Today is the day millions of wizards and witches around the world have been waiting for. It’s the worldwide release of one of the highest money making films of all time. Whether you be muggle or magical, young or old, you must be aware that Harry Potter hits the video store today in a lavish two disc DVD Set.The Pre-Orders for Warner Home Video’s latest effort has already broken all sales records, and this promises to be one of the biggest DVD releases of all time. But hype and sales aside, should you buy this?
THE MOVIE -I absolutely adore this movie. It’s enchanting, good fun. It’s a fine example of how to translate a book into a film. When I saw this in the theater I had no clue or concept of what Harry Potter was. I Didn’t know a muggle from a mug of coffee. And it was the film that started it off. God love Hermonine, Snape and Ron. I find Harry himself to be quite boring, but it’s the world he lives in and his friends that make the movie such a joy to watch. After viewing the film, I was so enchanted by it’s world, the positive values of friendship and loyalty that I went out and purchased the books. I read all four books two or three times since the film’s release and have read at least 50 fanfiction stories, it’s safe to say that I’m now addicted. I was curious to see how much the film was truly different from the books, and to be honest, I couldn’t tell. The casting was absolutely perfect, and hey how can you not like Alan Richtman as Professor Snape? And the kid who plays Draco? The film gets an A.DVD SPECIAL FEATURES For such a packed DVD, it feels pretty hollow to me. Most of the material on the DVD is children’s games, there are NO commentary tracks, just a few quick interviews with the folks from the movie, that looked like it was taken from the original EPK (Electronic Press Kit) which I already saw. The Navigation was confusing as heck, and I still haven’t found the deleted scenes or much of anything. You have to solve various puzzles in order to unlock the deleted scenes, and other things on the DVD. Which I find irritating beyond belief.I for one absolutely HATE “”easter eggs””, if I shell out $20 for a DVD or $60 for a game then dammit, just give me all my features, I don’t want to have to spend days trying to find some “”cool”” extra feature.The DVD Rom include a demo of the Harry Potter PC Game, more puzzle games, this way cool voice navigation thing (unfortanetly, all it does is open up various WB promotional websites, and once they are open you can no longer use the voice recognition feature).Again, after spending about 3 hours navigating and going through all the DVD Extra Features, it still feels weak, like you’ve accidently picked up the “”ear wax”” every flavor beans. DVD Feature’s Grade – C- Now that I think about it, I probably should add a separate grade for Kids, since the DVD special features are clearly aimed for them, and for it’s target audience, it would probably get a B+. I think kids will love the puzzles, and all the web based activities found through the DVD Rom.—————————————As I said, the movie still enchants and on DVD the transfer and 5.1 Dolby Surround is nice and crisp, although where’s the DTS? Where are the commentary tracks? Where are the trailers or set reports from “”Chamber of Secrets””. If Warner’s had waited another few months, this DVD probably could have been great, instead it’s just merely “”good””.For any fan of the film this is a must own. If you are not a fan of the film, what, are you high? Go out and get this DVD, just to watch the movie. Hermonie and Snape rules! Overall DVD Grade – B Review ByMichelle AlexandriaTuesday, May 28, 2002