Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (Blu-ray)

.../> ===What Is It?===
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the long awaited DVD/Blue Ray/HD movie released on the 11th of November 2007. I am reviewing the Blue-Ray version and not the DVD/HD version that may slightly differ. This is Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts in JK Rowling's highly successful series of books.

===Blue Ray===
I didn't know much about Blue Ray until my brother got a PS3 and a new TV but it ...
...is of Ron (Rupert Grint) Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) Hermione (Emma Watson) and Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in a little 'prophecy' at the bottom. They are in battle poses, as they are getting ready for the revolution. This is the typical promotional poster that was used in cinemas so will be familiar to a lot of people. The back has a very basic description of the movie plot and the continuing dark theme. It is very attractive and very 'magical.'
... more

**THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW

What Is It?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the long awaited DVD/Blue Ray/HD movie released on the 11th of November 2007. I am reviewing the Blue-Ray version and not the DVD/HD version that may slightly differ. This is Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts in JK Rowling's highly successful series of books.

Blue Ray

I didn't know much about Blue Ray until my brother got a PS3 and a new TV but it actually, in some respects, it's the next generation of viewing films. You need a Blue Ray player (which will also take DVD's) or a PS3 that a lot of people are doing. Basically having a blue-ray disc is a higher quality and sound than a DVD. I think it does improve the standard of watching. Blue Ray discs tend to be more expensive though, as they need more work by the lovely people at Warner Bros and Sony.

The Cover

The box has a distinctive bright blue, plastic outside border to try and distinguish it from DVDs. It even has "Blue Ray" at the top just to make sure you know. The cover picture is of Ron (Rupert Grint) Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) Hermione (Emma Watson) and Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in a little 'prophecy' at the bottom. They are in battle poses, as they are getting ready for the revolution. This is the typical promotional poster that was used in cinemas so will be familiar to a lot of people. The back has a very basic description of the movie plot and the continuing dark theme. It is very attractive and very 'magical.'

Classification

This film is rated 12. This means it's not really recommended for children under 12. I think this is the right rating for the movie as it is dark and does contain violence, fantasy horror and death. If you have children 12 and under I wouldn't let them watch it until they were a bit older.

The Story

The story follows Harry Potter, a famous yet trouble teenage wizard. This is his 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the last book JK Rowling left us with a terrible cliff hanger where Harry finds out Voldemort, his archenemy and the wizard who murdered his parents, is back when he was suspected to be dead. However no one believes Harry apart from some of his friends and the Order of The Phoenix. So Harry is portrayed as a liar and attention seeker by the newspapers that are controlled by Minister of Magic.
The film starts out in Surrey where Harry lives with his uncle and aunt. Harry is sitting on a swing, in a play park were he is envying children who have parents. He is upset that no one believes him and being a typical teenager (like my dear self!) Is in a bad mood. Suddenly his cousin (who Harry dislikes dearly) and his gang confront Harry asking for a fight. Harry being a skinny, bespectacled boy was no match for Dudley who was double the size. Harry has something that Dudley doesn't have, magic. But something goes wrong and it starts to get windy. Is it Harry's magic? So they all run for it, only Harry and Dudley are left running. They enter an alleyway were it is dark, graffited and not very nice. Suddenly attack.
Harry is dragging his cousin along the road with help with an old witch. The attack has left both Dudley and Harry shaky. Harry gets into the house and his aunty and uncle make a huge fuss over their little 'Duddykins' and threaten Harry. Just before things could get any worse Harry gets a howler (a letter which speak to you!) saying he has been expelled from Hogwarts as he used magic when he was attacked. Young wizards are not allowed to use magic until they are 17 and have shown hey are mature enough.
Now that Harry thinks he's been suspended, and Dudley is away to hospital to get his nervousness treated. You see Harry's teenage spirit and anger in the next scene where he punches his cupboard etc.
Harry is rescued by the Order of the Phoenix from his horrible relatives. They fly over London in an incredible scene, going past the Houses of Parliament (Westminster) and down the River Thames. They eventually reach number 12 Grimmald Place, the secret hide out of the Order of the Phoenix. It is magically squeezed in between 2 houses 11 and 13 but it has been a street joke among muggles that there is no number 12. Or so they think. So number 12 magically appears.
So far the story has been quite bland while in the book there is a lot more info but anyway…
It livens up when Harry is re-united with his godfather Sirius. Harry wants to join the Order of the Phoenix but is not allowed. Even though he wants to help. Harry is then faced with court hearing about his underage magic use. So Harry heads to London to the Ministry of Magic which is hidden deep underground. There is the minister of magic himself being the judge of Harry's trial and a full wizardry court, which is usually used in murder cases! So of course Harry is going to be a worried. Dumbledore comes to Harry's rescue and stops him from getting prosecuted but he won't talk to Harry. Harry is free from the ministry so far.
At last September arrives and Harry, Ron and Hermione head back to Hogwarts where they will be sitting their OWL (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) that is our equivalent to Standard Grades or GCSE's. They have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Dolores Umbridge (who was at Harry's hearing) and who is a ministry official. Hogwarts is starting to slowly change as Umbridge makes herself more powerful using the Minister of Magic and eventually becomes in of the staffing arrangements. She makes Harry's life hell as she hates him for saying the dark lord is back.
So Harry, Ron and Hermione make up "Dumbledore's Army" which is a group they have set up to try and learn DADA as Umbridge is just such a bad teacher. This goes down really well with everyone and they select friends to join. There they learn defensive spells and techniques, which they will need to fight Voldemort.
"The Rebellion begins."

