I could get mine on September 5 but then I'd have to pay $459 whereas if I get it off amazon it's only $350 but I would be waiting an extra week or so.
Review of the set (will only post the part about the bonus features):
"HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 1:
Creating the Magical World of Harry Potter Part 6: Magical Effects runs 47 minutes, 28 seconds and features a conversation between author JK Rowling and screenwriter Steve Kloves. They discuss aspects of the novels, their adaptation to the screen, and their thoughts about character/story elements.
Without question, “Story” provides the most simple of the eight “Creating” documentaries, as none of the others focus solely on two participants. That makes perfect sense, though, as Rowling and Kloves were the proprietors of the text, and it’s a lot of fun to watch the two of them reminisce and discuss their collaboration. Yeah, we get stuck with too much praise and happy talk, but we still learn quite a bit in this enjoyable chat.
Hosted by Ben Shephard, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1: Behind the Magic lasts 44 minutes, nine seconds and offers remarks from producers David Barron and David Heyman, director David Yates, visual effects supervisor Tim Burke, 2nd unit director Steven Woolfenden, supervising modeler Pierre Bohanna, stunt coordinator Greg Powell, makeup effects designer Nick Dudman, and actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Williams, Julie Walters, Evanna Lynch, Bill Nighy, Jason Isaacs, Tom Felton, Sophie Thompson, David O’Hara, Steffan Rhodri, and Imelda Staunton. The program gives us a story recap and also looks at the choice to split into two movies, various effects, cast and performances, action and stunts, costumes, characters, sets, locations and production design, and some other areas.
No one would ever accuse the various “Magic” documentaries of being hard-hitting, as they tend toward the fluffy, promotional side of the street. That said, they also manage to produce quite a lot of good info, and they move at a brisk, breezy pace. This becomes another likable, engaging program.
10 new featurettes follow. These include “Harry Potter: On the Road” (19:37), “The Return of the Order” (5:35), “Scabior and Greyback” (4:10), “Dobby’s Farewell” (4:28), “The Look of Bill Weasley” (3:41), “The Weasleys” (3:33), “The State of Evil” (9:58), “The New Guys” (7:06), “One Book, Two Movies” (4:38) and “The Wizarding Prop Shop” (5:28). Across these, we hear from Heyman, Watson, Grint, Radcliffe, Barron, Walters, Yates, Lynch, Powell, Isaacs, Domhnall Gleeson, Felton, Nighy, Bohanna, set decorator Stephenie McMillan, production designer Stuart Craig, location manager Sue Quinn, special effects supervisor John Richardson, costume designer Jany Temime, and actors Bonnie Wright, Rhys Ifans, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Natalia Tena, George Harris, Andy Linden, Nick Moran, Dave Legeno, Toby Jones, Oliver and James Phelps, Ralph Fiennes, Helen McCrory, Helena Bonham Carter, and Clemence Poesy.
The pieces cover sets and locations, various effects, production design and costumes, cast and characters, props and splitting the book into two movies. These resemble the “Focus Points” found on the original Blu-ray and contribute a lot of good info. They can be a little random/scattered, but they’re still informative and worthwhile.
Also found on the 2011 Blu-ray, you’ll find a Sneak Peek for Deathly Hallows – Part 2. It goes for four minutes, 24 seconds and provides some shots from the film along with quick comments from some film participants. This was more interesting before Part 2 hit screens; now it’s pretty superfluous.
The next five featurettes repeat material from the original Blu-ray. These include “The Seven Harrys” (5:29), “On the Green with Rupert, Tom, Oliver and James” (13:38), “Dan, Rupert and Emma’s Running Competition” (2:45), “Godric’s Hollow/The Harry and Nagini Battle” (6:00), and “The Frozen Lake” (4:10). During these, we find notes from Radcliffe, Watson, Yates, Barron, Heyman, Grint, Felton, Craig, McMillan, Christopher, Powell, Linden, the Phelps brothers, Burke, visual effects producer Emma Norton, VFX previs animation supervisor Ferran Domenech, and actor Hazel Douglas.
The shows look at effects, performances, cast relationships and reflections, set design, stunts and action. They give us quick featurettes that flesh out a variety of topics. None excel, but all provide some nice info; I especially like the look at making “Seven Harrys”.
