Review of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen)

Introduction

Once again, Harry Potter mania is poised to grip the nation as millions of children (and even more adults) eagerly await the release of the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I of course used it as an excuse (not that I needed one) to watch the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets once again, a far more constructive use of time than my original plan of roaming random fields, dodging irate farmers and disgruntled livestock in search of wandering manuscripts.

Harry Potter is looking forward to another eventful year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, especially as it means getting away from the horrendous Dursleys, but this year it looks as if he won`t even get that far, as Dobby the house-elf appears in his bedroom with a warning of dire consequences should he set foot in Hogwarts one again. It looks as if getting to Hogwarts will be impossible when Ron and Harry find that the magical gateway to Platform 9¾ is sealed against them, but a little ingenuity and the theft of Mr Weasley`s flying Ford Anglia insures that they make it to school in time for the beginning of term. But Dobby`s warning is portentous, as the heir of Slytherin has opened the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts, and death roams the corridors once more. If Harry, Hermione and Ron can`t get to the bottom of the mystery, then Hogwarts may be closed permanently.

Video

The film is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic picture and once again it is a glorious transfer. Crystal clear, sharp and colourful are all words that I am fond of using when it comes to decent DVD pictures and you can consider them used once more. You can also add the words flawless transfer to the list, although it did involve more than one trip to the retailer. The magical world of Harry Potter is once again brought seamlessly to life on the screen and every scene is filled with visual treats. The one complaint with the first film was the occasional lacklustre CGI moment, particularly the Quidditch match. No such problem exists this time round with all the effects of a suitably high standard. A prime example of this is the appearance of the House-elf, Dobby, who for a brief period in 2002 held the position of most realistic cinematic CG character, until the arrival a few brief weeks later of a certain Gollum. Dobby is completely at home in the frame and I quite quickly accepted him as a genuine character, rather than an animation.

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets is quite a different experience from the Philosopher`s Stone, much darker and more ominous. Where the first film was bright and magical filled with shining golds and blues, Chamber of Secrets is a much darker hue, giving the castle a green tinge and spooky feel. The story is perfectly suited to the horror genre, and Director Chris Columbus makes use of the usual conventions, creepy camera angles and effective use of shadows to give the film that spooky air.

Audio

An English 5.1 EX mix is kindly provided by those folks at Dobby (ahem) Digital. The surrounds are very effectively used to make the film an immersive experience. The Quidditch match is an obvious high point, but the spooky voices that Harry hears also add to the spooky atmosphere. Another auditory high point is the Howler that Ron receives. John Williams once again provides his memorable score to the Harry Potter films. In many ways it is a retread of the themes introduced in the first film with some more ominous themes explored especially for the Chamber itself. English and Arabic subtitles are once again provided.

Features

Warner Brothers have taken the criticism levelled at the first DVD release to heart and have produced a more balanced disc the second time out. The well-accomplished animated menus make an appearance as well as a lengthy intro to the first disc. The voice of Harry Potter (in America), Jim Dale provides the voiceover to the extras and guides the viewer on several tours and challenges.

The first disc, as well as containing the movie also hosts two trailers as well as a cast list.

The bulk of the extras are on the second disc, beginning with the all-important additional scenes. There are 19 deleted or alternative scenes in total running for around 17 minutes in total. Most important of all, no preliminary rigmarole is required to watch them. Some of the scenes are quite good and I cannot see why they were deleted, including an early introduction to Lucius Malfoy, but many were obviously trimmed for time.

Lockhart`s classroom is a humorous look of Gilderoy`s character, with the aid of a photo gallery, certificates and required reading expanding on the ego of the character.

Extra Credit is a brief trailer looking at the DVD-ROM material on this disc, but more of that later.

In the Behind Hogwarts Section are the features that will most interest the mature fan. A 16-minute conversation with J K Rowling and screenwriter Steve Kloves looks at the process of adapting the screenplay, there are 20 minutes of interviews with members of the cast in the form of brief sound bites, there is a gallery of production sketches and Dumbledore`s Office gives a brief interactive tour guided by your remote control and Jim Dale, while the Build a Scene option is actually a 17-minute making of featurette that goes from the process of building a set to the post production.

