Format:Anamorphic, PAL Languages:English (Audio Description), Hebrew (Subtitled), Icelandic (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Hebrew (Dubbed) Rating:Suitable for 12 years and over Region:2 Aspect Ratio:1.78:1 Number Of Discs:2 Running Time:153 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs):0.3 Dimensions (in):7.6 x 5.2 x 0.7
Amazon.co.uk Review 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 booksâit'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
Great book, shame about the filmMarch 12, 2010 D. Harrison(Northampton, England) As a (mature) Harry Potter fan since 2001 I think I was always going to be excited whenever a film version of the books came out, but from The Prisoner of Azkaban onwards, which I felt was by far the best of the films thus far, the quality has been going downhill. The problem seems to be that as the books get longer and more involved the films are getting shorter. To anyone (like me) who is so familiar with the books this has become a real problem as great chunks of the story are dropped from the film, and the selection of which bits are dropped seems to be very arbitrary. This is exacerbated when things are added in that weren't in the book, or radically changed from what was written. So to me this film is something of a disappointment and seems to focus far too much on the teenage angst/burgeoning love interests for my taste. To anyone coming to the film not having read the book the whole experience must seem somewhat bewildering as the film jumps from one scene to another without much continuity or explanation. I know that my wife, who gave up reading the books after Order of the Phoenix because her favourite character (Sirius Black) and favourite actor (Gary Oldman) were killed off in one fell swoop, found this film almost totally incomprehensible. Seeing it for the first time at the cinema I was reduced to giving a whispered running commentary all the way through!
The quality of the DVD itself is excellent and upscales really well on a Blu-ray player. I've never been much of a one for watching the extras on DVD/Blu-ray, although the ones I have dipped into so far have been largely informative and worth watching, but this cannot take away the fact that the feature film itself is disappointing. Don't get me wrong - I don't think it's a bad film, but just think it could have been so much better given the quality (and quantity) of the source material in the book
Dreadful, don't waste your moneyMarch 9, 2010 Indeed(London, UK) JK Rowling was obviously in a dark place when she wrote this, and the previous book. It doesn't stand up as a film in itself, there is no plot - it is a continuation of the previous film (which I also didn't rate) was overly long and boring and I regret buying it
Harry Potter and the Half Blood PrinceMarch 7, 2010 S. G. Parker(North Wales UK) A poor adaption of the book to film. It did not give a clear storyline and half the time the action took place in the dark!!!
To darkMarch 6, 2010 Hans Boisen(Denmark) We thought that there was something wrong with our TV. But it's the film. It's far to dark. You can hardly see what's going on. We didn't make it to the end. Sadly, because we have enjoyed all the other Harry Potter films.
Very disappointingMarch 6, 2010 J. Coxhead(Lancashire) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The first time that I watched 'Harry Potter And the Half-Blood Prince' I actually thought that it was OK although I did have one or two niggles with it. I watched it for a second time and realised that it is a bit of a let down and most definitely the worst film in the series.
It is too long and too slow, too much is missing from the book and too much is added to the film which was a strange thing to do. Why the scene with Harry and the waitress at the beginning? A complete waste of time and this wasn't the only time that things were put in that had no relevance to the book. Way too much time was wasted on lingering looks and awkward teenage angst. Yes, it did need to be shown but not to the extent that it dominated the film.
All in all this was a disappointing effort and let's just hope that they make a better job of 'The Deathly Hallows'.
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