Compared to the Last 4 films

The main difference between this film and the last film (The Goblet Of Fire) is it is a lot darker and more grown up. The first film (Philosophers Stone) is designed to reach out to the younger generation while this one is for the older teenagers and adults. What is great is like me I have been able to grow up with the films. When I was 10 the first movie came out and now I'm 15 I am able to relate to Harry. This is the case for a lot of people and that is why I think it is so popular.
You see the more teenager, troubled side of Harry in this book. He is trying to struggle with death, no one believing him, the press making him out as an idiot and exams. Quite a bunch anyway!
The brilliant thing is that you can see the cast has grown up and become better actors. There is one scene in particular in Order of The phoenix where they are sitting at the fire after Harry's first kiss and they're discussing it. You see them laughing but not acting, just laughing (which I'm pretty sure is an outtake!) which is fantastic to see.

Disc Extras

On the Blue Ray discs you are able to hold a lot more data than a DVD so this allows only one disc to be used. There are mini movies:
Additional Scenes - 17 minutes of never before seen footage from the movie.
Focus Points - "Making Of" featurette to discover what is involved to create those amazing scenes and characters.
A&E documentary: The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter - Viewers take a thrilling look back at the past Harry Potter films in search of clues to the mysteries of the upcoming Harry Potter saga.
Trailing Tonks - Spend a day with Actress Nat Tena and receive a very personal and often wacky tour of the Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix stages.
Harry Potter: The Magic of Editing - Director David Yates and Editor Mark Day show what a difference a good edit makes to allow the viewers to edit a scene.
The best one is the Magic of Editing as you actually get to edit a scene which is great by adding music, characters and effects, COOL! They're all quite good movies and very interesting to watch. The DVD also has different languages and scene selection so you have a good bundle there.

Price/Where To Get It

The RRP is £27.99, which is a lot of money. I haven't seen it in the stores for that much. I paid £17.99 for mine at Morrison's, which I thought, was a good price. It is still pretty expensive but can everyone remember when DVD's started out at that price? You can get it in places which sell Blue Ray discs like HMV, Curries etc but they are becoming more popular so expect to see them in more shops. You can also get them off Internet sites like Amazon. Remember to play a Blue Ray disc you need a PS3 or Blue Ray Player and a HD TV.

What's Right With It?

First off it's Harry Potter and that is enough for me! The first thing you notice is that the effects, This is shown off with the attack scene at the start of the movie. The music is also a huge thumbs up and I actually have purchased the soundtrack (please see review for details) The soundtrack is very spooky and tense then it can be bouncy and lively. But of course the music still has the same Harry potter feeling it has always had.
The acting is superb with Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and giving a brilliant performance along side Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. The other stars are Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Micheal Gambon (Dumbledore), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) and Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge) who deliver outstanding peformances. There is a whole heap of talent on the acting front.
The Blue Ray is fantastic taking full advantage of the incredible effects and sound. It blew me away at some parts giving it a cinema finish.
You've blown us away Warner Bros and JK!

What's Wrong With It?

Right, as a dedicated Harry Potter fan I would have expected more dedication to the book. It does contain a lot but it misses a lot out as well. The beginning of the movie could have been more to the book as generally that didn't really happen. But thats just me being fussy!

Conclusion

Overall the film blew me away. I went to see it in the cinema 3 times and loved it so much but I did expect it to let me down a bit but I was completely wrong. The film is fantastic and i'm recommending it to every Ciaoer and if you haven't seen it yet then seriously your missing out in something great!

Janie x

©scotlandizdabest 

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