Eight Additional Scenes occupy a total of 10 minutes, 54 seconds. We see “The Burrows Shed” (0:41), “The Dursley House” (0:52), “Dudley and Harry” (2:05), “The Granger House” (0:27), “Ministry of Magic Lifts” (1:51), “Tent” (1:38), “Rabbit Chase in the Forest” (1:28), and “Ron and Hermione Skimming Stones” (1:52). The first few are the best; in particular, “Dursley” and “Dudley” flesh out the brief departure sequence we see at the start. Though I suspect the filmmakers thought those two would slow down the opening, I would’ve liked them to make the final cut; they add even more emotional resonance to the film.
“Shed” also helps set up the use of a radio that becomes prominent during the third act. As for the other scenes, they’re interesting but not especially important. “Chase” and “Stones” are good cuts, as they would’ve padded the movie’s less action-oriented moments and made the film drag a bit.
Four ads appear within Trailers. In addition to both the teaser and theatrical trailers for Part 1, we get “Behind the Soundtrack” (3:51) and a promo for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (6:25). “Soundtrack” features Barron, Heyman, and composer Alexandre Desplat. We get a few notes about Desplat’s work on the film, but don’t expect much depth; the piece remains pretty shallow.
“Wizarding” takes us to the June 2010 grand opening of the new development at Universal Studios Florida. Various members of the cast attend and we learn more about the park’s design. This is pure promotion, though it’s good promotion; it makes me want to visit."
For the final installment in the documentary series, Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 8: Growing Up goes for 49 minutes, 19 seconds and features Radcliffe, Heyman, Watson, Grint, Felton, Barron, Williams, Rowling, Isaacs, James and Oliver Phelps, directors Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and David Yates, head of education Janet Mills, and actors Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Alfie Enoch, Alan Rickman, Matthew Lewis, Maggie Smith, Kenneth Branagh, Jessie Cave, and Katie Leung. As implied by the title, “Growing Up” traces the evolution of the series’ young actors, with an emphasis on the three leads.
The show can be a bit soppy at times, but it’s usually a warm, enjoyable look back at the ways the actors changed over the years. It’s nice to see the contrast via interviews from over 10 years, and we get a nice feel for the topic. This becomes a nostalgic, enjoyable piece.
Another continuation of a series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2: Behind the Magic occupies 47 minutes, one second. Again hosted by Ben Shephard, this one provides info from Radcliffe, Grint, Watson, Heyman, Carter, Yates, Dudman, Warwick Davis, Burke, Felton, Craig, Barron, Bohanna, Wright, Williams, Lewis, Walters, prop man Sidney Wilson and makeup designer Amanda Knight.
Expect this one to offer topics – and tone – similar to what we saw in the prior entry. We get a frothy mix of movie elements and see Shephard put into makeup to receive “battle wounds”. Like its predecessors, this show offers a fun and interesting overview of the production.
Next comes A Conversation with JK Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe. A longer version of a program on the original Part 2 release, this runs one hour, three minutes, 20 seconds as the author and the actor discuss his casting and her involvement in the process, other cast/character/story notions, changes from her books and aspects of the evolution of the novels, and living with the success of the Potter world.
Though both have a lot to say, Rowling dominates and gives us the most interesting parts of “Conversation”. She lets us take a nice glimpse behind the scenes to learn more about her writing processes and working through Potter areas. It’s fun to see arguably the two most important figures in the franchise chat for such a long period, and this ends up as an enjoyable piece.
(For the record, this version of “Conversation” adds about 10 minutes to the previously released cut. I didn’t compare them directly, so I can’t discuss specific additions, but I wanted to mention that it’s not radically longer.)
Hogwarts’ Last Stand fills 30 minutes, 27 seconds with notes from Yates, Barron, Heyman, Rowling, Watson, Powell, Woolfenden, Richardson, Lewis, Dudman, Felton, Fiennes, Coltrane, Craig, Isaacs, Radcliffe, James and Oliver Phelps, Grint, McMillan, Rickman, Wright, stunt performers Martin Wilde and Marc Mailley and actor Devon Murray. This program concentrates on all the elements required to bring together the movie’s climactic final third or so. It gets into a lot of good details and provides a satisfying examination of the specifics.
Note that the disc lists this as an “Extended Version” of the show. Unless I missed it somehow, it didn’t appear on the original Part 2 Blu-ray, so I don’t know where the non-extended cut appeared.
