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Reviews from Amazon
One of the best-looking Blu-Rays; great adaptation of the book -  - This is one of the best-looking Blu-Ray movies out there. The battle in the Ministry will wow you if you've got an HDTV and a Blu-Ray player.
The movie should have been longer, and they left out some important stuff, but I prefer the movie's version of the events that transpired in the Department of Mysteries and the battle.
A fantastic movie overall, and a Blu-Ray that should definitely be in your collection if you're looking for the 'wow factor'.
Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix - - I really enjoy ordering products from Amazon. I enjoyed this movie very much. It was delivered to me in about three days. I also like to be able to order products in advance before they are published.
Sent back, but never replaced -  - I received an odd version of the DVD - it could not be played on either our Mac, or our PC. It wobbled in the Mac, and kept stopping in the PC. We've had no problems with DVD's since. When I called up to complain, the sender very respectfully offered to replace it.
However, I sent it back a few weeks ago and have received neither replacement nor explanation. Maybe there was an oversight, but whatever it was, I never got to watch the movie.
Harry Potter, The Order of the Phoenix - - I love Sci-Fi, Wizards, and Adventure stories like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Complex adventures like Indiana Jones and the Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancey). They take to places I have never been away from my dull existence. I can't wait to see the next Harry Potter, The Half-Blood Prince!
Product received in good condition within a week . Thanks!
Harry realizes how fear of evil's return acts as rot upon even the best of intentions -  - That age-old method by which a viewer or reader dismisses an interpretative form of art--based upon the superiority of its alter-ego--has personally always mystified me, as comparing a book to a movie seems inherently illogical. The internal monologue character's have with themselves can never be adequately transmitted onto the silver screen without extending the movie to a running time of several days. Likewise, facial expressions and nuances of body language portrayed by actors can only be transferred to the page by the most gifted of authors. In other words, saying that "the book was better" seems a bit off, rationally-speaking.
Well, this time the book is not better. J.K Rowling's fifth book in the popular "Harry Potter" series was a bloated, rambling affair which entertained only if you were able to "buzz" through the chaff. Director David Yates cuts through the fluff, strengthens the plotline, and improves the focus of a story which desperately required such changes. Fans need not worry--although there are some noticeable changes, the movie remains true to the book.
The film opens with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his semi-relative Dudley again about to lock horns when the duo is attacked by Dementors, those demonic Azkaban guards capable of instilling everlasting ennui in the minds of their victims. Harry uses the Patronus charm to dispel the fiends, thus saving his own and Dudley's souls. Unfortunately, the usage of magic off the grounds of Hogwarts in the presence of Muggles is strictly forbidden for underage spellcasters, thus provoking Harry's immediate expulsion from school. Luckily, he is permitted an appeal before the Ministry of Magic, where he possesses as ace-in-the-hole the most influential wizard alive: Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). From there, the protagonist is thrust into a dazzling game of political brinksmanship, where the players are willing to evade facts to retain a feeling of security. However, the fate of the world remains unclear, ignored by those seeking to play their games and hide from one, terrible truth: Lord Voldemort has returned.
Defense Against the Dark Arts instructors are changed as rapidly as "Harry Potter" movie directors, and we find the same in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), an associate of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, has accepted the position, and quickly reveals herself to be short on instruction and long on malice. In the name of efficiency, she enacts as series of increasingly-stifling edicts, targets Harry for punishment whenever he professes that Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is gathering his forces, and attempts to undermine Professor Dumbledore's authority. The truly vile nature of this character does not come across as clearly in the movie as in the text, and that is probably a good thing--this creation from Rowling's imagination is a near-sociopath who inflicted many readers with a desire to reach through the pages to strangle her. The lengths to which she and Fudge go to suppress the truth conjure up the ghosts of Neville Chamberlain and Joe McCarthy in the mind of the viewer. That she believes she is a force of good in the struggle against the dark is a terrifyingly subtle commentary on the real nature of delusion. As an aside, if you would enjoy seeing a situation in which not one, but two characters like Umbridge do not get their comeuppance, may I gingerly suggest watching "Funny Games."
Of course, Harry is not without allies as he remains stalwart. His twin pillars of fortitude, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), provide much-needed reservoirs of strength to our hero as he confronts Umbridge, Voldemort, and a deadly new horror: first love. Heroism itself is examined thoroughly in the film, and is shown to contain several sharp edges us mundane citizens may never understand. He sees that his peers expect him to lead, to save others, to sacrifice his normal life, and to triumph against the forces of night. Indeed, he is coming closer to an ultimate epiphany: that his life is, figuratively and literally, not his own to live. His existence is irrevocably tied to his duty, and coming to gripes with this fact is something with which Harry struggles constantly. Unfortunately, his personal demons are sharing space with some real-world evil entities--one of which who may just be able to read Harry's thoughts.
"The Order of the Phoenix" is dark without being dreary. Harry's relationship with his fugitive uncle Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), his bittersweet attempt at romance, and the antics of the Weasley twins help balance the tone of the film. The set design is uniformly impressive, and the realism of the otherworldly creatures can easily suspend one's disbelief. There were a few sections from the book that I would have preferred included in the film; nevertheless, one's enjoyment is preserved throughout the entirety of the movie, despite the disappearance of a certain screaming portrait. The acting is quite good, with the exception of some of the actors portraying Aurors and Deatheaters. In summary, all of our favorite friends have returned to populate a realm which exists only in Rowling's mind, yet Yates makes them seem real enough to the rest of us Muggles. This is one of the better film translations thus far, and well-worth the time of any aficionado of mysteries from the magical world.
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