Harry Potter: Year 7 [Blu-ray] [Import]

I picked this up early at Target (thanks to the other reviewer who mentioned it was available there) -- a bit more expensive than Amazon, but the long and short of it is I was getting tired of waiting.

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!

**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.

Fellow Harry Potter enthusiasts will appreciate how disappointing it is to watch when network television airs an "edited for content" version of one of the movies. Sadly, this two-DVD set has been edited for content. Expect to find yourself wondering what became of Wormtail. Try to figure out why Grawp got left on the cutting room floor. Scratch your head contemplating the missing scene of Fred and George chatting just before an explosion. These are just a few of the omissions, none of which were noted in the product packaging or the online description. Having placed this order in August and waiting over eight weeks for it to arrive, I'm equally disappointed in Warner Brothers and this website.