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Movie:		6.0
Picture:		8.0
Sound:		8.0
Extras:		6.0
Score:		6.0

Director(s):	Chris Columbus
Writer(s):	J.K. Rowling (Novel), Steve Kloves (screenplay)
Starring:	Alan Rickman • Daniel Radcliffe • Emma Watson • Robbie Coltrane • Rupert Grint • Maggie Smith • Richard Harris
Genre:	Adventure • Drama • Fantasy
Website:	http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/harrypotterandthehalf-bloodprince/
Release Date:	December 08, 2009
Rated:

Eight years on and five sequels (not to mention the overwhelmingly mediated release of the final book) later, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone is finally starting to look like what it is: a blueprint for things to come. What was greeted with relative fanfare upon release (I myself gave it a four-star review my sophomore year of high school) now seems fairly bland when placed in comparison with the other films, neither exciting (as I found Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) nor excruciating (as I found Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). It’s only fair to note that I have never read any of the books, nor have I ever really felt inclined to, but I have always respected the Harry Potter fandom (well, for the most part) for their ingenuity in inserting their universe of choice into their everyday lives in a way that previously only Trekkies had really mastered. With that in mind, read on.

By now, you’re almost certainly familiar with what happens in essentially every installment of these stories: obligatory protagonist Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), misfit Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and bookish Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) head back to Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, headed by Headmaster Dumbledore (Richard Harris) and taught at by Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith) and Severus Snape (Alan Rickman). Somebody gets ‘a bad feeling about this year’ and invariably, some mysterious things start happening, and the kids are forced to solve a mystery regarding an evil force (pretty much always involving the evil Lord Voldemort in some way). It’s a decent formula, and it speaks well to the talents of those involved that it’s as fine-tuned as it is here (for a two and a half hour long franchise opener, it covers an amazing amount of ground without feeling either repetitive or as if it’s giving any particular subject the short shrift). This makes for a clean and efficient viewing experience, but not always a particularly interesting one. It’s pretty clear that, at least for the first installment, Warner Brothers wanted to play it as safe as they could, and, as a result, this isn’t a movie that takes any risks, nor does it ever really surprise you with any of its creative choices (it’s certainly hard to look at a pre-Equus Radcliffe). That might have been what people were looking for back in 2001, when nobody was quite sure how this would play as a film franchise, but with everything that’s happened in the interim, don’t be surprised if this feels a little quaint.

With Twilight gradually stealing the teen audience away as Harry Potter’s original fans get older, it only makes sense that Warner Brothers would make one more desperate gambit to keep enough people interested before the last two films are released. As a result, we have the Harry Potter Ultimate Edition, the first in a proposed series of eight, all collected in highly decorative boxes with the year of his attendance at Hogwart’s marked on the side. Does it provide enough for you to dust off your old pointy hat and coke bottle eyeglasses?

Disc 1:

The feature film itself. No more, no less.

Disc 2:

The Extended Version of the film (extended by seven minutes, that is). The extra scenes are not marked on the DVD menu, nor do they appreciably alter the tone or quality of the film itself.

Disc 3:

This disc is something of a mystery. There are special features (mostly additional scenes and little informational pieces on things like Hagrid’s Hut), but to get to them, you have to navigate an exceedingly complicated menu which you could probably spend hours navigating just to find what you’re looking for. It’s certainly elaborate, but it’s really only likely to engage those who find interest in even the tiniest minutiae of this universe.

Disc 4:

A more straight-forward special features disc, which includes;

-an introduction by Daniel Radcliffe.

- Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 1: The Magic Begins - the first of a tentative eight (presumably, one will come out with each DVD release). There’s nothing shocking here, but it is a fairly in-depth look at the production of the film.

- A Glimpse Into The World of Harry Potter - a much shorter piece from the period of the film’s initial release. Much more a promotional piece preserved for historical interest rather than something that will edify any fans of the film.

-Deleted Scenes

-Trailers and TV Spots

There was one word in the The Magic Begins description that should have raised an eyebrow, and that was tentative. I didn’t even make that one up; it’s on the box itself. What they think is going to change between now and the DVD release of the final film is anybody’s guess, but the fact that they’re willing to put out material in a collection that could well change suggests to me that they’re probably going to put out another set at some point. While this is indeed a handsome-looking set (it comes with a small book on Creating The World of Harry Potter and some character cards), it’s easy to see this taking a few lessons from the Star Wars school of home video releases; meaning that there’s just enough material to justify a new set, but that there’s plenty more where that came from. The fact that the initial rumor was that the extended cut would add an extra half hour to the film only seems to make that likely. And the more you think about it, the more likely it seems that this material could have fit on fewer disks, making the set look a little less prestigious.

I’m certain that there are fans who will want to get it no matter what, and like I said, I respect that. But for the collector, I’d suggest holding off. For a four-disc set, the amount of content is surprisingly small, and there’s no real question but that it’s going to come out at some point.