3.0 out of 5 stars Split movie into 3 discs
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2021
So I probably didn’t check the description enough. But when it said mini dvd I assumed it was just one dvd. But no. Because it’s ‘mini’ the whole movie couldn’t fit on one disc. So they split the movie into 3 discs, just kinda annoying to get up and change the discs. Otherwise, the quality is normal
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 17, 2012
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Ultimate Blu-ray Edition
Year: 2004
Rating: PG
Runtime: 2 HRS, 21 MIN
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Timothy Spall, and Gary Oldman
Film Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Video Rating: 4 out of 5
stars
Audio Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Film
For those of you that read my previous reviews of Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets we've firmly established that I didn't enjoy the first two Harry Potter entries upon my first viewings. After 2002's Chamber of Secrets I vowed that I was through with Harry Potter for good. Jump ahead to late 2003/early 2004 and I happened to watch the trailer for third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and my interest in the franchise was rekindled.
Harry's third year at Hogwarts is again filled with danger and mystery. After running away from his aunt and uncle's house Harry finds out that he's once again a marked man. Mass murderer, Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban Prison and wants to kill Harry to avenge Voldemort. To make matters worse the school is now home to the Dementors of Azkaban who are searching for Sirius Black and have a terrible affect on Harry. In addition to all of that, Harry must try and win the Quiddich Cup, meet his new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and find out how Sirius Black has ties to Voldemort, his parents, and even himself.
This is the film that turned around the whole franchise for me but it wasn't just one or two improvements that made me change my mind on Harry Potter. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban improves on the original two films in almost every conceivable way; tone, effects, direction, pacing, and the quality of the acting and the new cast additions are just a few of the ways that this film improves over previous installments. Is there still humor in the film? Yes. Is it cringe worthy? No, its natural character humor and it's not all sight gags either. The kids begin to "own" their characters more by injecting more of their own personalities into their roles. The CGI continues to improve the further you move into the series, a lot of the effects are so subtle you'll hardly notice they're effects at all. The use of puppetry is more apparent in Prisoner of Azkaban than any of the previous films. At times it doesn't always match up perfectly with the CGI but I let most of those imperfections slide because of my love of practical effects. Gone is director Chris Columbus, who was good working with children but his films lacked visual flare and any sense of foreboding. Columbus does stick around as a producer for this film but his influence seems minimal at best. Alfonso Cuarón (Great Expectations, Y Tu Mamá También, Children of Men) steps into the director's chair and makes an immediate difference in the tone and look of the film. Cuarón's use of wide angle lenses allows for more of the film's frame to appear sharp and allows both the foreground and background to be in focus at the same. Prisoner of Azkaban is dark and moody but is also an extremely handsome looking film that makes portions of Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets look like a high budgeted TV movie. The farther into the series you go the more complicated the books become but beginning with this film the story is streamlined to focus more on Harry's story and less on the surrounding characters secondary plot lines. Potter book fanatics dislike this because beloved sections of the novels are cut from the films. It's necessary however to keep the story moving towards it's goal and the pacing of Azkaban is helped by this. While shorter than Sorcerer's Stone or Chamber of Secrets, Azkaban flies by hardly feeling like a 2 hour, 21 minute film. One of my few complaints about Azkaban is that I wish it was a little longer so I could enjoy it just a little more.
All the Potter films have had incredible casts filled with some of the best English actors working today but Azkaban might be my favorite. After Chamber of Secrets had finished shooting, Richard Harris (Albus Dumbledore) became ill. He persuaded producers not to recast his role (they agreed) but shortly before the film was released Harris died. The producers then had the difficult task of recasting the Dumbledore role. Ian McKellen was offered the role but he turned it down since he had recently played Gandolf in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and because he thought it would be inappropriate since Richard Harris had once referred to him as a "dreadful" actor. The estate of Richard Harris wanted the role to go to Richard's close friend Peter O'Toole but he also turned it down. Christopher Lee and Richard Attenborough expressed interest in taking over the role but ultimately it went to Michael Gambon (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Open Range). The casting of Gambon isn't universally loved by all Potter fans but I think his portrayal of Dumbledore is more energetic and lively than what Richard Harris was capable of in his later years.
