HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

 

 

 

"Why don't you believe me?"

After his confrontation with he who must not be named, Harry Potter (Radcliffe) is dismissed by the Ministry of Magic as a liar as they continue to believe that the Dark Lord has not returned. When he is attacked by Dementors, Cornelius Fudge (Hardy) plans to have Harry expelled from Hogwarts for using magic outside of the school but Professor Dumbledore (Gambon) comes to his rescue. As he return to school, things are very different with many of the students and the new defence against the dark arts teacher Dolores Umbridge (Staunton) saying that he has made everything up, Harry feels more alone than ever. With the new Professor pushing the ministry's agenda, Ron (Grint), Hermione (Watson) and the rest of Harry's friends push for the young wizard to teach them defensive spells, leading them to form the Army of Dumbledore to defend themselves against the growing forces of Voldemort (Fiennes).

The boy who lived returns to Hogwarts for a fifth year but could this be his most dangerous year yet?

The Harry Potter movies are becoming one of the biggest and most profitable movies franchises of all time and with the advent of the fifth movie of the series, it can only get bigger. The fifth book 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' sees the boy wizard in training head down an even darker path.

After facing the Dark Lord at the end of 'The Goblet of Fire' and seeing the death of Cedric Diggory at his evil hand, Harry is having a hard time coping with what he witnessed. When the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe his claims that he who should not be named has returned, Harry is labelled as a liar and ridiculed by some of the students at Hogwarts. With support from Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Fred, George, Cho and Luna Lovegood at Hogwarts and the remaining wizards that thought the Dark Lord fourteen years earlier who were called the Order of the Phoenix, Harry has to prepare for his return but the Ministry of Magic are not going make it easy. With Cornelius Fudge thinking the rumours of the return of he who should not be named as propaganda for Professor Dumbledore to replace him as the leader of the ministry. To stop this and quash all rumours of the Dark Lord's return, Fudge sends Dolores Umbridge to keep order and issue in some changes at Hogwarts. With his world been torn apart and the Dark Lord invading his dreams, Harry Potter has never felt more alone or vulnerable.

The fantastic thing about any Harry Potter movie or book is that while each one is part of a much grander, complete story split into seven volumes, each movie/book is a complete story in its own right. The same can be said about 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'. As each J.K. Rowling story gets bigger and bigger, the movies have more and more filled with character development and plot building. While fans of the young wizard will revel in this, the movies have been slow to get going and 'The Order of the Phoenix' is no different. This might make younger fans a restless and impatient until the big magic kicks in.

The outstanding feature of all the Harry Potter movies is the brilliant ensemble cast and the way they keep adding even more quality with each movie. With all the regulars coming back and the welcome return of David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, Brendan Gleeson as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody and Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw and Harry Melling as Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley Dursley. Each character may only have a small part in the proceedings but they all make an impact on the story. Joining the cast are Helena Bonham Carter as Sirius Black's evil cousin Bellatrix Lestrange but almost stealing the entire movie is the performance of Imelda Staunton as this year's defence against the dark arts professor Dolores Umbridge. Revelling in the role, Staunton makes Dolores Umbridge is classic Potter villain that is almost pantomime in its approach but completely suited to the character. The only let down is still Daniel Radcliffe who still isn't completely convincing as the boy wizard but his is slowly improving, even though it has taken him five films to do so.

The Harry Potter movies are superb family entertainment and epitomise what cinema is all about. Taking you away into a fantastical world and enthralling you for just over two hours, 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' takes the franchise down and even darker path and it is all the better for it.

PICTURE & SOUND

The HD DVD is presented in up to 1080p Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD soundtracks.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

In-Movie Experience
Featuring fun and fascinating focus points, as the cast and crew provide insights into key scenes via picture in picture, as the movie plays and you see the scenes unfold.

Pick your own favourite scenes
Pick out your favourite scenes and then go online and share your choices with fans around the world.

Disc 2

Trailing Tonks (19.24 mins/High Definition)
Spend a day with actress Nat Tena for a personal and wacky tour of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix stages.

Focus Points (63.06 mins/High Definition)
Director David Yates, production designer Stuart Craig, producer David Barron, visual effects supervisor Tim Burke and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton, Jason Isaacs, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes appear in a collection of making of featurettes that cover all aspects of the amazing visual effects and characters of the Harry Potter universe.

The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter (43.52 mins/High Definition)
Producer David Heyman, director David Yates and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton and Ralph Fiennes take you through the first five years of Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts. The featurette talks about the connection between Harry and Voldemort, the twists and turns in the plot, the choices each character has had to make and the battle for Harry between the forces of good and evil.

Additional Scenes (10.54 mins/High Definition)
Nine additional scenes that show more of the reaction to Harry saying Voldemort is back, the Weasley firework display, leaving Dumbledore, more of the forest and some great adlibbing from Emma Thompson. These deleted or extended scenes suffer from the lack of an introduction or commentary to explain why they were removed. Harry Potter:

The Magic of Editing (High Definition)
Director David Yates and editor Mark Day show you what a good edit makes and lets you interactively edit a scene.

OVERALL

The HD DVD release of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' is very good. The in-movie experience is less intrusive than a commentary but it would have been nice to have a commentary track as well. The featurettes are extremely good however, all presented in High Definition to make them look even better. Fans of the boy who lived should definitely add this to their HD DVD collection.

HD DVD

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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2007