Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Film

As Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) enter their fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sinister plots conspire to bring about the end of the world as they know it. Harry is having dreams about Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), the sinister figure who killed his parents, and, when Harry's name is mysteriously entered into the prestigious Tri-Wizard Tournament, he suspects foulplay. Quite apart from these dastardly deeds, he has another, even more pressing problem to deal with: that of adolescence.

Since shouldering the bulk of DVD Times' high definition coverage, at least for the time being, I have been finding myself more and more often preceding my reviews with "I'm not a fan of..." disclaimers, given that the rather paltry number of titles available has led to me reviewing films I wouldn't otherwise have covered. So here we go with another: I'm not a fan of the Harry Potter series, and although I had eventually seen all of the film adaptations released thus far (be it on DVD or on television), I must confess to not having read any of J.K. Rowling's novels, unless skimming the first 30 pages of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in a library counts. As such, I have never been swept up in the fervour surrounding these films that has affected so many cinemagoers. I would, ultimately, class them a notch or two below Peter Jackson's adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, the release of the first installment of which followed that of the first Harry Potter film by just over a month. I am, as it happens, a strong follower of J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology, and my lukewarm but fairly favourable reaction to Jackson's interpretation of that work may be something of an indicator as to how I would have reacted to the Harry Potter films had I been an ardent supporter of their literary variants. Then again, Rowling has had a virtually unprecedented level of creative control over the adaptation of her work, something denied to the Tolkien estate given that the rights to The Lord of the Rings were auctioned off for a pittance in the early 1970s.


Then again, whereas my main criticism of the Lord of the Rings films was Jackson's mishandling of the thematic material (not to mention his often baffling editorial decisions and relegating of important characters to mere comic relief roles), one of the complaints more commonly leveled against the Harry Potter films is that they are too faithful to their sources, a decision that at times results in a feeling that we are simply being strung along through one ridiculously long movie split into seven parts. As such, while they include plenty of crowd-pleasing visual spectacles, like the Quidditch World Cup or Harry's encounter with the Horntail, they are remarkably unfulfilling, building towards a big climax that, due to the length of the series, often feels simply too far off to matter in the short term. This is especially true of this fourth entry, which ends not so much with a grand climax but rather with a couple of minor victories and setbacks, and a promise that the impending doom will be dealt with during the next school term (i.e. in the next film). This format generally works well enough for episodic television, where the next installment is only ever a week or, at the end of a season, a few months away, but for a series of films that will not be completed until 2010 (a total of nine years), the lack of a true conclusion at the end of this installment is rather annoying.

In many ways, though, this is the best in the series so far. As both the characters and the actors playing them have grown up, the films have matured and grown darker in tone, while the performances have become more assured and the thematic material more potent. The name of the game this year is teenage angst, as Harry and his friends turn into moody, hormonal adolescents. On paper, this sounds like a recipe for disaster, but in reality it allows the actors to flex their muscles and take their characters to new places. The Yule Ball sequence, which falls at around the film's mid-point and features by far the most angst and sniping, does run on for a little too long, and contains a decidedly painful musical cameo from members of Radiohead and Pulp, but for the most part screenwriter Steve Kloves, who has adapted all of the Harry Potter films to date, does a fine job of entwining the character development with the central plot. Indeed, Kloves deserves considerable praise for condensing Rowling's weighty 650-page tome into a still-lengthy but (given the length of the Lord of the Rings adaptations) manageable 157 minutes. Especially during the first act, he wields his editor's scissors mercilessly, compressing the opening material featuring the Quidditch World Cup, which I am led to believe constitutes at least 150 pages of the novel, into a sprightly 15 minutes.


Even so, the sheer scale of the piece is still rather intimidating: 25 stars listed in principal credits, and many more play important parts. Established actors like Robbie Coltrane and Miranda Richardson pop up for a couple of minutes at a time, giving the impression of a world populated by a diverse cast of characters, but who are at the same time all crying for attention. In the context of the novel, which was long enough to give them room to breathe, this was probably less of an issue, but on the screen, the sprightly pace gives them little time with which to make their mark. Not having read the books, I have no idea if Richardson's tabloid reporter Rita Skeeter plays any part in future installments, but, if not, then her inclusion here seems rather pointless, as her brief sequence doesn't really lead anywhere. What holds it all together, though, is the direction by Mike Newell, which is decidedly assured. Newell, who in fact turned down the chance to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, draws on his considerable range as a filmmaker to create a rich tapestry of different styles and themes, with a considerable emphasis on the darker, horror-movie intonations added by Alfonso Cuarón in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. After four installments, familiar locations such as Hogwarts now feel real and familiar, although the less said about the continually ropy CGI effects the better.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire seems to be considered by many fans of the franchise to be the worst film in the series so far, but, whether it's because I wouldn't class myself as a Harry Potter fan or for other reasons, my reaction to it was quite the opposite. I still don't really understand what it is that makes so many people fanatical about this series (I expect that I would have to read the books to get my head around that), and it hasn't given me any particular desire to rush to the cinema and see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when it is released in cinemas in July, but, as a stand-alone film, this fourth part in the septology is a nicely-executed if meandering piece that should engage both children and adults, whether or not they have read the books.

