The Harry Potter movies simply get better and better. This time join Harry as he begins his third year at Hogwarts learning defense of the dark arts from mysterious Professor Lupin and fighting black robed dementors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione also come face to face with the feared murderer, Sirius who escaped the inescapable Azkaban.

---

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.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY UPC: 085391173687 Manufacturer No: 1000026111

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2223 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2007-12-11
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 142 minutes

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

---

Customer Reviews

ANOTHER HARRY POTTER WINNER
THE DVD IS GREAT. IT ARRIVED QUICKLY WITHOUT A SCRATCH. I WAS VERY HAPPY WITH PURCHASE.

Good family fun
I find all of the Harry Potter films to be good family fun, and this film is no different. It is hardly a masterpiece, and it has nothing new to offer. It does't even break any ground in any aspect of film making. What it is good for is entertaining the grand kids, and for that it deserves three stars.

The Best Movie of the Series
Good Camera work in this installment. The previous two by Chris Columbus were very good but they were laden with his trademark close-up shooting (as evident in the 'Home Alone' series). The pulled back camera shows our aspiring witches and wizards as part of larger world and adds the element of mystery for the viewer.

There are some very good special effects in this film and it was one of only three films nominated for an Oscar in 2004. 'Prisoner' is also the only Potter movie to make AFI's top 400 films of all time list.

The only failure of film is we don't have enough time to fall in love with or even have the movie 'flesh out' the characters. That seems to be the problem with all the films.

It seems that no one has made the connection that most successful Potter film was the first and co-incidently the longest. Brevity has had no effect on the success of the Potter films so I don't know why its enforced. I sure would have liked to linger longer in Cuaron's vision of Harry Potter's world...but I guess I have to be satisfied with what I can get. I would like another helping of Cuaron and Potter...but it doesn't seem to be in the cards.

This installment requires more thought by the viewer than the others...it probably won't be as well recieved by youngsters. I found it entertaining and sometimes unsettling, and yet very enjoyable none-the-less.

Cheers to the 'Best' and 'Most Artistic Potter Film' to date!