Two repeated featurettes follow. The Goblins of Gringotts goes for 10 minutes, 56 seconds and provides notes from Nick Dudman, Warwick Davis, and actors Rusty Goffe, Binde Johal, Lauren Barnard, Nathan Phillips, Nikki McInness, Samantha Davis, and Maxwell Laird. We learn about the goblin makeup and the actors who played them. This is a nice look at a side of the filmmaking process that usually doesn’t get much attention.
In the 22-minute, 31-second The Women of Harry Potter, we hear from Rowling, Wright, Watson, Walters, Carter, and actors Helen McCrory and Imelda Staunton. As expected, the program looks at the female characters and actors in the Potter series. Some of this seems self-congratulatory, but we still get decent information. Most of this comes from Rowling, who again provides nice insights into her creations.
A bunch of short-ish new to this release featurettes come next. These include “The Great Hall of Hogwarts” (4:13), “Ron and Hermione’s Kiss” (4:12), “That’s a Wrap, Harry” (4:55), “Neville’s Battle Makeup” (4:11), “The Gringotts Disguises” (4:07), and “Harry’s Death: The Courtyard Confrontation” (10:14). Across these, we find info from Radcliffe, Grint, Watson, Yates, Heyman, Barron, Felton, Lewis, James and Oliver Phelps, Wright, Craig, Lynch, Dudman, Carter, Fennes, Rowling, Lynch, Murray, Enoch, Coltrane, Isaacs, McCrory, 1st AD Jamie Christopher and actor David Bradley. These look at sets, the big smooching scene, feelings about finishing the series, makeup and costumes, and the final battle between Harry and Voldemort. These resemble earlier programs – and sometimes use the same footage – so don’t expect revelations. Still, they include some good new information and remain enjoyable.
Under Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The Quest, we find an additional 16 short featurettes. Because my fingers are getting tired, I’m not going to type out the titles of all of them, but I will say they run a total of 53 minutes, 37 seconds of material. These feature Ifans, Watson, Radcliffe, Shephard, Bohanna, Fiennes, Newell, Isaacs, Yates, Rowling, Rickman, Barron, Grint, Heyman, Walters, Williams, James and Oliver Phelps, Enoch, Murray, Cave, Wright, Enoch, Lynch, Columbus, Toby Jones, Warwick Davis, animation supervisor Pablo Grillo, and actor Michael Gambon. The pieces cover a mix of topics like performances, characters and actors, props and effects, the premiere, Ron’s romances and aspects of his family, favorite dialogue, props and costumes, a tour of the main studio, and saying goodbye to the series. These pieces originally ran online as promotion, and they emit the fluffiness one expects of those origins. Nonetheless, they come with some interesting bits and are worth a look.
Eight Deleted Scenes fill a total of six minutes, 33 seconds. Given the length of these pieces, you can assume that they don’t add much, and that assumption would be correct. These are mostly just extensions of existing sequences, so don’t anticipate anything that really stands alone – or stands out. The extra bits are fun but fairly inconsequential.
The disc finishes with two trailers - one teaser, one theatrical – for Part 2 and also includes two Previews. One looks at the “Warner Bros. Studio Tour London” and the other delivers a promo for “Pottermore”."
We open with the one-hour, 26-minute, 54-second documentary When Harry Left Hogwarts. It delivers notes from Watson, Carter, Coltrane, Isaacs, Radcliffe, Heyman, Fiennes, Grint, Felton, Powell, Goffe, Johal, Gambon, Williams, Christopher, Yates, Bradley, Warwick Davis, Mailley, Walters, Richardson, Wilde, McCrory, head of publicity Vanessa Davies, plasterer John Lloyd, 2nd AD Michael Stevenson, runner Alfie Oldman, make-up effects Alexys Beccerra, DVD extras Rob Done, stunt double David Holmes, construction supervisor Stephen Challenor, senior effects technician Doug McCarthy, and actors Gary Oldman, Miriam Margolyes, Harrison Davis, and Emma Thompson.
“Hogwarts” gives us a wistful look at aspects of the final film’s production. It doesn’t try especially hard to give us the nuts and bolts – which are covered elsewhere – and instead attempts a more emotional take on the topic. We get to meet people usually not seen in “making of “pieces; some of the best moments involve Holmes, who got severely injured during a prior shoot. “Hogwarts” delivers a satisfying look back.
