DVD Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The latest "Harry" film is out on DVD. It's the darkest and best of the Potter films and owning it on DVD is a must!

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry is on his last legs and last nerve at the Dursleys when an overbearing visiting aunt badmouths his parents. Angry Harry turns her into a huge human balloon and she just floats away kicking and screaming. This, during the summer before Harry's third year at Hogwarts, causes him to move out, get picked up by a very cool triple-decker magic bus and be reunited with his pals Hermione and Ron. He hears of escaped prisoner Sirius Black, a renegade wizard who has something to do with the death of Harry's folks and is now out to get him. The horrific "Dementors", the guards of Azkaban prison are also after Harry and his very soul.

DVD Details and Special Features:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a two-disc set. The first disc is the film plus some trailers and cast bios. The second contains the features.

Video: The look of this DVD is great. The palette of Alfonso Cuaron's film is rather dark throughout but you can see everything you need to in detail in this excellent transfer. As usual, I'd go for the widescreen edition. I don't see any print flaws.

Audio: You get a Dolby 5.1 soundtrack with sound effects popping out well and John Williams' score well-balanced and beautiful. I saw this film at its Radio City Music Hall premiere and frankly, the sound, from my seat was lousy there! I couldn't hear half of the dialogue and there was an echo. This DVD, however, let me hear dialogue that I couldn't in the theater with crisp detail. There is a great surround sound feeling.

Special Features: Unless my player is messed up, the film starts up right away when you start your player. Menus are fun but take a while and I couldn't seem to skip over them or move quickly between sub-menus. One you get to the bonus stuff, you need to know your Hogwarts since the features are categorized under various areas of the school.

The "Divination" feature shows five unfinished/deleted scenes that are presented in "Trelawney's Crystal Ball,". Some of these are rough without all the special effects finished and fans may find this interesting. Although there is no voice-over commentary during the film, In "Creating the Vision," a 12-minute making of featurette that includes the adaptation from the book, we hear from J.K. Rowling herself, director Cuaron and others. The biggest extra feature is the "Head to Shrunken Head" section. You get over 40 minutes of interviews with cast and crew about making the movie and personal experiences. You can play all or choose from, "Heroes," "Gryffindors," "Slytherins," Lupin, Sirius Black, Dumbledore, Hagrid, the Dursleys, and the filmmakers (the director, the production designer, and the director of photography.)

The "Great Hall" is packed with DVD games. Most are better for younger fans. You have to "Catch Scabbers" the rat in a puzzle game and you can help a Knight on a quest. At "Choir Practice" you can sing along with the Hogwarts choir over various scenes from the film with the song lyrics printed on the screen for you.

The "Defense Against the Dark Arts" section offers little detail glimpses into rooms or trivia. "Magic You May Have Missed" is a memory game using clips from the film. There are two room tours in 360 degrees of the sweetshop and Lupin's Classroom. Okay but not greatly involving.

In the "Hogwarts Grounds" section, sub-section "Hagrid's Hut" a fun short featurette called "Care of Magical Creatures," lets you meet the animal trainers and learn how the real (non-CGI) critters are cared for during filming. "Conjuring a Scene" is an interesting look at special effects and make-up used on Black and Lupin etc. There is also a preview of the game based on the film and a link to the usual DVD-Rom content.

Although containing a fun collection of extras for fans, this DVD is aimed at the younger crowd. There is no commentary with the actors or producers etc. over the film and it would be nice to have one of those big hour-long documentaries on the making of the movie but this DVD is still very entertaining and a beautiful addition to your "Harry" library.

***

Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.