Product Details

• Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Griffiths, Pam Ferris
• Directors: Alfonso Cuarón
• Writers: J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves
• Producers: Callum McDougall, Chris Carreras, Chris Columbus, David Heyman, Lorne Orleans
• Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: November 23, 2004
• Run Time: 141 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,318 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JMAH
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,901 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #5 in	Movies & TV > Kids & Family > 10-12 Years > Harry Potter > Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  #35 in	Movies & TV > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Series & Sequels
  #45 in	Movies & TV > Kids & Family > Fantasy

• This is item 3 in The Harry Potter Feature Films (English) Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Some movie-loving wizards must have cast a magic spell on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, because it's another grand slam for the Harry Potter franchise. Demonstrating remarkable versatility after the arthouse success of Y Tu Mamá También, director Alfonso Cuarón proves a perfect choice to guide Harry, Hermione, and Ron into treacherous puberty as the now 13-year-old students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry face a new and daunting challenge: Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban prison, and for reasons yet unknown (unless, of course, you've read J.K. Rowling's book, considered by many to be the best in the series), he's after Harry in a bid for revenge. This dark and dangerous mystery drives the action while Harry (the fast-growing Daniel Radcliffe) and his third-year Hogwarts classmates discover the flying hippogriff Buckbeak (a marvelous CGI creature), the benevolent but enigmatic Professor Lupin (David Thewlis), horrifying black-robed Dementors, sneaky Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall), and the wonderful advantage of having a Time-Turner just when you need one. The familiar Hogwarts staff returns in fine form (including the delightful Michael Gambon, replacing the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and Emma Thompson as the goggle-eyed Sybil Trelawney), and even Julie Christie joins this prestigious production for a brief but welcome cameo. Technically dazzling, fast-paced, and chock-full of Rowling's boundless imagination (loyally adapted by ace screenwriter Steve Kloves), The Prisoner of Azkaban is a Potter-movie classic. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry, Ron and Hermione, now teenagers, return for their third year at Hogwarts, where they are forced to face escaped prisoner, Sirius Black, who poses a great threat to Harry. Harry and his friends spend their third year learning how to handle a half-horse half-eagle Hippogriff, repel shape-shifting Boggarts and master the art of Divination. They also visit the wizarding village of Hogsmeade and the Shrieking Shack, which is considered the most haunted building in Britain. In addition to these new experiences, Harry must overcome the threats of the soul-sucking Dementors, outsmart a dangerous werewolf and finally deal with the truth about Sirius Black and his relationship to Harry and his parents. With his best friends, Harry masters advanced magic, crosses the barriers of time and changes the course of more than one life. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron and based on J.K. Rowling 's third book, this wondrous spellbinder soars with laughs, and the kind of breathless surprise only found in a Harry Potter adventure.

DVD Features:
3D Animated Menus
Challenges:Three great interactive challenges! Test your memory with "Magic You May Have Missed", help Crookshanks "Catch Scabbers", and go on an unexpected quest with Sir Cadogan.
DVD ROM Features:Wizard Trading Cards.Hogwarts Timeline.
Deleted Scenes:A selection of mystifying exclusive never-before-seen footage
Featurette:Conjuring a Scene - an in-depth look at the making of key scenes from the filmMeet the animal trainers from the movie in Care of Magical Creatures.
Interviews:Raucous interviews with the cast lead by Johnny Vaughan and the Shrunken HeadCreating the Vision - a revealing interview with J.K. Rowling and the filmmakers.
Other:Self-guided iPIX tours into Honeydukes and Professor Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Choir Practice - sing-along with the Hogwarts choir.Hogwarts Portrait Gallery - get a closer look at the various portraits lining the walls of Hogwarts castle. Electronic Arts game preview.
Theatrical Trailer:Harry Potter 1, Harry Potter 2, Harry Potter 3

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

255 of 291 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A grownup-oriented review for those who have read the book, June 7, 2004

By	amazonker (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

The third installment of the Harry Potter films was ready for a new director, and Alfonso Cuaron seemed a likely choice. Chris Columbus was admirable in his fidelity to the plot of the first two books, but as Harry becomes a teenager and faces a more complex life, Columbus's candy-coated style is no longer appropriate. So it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to the "darker" style that Cuaron promised.

In some respects I was not disappointed. Cuaron's interpretation of Harry's world is defined by inscrutable shadows and colored in misty greens and greys, rather than red-and-gold tapestry of movies one and two. This new palette is more natural, and in keeping with that, far more of the movie takes place out of doors. Cuaron gives Hogwarts a greater sense of age as well, making a crumbling courtyard and rickety bridge over a gorge central to many scenes. These locations, as well as the huge pendulum in the entry hall and clock face that Harry sits inside at one point, are a nicely subtle way to weave in the movie's (and book's) theme of time and how the past can't ever be completely undone.

