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List Price: $28.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 7
Released: December 8, 2009 |
| Our Price: $12.79 |
| Used Price: $10.95 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
AS HARRY POTTER BEGINS HIS 6TH YEAR AT HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY, HE DISCOVERS AN OLD BOOK MARKED MYSTERIOUSLY 'THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE' AND BEGINS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LORD VOLDEMORT'S DARK PAST.
Description of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Widescreen 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 (Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
Decent 
2009-12-29 - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was good, as it (most of the time) stayed true to the novels, with some little sit-com like additions (which I personally am not so fond of). A word of warning: If you have very small children (5,6) they may be frightened by some of the more intense scenes. This IS the darkest Harry Potter movie yet, and you have to keep in mind that the movies get progressively darker, so the next two (as the seventh book is being split into to different releases) will only be darker.
A note on the soundtrack: I found myself turning it the volume up and down at different points in the movie, as win they whisper it trails off into nothi.... and when the yell it GETS REALLY LOUD!!!! It's inevitable that this happens, I've spoken with others who complain of the same problem.
Personally this is the only format I would by movies on, as the visuals are just so wonderfully stunning.
Half-Yawn Prince 
2009-12-28 - I like Harry Potter movies but Half-Blood Prince was too long and boring, at 153mins they could easily edit 30-40mins to make it more interesting. I literally fell asleep watching this movie.
Good film-bare bones DVD
2009-12-28 - I'm an avid Harry Potter fan, like so many. This film is definitely a "cliff notes" version of the book; probably best if you've read the book beforehand. (It would have had to be a miniseries to fit in all that the book covers.) The tone is extremely dark, as the story goes on. The film is visually dark itself-especially on a smaller screen. You'll have to dim the lights for some of the scenes at home just to see what is going on.
When I saw the film in theatres, I was dismayed by many of the cuts from the book, and I didn't like the "new" scenes. I still feel that way to an extent, but over time I think I realize that some changes had to be made for pacing and sheer time. I do think this is an amazing cast, and it's been a treat to watch the kids grow into their roles along with their characters. I was especially impressed by Tom Felton-who finally had more of a role than comic relief.
I was disappointed that this DVD has NO extras whatsoever. I don't need 30 hours of behind the scenes stuff, but buyers of this version should know that there is nothing but the movie on this DVD. No commentary, no interviews, nada. It's just the film. I think that they are starting to "force" people to buy the deluxe blue ray versions, and I resent that. I suppose it was coming, but it still grates.
Yawn 
2009-12-28 - How very disappointing. HPaTH-BP is a very slow movie with very little by way of character or story development. Very little actually happens. Basically, it's setting things up for the final film. The film was dark (visually, I mean) and, now that the kids are no longer young and cute, we're left with the fact that they're not very good actors. This installment comes nowhere near the quality of the last film. I guess that, like me, if you've already committed to the series, you're going to watch it regardless, just don't pay full price for this; it's not worth it.
Not recommended.
can't wait for the rest!! 
2009-12-28 - I love this movie and have watched it over and over. Amazon reduced the price on pre-order to match the lowest price and I got it for even less than black Friday prices with free shipping! What a deal and fast shipping! I just wish I had ordered the 2 disk set, I didn't realize the 1 disk had no extras. Great deal anyway.
