For folks currently switching over to Blu-Ray this Christmas, there is also the option for traditional DVD releases, and this year available for all of the Potter fans is the Year 3 Ultimate Edition of Alfonso Cuaron’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” one of the few very entertaining installments of the Harry Potter series that has a truly dark and grim tone to it appealing toward adults and children alike.
This is one of the few films of the series that convinces me Harry Potter is not just for six year olds with a library card, and Cuaron lends a distinction that makes his version of the book much more bleak and atmospheric with a horror film sensibility and grit he brought over from “Children of Men.” Granted, I’m not a fan of the Harry Potter franchise in spite of my trying in the early days of the first book. I can still fondly recall reading the first book and midway through the text, I had to put it down and try to stay awake.
JK Rowling’s adaptations, much like the source materials, are just the same old fantasy cliches and devices twisted in to something with the illusion of originality and these films are really no different. In this one we’re introduced to even more characters from the book including Remus Lupin, a teacher of the dark arts, and Sirius Black a mysterious lycanthrope who has escaped prison and is on the way to murder Harry. As with the usual films, there is a murder mystery, an abundance of clues and red herrings to be claimed, and of course the big reveal that leads Harry and his friends one step closer to confronting evil Lord Voldemort. Even with Cuaron’s brand of dread “Prisoner of Azkaban” is no masterpiece, and most non-fans of the franchise will find it very difficult to endure, particularly when the writing makes it necessary to include a blossoming romance among the friends as they age and grow in to puberty.
Even with all of the heavyweights aboard like Gary Oldman and Brendan Gleeson, this is the best of the bunch but in no way a masterpiece. But that’s not to say the boxed set is not dazzling to have if this type of entertainment tickles your fancy. Along with a gorgeous hologram cover and some amazing casing, there’s a hardcover fold out with the film in widescreen format, the array of special features on a second disc that make up about four hours of time spent on the production for the film, and an extra third disc with even more features about the magic of Potter, and the film’s direction. There’s even a new documentary entitled “Creating the World of Harry Potter, Part 3: Creatures.”
The featurette is a grandiose one hour look in to the meticulous designs and beautiful spectacles of the monsters of “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” that really takes every single beast of the film and explores their conception on-screen. The special delves in to the mechanics and CGI enhancements that brought them to life along with the cast’s initial reactions to the monsters. Say what you want about the movies, but the creatures are absolutely astonishing. Especially Aragog, a giant talking spider that was so lifelike none of the children wanted to even approach it. Among the items in the set not concerning the DVD, collectors of the series are given an envelope with two special cards featuring Hermione and Sirius and their status as characters, and a wonderful hardcover booklet offering up an array of full colored concept sketches and stills of the marvelous monsters of the film.