Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone / Chamber of Secrets / Prisoner of Azkaban / Goblet of Fire) (Eight-Disc Gift Set)
by Alfonso Cuarón, Chris Columbus, Mike Newell
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Maggie Smith, Richard Harris, Rupert GrintDirector: Alfonso Cuarón, Chris Columbus, Mike Newell
Producer: Chris Columbus
Producer: Callum McDougall
Producer: Chris Carreras
Writer: J.K. Rowling
Writer: Steve Kloves
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, THX, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 612 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-03-07
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone / Chamber of Secrets / Prisoner of Azkaban / Goblet of Fire) (Eight-Disc Gift Set)
Movie Review: First Four Harry Potter Films on DVD: A Great Gift Idea!
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1997, a children's book written by a then little-known author, J. K. Rowling, began to gain popularity in Britain. Entitled "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", the book's title was changed when it was released in the U.S. to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". A year later, children who had been mesmerized by the first book got to read its sequel, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". Though a seemingly darker book than the first, more and more children (as well as adults) began to take interest in the amazing stories a boy name Harry Potter, who is also a wizard. As J. K. Rowling wrote each additional book, interest continued to rise as bookstores began to open at midnight upon each book's release date to the throngs of children and their parents anxious to read the next installment of Harry Potter's adventures at the magical Hogwart's School of Wizardry Witchcraft with his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as they battle the evil Lord Voldemort. To date, five books have been written. The third, fourth and fifth books are respectively entitled "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". And, the soon to be released seventh & final book is called "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".
With so much popularity, it was only natural that film producers would approach J. K. Rowling about transforming her wonderful books into big-screen films. The year (2001) following the release of her fourth book, the first film adaptation of her first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was released in theaters. This was followed by the subsequent releases of the film versions of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (2002), "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004) and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2005).
Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, each of these four films is quite good. Also starring in all four films are Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom, Richard Griffiths as Uncle Vernon Dursley, Fiona Shaw as Aunt Petunia Dursley, Harry Melling as cousin Dudley Dursley, Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, legendary actress Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall and the wonderful actor Alan Rickman as the shadowy potions professor Severus Snape. Sadly, the brilliant actor Richard Harris (1930-2002), who played Professor Albus Dumbledore, died shortly before the second film opened in theaters. Stepping into the character in the third & fourth films was veteran actor Michael Gambon, whose seamless & identical portrayal of Professor Dumbledore was a true credit to his excellent acting abilities; though some were not as pleased with Gambon's performance as with Richard Harris.
A brief summary of each film follows:
1. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
At 11 years of age, Harry Potter has been taken care of from the time that he was only one year old by his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, who have a child of their own named Dudley. They have taken care of Harry because his own parents, James and Lily Potter (Lily was Petunia's sister) were killed by the evil wizard Lord Voldemort. The Dursleys want nothing to do with magic, and since Harry may be a wizard, they have not treated him very well. However, just before Harry's 11th birthday, he received a letter from the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft; but the Dursleys won't let him read the letter. More & more letters from Hogwarts arrive until out of desperation, the Dursleys attempt to run away with Harry; but they are easily found and on Harry's birthday, a huge man by the name of Hagrid arrives to personally deliver Harry's invitation from Hogwarts to study magic. It is only then that Harry finds out that he's a wizard and that the Dursleys had lied to him about how his parents died. Harry leaves with Hagrid and begins his first year at Hogwarts, where he makes his first true friends: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It's an exciting story as Harry learns to play quidditch, learns potions with the unpleasant Professor Snape and becomes entangled in some secret affairs at the school. He may even have an encounter with "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named".
2. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
At age 12, Harry has been treated slightly better by the Dursleys over his summer holiday, but things begin to turn sour when an elf named Dobby suddenly appears in Harry's bedroom to give him a message: that he should not return to Hogwarts this year. Not accepting the warning, Dobby makes mischief while the Dursleys are entertaining. Uncle Vernon puts bars on Harry's bedroom window and refuses to let him return to Hogwarts, but a flying car carrying Ron Weasley and his brothers Fred and George arrive and rescue Harry. Harry's does finally get to Hogwarts, but students begin to be attacked by an unknown force and Harry starts to hear strange voices. That's when they learn about a legendary part of the castle known only as "the chamber of secrets", in which a horrible monster is said to dwell. Will Hogwarts get shut down, or can Harry and his friends figure out where the chamber is? Look out for Professor Gilderoy Lockhart (the brilliant Kenneth Branagh) and Moaning Myrtle (Shirley Henderson).
3. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
At age 13, after Harry accidentally causes one of his other unpleasant muggle aunts, Aunt Marge (Pam Ferris), to inflate like a balloon, he runs away from the Dursleys and encounters a large black dog before a magical bus appears. Harry has a wild bus ride to "The Leaky Cauldron" where he meets the Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy), but he doesn't' get in trouble for inflating his aunt. Instead, there is something far more ominous: Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), a very dangerous prisoner and convicted murderer, has escaped from Azkaban prison. Everyone at Hogwarts must be on guard, especially with the dreaded dementors on the prowl looking for Sirius. While Ron & Harry can't understand how Hermione is getting to all of her classes (some classes at the same time), Sirius Black is looking for Harry. When Harry finds out who Sirius Black is, he goes ballistic; but things may not be as they appear.
4. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
This is an unusual year at Hogwarts: instead of the usual quidditch matches between the four houses, an international Tri-Wizarding Tournament is to be held. Limited to only upper-class students that are at least 17 years old, everyone is shocked when Harry (14 years old) is named to be one of its contestants. The Tri-Wizarding Tournament is somewhat dangerous to its participants, but Hermione finds herself in an affair with a world-renowned quidditch player, Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski), who is representing his school in the Tournament. In the meantime, Harry is attracted to a girl named Cho Chang (Katie Leung), but his life is complicated when he begins to experience strange visions of snakes and "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named". What is "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" doing? Harry will no doubt be caught in the thick of it and it may interfere with the Tournament! Keep a close eye on Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson), who is at Hogwarts by invitation of Dumbledore himself!
Overall, I rate all four films together with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend them. In case you have a friend or family member that wants to watch/own all four Harry Potter films, but doesn't yet have any of them, the "Harry Potter - Years 1-4" DVD collection would make an excellent gift.
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