For a long compendium of movie snippets, we go to 50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments (Definitive Version). Narrated by Robbie Coltrane, this runs one hour, three minutes, 52 seconds as it shows a wide variety of film sequences – counting down to ultimately hit the alleged absolute best one - along with comments from Radcliffe, Grint, Watson, Rowling, Walters, Williams, Heyman, Isaacs, Yates, Felton, Lewis, Thewlis, James and Oliver Phelps, Barron, Burke, Fiennes, Wright, and actors Pam Ferris and Dawn French. Viewers may or may not agree with the rankings, but I think it’s a fun way to re-examine on the series, and the notes from cast/crew add introspection.
Four featurettes finish the set. Designing the World of Harry Potter lasts 23 minutes, 22 seconds and includes Craig, Newell, Heyman, Isaacs, James and Oliver Phelps, Cuaron, Columbus, Burke, McMillan, Radcliffe, Bohanna, Rickman, Barron, Warwick Davis, Felton, Temime, Yates, supervising art director Neil Lamont, conceptual artist Andrew Williamson, art director Gary Tomkins, VFX producer Theresa Corrao, VFX supervisor Jim Mitchell, graphics artist Miraphora Mina, and construction manager Paul Hayes. Here we get notes about various aspects of set, effects, prop and costume design. Of course, other programs have touched on these subjects, but this show delivers a nice overview that involves the whole franchise, not just one movie or another.
The next two pieces follow the same framework. We find Secrets Revealed! Quidditch (10:50) and Secrets Revealed! Hagrid (11:18). In these, we hear from Columbus, Radcliffe, Heyman, Rowling, Powell, Felton, Mitchell, Richardson, Newell, Burke, Yates, Woolfenden, Mailley, Grint, Coltrane, Dudman, Craig, VFX producer Rob Legato, STX supervisor Steve Hamilton, CG supervisors Doug Smythe and Kevin Sprout, stunt double Martin Bayfield, and cinematographer Roger Pratt. The featurettes give us details about various methods used to bring Quidditch matches to life and to make Coltrane appear to be much larger than he is. Both offer good information and move well.
Finally, we go to the 10-minute, 31-second The Harry Potters You Never Met. In this one, we hear from Yates, Mailley, Powell, Heyman, Holmes, Grint, Radcliffe, Felton, and stunt doubles Tolga Kenan, Jo Whitney, and Nick Chopping. “Met” looks at the various doubles for the main actors and their work in the films. It’s another nice look behind the scenes."
I want to see the documentary with the conversations between Rowling and Kloves.
Me too, there will be around 1 hour of new interview footage with Jo. I like how they made "When harry left hogwarts" a "true' feature-length documentary.
Meh, not too much interesting. Like always, in those documentaries all the cast is interviewed except Evanna, she's on the already released featurettes. The most interesting part will be the Jo/Kloves interview, Hogwarts's Final Stand, and the new bits of the Dan/Jo interview and When Harry Left Hogwarts. Hope to see any data of the GOF to know if Desplat will be included in the Sound and Magic documentary.
Meh, not too much interesting. Like always, in those documentaries all the cast is interviewed except Evanna, she's on the already released featurettes. The most interesting part will be the Jo/Kloves interview, Hogwarts's Final Stand, and the new bits of the Dan/Jo interview and When Harry Left Hogwarts. Hope to see any data of the GOF to know if Desplat will be included in the Sound and Magic documentary.
The documentary will appear the same way it appeared on the UE.
Yeah, the one minute and half interview on DH1's Bluray. In the Collector Edition of DH1's score there's a seven minutes footage video of Desplat talking about the score.
Gonna buy this set for sure! But i do agree the US price is way too much. Most of the countries get a normal price (in my case it's much cheaper to buy this set than buying the UE's separately) (prices are from amazon):
Benelux: -WC:€250 -Separately: around €280 France: -WC:€280 -Separately: around €206 Germany: -WC: €240 -Separately: around €250 UK: -WC: £178 -Separately: around £200 US: -WC: $345 -Separately: around $280
WB should drop their US price with at least $70 to get a "normal" price.
Gonna buy this set for sure! But i do agree the US price is way too much. Most of the countries get a normal price (in my case it's much cheaper to buy this set than buying the UE's separately) (prices are from amazon):
Benelux: -WC:€250 -Separately: around €280 France: -WC:€280 -Separately: around €206 Germany: -WC: €240 -Separately: around €250 UK: -WC: £178 -Separately: around £200 US: -WC: $345 -Separately: around $280
WB should drop their US price with at least $70 to get a "normal" price.
