Goblet of Fire DVD Review

News, Updates and Editorials Forum

By Kevin Kobori

Aced Magazine


Rated: PG-13
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith
Directed by: Mike Newell

Goblet of Fire, the fourth installment in the Harry Potter series, arrives on DVD March 7th. Much like the films, the DVDs seem to get better and better. This latest release is by far the best one yet!

The extras on the previous DVDs have regrettably been targeted exclusively to the younger fans of the series, leaving older viewers out in the cold. Prior DVD releases have consisted mostly of a selection of games (that were not really playable from a remote) and a few two minute featurettes. Goblet of Fire ; however, is practically bursting at the seams with material!

The DVD features over eight full length featurettes which include documentaries, a variety of deleted scenes, and interviews. While there are still a lot of games, these are more enjoyable than those in the previous releases. Additionally, the DVD features some fantastic animated menu screens, reminiscent of some of the Star Wars DVDs. While navigation can be a little difficult at times, you get the hang of it pretty quick. Let’s take a look at the features:

Additional Scenes
What a big surprise! In the past this section has consisted of only little snippets, but the additional scenes on this DVD are full length scenes - and really good ones too! The audience gets to see the full rock concert, additional moments from the Yule ball, and a scene with the Hogwarts students singing the school song (I wish this had been included in the final cut). In fact, many of these scenes contain some vital information to the series, like Professor Snape speaking to Karkaroff about the Dark Mark on his arm, and much more. Hopefully there will be an extended edition one day like the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Preparing for the Yule Ball
This is a fantastic featurette! It really shows how much work went into putting that sequence together. Covering everything from the transformation of the Great Hall into a winter wonderland, to the costume designs (and how they had to create an individual dress/suit for every single extra on set), to training the actors to dance (I almost doubled over in laughter). Mike Newell makes a really funny comment about Daniel Radcliffe saying, “God did not necessarily mean him to be a ballroom dancer.”

Reflections on the Fourth Film
This is a great introspective look by the cast and crew on their experiences while working on the films. It’s nice to hear Dan, Rupert and Emma reflect on growing up with each new release. The trio also discusses how the fourth film differs from the other installments of the franchise. Definitely a highlight on the DVD!

Triwizard Task Featurettes
There is a lot of information here! The viewer is taken through each step the team of cinematic wizards took from conception to finish in bringing these magical scenes from the page to the screen. The audience gets to see the SFX animatics, getting an understanding of how complicated the whole process can be. There is a lot of work that goes into creating just a few minutes of footage.

It is especially interesting to see behind-the-scenes footage of the cast working underwater in these huge tanks constructed at Leavesden Studios. The final feature on the maze is my personal favorite. Director Mike Newell gives a lot of insight, discussing how he wanted the maze sequence to be more psychological in nature, like a horror movie.

Meet the Champions
This documentary features interviews with the three champions, played by Robert Pattinson, Stanislav Ianevski, and Clemence Poesy. Each give some pretty hilarious answers to some great questions. The feature also takes us through what a day is like for them on set, and shows us how crazy things got for them. It’s a really genuine, honest, and unpretentious look into their lives on the set of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . Really funny!

He Who Must Not Be Named
As a Harry Potter fan, this was my favorite feature on the disc. The much anticipated appearance of Lord Voldemort is one of the defining moments in the series. The viewer really gets to see how cautious and careful the filmmakers were with realizing the character perfectly. The feature gives us a peek at concept art, as well as interviews with the artists, CGI animators, and the costume designers that helped bring the character to life.

All in all this is an amazing DVD, packed with all the special features and extras fans have been waiting for. Unfortunately the DVD does lack a blooper reel and audio commentary by director Mike Newell, even though Newell remarked that he had recorded one. Hopefully we will see his commentary on a future edition. Make sure you pick up the two disc edition for all the special features. Overall, a great viewing experience!

I have to buy this for my mom tomorrow... maybe I will watch it

-HECK!

You BETTER watch it, Heck, or a trip to LA to kick your butt is called for

*Coff coff* I already have a copy, have for ages *coff coff*

Still no sign of it coming out here...

Release Date: March 7th, 2006
High-Definiton Release Date: April 11th, 2006
International Release Dates:

• March 10th - Uruguay / Peru / Mexico / Colombia / Argentina / Chile
  
• March 17th - Singapore/Thailand
  
• March 23rd - Egypt
  
• March 25th - Iceland
  
• March 27th - Greece/Russia
  
• March 29th - Finland
  
• March 31st - South Africa
  
• April 3rd - Czech Republic / Holland/ Hungary / Poland / Portugal / Romania / Turkey / Hong Kong / India / Korea / Taiwan / New Zealand
  
• April 21st - Japan
  
• June 14th - Belgium
  

Looks like you're going to be waiting until 3 April, Grant, for your copy of GoF.

Yeah, I didn't even bother downloading it this time. When I watch it again, I want it to be with a perfect picture, and I wanna see all the extras right afterwards


April? Bugger it We always got the damn movies like a day after other Countries before...

Oh never mind, i get it ... places like USA / UK will get it on the March 7th then those are the list of countries after that

Was anyone else disappointed in the movie? I mean GoF was a great book and though I realize they can only put so much into the movie, there was so much missing. Why didn't they show Dobby and Winky? That was one of the better parts of the book.

(Sigh) Maybe it's just me.

I think they dont show Dobby and Winky because every second there on the screen it costs loads of money ... now Harry potter earns loads of money ... so are they just being lazy and greedy ... I have see screenies from the Quidditch world cup tent bit where 2 house elves go across the screen ...

I wanted Dobby and Winky in it too, but sometimes you have to sacrifice certain parts of the story for others. I honestly loved this movie, regardless of the things that were cut.

Okay, so I'd have prefered a 4 hour movie with everything... but what're we gonna do about it?

they used to make really long films but have an interval ... but they know kids watch it .. anmd kids nowadays have low attention spanse