Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" offers a superb video presentation, utilizing the original VC-1 encoding framed at a 2.40:1 theatrical aspect ratio. The resolution is remarkably strong with crisp definition and lucid clarity, allowing the fine textures to shine through. While the extensive use of CGI slightly fluctuates the sharpness, it does not significantly detract from the overall video quality. The color palette is deliberately narrow, primarily consisting of sepia tones, grays, and other neutral colors, which imbue a tonal warmth to the images. Primary colors come in various enriching shades, enhancing sequences containing bright and dynamic highlights.

Blacks are impressively deep, inky, and noise-free, lending depth to the film's many dark sequences. The level of detail and three-dimensionality throughout the film is fantastic, reminiscent of a 'picture window effect'. Fleshtones are naturally rendered with warm accents, adding lifelike tonality. The encoding maintains rock-solid hues free from noise or defects. Despite obvious color skews such as accentuated blues and yellows, the presentation retains a surprisingly natural feel. The overall video quality remains solid with no overt signs of video degrading artifacts, edge enhancement, macroblocking, or banding even in heavily CGI-laden scenes.

Simply put, Warner has delivered an exceptional video presentation for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The film's clarity and balance are top-tier, ensuring that this Blu-ray disc stands out as a reference-quality release.

The audio presentation of the "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" Blu-ray is nothing short of exemplary, providing a rich home theater experience through its DTS-HD Master Audio track. The integration of the front and rear soundstages is seamless, with discretely placed sound effects that follow a deliberate and realistic path aligned with onscreen events. This masterful sound design is active and intricately mixed, ensuring robust bass that never overwhelms the soundfield. Nicholas Hooper’s stirring score, paired with crystalline dialogue and invigorating dynamics, creates an aurally stimulating experience. Minor ambient sounds are not overlooked, with even subtle effects like the whoosh of Harry's wand contributing to an impressively immersive atmosphere.

Warner has truly outdone itself with this audio mix, which stands as one of the most impressive sound designs of the year. The rear soundfield remains constantly active, delivering transparency and a sense of spatial presence that rivals a real cinema experience. The balance between music, dialogue, and effects is pitch-perfect, ensuring clarity even with thick English accents. Hooper’s score is majestically dispersed across the surround platform, enhancing the film's grandeur. While not a subwoofer juggernaut like some other films, the bass in "Order of the Phoenix" is impactful when needed, making the final 45 minutes a particularly stellar aural experience. Overall, this mix leaves no aspect wanting and fully engages the listener from start to finish.

The Blu-ray set of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" impresses with an extensive and immersive collection of supplemental features. Particularly notable is the in-movie experience that allows fans to explore the film's intricate world while watching. The exclusive, feature-length documentary in the "Creating the World of Harry Potter" series stands out as a comprehensive insight into the movie's evolution. Additionally, the 28 Focus Points vignettes collectively offer over an hour of detailed behind-the-scenes content covering everything from special effects to character studies. Engaging featurettes such as "The Rebellion Begins" and "Building the Magic" further enhance the set by exploring the making of the film and the elaborate set designs. Additional entertaining extras include deleted scenes, trailers, and an engaging editing feature.

Extras included in this disc:

• In-Movie Experience: Explore people, places, creatures, and moviemaking magic.
• Focus Points: 28 short vignettes on various topics from the film.
• Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 5: Evolution: Exclusive 57-minute documentary.
• Behind the Magic: TV special with cast and crew interviews.
• Building the Magic: Behind-the-scenes on set constructions.
• The Rebellion Begins: Making-of featurette.
• Fulfilling a Prophecy: Overview of plot and characters.
• Deleted Scenes: Nine scenes not included in the theatrical release.
• Trailing Tonks: Set tour hosted by Natalia Tena.
• The Magic of Editing: Interactive editing feature with Director David Yates and Editor Mark Day.
• Trailers: Teaser and theatrical trailers.

The film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" captures the essence of J.K. Rowling's expansive universe while condensing its 870 pages into a 139-minute narrative. This condensation results in the omission of several subplots and character nuances, creating a streamlined yet somewhat perfunctory experience. Nevertheless, the film maintains its dark, mature tone, which distinguishes it from its predecessors. The final 45 minutes deliver intense, well-executed action sequences, underscoring the film's ability to generate real suspense. Daniel Radcliffe's portrayal of Harry Potter continues to evolve, aligning with the increasingly complex themes and stakes presented in this installment.

Technically, the Blu-ray release boasts a stunning 1080p/VC-1 encoded video transfer and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, both of which provide an immersive viewing experience comparable to Warner's 2007 Blu-ray release. The high-definition presentation remains impressive, offering crisp visuals and robust audio that enhance the film's darker, more mature themes. Additionally, the Blu-ray includes numerous special features such as a Picture-in-Picture track hosted by Daniel Radcliffe, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, and extensive production documentaries like "Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 5: Evolution," which delves into the series' evolving visual effects.

While the movie inevitably sacrifices some depth to fit within its runtime, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" compensates with standout visual and audio quality, making it a must-have for fans and collectors. The packaging is consistent with previous Ultimate Edition releases, offering various collectibles and supplemental content, enriching the overall viewing experience despite minor design criticisms. For dedicated followers of the series, this edition offers both nostalgia and new insights into the beloved wizarding world.

The Blu-ray release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in its 2-disc Ultimate Edition presents a compelling offer full of exclusive content and awe-inspiring presentations. While the video and audio quality remains largely consistent with the 2007 Blu-ray edition, this release excels with its bonus material. The Picture-in-Picture In-Movie Experience adds an engaging dimension, complemented by a comprehensive hour-long chapter in the "Creating the World of Harry Potter" series. Additionally, fans will appreciate the hour of brand-new featurettes and the extensive two-and-a-half hours of bonus content carried over from previous editions.

However, this release has sparked some debate among collectors and enthusiasts. The decision by Warner Bros. to alter the set design two movies into the series has resulted in inconsistencies that many fans find frustrating. Furthermore, the lack of alternate cuts or director's editions for these later releases is a notable omission. Despite the high-quality additional features, this inconsistency may diminish the appeal for some dedicated collectors, who value uniformity within their series collections.

In conclusion, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" Ultimate Edition Blu-ray offers significant value primarily for die-hard fans of the series. The supplementary content is impressive and provides deep insights into the creation of this magical world. However, collectors might be disconcerted by the changes in packaging and lack of alternate cuts. Therefore, while this set is a must-have for Potter enthusiasts keen on behind-the-scenes features, it might not meet the expectations of those desiring a consistent collection format.