Cuaron handles some scenes very well, especially brief, telling gestures or moments that provide character definition, such as the bit where Hermione grabs Ron's hand which made it into the trailer, and another where the two of them have an awkward conversation outside the Shrieking Shack. Other highlights include Harry and his dorm-mates up late eating candy that makes them impersonate animals (touchingly shows how very teenage they are); and a moment when Sirius, trying desperately to hold Lupin back from his change to werewolf, places his hand over Lupin's chest and says "You live in this heart!" - which is made all the more poignant because we know he can't stop the transformation.

Some plot points have been sacrificed in order to keep the film to a manageable length. Most of the time this works, as when Harry meets with Snape and Lupin in a beautifully lit nighttime corridor, precipitating the handover of the Marauder's Map and Lupin's realization that Peter Pettigrew lives; or when Harry receives the Firebolt from Sirius at a different point in the movie than in the book. There were, however, two changes which seemed inexplicable to me. First, the patronus charm is made into a shield of light rather than an animal which charges down the dementors. This eliminates Harry's discovery of his father within himself through his stag patronus (he does see a stag of light when he rescues himself at the lakeside, but when we see him from the perspective of rescuer there is no stag, and this is never explained). Similarly, even though Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are named on the Marauder's Map, the nicknames and their relationship to Lupin, Pettigrew, Sirius, and James Potter is never explained. It would have taken only a few more minutes to add that explosition, which would have strengthened Harry's cinematic connections to his father tremendously.

All in all, I think it's possible that the viewers who enjoy this film the most will be those who haven't read the book. As someone who is very familiar with the Harry Potter book series, I kept finding myself hung up on the changes to the story (and just how much depth was lost) even as I enjoyed the beautiful cinemetography and deft handling of characters' relationships. My hope is that whoever directs film four is able to take some of Cuaron's artistic sensibilities and combine them with Columbus's sense of wonder and attention to plot detail. That would truly do Harry justice.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazon DVD Bonus Content, October 29, 2004

By	plums (St Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

I loved this particular movie when compared to the series as a whole, but this is not why i'm writing this review.

This review concerns the "bonus" content for people who pre-order the dvd here on amazon. The "screensaver" is not an animated screensaver of the marauders map as you might think, which actually would have been quite nice if it had been done in the style of the map in the movie. You will be instructed to download a seperate application which will take over your windows screensaver functionality. The application is not very intuitive to use and I've since deactivated it. The "Marauders Map Screensaver" itself is nothing more then 3 random images of indistinct parts of the in-movie Marauder's Map with giant "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" logos that splashed everywhere. Its not very visually appealing as a screensaver and the images in opinion aren't very well done.

Just want to make sure that other people are aware of what exactly this bonus content is, and aren't buying the dvd here purely because of this. There is no marauders map style animation occuring here, and all that will be displayed are static images. I pre-ordered it here purely based on getting this bonus content, and I was rather disapointed with what i received.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed Adult Potter Fan, June 6, 2004

By A Customer

As a Harry Potter purist, disappointed is the only word that comes to mind when I think of this 3rd movie. While the credits and Buckbeak were wonderful, there was so much left out (which is understandable when converting a book to movie) but so much was actually CHANGED!!! The visible appearance of the Hogwarts grounds - steps leading to Hagrid's home, along with the location and design of the Whomping Willow; and the Quidditch field was much darker and I believe not needed. Also, poor Crookshanks wasn't really honored for his brilliance in assisting Sirius and realizing that Scabbers was really a person AND if a simple spell could stop the Whomping Willow why would it be such a big deal as anyone could do it...missed the secret trigger and the storyline on why it was there!!!! Wouldn't it be more effective to have such dark things occurring in a beautiful place rather than a overgrown negative place? AND why did the Slytherin table move next to Griffindor????

While the actors did a great job, it was obvious that the kids are now much older than the role they are playing, but they did pull off the role that they were 13-years old. As someone else wrote, "the other kids were also more obviously grown up and less suited to the roles than they were in the previous films."

I was also disappointed that so much of the story line was actually change...including the Christmas Firebolt storyline, Harry receiving the permission slip to visit the village, the friendship depth of Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and the Potters (which the movie never explained the creation of the Marauder's Map). Unfortunately after seeing how the Lord of the Rings was created so well and so accurately, there are very few movies or directors that could live up to that accuracies and this is one of them.

Curaron probably did do a "great" job of directing, but good directing does not make a good movie. While the movie visually was choppy and the transitions obvious!!! Hopefully, the Goblet of Fire will be more accurate and true! And, while I will stick to my hardback copies of the book (and looking forward to purchasing the next two) I will not purchase this DVD as I am so disappointed in Warner Brothers and Alfonso Curaron.