Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Blu-ray delivers stunning video and audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release
Lord Voldemort has returned, but few want to believe it. In fact, the Ministry of Magic is doing everything it can to keep the wizarding world from knowing the truth - including appointing Ministry official Dolores Umbridge as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. When Professor Umbridge refuses to train her students in practical defensive magic, a select group of students decides to learn on their own. With Harry Potter as their leader, these students (who call themselves "Dumbledore's Army") meet secretly in a hidden room at Hogwarts to hone their wizarding skills in preparation for battle with the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters.
For more about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Blu-ray release, see the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Blu-ray Review published by Greg Maltz on December 10, 2007 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.5 out of 5.
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint)
are not small children anymore. They face their gravest challenge yet in the fifth episode in the
series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". In the first few minutes of the film, Lord
Voldemort
(Ralph Fiennes) returns and attacks Potter. The danger posed by Voldemort is exacerbated by
wrangling at
the Ministry of Magic. For political reasons, the ministry refuses to acknowledge the evil threat.
Worse, the ministry compromises Hogwarts, the school for young wizards, by appointing Dolores
Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) as the new professor against the dark arts. Umbridge polices and
punishes students and refuses to teach them self defense. By the time the ministry acknowledges
Voldemort's threat and removes Umbridge from her post, the damage is already done. Potter finds
himself facing off against an enemy that mainlines through his subconscious and threatens to take
over his identity. In the end, his feelings of resentment and solitude are mollified by Hermione, Ron
and other friends, who assist him in his battle against evil.
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) faces increasingly adult themes in Order of the Phoenix.
Although director David Yates succeeds in establishing the film's engaging pacing and dark
textures, many elements of the narrative are formulaic. There are only so many ways to use the
same characters to set up themes of wizardry, self-discovery and good versus evil common to all
of J.K. Rowling's Potter novels. The young wizard's resourcefulness and individuality are no longer
as fresh as they seemed in earlier episodes. But the special effects of each successive film pushes
the envelope in innovative ways, and Order of the Phoenix is no exception. The CGI graphics are
absolutely mesmerizing. From small details like the animation of framed pictures to the expertly
choreographed fighting scenes, the special effects are indeed extraordinary. The only question is
whether Warner would do it justice on BD. The finely detailed 1080p release using the VC-1 codec puts to rest all
questions and concerns.
One complaint about Warner and other studios dabbling in both Blu-ray and HD DVD is that
they seem to produce content for the 30-GB format and simply port it over to BD. This effectively
negates Blu-ray's superior capacity and snubs early adopters. The suspicion that Warner is not
delivering the best possible product is borne out by its releases typically falling short of reference-
level material compared to studios that are BD-exclusive. But Order of the Phoenix gives up very
little to the highest quality BDs available. While not quite the best A/V content to show off Blu-
ray, Order of
the Phoenix is an excellent effort from Warner that fully capitalizes on 1080p resolution.
Presented in 2.40:1 with a VC-1 codec, the video quality of Order of the Phoenix is crisp and
detailed. The overall dark, shadow-heavy picture, featuring excellent black level and contrast, still
delivers warm skin tones and light effects--fireworks and magical flashing lights. In CGI-laden
productions, the processing required for merging the artificially generated graphics with the film
reduces the element of depth. But the effects in Order of the Phoenix are rendered
very convincingly and some sacrifice in depth is worth it. Indeed, this Harry Potter production has
a slight edge over another VC-1 BD-50 Warner epic that features copious CGI content: 300.
Watch the resolution of the ghost-like, animated spirits created by the students as they practice
their defensive spells. The spirits are rendered with organic motion and flawless opacity
characteristics. But the greatest CGI effect is the vast migration of airborne shards of glass that
fly through the air and transform into sand during the final showdown with Voldemort. The effect
is so precise that each piece of glass and each grain of sand shows solid definition--hundreds of
them rendered individually. Likewise, the actors' hair, facial features and fabrics benefit from the
gorgeous 1080p resolution.
The audio is presented in 16-bit PCM 5.1 at a sampling rate of 48 kHz. With excellent use of
surrounds and prodigious LFE content, the mix is produced with great attention to detail. It will give
any system's tweeters and woofers a serious workout. One of the technical triumphs of the BD's
audio content is the good definition of massed strings. Orchestral compositions by Nicholas Hooper
figure prominently in the score. Making good use of the 5.1 soundstaging, "Order of the Phoenix"
carries these symphonic passages through the scenes dense with audio effects and dialogue. Rather
than constrict each element of the mix, the music, voices and effects maintain good clarity and
resolution, even during the loudest moments of the battle scenes.
Finally, studios are making better use of Blu-ray's capacity and including content that the HD DVD
version cannot accommodate. While the HD DVD version of Order of the Phoenix does not include
an important A&E documentary, "The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter", it is included on the BD. This
documentary is essential viewing for Potter fans, taking viewers on a retrospective study of each
film in the series to find clues about upcoming plotlines. Also included are 17 minutes worth of
additional scenes not in the theater version of the film. A featurette hosted by actress Nat Tena
takes Potter fans on a tour of the sets built for Order of the Phoenix. Additional supplements called
"Focus Points" take the viewer through the making of various scenes and characters. Rounding out
the bonus material is "Harry Potter: The Magic of Editing", in which director David Yates and editor
Mark Day discuss in some detail the art and science of editing raw footage to produce a good scene.
Harry Potter's fifth installment ushers in the entire series to Blu-ray. The other titles will be
reviewed separately, but Order of the Phoenix gets an easy recommendation. The video and audio
nearly achieve reference-quality and only viewers who like bright, deep cinematography devoid of
film grain will find room for criticism. The film is sombre in subject matter, lighting and set design,
as the young wizard wrestles with inner demons and an evil lord.
Ultimately, Order of the
Phoenix is an important addition to the Harry Potter saga. The ongoing triumph of good over evil,
individualism over beaurocracy and the sheer power of imagination and creativity make the Potter
series apropos viewing material for children and adults alike. As with the previous films, small
children may be quite scared by some of the content.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Other Editions
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