HD DVD Presentation

The arrival of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in UK stores in December 2006 came as something of a surprise, given that, as of writing, it has yet to be released anywhere else in the world (although it is scheduled for release in France on January 31st). Even more surprising, though, is that, when you pop in the disc, you are greeted with an American FBI copyright warning, followed by an MPAA PG-13 certification card after the usual Warner HD DVD trailer. Warner, it would seem, are, wherever possible, simply releasing their US discs in the UK rather than going to the bother of creating separate releases - which bodes well for UK viewers, meaning that it should minimise the number of second-rate releases, with extras or audio options removed, that sometimes show up on these shores. Most bizarrely, however, despite this being a US disc, it has yet to be released in North America, and will be held back until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix gets its theatrical release in July.

In any event, this is by far the best Warner HD DVD I've seen to date. Presented in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio and encoded at 1080p with the VC-1 codec, it looks sumptuous from start to finish, with not a compression artefact in sight and pleasingly smooth, filmlike appearance at all times. It occasionally looks a little diffuse, most notably in close-ups, but I suspect that this is a result of the automated spot removal technique applied to this film (as well as glossy and superficial-looking US TV series like Desperate Housewives) rather than any fault in the transfer. In any event, the level of detail in wide shots is among the best I have seen for high definition to date, with the Quidditch World Cup sequence (chapter 3) being true demo material and a real torture test as far as encoding is concerned. Some viewers have criticised the dark nature of this transfer, especially the first five minutes, but, to my eyes, this seems to be intentional and suited to the darker subject matter of this film. Top marks all round.

Audio comes in Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 flavours, both of which are comparable, with a slight edge, as usual, going to the TrueHD track in terms of clarity. The bass response is excellent across the board, while there are no problems with the clarity of the dialogue. The audio design in crowd scenes is particularly impressive, while the ambient effects of the quieter, natural settings is also worthy of note. Patrick Doyle's score also sounds very good, rising up at the right moments but never overpowering the dialogue. French and Spanish Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 dubs are also provided, in addition to English, English HoH, French and Spanish subtitles. Unfortunately, none of the extras are subtitled.

Extras

On paper, there are an impressive number of bonus materials. In practice, however, that are not particularly impressive. All of the extras from the standard definition 2-disc release have been replicated here, the most lengthy of which are a series of eight featurettes focusing on a variety of different aspects of the film, including the special effects and stunt work involved for the three tasks Harry performs throughout the film. The featurettes also cover issues such as costume design and make-up, the trials and tribulations of the film's punishing schedule, and reflections on the film and the series so far as a whole. There is some decent material on offer here, but it all feels a little disjointed - a single documentary would probably have worked better than these featurettes, the bulk of which run for slightly over 10 minutes each, although, at 31 minutes, the Richard Curtis-hosted Conversations with the Cast goes on for far too long. The latter is, however, presented in 1080p high definition, something of a rarity for extras on HD DVD.

Also included are 10 minutes' worth of deleted scenes, which, bizarrely, are not indexed but instead can only be watched as a single reel, and the original theatrical trailer.

HD DVD Exclusive Extras

As with a handful of recent blockbusters released on HD DVD by Warner so far, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire gains an In-Movie Experience option, which, for those not aware, allows for a secondary visual and audio stream to be activated, allowing for picture-in-picture features, audio comments, image galleries and text-based trivia to be presented as the film itself plays. These In-Movie Experience presentations have so far ranged from pretty good to completely unremarkable, and this one is a bit of both. The piece is presented by James and Oliver Phelps (who play the Weasley twins in the films), and their presentation, while enthusiastic, is often infuriatingly condescending, seemingly pitched at very young children rather than the adult collectors who are more likely to be buying HD DVDs at this stage. There's also something rather underwhelming about the fact that this wisecracking duo are fronting the feature rather than any of the more "important" cast members.

Barring the interjections of these two jokers, however, the material is actually not that bad, given that it is comprised mainly of interview snippets from cast and crew members, as well as brief clips of behind the scenes footage. I just wish there was a way to turn the Weasley twins off, however, as their comments jar with the otherwise intelligent treatment of the subject matter. In a nice touch, Warner have added chapter stops, which allows you to skip past sections of the film without any comments. Unfortunately, however, all of these chapter stops are indexed to interjections with the twins, making it more or less impossible to avoid them.

Overall

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is one of Warner's finest HD DVD titles so far as far as the audio-visual presentation is concerned, although the bonus features are more mixed in terms of quality. Fans of the series itself and home cinema junkies alike should definitely check out this title, which, until it eventually gets a wider release, is likely to be in short supply.