DVD Talk Forum - Harry Potter Order of Phoenix 2 disc special edition

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfduncan

The Blu-ray version is barebones. So if you're wanting the content on the 2nd DVD you'll have to wait until WB does another release.

Are people just making this stuff up as they go along? -confused-

From 2 disc DVD review:
Extras:

"The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter" (44 minutes) is a promotional television special intended to expand the mystery of the franchise before the theatrical release of "Phoenix." Made up of EPK interviews, chats with the excitable authors of "Harry Potter" cash-in books, and clips from the entire series, "Secrets" is a disposable featurette offering zero in the way of insight or humor. Perhaps the most exciting portion of the special is the feature film clips, where the viewer can marvel at the growth of Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson, as they spurt from wizardly seedlings to the teen heroes of today.

"Additional Scenes" (10 minutes) is a peculiar assortment of scene extensions and bits of footage packaged together without any explanation. Most concern the panic and comedy of Dolores Umbridge and Sybil Trelawney, including a single two-minute take of actress Emma Thompson exercising her slapstick muscles during a dinner sequence.

"Trailing Tonks" (19 minutes) represents both the best and worst of the "Phoenix" extras. Hosted by actress Natalia Tena (playing Nymphadora Tonks in the film), the featurette is a tour of Leavesden Studios, where the bulk of the "Potter" films have been shot. A cavernous, labyrinthine place, Leavesden overwhelms Tena, who bounces from area to area clad in her character attire and wig, interviewing the professionals laboring behind the scenes. It's a wonderful snapshot of a working studio, while also imparting some needed perspective on the enormity of the "Phoenix" sets.

The only downside is Tena, who acts like the living embodiment of a Red Bull overdose; a fingernail-curling drama department queen who adores the attention of the camera so much, she vomits piercing "charm" all over the place.

"Harry Potter and the Magic of Editing" (5 minutes) sits down with director David Yates and editor Mark Day to discuss how choices made in post-production can wildly alter the tone of the finished film. Submitting examples in the areas of film editing, sound design, and scoring, "Magic" offers the viewer a primer on how movies are ultimately shaped.

This leads to an editing lesson, permitting the viewer their own shot at constructing a scene.

DVD-ROM extras include a Hogwarts Timeline, links to official "Potter" sites (and, of course, merchandise), and an opportunity to download your own digital copy of the film.

And from the blu ray review:
The Supplements:
Here's where things get interesting. The Blu-ray of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix does not contain several interactive and web features available on the HD DVD. But due to the increased space of the format, several of the features are presented in 1080p high definition.

Focus Points: A series of short featurettes that collectively offer slightly over an hour of behind the scenes and making-of footage. These range from a look at effects shots (the Dementors sequence in particular has an especially interesting process behind it) to practical production concerns, a deeper look at the characters, themes, or just individual shots. Taken together, they give a fairly good picture, but the short length of each featurette gives it all a scattershot feel that prevents it from being comprehensive. On the Blu-ray, all of this footage is presented in 1080p high definition.

Deleted Scenes: 10 minutes of deleted and extended scenes are offered, the best being the ones that include Emma Thompson. There are no major revelations here, but most of them are fun, if inconsequential, extensions. Only on the Blu-ray is this material offered in 1080p.

Trailing Tonks: The lovely Natalia Tena, who plays Auror Nymphadora Tonks in the film, takes the audience on a tongue in cheek guided tour of the studio and sets for Order of the Phoenix. Clearly aimed more towards the younger crowd, as Natalia is overly jubilant most of the time. Still, we get a nice insider's look into what it takes to put a production on the level of a Harry Potter movie together. Again, the Blu-ray has the benefit of offering this feature in 1080p.

The Magic of Editing: Beginning with a basic Editing 101 introduction by director David Yates and editor Mark Day, we soon get to play around with a sequence from the film. There's a collection of different shots, and you're given the chance to choose between them, rearrange them, choose a bit of the musical score, etc. This isn't the first time I've seen a feature like this, but it's still enjoyable. In standard definition.

The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter: Presented as some kind of documentary, this is essentially a 45 minute promotional piece to prepare audiences for the release of The Order of the Phoenix. Most of the footage is of interviews with the writers of those stupid bandwagon books that try and dissect popular series, while doing nothing but regurgitating the themes and plot devices more blatantly for ever easier consumption. It's especially silly as the authors are quick to pose several questions that, as any reader of the books knows, had no bearing on the series at all. Almost all the rest of the footage is clips from the previous films. This is the only feature not on the HD DVD. Also in standard definition.

So it's exactly the same bonus features, but in high definition.