As an adult, I find the real joy of the books is the satirical description of the `Muggles` world and the Dursleys in particular, and the creation of a whole parallel magical world, with its own Ministry of Magic, school rules and so on.

Harry Potter The Complete Collection: 20th Anniversary Harry Potter The Complete Collection: 20th Anniversary

As I mentioned earlier, I didn`t get a chance to review the 2nd disk, thus I did not review the extras. but for the older harrypotter fan, and im only 17, WHERE THE HELL IS THE COMMENTARY, THE DECENT MAKING OF DOC, AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! It`s a bit like driving on a motorway - the plot takes you there at a steady pace and in a fairly safe manner (with a couple of points where it slows down due to congestion) - but where is the joy in that? Of course, it could be the direction rather than the actors themselves, and obviously it is a bit demanding to expect a whole cast of child actors to be perfect throughout a long feature film, but I can think of better examples, Lord of the Flies being one of them.mod: i`ve now had the opportunity to watch this on a widescreen tv and i have 2 take down the video mark as itdoes actually look grainy, especially in the outdoor scenes like daigon alley.

Harry Potter and The Philosopher`s Stone (Widescreen) (UK) Harry Potter and The Philosopher`s Stone (Widescreen) (UK)

while the film is one of the best family films to come out in a long time, i enjoyed every minute, and it DOES feel too short, the video is a lovely, clean, crisp anamorphic 2. Personally I don`t like extras anyway, apart from a theatrical trailer and a director`s commentary, as I never look at the rest of the *** that you get on DVDs, but each to his own I suppose. Only DD, and no DTS, which is odd as it probably would have fitted on the disc with ease, particularly as there is no commentary at all.The extras kept me amused for an hour or so, but why didn`t they put the deleted scences into the main feature? I hate the features on disk 2, which are exceptionally irritating (for adults) - I particularly hated having to get the wand in Ollivanders, where there is no clue as to which one to pick and you get a cheesy explosion effect over and over again each time you get it wrong. The Quidditch scene is a standout, but the poor effects let down a film that unfortunately has to rely on them. Although my equipment isn`t the best in the world, the blacks in Phantom Menace were as black as the bars at the side of the screen, the blacks in this seemed more washed out. As there are many dark scenes and dark backgrounds in the film, and the wizards` robes are black, this is all very unfortunate - especially since the black level is set wrongly (i.

The transfer is extremely sharp and the (widescreen) disk is of course anamorphic, but I`m sorry to say there is something wrong with the gamma/contrast settings used in the mastering/encoding process. The Dursley family are excellent in the film, and the shot of all the identikit estate cars parked in Privet Drive was inspired, but there was just not enough of this building up period, and so the line `You`re a Wizard, Harry` lost most of its impact. He is bullied by them and his fat spoilt cousin Dudley, and lives a very unremarkable life with only the odd hiccup (like his hair growing black overnight!

The menu design was quite good, with some nice `family photos` of the Dursleys, but a bit slow to navigate. Colours are mainly OK, although the greens of the Quidditch pitch are too lurid (unimpressive CGI work for a film made in 2001). It`s not dark enough, it`s only mildly amusing, and it justs sticks to the book to much, yet cuts out Peeves the Poltergeist.

The rest of the disc space is filled up with lots of huge animated menus, with a voiceover, and then clips from the film that you have just seen, so they`re pointless. Hermione is a star, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle are spot on, Harry is OK (probably quite a good portrayal of Harry, who is an OK sort of bloke, but the actor is bad at portraying nervousness or excitement), but Ron is too flat and mournful, Neville is extremely wooden, and Percy is frankly appalling!If you know the story, it is only the visuals that you are left to wonder at, and even the composting is poor. Harry Potter is an ordinary boy who lives in a cupboard under the stairs at his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon`s house, which he thinks is normal for someone like him whose parents have been killed in a `car crash`.