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List Price: $34.99 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 19
Released: December 8, 2009 |
| Our Price: $17.18 |
| Used Price: $16.00 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Even as the decisive showdown looms, romance blossoms for Harry, Ron, Hermione and their classmates. Love is in the air, but danger lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same.
Description of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Two-Disc Limited Special Edition):
The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series begins right where The Order of the Phoenix left off. The wizarding world is rocked by the news that "He Who Must Not Be Named" has truly returned, and the audience finally knows that Harry is "the Chosen One"--the only wizard who can defeat Lord Voldemort in the end. Dark forces loom around every corner, and now regularly attempt to penetrate the protected walls of Hogwarts School. This is no longer the fun and fascinating world of magic from the first few books—it's dark, dangerous, and scary.
Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) suspects Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) to be a new Death Eater recruit on a special mission for the Dark Lord. In the meantime, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) seems to have finally removed the shroud of secrecy from Harry about the dark path that lies ahead, and instead provides private lessons to get him prepared. It's in these intriguing scenes that the dark past of Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Voldemort) is finally revealed. The actors cast as the different young versions of Riddle (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Frank Dillane) do an eerily fantastic job of portraying the villain as a child. While the previous movies' many new characters could be slightly overwhelming, only one new key character is introduced this time: Professor Horace Slughorn (with a spot-on performance by Jim Broadbent). Within his mind he holds a key secret in the battle to defeat the Dark Lord, and Harry is tasked by Dumbledore to uncover a memory about Voldemort's darkest weapon--the Horcrux. Despite the long list of distractions, Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) still try to focus on being teenagers, and audiences will enjoy the budding awkward romances. All of the actors have developed nicely, giving their most convincing performances to date.
More dramatic and significant things go down in this movie than any of its predecessors, and the stakes are higher than ever. The creators have been tasked with a practically impossible challenge, as fans of the beloved J.K. Rowling book series desperately want the movies to capture the magic of the books as closely as possible. Alas, the point at which one accepts that these two mediums are very different is the point at which one can truly enjoy these brilliant adaptations. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is no exception: it may be the best film yet. For those who have not read the book, nail-biting entertainment is guaranteed. For those who have, the movie does it justice. The key dramatic scenes, including the cave and the shocking twist in the final chapter, are executed very well. It does a perfect job of setting up the two-part grand finale that is to follow. --Jordan Thompson
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Two-Disc Limited Special Edition) Reviews:
Disappointing 
2009-12-21 - I've loved Rowling's books, and the first three films, but I confess I found this last one disappointing. There are so many key scenes left out and strange ones put in that make no sense, I wondered at times if the film was of the book I'd read. "Based on a novel by..." is only too true. And don't get me started on the 17 minutes of game ads, trailers and other rubbish that are impossible to fast forward over before you are finally allowed to see what you paid for. I wonder what the author makes of it all.
Lousy sound 
2009-12-21 - I'm not that big of Harry Potter fan and bought this Blu-ray for the kids. I'll leave a discussion of the plot to others. However, I will mention that the sound quality on the Blu-ray received was particularly poor, at least through the first 30 minutes or so. The TV volume had to be cranked up to almost full just to barely be able to hear any dialog. After a while, the movie volume improved and the TV volume could be lowered a bit. There were several dark scenes that were too dark, making the viewing quite difficult. For the most part, I don't see much point in buying the Blu-ray version of this movie, primarly due to the crummy sound reproduction and a dark video making Blu-ray moot. This version that came from Amazon was missing the digital copy of the movie, but Amazon has recognized the problem and will apparently be sending out a free copy of the widescreen DVD. Hopefully, the sound quality will be better on the DVD.
love the harry potter series 
2009-12-21 - liked the movie and shipping seemed great did get all my copys with this product unlike some ppl but amazon sent an email out to address that problem in case u had that
Excellent movie & great extra's!!! 
2009-12-20 - Excellent movie, loved the extra features. The "Year in the Life" of J.K. Rowling was really interesting, very enjoyable. Great buy for the money!
Good But Too Many Gaps 
2009-12-20 - My wife & I are both "Potter'ites" and liked the Half Blood Prince a lot. It was much darker than previous Potter movies both visually and in mood. The movie lacks nearly all of the humor found in the book (which we've read several times). My brother, who hasn't read the book, watched the movie and thought, "HUH?" It didn't make any sense to him.
In watching the film a second time I can understand his confusion. If you haven't read the book, there are too many gaps. This book is unique in that Harry is not involved in a single clear-cut mission against Voldermort and his followers. Instead, the book details a whole host of events that seem intended to tie up loose ends and set the stage for the final one. In compressing 652 pages into 153 minutes, the movie isn't able to establish a tie between these various situations and events as well as the book: In fact it hardly tries. It feels more like a 153 minute "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" book teaser... a series of unrelated snippets designed to lure you into buying and reading it.
If you're familiar with the book, you'll fill in the gaps and enjoy the ride. If not, you'll likely have a "HUH?" reaction like my brother.