David Thewlis (Kingdom of Heaven, The Big Lebowski) is this years Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, a poor but kind man with a terrible secret. Lupin is one of my favorite characters from the books and I can't imagine anyone but Thewlis playing him. Before seeing him in this I had only seen Thewlis in a few films but since he's become one of my favorite actors and I make a point to see whatever he's in. Timothy Spall and Emma Thompson also join the cast and while their screen time is limited they make the most of it. The biggest contribution to the cast comes in the form of Gary Oldman (Batman Begins, The Fifth Element, Sid & Nancy) playing the escaped killer Sirius Black. Knowing he was in this movie helped re-interest me in the franchise and I wasn't disappointed. Gary Oldman is like a chameleon, he's always able to reinvent himself and put in an amazing performance even in a small role.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite film so far in the franchise. Some Potter purest's have had an issue with the streamlining of the plot but I think it makes Azkaban a more accessible film to non-hardcore fans. I love the great additions to the cast, the new director and his stylistic choices, and how the maturing subject matter is handled. This is where the Potter films really hit their stride and show the great potential of the future films.
The Blu-ray
"If it's not broke, don't fix it" should be a term that the folks at Warner Brothers Home Video should learn. Packaging is a big deal to me especially when the set is expensive, large, and is just one part of a larger set. Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets were released in December 2009 and Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire (review coming next week) were released in October 2010. Within that ten month period the powers at be decided to change the packaging. The first two Blu-ray sets feature a cardboard slipcover with raised lettering that slides vertically over the rest of the package This set (and Goblet of Fire) is slightly taller and instead of raised lettering have a lenticular card inserted on the front cover. They also slide horizontally over the rest of the package. The new design doesn't work as well as the first sets for a couple of reasons.
-The lenticular card can come out but that causes the flaps holding it in to stick out slightly.
-The slipcover folds together but the seam isn't flush and pushes the sets apart when they're on the shelf. The slipcover on the first two sets are glued instead of folded so they sit next to each other much
better.
None of these issues are a deal breaker for they're still handsome looking sets. I just don't understand why you would change the design to the point that they don't match each other when they're lined up especially when the sets cost $30 or more each. Once inside the sturdy cardboard slipcover you'll find just the theatrical cut of the film. Alfonso Cuarón was given the opportunity to assemble an extended cut but declined saying that the theatrical cut was his preferred version of the film. There's of course a second Blu-ray loaded with special features, a standard-def (SD) DVD of special features, a digital copy code (no separate disc), the collectible book, and two character cards (Hermione Granger, Sirius Black).
If you were disappointed with the packaging you're not going to be disappointed with the video or audio quality however. With each progressive film they continue to impress in terms of picture quality. This is the same transfer used on the previously released Blu-ray and HD-DVD and it still looks great even four years later. Detail is excellent, there's no obvious edge enhancement, artifacting, or DNR which considering how much of the film is cloaked in fog, shadow, and darkness is quite a feat. There's a little bit of black crushing during the darkest of scenes but it's quickly gone and I hardly noticed it.
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track sounds fantastic. Dialogue is always clear and never gets lost even when the action picks up. The surround channels are very active, from mysterious creaking noises to brooms zooming by there are plenty of directional effects. The LFE channel gets a good workout as well, especially during the thunderstorm filled Quidditch match and scenes in the Forbidden Forest. John Williams final Harry Potter score sounds wonderful, always sounding clear and at the right level not overpowering of what's happening on screen.
Prisoner of Azkaban DOES NOT feature a PiP track like the two previous Ultimate Edition Blu-rays have. No explanation has been given on why a PiP track wasn't made for this film but I'm disappointed that it's missing. Since Azkaban is my favorite Potter film I would have loved to have seen more of a behind the scenes look at the film. Packaging this as an Ultimate Edition without an Extended Cut of the film and no PiP track is seems a little disingenuous to me. Thankfully not all is lost, there is still the third part of the Creating the World of Harry Potter documentary. Part III Creatures focuses on just that, all the different creatures featured in the Harry Potter world. Hippogriffs to Goblins to Voldemort himself are covered here in this 63 minute doc. You get a very interesting look at the creature effects shop, models, make-up, how the CGI is done and how the process has changed in the last 10+ years. Easily the best feature of the set considering the exclusion of the aforementioned PiP commentary. Also included are a collection of deleted scenes (presented in HD), some SD vintage TV docs, a SD interview with Alfonso Cuarón, a short featurette about the how people are transformed in the make-up chair (also in HD), and three trailers (all in HD). A third disc, a standard definition DVD, is included that has some other special features from past DVD releases but I don't even bother putting that garbage in my players anymore.