And Slovakia/Czech Republic: 329,95 € (and it is just import...)
For fans such as Levine, the studio plans to release a slimmed-down set with all of the collection’s filmed content but none of the bells and whistles — for a significantly lower price — in early 2013, says Baker.
AHA! So they do plan on releasing another set in early 2013. I hope it IS significantly lower, like $100 or so...
Comments
I zoomed on the subtitled and for what i was enable to see : English, French and Spanish
I cut the zone for you
http://www.post76.com/discuss/viewthread.php?tid=129832&extra=page=1
Is there an unboxing video on youtube yet?
Here's one from the WB Shop
Lord Stafford.
New clip from Wizard's Collection from documentary in BONUS DISC - Harry Potter secrets
http://usscpromotions.com/entertainmentweekly/harrypotter_ultimate_experience/
Lord Stafford.
"HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 1:
Creating the Magical World of Harry Potter Part 6: Magical Effects runs 47 minutes, 28 seconds and features a conversation between author JK Rowling and screenwriter Steve Kloves. They discuss aspects of the novels, their adaptation to the screen, and their thoughts about character/story elements.
Without question, “Story” provides the most simple of the eight “Creating” documentaries, as none of the others focus solely on two participants. That makes perfect sense, though, as Rowling and Kloves were the proprietors of the text, and it’s a lot of fun to watch the two of them reminisce and discuss their collaboration. Yeah, we get stuck with too much praise and happy talk, but we still learn quite a bit in this enjoyable chat.
Hosted by Ben Shephard, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1: Behind the Magic lasts 44 minutes, nine seconds and offers remarks from producers David Barron and David Heyman, director David Yates, visual effects supervisor Tim Burke, 2nd unit director Steven Woolfenden, supervising modeler Pierre Bohanna, stunt coordinator Greg Powell, makeup effects designer Nick Dudman, and actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Williams, Julie Walters, Evanna Lynch, Bill Nighy, Jason Isaacs, Tom Felton, Sophie Thompson, David O’Hara, Steffan Rhodri, and Imelda Staunton. The program gives us a story recap and also looks at the choice to split into two movies, various effects, cast and performances, action and stunts, costumes, characters, sets, locations and production design, and some other areas.
No one would ever accuse the various “Magic” documentaries of being hard-hitting, as they tend toward the fluffy, promotional side of the street. That said, they also manage to produce quite a lot of good info, and they move at a brisk, breezy pace. This becomes another likable, engaging program.
10 new featurettes follow. These include “Harry Potter: On the Road” (19:37), “The Return of the Order” (5:35), “Scabior and Greyback” (4:10), “Dobby’s Farewell” (4:28), “The Look of Bill Weasley” (3:41), “The Weasleys” (3:33), “The State of Evil” (9:58), “The New Guys” (7:06), “One Book, Two Movies” (4:38) and “The Wizarding Prop Shop” (5:28). Across these, we hear from Heyman, Watson, Grint, Radcliffe, Barron, Walters, Yates, Lynch, Powell, Isaacs, Domhnall Gleeson, Felton, Nighy, Bohanna, set decorator Stephenie McMillan, production designer Stuart Craig, location manager Sue Quinn, special effects supervisor John Richardson, costume designer Jany Temime, and actors Bonnie Wright, Rhys Ifans, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Natalia Tena, George Harris, Andy Linden, Nick Moran, Dave Legeno, Toby Jones, Oliver and James Phelps, Ralph Fiennes, Helen McCrory, Helena Bonham Carter, and Clemence Poesy.
The pieces cover sets and locations, various effects, production design and costumes, cast and characters, props and splitting the book into two movies. These resemble the “Focus Points” found on the original Blu-ray and contribute a lot of good info. They can be a little random/scattered, but they’re still informative and worthwhile.
Also found on the 2011 Blu-ray, you’ll find a Sneak Peek for Deathly Hallows – Part 2. It goes for four minutes, 24 seconds and provides some shots from the film along with quick comments from some film participants. This was more interesting before Part 2 hit screens; now it’s pretty superfluous.
