:
J.K. Rowling: A Year In The Life: A fascinating and intimate look into the life of J.K. Rowling over the last year of writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
What’s On Your Mind: Hosted by Tom Felton, the cast is put on the spot when asked a series of rapid-fire questions on their likes and dislikes.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ - Sneak Peak: Get an inside look at the amazing world of magic and excitement being created at Universal Orlando® Resort in Florida.

Additional Scenes:
• Harry and Hermione Walk Through the Halls of Hogwarts
• Harry and Hermione Discuss Marauder’s Map
• Harry, Ron & Hermione Discuss The Vanishing Cabinet
• Harry and Dumbledore Arrive At Cave Entrance
• Harry and Dumbledore Leave Cave
• Clouds Gather Over Hogwarts as Flitwick Conducts Choir
• Harry Joins Ron, Hermione and Ginny In The Common Room
• Harry and Hermione Discuss Ron At Astronomy Tower

Customer Reviews

Very disappointing
The first time that I watched 'Harry Potter And the Half-Blood Prince' I actually thought that it was OK although I did have one or two niggles with it. I watched it for a second time and realised that it is a bit of a let down and most definitely the worst film in the series.

It is too long and too slow, too much is missing from the book and too much is added to the film which was a strange thing to do. Why the scene with Harry and the waitress at the beginning? A complete waste of time and this wasn't the only time that things were put in that had no relevance to the book. Way too much time was wasted on lingering looks and awkward teenage angst. Yes, it did need to be shown but not to the extent that it dominated the film.

All in all this was a disappointing effort and let's just hope that they make a better job of 'The Deathly Hallows'.

A dark film for a dark plot!
If you and the family are looking forward to night in front of the tv with popcorn and ice cream to enjoy Harry's latest jape, then be warned, it will suck out as much hope as any dementer. I know the plot is dark but the whole visual expreience onscreen is dark aswell. Do'nt they have sunshine at Hogwarts?
For hardcore Potter fans only!

Harry Potter and the declining DVD packages
I've noticed, since the fourth Potter, the quality of these films has been dropping - since then, the films have felt very run-of-the-mill cash cows and with this latest one, that feeling is amplified even more, in my opinion.

Disc 1:
Menu

Play Movie: The acting from the trio is still uneven - passable one minute, very stilted another. The standouts are Tom Felton, and the two boys who play younger Voldermorts. Acting dishonours go to Dan Radcliffe and Bonnie Wright - the latter in particular is wooden, bland and has no screen presence and the former is stiff and awkward and struggles with emotional scenes(like the climax).

The plot has some superfluous scenes like the early flirting in Surbiton station and undermines some emotionally moving scenes, like the Major Character Death climax and the feeble, much-advertised attack on the Millennium Bridge.

The cinematography has a very gloomy, soft-focus, muted palette look, to me and the inky splashes work well in the Pensieve scenes. Unfortunately, most scenes are literally very dark, so I struggle to make out what's going on. Please, make the lighting brighter!

The score is pretty mediocre, and Hedwig's theme plays in odd moments.

Overall: A disappointing affair, especially as this is the sixth film now, and they should be getting better after each installment. Hogwarts lacks magic (where are the ghosts, for example?), the romantic subplots feel forced(I suppose that's what happens when you adapt books to films before the books have officially concluded) and the whole thing feels unbalanced. Instead of ending with a bang, it feels like an afterthought and as if shortcuts were taken. 6/10

Scene Selection: 1-6, 7-12, 13-18, 19-24 and 25-30.

Languages -
Spoken Languages:
English
English Descriptive Narration
Hebrew

Subtitles:
English (For The Hearing Impaired)
Arabic
Hebrew
Islenska
Off

Disc 2:
Special Features Languages

Special Features:

Close-Up with the Cast of Harry Potter -
Play All
Editing with Dan Radcliffe
Special Effects with Matthew Lewis, Oliver Phelps and Tom Felton
Owl Training with Jessie Cave
Stunt Training with Rupert Grint
Costume Designs with Evanna Lynch
Art with Bonnie Wright
Behind the Camera with James Phelps
Makeup with Emma Watson

J.K. Rowling: A year in the Life - Old ITV doc broadcast after Deathly Hallows came out.

One-Minute Drills

What's on Your Mind?

the Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Sneak peak

Additional Scenes -
Play All
Harry and Hermione Walk Through the Halls of Hogwarts
Harry and Hermione Discuss Marauder's Map
Harry, Ron and Hermione Discuss the Vanishing Cabinet
Harry and Dumbledore Arrive at Cave Entrance
Harry and Dumbledore Leave Cave
Clouds Gather Over Hogwarts as Flitwick Conducts Choir
Harry Joins Ron, Hermione and Ginny in the Common Room
Harry and Hermione Discuss Ron at Astronomy Tower

Extras rating: 5/10. Compared with the PoA disc, this is very sloppily put together.