Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets DVD > Reviews > HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Loads of extras and behind the scene footage .
Disadvantages:	The slug scene is quite disturbing .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

A year later, and we come to the second "Harry Potter" DVD. It's slicker and more interactive than the first release, but some of the special features you'll only ever use once. What's not in doubt is the presentation of the movie, which is brilliant.

PLOT

Director Chris Columbus recreates the magic of the second book from author J.K. Rowling's best-selling series about a young wizard, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe). In this sequel, Harry and his friends Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the new school year only to be met with a terrifying mystery. An unknown creature, one that supposedly lives in the legendary Chamber of Secrets hidden at Hogwarts, is attacking students in the school, leaving them literally petrified and as cold as stone. Even the professors seem at a loss for how to solve the chilling mystery, leaving it up to Harry and his friends to save the day. Rowling's story translates well to the big screen, with a magical flying car, a giant spider, a house elf named Dobby, and assorted other creatures making their film debuts. Radcliffe continues to charm as the wide-eyed young Potter, and Grint shines as his best friend and sidekick. Kenneth Branagh joins the all-star cast as the preening megalomaniac author and professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS also stars the late Richard Harris, majestic Maggie Smith, and an under-used Alan Rickman

EFFECTS

This film has got a number of immense effects, one of them being the flying car scene where Harry and Ron took the car to Hogwarts since that they missed the train and ended up in a gigantic aggressive tree! Another great example was when Ron’s spell backfired and he cast the “eat slugs” spell on himself. (This scene was quite disturbing)

EXTRAS

This double DVD disc set has got plenty of extras to offer.
Disc One Special Features

On disc one you'll find a trailer for the film, a "Year One at Hogwarts" that gives you a quick guide to the events of the first film, and a cast and crew list.

Disc Two Special Features

While the idea of turning disc two of the "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" DVD into a giant puzzle where the right answers unlocked extra features, was interesting, it did frustrate a lot of fans.

That element is gone here, and along with the expected mix of child-friendly special features, there's also some material that will appeal to a more adult audience.

The 19 deleted scenes are in fact shavings of existing material in the film, rather than complete exciting scenes. There's some more flying car material, though, and naughtiness with Dobby.
There is also loads extra to do including activities for younger children and behind the scenes footage for the more older audience which includes a 16 minute interview with J.K Rowling.

DVD DETAILS

Region: 2
Chapters: 37
Ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Audio Tracks: Multiple languages
Subtitles: English and Arabic
Captions: English
Menus: 3D animations, with music
Special Features Subtitles: All of the special features that require subtitles come with them.

This double DVD disc set is well worth getting. Even if you have been to see the film the DVD is worth buying just for the extras! Overall a **** and a half, but I’ll be generous and give it a *****.