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The Bargain Nexus - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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List Price: $34.99
Our Price: $16.40
Your Save: $ 18.59 ( 53% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Starring: Timothy Bateson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 0085391174929
Format: Widescreen
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2007-12-11
Running Time: 139
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Poison pen
Comment: A lethal combination of bad screenwriting and hack direction. The nuances introduced in Potter movies 3 and 4 by Cuaron and Newell are jettisoned. Cuaron's sly take on book 3, his ability to suggest the pending sexual awakening of the three main characters, and the sexual ambivalence in some of the other characters, all wrapped in sinuous action, rescued the movies from the clueless Chris Columbus. Newell built on this, and brought the young actors to carefully shaded and detailed performances, performances that linger in the mind well after the FX have faded. Phoenix removes virtually every trace of character development, every trace of humor, and the spirit of fun that bubbled in the first four films is crushed in a wall of stony compositions and unfeeling visual effects. Emotionally cold and depressing, and even more depressing to find out that Yates is being brought back for the sixth film. Heaven forbid they give him the final two films. Bring back Cuaron and Newell!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Less of a movie, more of a moving book illustration.
Comment: After watching Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix, I was insulted on two levels. One, being let down as a reader of the book it was based on and two, as an appreciator of well-made movies.
First off, let me say I don't have expectations that any movie based on a popular book will live up 100% to the details of the book, and am willing to forgive the filmmakers if they see fit to drop any superfluous elements that would be distracting to the flow of the movie. Believe it or not, Harry Potter books have a TON of side detail going on at any one moment that makes its universe rich and interesting to the reader, and most of it wouldn't make sense in a movie with limited time. However, I do have the expectations that whatever the book was trying to convey in terms of a story and the relationships of the characters to their circumstances and each other should be preserved in the film. Unfortunately, Harry Potter & The Order of The Phoenix accomplishes a feeble fraction of this, and the movie suffers for it greatly, especially moreso if you are a fan of the book series. Relationships between Dumbledore and Harry, Harry and his friends, Harry and the Order of The Phoenix, Harry and Sirius, Sirius and his estranged Black family, Snape and Harry, and worse, Harry and Voldemort's conflict are ill-defined, most of the time immediately appearing out of nowhere then soon left dangling without any emotional resonance at all. In fact, like the previous film, Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire (also directed by Yates), the breakneck speed of the film in attempting to show all the neat-o sequences of the book leaves the viewer wondering not only what the hell is happening on-screen, but also empty of understanding or empathy towards any of the characters' plights. Where the book would take time to show both Harry's immaturity and heroisms, we are only left with the idea that Harry is angry and petulant simply because, well, he said he was angry and also shouts at his friends. Only a few, rare sequences register with both wonder and emotion, but they simply remain too far and few in between the choppy editing that reduces Order of The Phoenix to an "acceptable" film length.
And that is the great big problem of this film: the editing is so poorly cobbled that it reduces scenes to mere soundbites of no value to the filmgoer. Worse is the fact that it is unable to stand up as an interesting film even to people who have either watched the Harry Potter films, read the books, or both. It is simply to harried to try and compress big scenes to coarsely illustrate the main parts of the book,and then ties them together with the loosest of connections (if at all). There were so many emotional dead-end scenes in this film that it became more frustrating to put up with them than Dolores Umbridge's mad fascist campaign at Hogwarts. I mean, how many films have to rely on both characters explaining what and why something is happening in the movie and on newspaper clippings flying out from the middle of the screen? That to me is the ultimate in lazy filmmaking and an insult to the book's storyline.
That said, the look of the movie was excellent, and the depiction of the Ministry Of Magic was top-notch. Unfortunately, due to the haphazard editing of the movie, most of the places had very, very little time to sink in and convey their wonderments and charms. Suffering the same fate, the plethora of characters old and new were reduced to the most simple of walk-ons and given few lines, which is sad given the caliber of actors hired to portray them. Of course, most of them have meatier roles down the road in the other books, but, unfortunately, when the time comes to make the films based on them, I have the utmost lack of confidence that David Yates will be able to translate the magic to the screen, which is ironic given the subject matter of the books.
1.5 out of 5 stars, mostly for the superb special effects and a rare few good scenes.
