Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets is the second installment in a series of spellbinding adaptations from J.K. Rowling's novels, and the young wizards' and witches' second year at Hogwarts. This will be a year of adventure and danger when bloody writing on a wall announces: the Chamber Of Secrets has been opened. To save Hogwarts will require all of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's magical abilities and courage. (Suzanne Hodges)

The Ultimate Edition boxed set includes a hardbound, 48-page photo book, collectible character cards, and a digital copy of the film. Disc One contains the theatrical version (02:40:55) and the extended version (02:54:24) of the film, and special features include an In-Movie experience with Director Chris Columbus and BD-Live interactivity. Disc Two includes Creating The World Of Harry Potter, Part 2: Characters (HD 01:20:03), Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets Revealed (SD 13:02), two screen tests, 19 deleted scenes (HD 17:02), the teaser trailer, the theatrical trailer, and 17 TV spots. Disc Three includes additional scenes (HD 17:39); "Lockhart's Classroom," which contains a photo gallery, Gilderoy Lockhart's certificates, and Required Reading for Lockhart's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "Extra Credit" is a DVD-ROM feature and "Behind Hogwarts" includes a "Conversation With J.K. Rowling And Steve Kloves" (HD 16:11), "Dumbledore's Office"—either build a scene or tour the office, "Interviews With Students, Professors & More" (HD 08:47), and a gallery of production sketches. "Activities includes the Chamber Challenge game, the Forbidden Forest Challenge game, Colin's Darkroom, and a self-guided tour of Dragon Alley. Also, there is a Spellcaster Knowledge game and an EA game preview.

The 2.40:1 1080p VC-1 picture is superior to the previously reviewed anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD in Issue 72. The picture is quite a magical visual experience. Images are sharp and well defined, with nicely balanced contrast and shadow delineation. The tiny hairs atop Doddy, the house-elf's head, are intricately detailed, and textures inside Hogwarts are well discerned. Still, other scenes can have a slightly soft focus. The imagery is nicely dimensional. The color scheme is rich, with accurate fleshtones, vibrant hues, and deep blacks. The colors are perfectly saturated, for a bold visual effect. This is a wonderfully pleasing picture and fans are sure to be enthralled. (Gary Reber/Suzanne Hodges)

The previously reviewed Dolby® Digital Surround EX™ audio presentation on the DVD was an excellent recording, with superb, natural-sounding fidelity. This DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is absent the discrete surround back channel. The use of dimension is generally moderate in nature, though, with many selective instances of acute directionality, as well as substantial directionalized surround activity. Dynamic range for this soundtrack can also be considerable, producing, at times, a bit of distortion. The phantom back surround channel still provides enhancement of the immersive listening space, but also with some directional pans laterally and over your head. Some fine examples are the fly-bys of the car as it travels between the front and surround channels. Of course, to appreciate this fine dimensionality, one has to be seated in the "sweet spot" to realize the phantom imaging effect. The deep bass content for this soundtrack seems to be more formidable than the first movie, with some instances even having the potential to threaten your subwoofer. In Chapter 8, for example, as the car is crashing through the trees, the LFE meter on our Dorrough monitoring system was pegged several times, and the output from the subs was commensurably intense. There are also generous doses of very deep bass for the surround channels. The music is another of the standouts for this soundtrack, and is an excellent recording, imparting a palpable perception of holosonic® envelopment. Perhaps the only minor shortcoming for this presentation is the dialogue, for which voices sound very natural, but with varying degrees of effectiveness in terms of spatial integration. This is a great soundtrack and one that adds immeasurably to the experience of this entertaining movie. (Gary Reber/Perry Sun)