The second Harry Potter film is an improvement over the first film.
Audio:
Warner Bros. continues using Uncompressed PCM 5.1 for the Blu-ray releases of the Harry Potter films and in addition to that high bitrate soundtrack, a plethora of other language choices are provided: English Dolby Digital 5.1; Dutch Dolby Digital 5.1; French Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Quebec Dubbed) Dolby Digital 5.1; Italian Dolby Digital 5.1; German Dolby Digital 5.1; Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1; Swedish Dolby Digital 5.1. A language for almost everybody! The soundtrack of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is far more aggressive than what was heard in the first film and the battle against the Basilisk is enveloping and strong. Rear surrounds are used convincingly and helps create a full 360 degree experience while watching the movie. The low frequency effects channel is again strong and I found the film´s Quidditch matches to be another high point in a Harry Potter film. John Williams returned for the second film and his score is again warm and entertaining; nicely adding to the overall experience of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Dialogue is again strong and I found this second film to be a solid improvement and a very good sounding disc.
Extras:
The second Harry Potter film found another similar treatment when compared to the original 2-Disc "Widescreen Edition" DVD. The animated puzzles, screensavers, animated timeline and other playful parts from the PC DVD-ROM functionality are now absent from the Blu-ray release. Whereas the first film contained added deleted scenes, the second film had the advertised 19 Additional/Extended Scenes (16:25) on the DVD and now on the Blu-ray release. This time around, the nineteen scenes were only numbered and with no short synopsis about their contents. A "Play All" is also provided. This is another case where the scenes are entertaining, but the film didn´t need to be any longer than its already long length. The newly added Year One At Hogwarts (1:54) was a short reminder of the plot from the first film and feels very much like a long trailer, which the Theatrical Trailer for the second film is contained on the Blu-ray release. Only the interactive menu based materials from the second film seem to be missing from the Blu-ray such as the self-guided tours.
The difficult to read menu features a Conversation with J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves (16:09) finds J.K. Rowling talking about her novel and how she and screenwriter Steve Kloves worked together to create the film adaptation of the second novel. They talk about changes made to deliver the story to the big screen and this was interesting to hear how things are altered from the book. The two are interviewed by a mediator and this is a nice little segment. The next segment, Lockhart´s Classroom (1:28) is split into two pieces, Certificates and Required Reading. This is a short feature that looks at the certificates and books created for the film to help build the Professor Gilderoy Lockhart character and helped add to the notoriety of the supposedly famous magician. This piece was all fluff, but the books were funny sounding. The Behind Hogwarts: Building a Scene (17:20) looked at the creation of Dumbledore´s office from beginning to end. This featured a number of talking heads interviews and I found this a nice little making of feature that showed a scene from script to film.
The "Interviews with Students, Professors and More" section is a slightly interactive section that allows the viewer to select questions and then hear characters from the film answer the question. The Students (8:13) found seven questions asked to the children who played the students of Hogwarts and the answers were given with short film clips and interviewed moments with the child actors. The best way to watch this supplement was to use the "Play All." The Professors and More (9:42) found twelve actors talking about their roles as mentors to the young magicians of Hogwarts. These vignettes too could be played collectively or separately, with my recommendation of using the "Play All" to enjoy them. These interview segments were a little easier to navigate the second time around on the Blu-ray than they were on the more convoluted menus of the DVD release.
Closing Comments:
The second Harry Potter film is an improvement over the first film. With each successive Harry Potter film, the tone gets a little more adult and a little darker. Of course, the cast is aging and Harry is getting wiser to the world. While I didn´t feel the second film´s storyline was as impressive, it was still better than average. "Harry Potter" is a rare franchise where the sequels are good films and can stand on their own, but watching the series as a whole makes for a better experience. The visual effects and sound effects were stronger and the Blu-ray release improves in these areas as well. The Uncompressed mix is quite stellar and I found visuals were bright and detailed. Supplements are much of the same as the first film. They are good, but not overly incredible. The supplements give a nice look into the making of a Harry Potter film and fans will definitely be entertained. I was hoping for high definition supplements, or something new for the Harry Potter films, but this is another port of the original DVD release. The second film, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is a thrillride and an improvement over the first film´s Blu-ray. It is a must have for any hopeful sorcerer.