Customer Rating:
Summary: good job as always
Comment: as all the harry potter movies this one is as good. i would recamend it for everyone. good movie
Customer Rating:
Summary: Buyer Beware
Comment: I think pretty much everything that could be said about the movie has already been written here. But I just want to send a caution out. This is just a single disk addition. I never noticed that when I ordered. I'm not sure why they even put out movies without both disks on a huge production like this. Anyway for a few dollars more you can get the full two disk set.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Turn of Deception And Corruption
Comment: Very quickly, I loved Part 1. I feel 2 followed 1 as well as could have been expected. I didn't much care for Part 3. I felt 4 ("Goblet of Fire") was a major rebound. While earlier Harry Potter books and movies focused on friends, loyalty, magic, and Harry Potter's conflict with Lord Voldemort, this 5th movie seems to focus on corruption as well as deception. While this could have been a great movie, it is dragged down significantly by the utterly repulsive and annoying Umbridge. Harry (still underage) is forced to use magic to defend his cousin Dudley. It is not long before Harry receives a letter stating he will be expelled from Hogwarths for using magic away from school. A funny deviation from the book is when Uncle Vernon laughs and says: "Justice." (Vernon thinks Harry somehow hurt Dudley.) Through the help of Dumbledore, Harry is given a trial to prove his innocence before he is expelled. Minister Cornelius Fudge is a gross incompetent fool. (Much like some upper powers I have encountered at human service agencies.) He just wants to keep his comfortable position, and he doesn't want to hear that Lord Voldemort is back. Despite his open bias against Harry, Dumbledore forces the majority of the jurors (so to speak) to see reason. Unfortunately, the ministry tries to interfere by having the obnoxious and repulsive Umbridge work at the school. She basically wants the students reduced to a state unable to think for themselves, and uses cruel medieval punishments. Sadly, Umbridge REALLY drags this movie down. Her intentions are so obvious and her character is flat out annoying and repulsive. (Repulsive to the point where we can't wait for her to get her comeuppance. Compare this to Lord Voldemort or even Malfoy's father who are likable in a way, despite their evil. Umbridge has got to be the most gross and annoying character in the whole saga.) She really drags this movie and book down. Moving on though, we do have the interesting theme of corruption and deception. The once gentle and untainted characters of Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to secretly organize a secret group. (Dumbledore's Army) The once gentle and untainted students are now helping the entire school fight a corruption. (Alright.) While Neville Longbottom's character expanded a bit in "Goblet of Fire," you will notice that he really has evolved from the bumbling character he once was, to someone who is competent and trustworthy. Professor Snape is worried that Lord Voldemort may be able to read Harry's thoughts, and Snape honestly tries to help Harry arm himself against these attacks. (But sadly, they can't seem to get over their personality clashes.) Moving on, the obnoxious Umbridge and the incompetent Fudge try to arrest Dumbledore, but Dumbledore escapes with a bit of style. Fortunately, Umbridge gets a disgraceful and humiliating comeuppance where Harry uses her own words against her. (As Uncle Vernon earlier said with a laugh and slight dance: "Justice!") With the utterly annoying Umbridge gone, we are left with an EXCELLENT 30 minutes. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and Luna go to face Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and we see that some of Harry's supposed friends, were really Death Eaters. This leads to a really dramtic confrontation topped off with a clash between Lord Voldemort and Dumbledore. Without giving away too much, the idiotic Fudge is called on for his gross incompetence. It does seem in corporations, ministries of magic, and human services, that gross incompetence, an unwillingness to face the truth, and utter stupidity is a trait of higher ups. (Not to mention corruption and deception.)
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Editorial Reviews:
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Alas! The fifth Harry Potter film has arrived. The time is long past that this can be considered a simple "children's" series--though children and adults alike will enjoy it immensely. Starting off from the dark and tragic ending of the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix begins in a somber and angst-filled tone that carries through the entire 138 minutes (the shortest of any HP movie despite being adapted from the longest book). Hopes of winning the Quidditch Cup have been replaced by woes like government corruption, distorted media spin, and the casualties of war. As the themes have matured, so have the primary characters' acting abilities. Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson), and especially Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) are more convincing than ever--in roles that are more demanding. Harry is deeply traumatized from having witnessed Cedric Diggory's murder, but he will soon find that this was just another chapter in the continuing loss he will endure. Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has returned and, in an attempt to conceal this catastrophe from the wizarding public, the Ministry of Magic has teamed up with the wizard newspaper The Daily Prophet to smear young Potter and wise Dumbledore (Michael Gambon)--seemingly the only two people in the public eye who believe the Dark Lord has returned. With no one else to stand against the wicked Death Eaters, the Hogwarts headmaster is forced to revive his secret anti-Voldemort society, the Order of the Phoenix. This welcomes back characters like Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson), kind Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), fatherly Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), and insidious Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), and introduces a short list of intriguing new faces. In the meantime, a semi-psychotic bureaucrat from the Ministry (brilliantly portrayed by Imelda Staunton) has seized power at Hogwarts, and Harry is forced to form a secret society of his own--lest the other young wizards at his school be left ill-equipped to defend themselves in the looming war between good and evil. In addition, Harry is filled with an inexplicable rage that only his Godfather Sirius seems to be able to understand. This film, though not as frightening as its predecessor, earns its PG-13 rating mostly because of the ever-darkening tone. As always, the loyal fans of J.K. Rowling's books will suffer huge cuts from the original plot and character developments, but make no mistake: this is a good movie. --Jordan Thompson On the DVD The second disc of The Order of the Phoenix features "The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter," a retrospective on the series so far, with "Potter experts" (i.e., people who run fan sites) weighing in on what's to come. This must have been filmed during production, because all their speculation about the conclusion of the saga is clearly dated and therefore superfluous (since Order released theatrically at the same time as the seventh book, one would've expected a more current analysis). Many of the deleted scenes are mostly extensions, with the exception of one hilarious take of Professor Trelawney (Emma Thompson) trying--unsuccessfully--to eat gracefully during Dolores Umbridge's introduction at Hogwarts. The chatty actress Natalia Tena, who plays Tonks, gives a tour of the set in "Trailing Tonks," even playing a Christmas song she wrote on her guitar, and director David Yates and editor Mark Day demonstrate editing 101 with a feature that lets you edit your own scene from the movie. Watch the feature but skip the self-editing part; the controls are too complicated to navigate and too frustrating to work properly (plus, hit the wrong button and you've gone all the way back to the beginning). A digital copy of the movie is also included on the bonus disc. --Ellen A. Kim
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