The next five featurettes repeat material from the original Blu-ray. These include “The Seven Harrys” (5:29), “On the Green with Rupert, Tom, Oliver and James” (13:38), “Dan, Rupert and Emma’s Running Competition” (2:45), “Godric’s Hollow/The Harry and Nagini Battle” (6:00), and “The Frozen Lake” (4:10). During these, we find notes from Radcliffe, Watson, Yates, Barron, Heyman, Grint, Felton, Craig, McMillan, Christopher, Powell, Linden, the Phelps brothers, Burke, visual effects producer Emma Norton, VFX previs animation supervisor Ferran Domenech, and actor Hazel Douglas.
The shows look at effects, performances, cast relationships and reflections, set design, stunts and action. They give us quick featurettes that flesh out a variety of topics. None excel, but all provide some nice info; I especially like the look at making “Seven Harrys”.
Eight Additional Scenes occupy a total of 10 minutes, 54 seconds. We see “The Burrows Shed” (0:41), “The Dursley House” (0:52), “Dudley and Harry” (2:05), “The Granger House” (0:27), “Ministry of Magic Lifts” (1:51), “Tent” (1:38), “Rabbit Chase in the Forest” (1:28), and “Ron and Hermione Skimming Stones” (1:52). The first few are the best; in particular, “Dursley” and “Dudley” flesh out the brief departure sequence we see at the start. Though I suspect the filmmakers thought those two would slow down the opening, I would’ve liked them to make the final cut; they add even more emotional resonance to the film.
“Shed” also helps set up the use of a radio that becomes prominent during the third act. As for the other scenes, they’re interesting but not especially important. “Chase” and “Stones” are good cuts, as they would’ve padded the movie’s less action-oriented moments and made the film drag a bit.
Four ads appear within Trailers. In addition to both the teaser and theatrical trailers for Part 1, we get “Behind the Soundtrack” (3:51) and a promo for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (6:25). “Soundtrack” features Barron, Heyman, and composer Alexandre Desplat. We get a few notes about Desplat’s work on the film, but don’t expect much depth; the piece remains pretty shallow.
“Wizarding” takes us to the June 2010 grand opening of the new development at Universal Studios Florida. Various members of the cast attend and we learn more about the park’s design. This is pure promotion, though it’s good promotion; it makes me want to visit."
For the final installment in the documentary series, Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 8: Growing Up goes for 49 minutes, 19 seconds and features Radcliffe, Heyman, Watson, Grint, Felton, Barron, Williams, Rowling, Isaacs, James and Oliver Phelps, directors Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and David Yates, head of education Janet Mills, and actors Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Alfie Enoch, Alan Rickman, Matthew Lewis, Maggie Smith, Kenneth Branagh, Jessie Cave, and Katie Leung. As implied by the title, “Growing Up” traces the evolution of the series’ young actors, with an emphasis on the three leads.
The show can be a bit soppy at times, but it’s usually a warm, enjoyable look back at the ways the actors changed over the years. It’s nice to see the contrast via interviews from over 10 years, and we get a nice feel for the topic. This becomes a nostalgic, enjoyable piece.
Another continuation of a series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2: Behind the Magic occupies 47 minutes, one second. Again hosted by Ben Shephard, this one provides info from Radcliffe, Grint, Watson, Heyman, Carter, Yates, Dudman, Warwick Davis, Burke, Felton, Craig, Barron, Bohanna, Wright, Williams, Lewis, Walters, prop man Sidney Wilson and makeup designer Amanda Knight.
Expect this one to offer topics – and tone – similar to what we saw in the prior entry. We get a frothy mix of movie elements and see Shephard put into makeup to receive “battle wounds”. Like its predecessors, this show offers a fun and interesting overview of the production.
Next comes A Conversation with JK Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe. A longer version of a program on the original Part 2 release, this runs one hour, three minutes, 20 seconds as the author and the actor discuss his casting and her involvement in the process, other cast/character/story notions, changes from her books and aspects of the evolution of the novels, and living with the success of the Potter world.
Though both have a lot to say, Rowling dominates and gives us the most interesting parts of “Conversation”. She lets us take a nice glimpse behind the scenes to learn more about her writing processes and working through Potter areas. It’s fun to see arguably the two most important figures in the franchise chat for such a long period, and this ends up as an enjoyable piece.
(For the record, this version of “Conversation” adds about 10 minutes to the previously released cut. I didn’t compare them directly, so I can’t discuss specific additions, but I wanted to mention that it’s not radically longer.)