Conclusion
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban isn't just a wonderful Harry Potter film, it's wonderful film period. Unfortunately it's harder to recommend this Ultimate Edition since you don't get as much bang for you buck as you did with the first two Ultimate Editions. For a cheaper option you can pick up the single disc Blu-ray for around $10.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 2, 2006
As I said in my review of the second film, the real problem with Chris Columbus was not that he tried to be faithful to the books, it was that he didn't have the talent to pull it off. So after enduring the crappy 2nd film (which managed to be worse than the book, which itself was not too good), the Potter film franchise is given a much needed shot in the arm thanks to hiring of a real director, Alfonso Cuaron, who, despite still being saddled with that idiot screenwriter Steve Kloves, succeeds where Columbus would have fallen flat on his face.
Perhaps we shouldn't be surprise that the best of Rowling's books proved to be the best of the films.
Which is not to say that the film is not without flaws. The films continue to pointlessly butcher Ron into a stupid, cry baby coward instead of portraying him as the loyal, funny, protective friend that he was in the books, and Rupert Grint's inability to act doesn't help. Exactly why the filmmakers feel they must ruin Ron, and why JK herself allows them to ruin Ron, is unclear. While the original book showed Ron defending Hermione from Snape and, in one of his all time greatest moments, stood up the an alleged killer declaring that he would have to be killed as well if it meant defending Harry, but the first moment is changed to Ron agreeing with Snape after Snape insulted Hermione - which makes no sense following previous events that would have him growing more protective of her, not less, and also screws with the so called romance brewing between them. And who gets to say "If you want to kill Harr you'll have to kill us too!"? Hermione! That's right, once again, Kloves screws Ron while blowing Hermione way out of proportion, apparently unaware that he is ruining the balance between the trio and making it impossible to believe that Ron and Hermione have romantic feelings for each other. The films never portray Hermione and Ron as having a bond that is developing beyond friendship, and despite so called "extra hints" that "foreshadow" their love, Ron and Hermione merely come off as two stupid brats who want nothing to do with each other while lacking the romantic undercurrent that charged up the sparks between Hepburn & Tracy as well as Han Solo & Princess Leia. Do you think that Princess Leia would have fallen in love with Han Solo if Han constantly acted like a stupid, effeminate, inarticulate, weak willed coward who's scared of everything - including his own shadow? Hell no. Han wasn't always gallant, but he was never stupid nor cowardly; he also had the guts and the quick thinking, which in the end is what drew Leia to him. While he's not exactly Beowulf or Hercules, or even Aquaman, what is supposed to make Ron redeeming to Hermione is that he's clearly not as dumb as he occasionally appears to be and he's clearly a brave guy, otherwise, he wouldn't have landed in Gryffindor along with the rest of his family. Sadly, it appears that none of the filmmakers involved here, not even Alfonso Cuaron, easily the best of them, really understand that, and they apparently have no idea of how to portray the relationship between Ron and Hermione; they just expect the audience to go along with it figuring that most of them have read the books, so they put little to no effort into making it believable. They don't even try to include the moments that JK Rowling herself used to demonstrate the ever changing relationship with Hermione & Ron; in fact, they have the nerve to throw out those moments and come up with their own crap, but their crap only comes out as superficial and insincere. Meanwhile, Hermione, as played by Emma Watson, continues to move away from the bookworm we knew in the novel to a shallow, "so cool & charming she's girl power" twit. (Since when does Hermione cackle at Ron, fret over her hair, wear a pink hoodie with a rainbow belt, has the strength of Rocky Balboa that allows her to punch Draco down rather than just slap him, and show up looking dirty blonde instead of frizzy brown?).
Ron deserved better.