Activities for the younger fan include The Chamber Challenge, The Forbidden Forest Challenge, and Colin`s Darkroom, Tour Diagon Alley, A Spellcaster Knowledge Challenge and a trailer for the console game of the movie. I was too busy sleeping for these items.

And then there are the DVD ROM goodies. At least there should be. The thing about PCs is that each of them is subtly different, with different hardware and software. Most software developers try to test their software on several configurations of PCs to ensure a wide compatibility. I don`t know what Warners` policy on software is, but while the software player worked, none of the additional material would even start. I`ve read on certain sites that you have to make certain that your Java packages are as up to date as possible. (What an Indonesian island`s postal service has to do with anything I can`t say) but I managed to get some response by dragging and dropping files from the disc onto my IE explorer and got around half the games and goodies to work. It`s a shame, as some of them seemed quite entertaining. I can only suggest that Warners overhaul their quality control.

On the whole though, the package of extras is quite an improvement over the first film and bodes well for future releases. A little more material would have been better still.

Conclusion

I find myself in a bit of a quandary. Having given the first film such high marks I have little room left to manoeuvre, especially since the Chamber of Secrets is in many ways a better film. Lack of room is something that applies also to the Harry Potter films. Clocking in at an impressive 154 minutes, the Chamber of Secrets is longer still than the Philosopher`s Stone and packed to the gills with thrills and excitement. That is a great testament to J K Rowling`s original books, with their rich and vibrant stories. That she manages to cram so much plot and narrative into so few pages gives a rich vein for filmmakers to draw on. However that means that much of the book vanishes in an attempt to condense the story to 2½ hours.

Naturally that means that the minutiae of the school year, classes and so on are dispensed with, as are subplots like the eager Colin Creevey and Harry`s flirtation with fame, Harry`s ostracism after his facility with Parseltongue is revealed. Yet even that isn`t enough and the fundamental message of the book, the racism metaphor that underlies the Mudblood/Pureblood message is watered down and minimised in favour of the Chamber of Secrets mystery. Certain passages are abridged and Harry very quickly and a little unconvincingly solves the enigma of Tom Riddle`s diary. Tom Riddle`s final revelations cause a little head scratching in the context of the movie, and if anything, the film is too short to accurately convey the story, and there were moments where the narrative didn`t flow smoothly.

That is my sole problem with the film, and a minor one at that. Compared to the Philosopher`s Stone, the second film is a dramatic improvement. We no longer need the exposition and lengthy introduction to the characters and we are thrust into the tale from practically the first frame. The story never lets up and the focussing on one storyline helps with the overall cohesiveness of the narrative. There isn`t a dull moment in the whole movie.

Once again the cast assume the mantle of the characters to excellent effect. The familiar teachers return although Madame Hooch is absent and Professor Flitwick barely lifts a wand. Richard Harris gives a poignant performance, as Dumbledore and he will be sorely missed from future films. Alan Rickman also has a reduced role as Snape but still manages to smoulder at the best of times. Newcomers include a splendid turn from Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart who really relishes the part as the vainglorious Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Also perfectly cast are Mark Williams as the head of the Weasley clan and a wonderfully malicious performance from Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy. The children have also come on from the first film. Daniel Radcliffe gives a solid and assured performance as Harry, but poor Ron spends much of the film in a state of panic, leaving Rupert Grint little else to do but grimace and wince at various impending dangers. Emma Watson gives a brilliant and touching performance as Hermione and her character shows the greatest development since last year. But the hidden star has to be Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, Harry`s nemesis. He really brings the role off well and chews the scenery with the best of them.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is an improvement over the first movie, and the spooky tale translates very well to the screen, keeping audiences of all ages enthralled. It can only be a good thing if people feel that a film is too short and this one definitely is. However it will take some creative adaptation to bring The Prisoner of Azkaban to the screen in anything less than 3 hours and perhaps the best thing to do with The Goblet Of Fire is to split it into two movies. With The Order Of The Phoenix expected to be the weightiest Harry Potter yet, the advent of Blu-Ray technology may be very welcome indeed.

Excellent in almost every respect, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is yet another essential purchase. Still, I would have loved to have seen some gnome-flinging...