Hogwarts’ Last Stand fills 30 minutes, 27 seconds with notes from Yates, Barron, Heyman, Rowling, Watson, Powell, Woolfenden, Richardson, Lewis, Dudman, Felton, Fiennes, Coltrane, Craig, Isaacs, Radcliffe, James and Oliver Phelps, Grint, McMillan, Rickman, Wright, stunt performers Martin Wilde and Marc Mailley and actor Devon Murray. This program concentrates on all the elements required to bring together the movie’s climactic final third or so. It gets into a lot of good details and provides a satisfying examination of the specifics.
Note that the disc lists this as an “Extended Version” of the show. Unless I missed it somehow, it didn’t appear on the original Part 2 Blu-ray, so I don’t know where the non-extended cut appeared.
Two repeated featurettes follow. The Goblins of Gringotts goes for 10 minutes, 56 seconds and provides notes from Nick Dudman, Warwick Davis, and actors Rusty Goffe, Binde Johal, Lauren Barnard, Nathan Phillips, Nikki McInness, Samantha Davis, and Maxwell Laird. We learn about the goblin makeup and the actors who played them. This is a nice look at a side of the filmmaking process that usually doesn’t get much attention.
In the 22-minute, 31-second The Women of Harry Potter, we hear from Rowling, Wright, Watson, Walters, Carter, and actors Helen McCrory and Imelda Staunton. As expected, the program looks at the female characters and actors in the Potter series. Some of this seems self-congratulatory, but we still get decent information. Most of this comes from Rowling, who again provides nice insights into her creations.
A bunch of short-ish new to this release featurettes come next. These include “The Great Hall of Hogwarts” (4:13), “Ron and Hermione’s Kiss” (4:12), “That’s a Wrap, Harry” (4:55), “Neville’s Battle Makeup” (4:11), “The Gringotts Disguises” (4:07), and “Harry’s Death: The Courtyard Confrontation” (10:14). Across these, we find info from Radcliffe, Grint, Watson, Yates, Heyman, Barron, Felton, Lewis, James and Oliver Phelps, Wright, Craig, Lynch, Dudman, Carter, Fennes, Rowling, Lynch, Murray, Enoch, Coltrane, Isaacs, McCrory, 1st AD Jamie Christopher and actor David Bradley. These look at sets, the big smooching scene, feelings about finishing the series, makeup and costumes, and the final battle between Harry and Voldemort. These resemble earlier programs – and sometimes use the same footage – so don’t expect revelations. Still, they include some good new information and remain enjoyable.
Under Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The Quest, we find an additional 16 short featurettes. Because my fingers are getting tired, I’m not going to type out the titles of all of them, but I will say they run a total of 53 minutes, 37 seconds of material. These feature Ifans, Watson, Radcliffe, Shephard, Bohanna, Fiennes, Newell, Isaacs, Yates, Rowling, Rickman, Barron, Grint, Heyman, Walters, Williams, James and Oliver Phelps, Enoch, Murray, Cave, Wright, Enoch, Lynch, Columbus, Toby Jones, Warwick Davis, animation supervisor Pablo Grillo, and actor Michael Gambon. The pieces cover a mix of topics like performances, characters and actors, props and effects, the premiere, Ron’s romances and aspects of his family, favorite dialogue, props and costumes, a tour of the main studio, and saying goodbye to the series. These pieces originally ran online as promotion, and they emit the fluffiness one expects of those origins. Nonetheless, they come with some interesting bits and are worth a look.
Eight Deleted Scenes fill a total of six minutes, 33 seconds. Given the length of these pieces, you can assume that they don’t add much, and that assumption would be correct. These are mostly just extensions of existing sequences, so don’t anticipate anything that really stands alone – or stands out. The extra bits are fun but fairly inconsequential.
The disc finishes with two trailers - one teaser, one theatrical – for Part 2 and also includes two Previews. One looks at the “Warner Bros. Studio Tour London” and the other delivers a promo for “Pottermore”."