Adding insult to injury, while it may not have been intentional on the part of the filmmakers, is that Hermione and Harry, who are presented as sharper and more focused, which is somewhat true even in the books, come across as having much more chemistry between the two of them than Hermione does with Ron, and at the end, they are even shown mocking him, once again throwing the balance of the trio out of whack because we don't see that Hermione also has a tendency to annoy Harry even though they're friends. Maybe Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe just have a natural chemistry with each other, but this also screws with the audiences because the film versions of Hermione & Harry seem to play so well off each other that it seems they are the ones destined to be together, as opposed to Hermione being with Ron (this will also make it even more difficult when trying to sell the audience on the concept of Harry's future romance with Ginny in "Half-Blood Prince"). When Hermione reaches out to a distraught Harry at Hogsmeade and flashes her big brown eyes to him, while Ron keeps his distance, you half expect Hermione to embrace Harry and give him a kiss. When Harry and Hermione are alone in the Forbidden Forest, you half expect Harry to rip Hermione's clothes off and make love to her (their lovemaking would probably be spoiled by the arrival of either the Lupin wolf or the Dementors). I know this probably wasn't intentional, but the filmmakers don't seem to understand that they're giving off the wrong impression to audiences.
Despite these unfortunate changes, star Daniel Radcliffe finally begins to show us just how good an actor he's becoming - he's easily the best of the three, striking the right balance between his serious and light hearted moments without going over the top like his co-stars. Radcliffe works very well with both David Thewlis, in the role of Lupin, and Gary Oldman, in the role of Sirius Black. It's too bad that Radcliffe was not given more of a chance to interact with the new Dumbledore, Michael Gambon, a fellow Irishman chosen to the replace the late Richard Harris, who's life & career sadly ended with the last clunker.
Cuaron's stronger sense of pacing and visual narrative along with characterization also become apparent in his handling of the action pieces and atmospheric moments of fear. I sincerely hope that he returns to direct either the sixth or seventh installment.
Top reviews from other countries
5.0 out of 5 stars Quite amazing how the author mapped out the whole plot
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 2, 2016
Quite amazing how the author mapped out the whole plot with hawcruxes etc from the first novel, knitting it all together like one long story but nicely divided into Potter's different years at school.
With all these DVDs, though, there is quite a bit missing in regards to the books as there is just not enough space in the dvd to cover the whole thing. So, right after you see the dvd, I would highly recommend that you get yourself an Audio-Book, and listen to Stephen Fry telling you the longer story of what happened in The Prisoner of Azkaban. (Fry communicates the different voices excellently.) That way, you have all the images from the dvd and you can run your imagination with all that in place. Like two exciting stories from one.
Harpy New Year!
5.0 out of 5 stars Great family film
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 7, 2012
This is the third film in the series about the boy wizard and his friends at Hogwarts school. This film is a little darker than the previous two; it reflects the fact the children are now teenagers and starting to see the world in a different light. Harry is at risk from someone that he is told is dangerous; a man that was imprisoned at Azkaban prison many years before and was involved in the death of his parents.
I've not read the books so I can't say how well it interprets the books; however, I do feel that it tells the story very well indeed and the individual characters are given the chance to really shine. They are teenagers and they behave in the way that would be appropriate; the subplots of attraction are quite amusing to watch.
Although it does contain some darker material, it is is still suitable for most youngsters; they will pick up on the various themes quite quickly.
5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best yet?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 4, 2005
Prisoner of Azkaban was one of my favourite books in the series so far. To date, Warner Bros. have made two excellent films in Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets - and most people I know think that the first film was, marginally, the better of the two. I think Azkaban is perhaps even better still.
First of all, the acting is better in this film. The main characters
have always been well beyond their years as far as that goes, but some of the supporting cast needed to improve, if only slightly. The set is also better, and suits the plot well. It does take a bit of getting used to after two films, but by half-way through you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. This film, then, brings together a confident cast and a set that will allow for the plot growth required of forthcoming films.
The extras on this two-DVD set are as good as ever, although you
should note that most of it is aimed at kids rather than teens/adults.
As usual, the DVD set is well presented and sits alongside the previous two films nicely - similar cover artwork and the same style of case.
I can't wait for the next one.
5.0 out of 5 stars Good DVD
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 19, 2019
It’s Harry Potter. Not much more to it than that. It was a present and did the trick.
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Set
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 16, 2012
Unlike the first two movies you don't feel cheated by not getting the extended edition on Blu-ray, as this doesn't have an extended edition. There are 4 discs: blu-ray movie,
DVD movie and two discs of special features. The two cards you get are Sirius and Hermione, and of course the book with glossy pictures.
The movie is widely considered to be the best in the series (not mine, however), it's a good buy.