Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD Review (Daniel Radcliffe) Empire Movies

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE DVD REVIEW

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Two-Disc Special Edition)
(Warner Home Video)

The Movie

The Extras

Reviewed by

9/10

Liam

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the much anticipated fourth film in the highly successful Harry Potter franchise. In the movie Harry finds himself caught up in the famed "Triwizard Tournament" which pits students from competing schools against each other to prove their wizarding skills. Although Harry doesn't enter his name in the competition (he's too young to participate anyways), when the names of the participants are drawn, Harry's name is drawn to compete on behalf of Hogwarts. Challenges Harry faces along the way include dragons, water demons, an enchanted maze and finding a date for the Yule Ball. But none of these challenges are anything like the one he'll face as the tournament nears its end - a face-to-face encounter with Lord Voldemort.

This movie is another incredible entry in the Harry Potter series. The story is transferred well from page to screen, the acting is only getting better from our young stars, the movie survives another change in director and the effects leave little to be desired. If I had one complaint, it'd be about the parent sitting directly behind me who made the brilliant parenting decision to bring their 4-year-old to the movie theater to see this and pretty much let the kid cry through the entire thing. What 4-year-old kid is ready for a movie like this?! Parts of it were pretty intense (even for me) and at 2 1/2 hours the movie was pretty long (even for me). I just don't know sometimes...

Special features on this Two-Disc Special Edition begin with "Hogwarts Castle" on disc two. Here, you'll find some additional scenes, a "Preparing for the Yule Ball" featurette, a "Conversations with the Cast" feature where the film's three stars (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint) are asked about their thoughts on the movie and the series, a "Reflections on the Fourth Film" featurette and the film's theatrical trailer.

Beyond "Hogwards Castle" the features are divided into three sections after the three challenges of the "Triwizard Tournament". First is the "Dragon Arena" which contains "Meet the Champions" where we go behind-the-scenes with Harry's Tournament competitors. In "The Lake" there's "In Too Deep" where we get a look at creating the underwater challenge. Finally, "The Maze" looks at the maze challenge and giving it a life of its own. Also under the third challenge you'll find a feature on "He Who Must Not Be Named" (aka Lord Voldemort). Littered throughout these features you'll also find set top games where you can complete each Triwizard challenge yourself.

For those with DVD-ROM, you'll also find the "Hogwarts Timeline" and a demo from the Harry Potter video game.

Each film in the Harry Potter series has eclipsed the previous films and Goble of Fire is no different. The kids have grown and the story has grown with them. I can't wait for more!

Features
Additional Scenes, Conversations with the Cast, Preparing for the Yule Ball, Reflections on the Fourth Film, Triwizard Tournament: Dragon Arena (Dragon Challenge, Harry vs. the Horntail: The First Task, Meet the Champions), Triwizard Tournament: Lake (Lake Challenge, In Too Deep: The Second Task), Triwizard Tournament: Maze (Maze Challenge, To the Graveyard and Back Challenge, The Maze: The Third Task, He Who Must Not Be Named), EA Game Demo (DVD-ROM), Hogwarts Timeline (DVD-ROM)

Video
Widescreen Version

Audio
English, Spanish

Subtitles
English, French, Spanish, Closed-Captioned

Release Date
March 7, 2006

Rating
PG-13

Length
157 mins.

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