Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

Emboldened by the return of Lord Voldemort, the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry Potter (Radcliffe) suspects that new dangers may lie within the castle, but Dumbledore (Gambon) is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. He needs Harry to help him uncover a vital key to unlocking Voldemort's defenses-critical information known only to Hogwarts' former Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn (Broadbent). With that in mind, Dumbledore manipulates his old colleague into returning to his previous post with promises of more money, a bigger office...and the chance to teach the famous Harry Potter. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry's long friendship with Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) is growing into something deeper, but standing in the way is Ginny's boyfriend, Dean Thomas (Alfred Enoch), not to mention her big brother Ron (Grint). But Ron's got romantic entanglements of his own to worry about, with Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave) lavishing her affections on him, leaving Hermione simmering with jealousy, yet determined not to show her feelings. And then a box of love potion-laced chocolates ends up in the wrong hands and changes everything. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof with far more important matters on his mind. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead, and Hogwarts may never be the same again. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince is based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. (Tricia Spears)

Special features on Disc One of this three-disc set include the interactive WB Maximum Movie Mode, BD-Live interactivity, and up-front ads. Disc Two includes a Close-Up With The Cast Of Harry Potter (HD 28:34); One-Minute Drills (HD 06:45), where cast members have 60 seconds to describe their character's personality, history, relationships, etc. before time runs out; a first look at Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows (HD 01:50); the documentary J.K. Rowling: A Year In The Life (HD 49:46); What's On Your Mind? (HD 06:43), where cast members are put on the spot when asked a series of rapid-fire questions; The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter-Sneak Peek (HD 11:40), an inside look at the new creation at Universal Orlando's Resort; and eight additional scenes (HD 06:51). Disc Three is a DVD, and there is also a digital copy of the film.

The 2.40:1 1080p VC-1 picture is nicely rendered, with a prevailing darkness throughout, and should be viewed in a darkened environment, preferably a black one, to optimize low-level shadow detail. Blacks are deep and solid, and the shadows are dark but revealing of detail. Resolution is excellent, with fine facial features, clothing, and object textures clearly delineated. The feel is period medieval stylization, with a play on dark and light that creates an engaging cinematic visual effect. The color palette exhibits dark saturated hues with brown tints, to create a very warm visual. At times the imagery is dramatically desaturated for effect, to the extent of a black-and-white rendering. This is a challenging picture to reproduce by any display standard and will test the native contrast capabilities of your display system. Dimensionality is superb. Fleshtones appear natural, yet subdued and desaturated in the dimly lit scenes. Occasionally there are spots of vivid color, but these instances are limited in visual impact. While an exceptionally dark picture, the stylization effectively transports you to a place and a period seemingly long ago with engaging visuals that are elaborately portrayed. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack is terrific, with an impressive holosonic® presence throughout. Though the dialogue is production sound and ADR, spatial integration is well managed and the dialogue sounds perfectly natural within the context of each scene. Atmospheric sound effects are prominent and directionalized, which enhances the dimensionality of the soundfield. The sound design would have been an excellent candidate for a 7.1-channel mix, but Warner limited the sound to a 5.1-channel mix. Still the soundfield is engaging and scenes are powerfully dimensional, extending out from the frontal soundstage. The music score is well recorded, with a wide and deep soundstage that extends deep into the surrounds and reveals nuances in instrumental timbres. Even phantom center back surround is evident and effective in a number of scenes. Low-frequency effects can be powerful in the .1 LFE channel, with bass extension to below 25 Hz and at loud SPL. The sound has a solid bass foundation in numerous scenes, with sound effects enhanced with motion and panning. The sonic character throughout is smooth and natural sounding, with no incident of harshness or stridency. This is an impressive soundtrack, with an engaging sound design that establishes mood and excitement. (Gary Reber)