First, kudos to WB for including parts 1&2 in one set, and not making us buy another ginormous case for our shelves (although I guess it means one less set of collector cards and books, but I doubt anyone is buying the Ultimate Editions for those). And kudos for not making this only available with the super deluxe, super expensive, re-released set of all the movies AGAIN, which was my fear for a long time.
This is just as feature-rich as the other Ultimates (minus extended versions of the films, but that is a subject already covered exhaustively in all the other sets' reviews). I wasn't keeping track, but there are at least 2-3 extras lasting 40+ minutes, plus a bunch of approximately 4-minute featurettes. Thankfully, they for the most part avoid being redundant (apart from Hermione and Ron's kiss, which if I never again hear how awkward and difficult it was for them, it will be too soon). (However, is it too much to ask for a "play all" button? It exists on the Deleted Scenes section so I know they've heard of it. It gets extremely tiresome returning to the menu after every single 4-minute segment. Also, no "resume" function on these discs, which is hard to believe in this day and age.)
The other reviewer Paul J. Mular is correct: What is NOT included is the 47-minute doc "When Harry Left Hogwarts" that can be found in this "Target exclusive" set: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (4-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo UltraViolet Digital Copy Edition with Bonus Disc). This is fascinating maybe only for truly hardcore fans, and probably worth the used purchase price if you want to get a feeling for what it was like on the set of HP. I swapped out one of my DVDs for the bonus disc in my Ultimate case, making it truly "ultimate."
They've again included on both movies a "Maximum Movie Mode," where the film is interrupted with little pop-up featurettes, again miraculously somehow rarely repeating what is included in the other features. For part 1 this adds another 20 minutes of extras. For part 2, it's over 35 minutes, but don't get too excited--Most of this is "Remember this character? Let's go back to the other 6 films and look at what they did." Really boring and unnecessary I think for anyone who is a big enough fan to buy the Ultimate Editions. In addition, there are even more "Focus Points" which have to be manually selected. Hint: These are also included in their own section of extras if you don't want to keep one hand on the remote.
Also in Maximum Movie Mode, on part 2 they have inserted the deleted scenes back into the movie -albeit surrounded by a big frame reading "DELETED SCENE," and sometimes preceded by a brief featurette explaining the scene--but still apparently as close to an "extended version" we're going to get.
One last tiny quibble: The sound mixing on the extras is horrible, and the "background" music almost completely drowns out the voices. I also experienced this on my "American Werewolf in London" Blu-ray, and it's enormously irritating. Don't they have fancy mixing boards to make sure this doesn't happen?
I'm glad I bought this, since I couldn't very well live with just the first six films. I'm also glad to be off the HP movie buying train, because it hasn't always been a pleasant ride thanks to bottomless studio greed and double dips. But I don't want to end on a down note. This set is great! Buy it!
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**Note: This is for the 6-disc Ultimate Edition release of year 7, NOT the 2-disc year 7 release. Amazon is mistakenly combining reviews of all year 7 versions***We all know the movies, so i will just review this re-packaging. And YES I do have this in-hand for reviewing, I got the early retail release.
The two big disappointments are 1) NO 3-D and 2) NO EXTENDED VERSIONS. O.K., stretching the book into two movies means no extended versions, but there are DELETED SCENES that you can watch outside of the movies.
Even though both movies were filmed in 2-D, Part 2 was released to theaters in 3-D with all of the CGI effects produced in 3-D. So I do consider it an official 3-D movie and a 3-D version should have been included, instead of the DVDs of the same movie. The DVDs do not include the two "Creating The World Of Harry Potter" documentary discs, and that means those collecting this Ultimate series on DVD will lose out.
For those who bought the limited edition 4-disc sets of the individual releases of Part 1 & Part 2, you may find yourself with another dilemma.
The 4th disc Bonus Documentaries in Part 1 were "Part 1: Behind The Magic" and "Harry Potter On The Road" and they ARE INCLUDED HERE on the Creating the World Bonus Disc for Part 1 as well as a wealth of additional bonus material.
The 4th disc Bonus Documentary in Part 2 was "When Harry Left Hogwarts" and there is nothing by that name in this new set and I have not found it under any other name. At 44 minutes, this documentary would stand out, there is nothing running that long in this new set. This "Fly-On-The-Wall" type of documentary about the filming of Deathly Hollows captures the actors out of costume casually talking about their experience. Also interviewed are the carpenters & stage crew as well as the extras. You will find out just how tightly the props were watched over so that extras did not take home souvenirs. You will also experience the tension on set before the live explosions.
All Bonus Material from the previous 3-disc combo sets are included here, with the second Blu-ray disc bonus contents expanded. Some previous documentaries are presented in extended versions, while new documentaries have been added.
Since the big difference is in DISC #2 for each movie, here is the run-down of NEW material not on the old 3-disc sets:
PART 1
Part 1 Behind The Magic (previously on the 4-disc limited release)
On The Road (previously on the 4-disc limited release)
The Return of the Order
Seabor and Greyback
Dobby's Farewell
The Look of Bill Weasley
The Weasley's
The State of Evil
The New Guys
One Book, Two Movies
The Wizardly Prop Shop
PART 2
J.K. Rowling interview and "Hogwart's Last Stand" have been extended.
