DVD Reviews

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Ultimate Edition) – Blu-ray Review

By Patrick Luce Oct 31, 2010, 17:37 GMT

Welcome to the Fourth Harry Potter Ultimate Edition! When Harry Potter\'s name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, he becomes a competitor in a grueling battle for glory among three wizarding schools - the Triwizard Tournament.   But since Harry never submitted his name for the Tournament, who did? Now Harry must confront a deadly dragon, fierce water demons and an enchanted maze only to find himself in the cruel grasp ...more

Along with looking great on Blu-ray, the Ultimate Editions of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire are packed with features and goodies that are sure to please fans of the boy wizard.

The two films are my personal favorites of the franchise so far, and the Blu-ray format is the best possible was to enjoy the magical ride.

Directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) and adapted from J.K. Rowling's novel by Steve Kloves (who has written the screen adaptation of all the Potterfilms except Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban sees the franchise regulars return with Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, Emma Watson as  Hermione Granger,  Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley, Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape, Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall, and Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid.

The film also marks the arrival of new franchise players David Thewlis as Professor Lupin, Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, and Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore. Gambon took over the role following the death of Richard Harris in 2002, and he does an excellent job making his version of Dumbledore different than how Harris brought the character to the screen. Gambon’s Dumbledore seems a tad darker than Harris, and not as fatherly to Harry – which fits the events that begin to unfold in future films.

Prisoner of Azkaban finds Harry and his friends starting to move into a darker themes (the movies start to seem less kid friendly and a little more dangerous with this title) as year three at Hogwarts gets underway and Harry, Ron and Hermione (starting their teen years) have to deal with the threat of the escaped prisoner Sirius Black – who might intend to cause Harry harm.

Along with the supposed threat from Black (who has a connection to Harry’s parents), Harry has to deal with the eerie soul-sucking Dementors who are hunting Black, but seem drawn to Harry as well. He also gets to contend with a dangerous werewolf; learn how to handle a half-horse half-eagle Hippogriff; repel shape-shifting Boggarts; and master the art of Divination.

With Cauron in the director’s chair, the film seems less kid fantasy and more suspense as the Dementors roam the train, dark alleyways, and pop up at just the right scary moments. The colors of the film also seem to change a bit reflecting the cold, dark nature of Azkaban’s hunters. Throw in the werewolf scenes and you have the makings of a good monster film set in the world of Harry Potter.

This is the film that hooked me on the franchise thanks to its darker tones and it looks incredible on Blu-ray. The Ultimate Edition set is also a beauty to own with a new documentary for fans of the franchise to devour, a very sturdy case to house all the extras; bonus material spread out over three disc; two in a series of collector cards; and a 48 page photo book about the film.

Visit the DVD database for more information on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Ultimate Edition).

Mike Newell (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time) takes on directing chores for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – which once again features the return of the franchise’s main characters along with the arrival of Ralph Fiennes as the evil wizard Voldemort, Brendan Gleeson as the mysterious Alastor 'Mad­Eye' Moody, and Miranda Richardson as busybody reporter Rita Skeeter.

The film feels more like an adventure quest than past Potter films thanks to the Triwizard Tournament - where student representatives from three different wizarding schools compete in a series of contests to win the TriWizard Cup.

Although the tournament is  meant to be reserved for students over 17, a twist of magic finds young Potter entered into the competition and fighting for his life. The other contestants in the tournament include fellow Hogwarts student Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson before he got all sparkly for the Twilight films); powerful Quidditch player Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski); and Fleur Delacour (Clémence Poésy) from an all girls’ wizard school.

The tournament is not a simple match of Quidditch, and Harry is forced to survive encounters with dragons, underwater creatures, and make his way through a deadly maze. If that wasn’t bad enough, Harry also has to survive the return of Voldermort and teen love. 

The teen romance subplot grounds the film in a bit of reality as the audience can identify with the main three stars of the franchise discovering their first loves, having their first kiss, and dealing with the first touches of romantic jealousy.

Still, this is a Harry Potter film so things get bleak quickly as Voldemort and his Death Eaters (a group of dark wizards that follow Voldemort) show up to rain on Harry’s parade. Unlike Potter’s previous encounters with Voldemort, Goblet of Fire sees the evil wizard return in full form, and even uses some of Harry’s blood to complete the spell that brings him back to power. We also get to see a wizard’s duel between big V and Harry towards the end of the movie. These scenes are dark and a tad scary – which helped earn the franchise its first PG-13 rating and gave further proof dark days were coming for Harry Potter.

Like the Ultimate Edition of Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire is worth the upgrade thanks to an incredible picture, and a bundle of goodies that come with the set. It is once again housed in a nice box and includes two in a series of character cards, a 44-page book about the film and franchise, and a ton of special features that take you into the world of Harry Potter and show how each story is brought to the screen.

Visit the DVD database for more information on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Ultimate Edition).

Both Ultimate Editions of Prisoner of Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire are well-worth the price of the upgrade, and belong in any Harry Potter fan’s collection. In addition to looking and sounding great, the two editions include a ton of features for fans, books that capture the magic of the Potter franchise, and two of the best films to be released in the series.