Warner Bros. continues using Uncompressed PCM 5.1 for the Blu-ray releases of the Harry Potter films and in addition to that high bitrate soundtrack, a plethora of other language choices are provided: English Dolby Digital 5.1; Dutch Dolby Digital 5.1; French Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Quebec Dubbed) Dolby Digital 5.1; Italian Dolby Digital 5.1; German Dolby Digital 5.1; Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1; Swedish Dolby Digital 5.1. A language for almost everybody! The soundtrack of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is far more aggressive than what was heard in the first film and the battle against the Basilisk is enveloping and strong. Rear surrounds are used convincingly and helps create a full 360 degree experience while watching the movie. The low frequency effects channel is again strong and I found the film´s Quidditch matches to be another high point in a Harry Potter film. John Williams returned for the second film and his score is again warm and entertaining; nicely adding to the overall experience of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Dialogue is again strong and I found this second film to be a solid improvement and a very good sounding disc.
Extras:
The second Harry Potter film found another similar treatment when compared to the original 2-Disc "Widescreen Edition" DVD. The animated puzzles, screensavers, animated timeline and other playful parts from the PC DVD-ROM functionality are now absent from the Blu-ray release. Whereas the first film contained added deleted scenes, the second film had the advertised 19 Additional/Extended Scenes (16:25) on the DVD and now on the Blu-ray release. This time around, the nineteen scenes were only numbered and with no short synopsis about their contents. A "Play All" is also provided. This is another case where the scenes are entertaining, but the film didn´t need to be any longer than its already long length. The newly added Year One At Hogwarts (1:54) was a short reminder of the plot from the first film and feels very much like a long trailer, which the Theatrical Trailer for the second film is contained on the Blu-ray release. Only the interactive menu based materials from the second film seem to be missing from the Blu-ray such as the self-guided tours.
The difficult to read menu features a Conversation with J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves (16:09) finds J.K. Rowling talking about her novel and how she and screenwriter Steve Kloves worked together to create the film adaptation of the second novel. They talk about changes made to deliver the story to the big screen and this was interesting to hear how things are altered from the book. The two are interviewed by a mediator and this is a nice little segment. The next segment, Lockhart´s Classroom (1:28) is split into two pieces, Certificates and Required Reading. This is a short feature that looks at the certificates and books created for the film to help build the Professor Gilderoy Lockhart character and helped add to the notoriety of the supposedly famous magician. This piece was all fluff, but the books were funny sounding. The Behind Hogwarts: Building a Scene (17:20) looked at the creation of Dumbledore´s office from beginning to end. This featured a number of talking heads interviews and I found this a nice little making of feature that showed a scene from script to film.
The "Interviews with Students, Professors and More" section is a slightly interactive section that allows the viewer to select questions and then hear characters from the film answer the question. The Students (8:13) found seven questions asked to the children who played the students of Hogwarts and the answers were given with short film clips and interviewed moments with the child actors. The best way to watch this supplement was to use the "Play All." The Professors and More (9:42) found twelve actors talking about their roles as mentors to the young magicians of Hogwarts. These vignettes too could be played collectively or separately, with my recommendation of using the "Play All" to enjoy them. These interview segments were a little easier to navigate the second time around on the Blu-ray than they were on the more convoluted menus of the DVD release.
Closing Comments:
The second Harry Potter film is an improvement over the first film. With each successive Harry Potter film, the tone gets a little more adult and a little darker. Of course, the cast is aging and Harry is getting wiser to the world. While I didn´t feel the second film´s storyline was as impressive, it was still better than average. "Harry Potter" is a rare franchise where the sequels are good films and can stand on their own, but watching the series as a whole makes for a better experience. The visual effects and sound effects were stronger and the Blu-ray release improves in these areas as well. The Uncompressed mix is quite stellar and I found visuals were bright and detailed. Supplements are much of the same as the first film. They are good, but not overly incredible. The supplements give a nice look into the making of a Harry Potter film and fans will definitely be entertained. I was hoping for high definition supplements, or something new for the Harry Potter films, but this is another port of the original DVD release. The second film, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is a thrillride and an improvement over the first film´s Blu-ray. It is a must have for any hopeful sorcerer.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]22551[/release]