Part 2 Behind The Magic
The Great Hall of Hogwarts
Ron and Hermoine's Kiss
That's A Wrap Harry Potter
Nevill's Battle Makeup
The Gringotta Disguises
Harry's Death, The Courtyard Confrontation
The Magic Behind the Movies Revealed: The Secrets of Flight
Footage from the London Premier
The Love Life of Ron Weasley
The Weasley's, a Look Back At Harry Potter's Favorite Family
Dumbledore and Harry: A Look Back
Favorite Lines with the Cast
Favorite Props and Costumes with the Cast
Riding Along Memory Lane
Finding Launa, A Dream Come True
A Tribute to Dobby: The Beloved House Elf
A Special Message to the H.P. Fans
The Cast of H.P. Say Goodbye
Sadly missing from the previous 4-disc special edition: "When Harry Left Hogwarts" 44 minutes.
While the collectable book is nice, I found the color photos inside to be a bit grainy.
The packaging places two discs together, one overlapping the other. I decided to put the two DVDs underneath as I would not be watching them. I only have trouble getting to the bonus disc for Part 2.
**DVD Update**
It is not announced anywhere on the packaging, but the standard DVD for PART ONE (single disc) does include 5 deleted scenes as a bonus.
The standard DVD for PART TWO (single disc) contains 8 deleted scenes as a bonus.
There are also 7 minutes of commercials encouraging you to buy Harry Potter Ultimate Editions on Blu-ray, buy Harry Potter Video Games, visit Pottermore, and just buy Warner Brothers movies on Blu-ray for better picture quality.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
You will need to keep your 3-D copies if you have them, and at least the second limited edition 4-disc release of Part 2 as these contain material not in this set.
If you don't have these earlier deluxe sets, then you will have a total replacement.
Blu-ray fans will get hours of new documentaries. Sadly the DVD fans are left wanting to buy a Blu-ray player as Warner Home Video has not created DVD bonus discs.
Some of these new documentaries are only 6 minutes long, so it is questionable if it is worth spending more money if you have the Blu-ray combo sets.
I had a hard time giving this four stars, in some ways it is only a three star set.
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Those interested in this 2 disc set supposedly featuring both parts of The Deathly Hallows may want to wait until a problem I've encountered is resolved (or try buying elsewhere). I ordered a copy from Amazon, received it and found that both discs have bonus material only on them---no feature film. I checked the size of content on each disc and they are only 6gb and 8gb--so obviously no hidden feature anywhere on the disc. I ordered a replacement from Amazon and noted it came from a different location but received the identical set of bonus materials...Honest reviews on Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows PART 1 & PART 2 (Blu-Ray 3D)
I ordered this item and was disappointed to see that when it arrived, the discs did not match the box. The box says it is for Harry Potter Year 7 feature film part 1 & 2. The discs are Harry Potter Year 7 special features only part 1 and part 2. One disc actually is labeled special features, but the other says it is the full film, yet it is not.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows PART 1 & PART 2 (Blu-Ray 3D)
Harry Potter Ultimate Edition: Year 7.If you already own the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 & 2 on Blu Ray, I will say that this is certainly not for you. There's a couple of new features such as the case, the book, and cards that come along... but other than that, it's the same exact layout and DVD/Blu Ray that you have at home. It's a waste of money, to say at the very least.
Now if you don't own it on Blu Ray already, or have the other Ultimate Editions Years 1-6, then this is a nice little bookend to your collection. I was originally under the impression that ALL OF THEM would be director's cuts and I went out and bought all of the editions; The Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets are INDEED Extended and wonderful, but the others on the other hand are NOT. Which is quite silly due to the fact that ABC family has at least released the first 4 films with additional scenes on television. I can never truly understand why they do this, but in the end of things it boils down to half-@$$ed work and stealing more of your money.
All that aside, I purchased this at Target, and it is indeed only a Target Exclusive; they can probably be found here too, but it's limited, and you would be paying over $50 alone having that it's been targeted only for 1 store franchise and it's limit would appear to be far more rare that the others you can find. So it's pricey, but not uncalled for due to it's rarity. And it's pretty well put together, overall; a nice dust cover box, Blu Ray set is in a nice case that has a slight magnetic hold, and the artwork inside and out is truly wonderful.
But as I've said: Don't bother getting this if you already own the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 & 2. If you don't own it and are looking into investing on some decent Harry Potter sets, I would recommend this one, along with the other Years 1-6. Getting these is equivalent to the Wizard's Collection that recently came out, which isn't BAD, but has many flaws to count if you're a Harry Potter geek like me; at least with those you get a few more goodies! I have all the rest of the Ultimate Editions, so it's a decent collection of have.
If you want to save your money and get the Harry Potter set we fans deserve, it's going to be awhile, so the choice is yours; get these or just the standard discs. HELL, record them on tv if you can and at least you'll see the first 4 films with extended scenes.
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