Product Description

The next installment in the Harry Potter series finds young wizard Harry Potter (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) and his friends Ron Weasley (RUPERT GRINT) and Hermione Granger (EMMA WATSON) facing new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as they try to uncover a dark force that is terrorizing the school.

HARRY POTTER characters, names, and related indicia are trademarks of and (c) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights (c) J.K.R. (c) 2007 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2956 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-11
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 161 minutes

Amazon.com
First sequels are the true test of an enduring movie franchise, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets passes with flying colors. Expanding upon the lavish sets, special effects, and grand adventure of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry involves a darker, more malevolent tale (parents with younger children beware), beginning with the petrified bodies of several Hogwarts students and magical clues leading Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) to a 50-year-old mystery in the monster-laden Chamber of Secrets. House elves, squealing mandrakes, giant spiders, and venomous serpents populate this loyal adaptation (by Sorcerer's Stone director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves), and Kenneth Branagh delightfully tops the supreme supporting cast as the vainglorious charlatan Gilderoy Lockhart (be sure to view past the credits for a visual punchline at Lockhart's expense). At 161 minutes, the film suffers from lack of depth and uneven pacing, and John Williams' score mostly reprises established themes. The young, fast-growing cast offers ample compensation, however, as does the late Richard Harris in his final screen appearance as Professor Albus Dumbledore. Brimming with cleverness, wonderment, and big-budget splendor, Chamber honors the legacy of J.K. Rowling's novels. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
The Chamber of Secrets extras are a vast improvement from the first Harry Potter DVD in both substance and navigation. There are no tricks to uncovering all the materials, which include 19 extended or deleted scenes (none of which is a whopper). J.K. Rowling participates in a short interview along with screenwriter Steve Kloves. Other interviews are the standard fare, but highly edited; nearly all the extras focus on kids' interests and attention spans. There are a few areas of Harry's world one can navigate through, with Diagon Alley the highlight. A few simple games are fun, highlighted by the creepy Forbidden Forest game and a reappearance of those scary spiders. Games similar to those on the initial DVD can be found in the vast DVD-ROM section, although the touted navigation by voice commands wears thin fast. The disc feels like a trip to an amusement park more than an examination of the film--just what the kids probably want. --Doug Thomas

From The New Yorker
Two down, presumably five to go, and already the franchise is entering dangerous territory: if you aren't one of the many who know their Harry Potter chapter and verse, prepare for a nap. Like its predecessor, the movie is overlong and devoutly faithful to the book: the director Chris Columbus does everything but film J. K. Rowling's semicolons. Most of the original cast returns-a good thing-but so do many of the limp visual ideas. Kenneth Branagh, in a hammy role, makes for a welcome addition to the Hogwarts faculty, and it would have been fun to see him mix it up more with Alan Rickman. But all of the what-ifs matter little, as Columbus's film won't disappoint an eager audience that often calls out Harry's next move before it happens. -Michael Agger
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Harry Potter & Chamber of Secrets
The product was what I ordered and came in a timely manner. What more could I ask?

The magic of Harry Potter
We purchased this DVD for our grandson. He seems to be delighted and thrilled with the storyline which pleases us to no end.

The pivotal second novel springs to life on screen.
I loved the book, and I loved the movie.
Nothing major from the book is left out which is amazing considering how long the book was.
Hollyweird does right by Potter fans AGAIN!
Another must see, must own.