We open with the one-hour, 26-minute, 54-second documentary When Harry Left Hogwarts. It delivers notes from Watson, Carter, Coltrane, Isaacs, Radcliffe, Heyman, Fiennes, Grint, Felton, Powell, Goffe, Johal, Gambon, Williams, Christopher, Yates, Bradley, Warwick Davis, Mailley, Walters, Richardson, Wilde, McCrory, head of publicity Vanessa Davies, plasterer John Lloyd, 2nd AD Michael Stevenson, runner Alfie Oldman, make-up effects Alexys Beccerra, DVD extras Rob Done, stunt double David Holmes, construction supervisor Stephen Challenor, senior effects technician Doug McCarthy, and actors Gary Oldman, Miriam Margolyes, Harrison Davis, and Emma Thompson.
“Hogwarts” gives us a wistful look at aspects of the final film’s production. It doesn’t try especially hard to give us the nuts and bolts – which are covered elsewhere – and instead attempts a more emotional take on the topic. We get to meet people usually not seen in “making of “pieces; some of the best moments involve Holmes, who got severely injured during a prior shoot. “Hogwarts” delivers a satisfying look back.
For a long compendium of movie snippets, we go to 50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments (Definitive Version). Narrated by Robbie Coltrane, this runs one hour, three minutes, 52 seconds as it shows a wide variety of film sequences – counting down to ultimately hit the alleged absolute best one - along with comments from Radcliffe, Grint, Watson, Rowling, Walters, Williams, Heyman, Isaacs, Yates, Felton, Lewis, Thewlis, James and Oliver Phelps, Barron, Burke, Fiennes, Wright, and actors Pam Ferris and Dawn French. Viewers may or may not agree with the rankings, but I think it’s a fun way to re-examine on the series, and the notes from cast/crew add introspection.
Four featurettes finish the set. Designing the World of Harry Potter lasts 23 minutes, 22 seconds and includes Craig, Newell, Heyman, Isaacs, James and Oliver Phelps, Cuaron, Columbus, Burke, McMillan, Radcliffe, Bohanna, Rickman, Barron, Warwick Davis, Felton, Temime, Yates, supervising art director Neil Lamont, conceptual artist Andrew Williamson, art director Gary Tomkins, VFX producer Theresa Corrao, VFX supervisor Jim Mitchell, graphics artist Miraphora Mina, and construction manager Paul Hayes. Here we get notes about various aspects of set, effects, prop and costume design. Of course, other programs have touched on these subjects, but this show delivers a nice overview that involves the whole franchise, not just one movie or another.
The next two pieces follow the same framework. We find Secrets Revealed! Quidditch (10:50) and Secrets Revealed! Hagrid (11:18). In these, we hear from Columbus, Radcliffe, Heyman, Rowling, Powell, Felton, Mitchell, Richardson, Newell, Burke, Yates, Woolfenden, Mailley, Grint, Coltrane, Dudman, Craig, VFX producer Rob Legato, STX supervisor Steve Hamilton, CG supervisors Doug Smythe and Kevin Sprout, stunt double Martin Bayfield, and cinematographer Roger Pratt. The featurettes give us details about various methods used to bring Quidditch matches to life and to make Coltrane appear to be much larger than he is. Both offer good information and move well.
Finally, we go to the 10-minute, 31-second The Harry Potters You Never Met. In this one, we hear from Yates, Mailley, Powell, Heyman, Holmes, Grint, Radcliffe, Felton, and stunt doubles Tolga Kenan, Jo Whitney, and Nick Chopping. “Met” looks at the various doubles for the main actors and their work in the films. It’s another nice look behind the scenes."
http://www.dvdmg.com/harrypotterwizardscollection.shtml
Meh, not too much interesting. Like always, in those documentaries all the cast is interviewed except Evanna, she's on the already released featurettes. The most interesting part will be the Jo/Kloves interview, Hogwarts's Final Stand, and the new bits of the Dan/Jo interview and When Harry Left Hogwarts. Hope to see any data of the GOF to know if Desplat will be included in the Sound and Magic documentary.
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/movies/bad_magic_w9OZOoVmUcIBuyqgulBXJL?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Movies
Anyway, another photos of memorabilia:
https://www.facebook.com/HarryPotterMovieMemorabilia
And unboxing video:
Benelux: -WC:€250 -Separately: around €280
France: -WC:€280 -Separately: around €206
Germany: -WC: €240 -Separately: around €250
UK: -WC: £178 -Separately: around £200
US: -WC: $345 -Separately: around $280
WB should drop their US price with at least $70 to get a "normal" price.
AHA! So they do plan on releasing another set in early 2013. I hope it IS significantly lower, like $100 or so...