About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

The HD presentation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 looks as stunning as it did on the big screen. The Blu-ray also comes packed with bonus features. Dive into Maximum Movie Mode, revealing behind-the-scenes features, and a sneak peek of Part 2.

Pros

• Beautiful HD presentation of HP 7: Part 1
• Great sound -- conversations and sound effects are crisp and the soundtrack plays perfectly

• Maximum Movie Mode offers an immersive experience for both those who have or have not read the books

Cons

• None

Description

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in High on Blu-ray
• Combo pack also includes the DVD and Digital Copy
• Packed with behind-the-scenes features, an immersive Maximum Movie Mode, a sneak peek at HP7: Part 2

Guide Review - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - Blu-ray Review

It's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and it's on Blu-ray. Really, what more needs to be said? The movie looks fantastic -- just as thrilling as in theaters -- and bonus features including deleted scenes give viewers a couple of extra little tidbits they haven't seen before.

As far as the bonus features go, they're good. No one is going hinge their decision to buy this movie on the bonus features anyway, but it's nice to get the added entertainment value. In fact, the behind-the-scenes features are a little bit of a double-edged sword; they are fascinating to watch, but they do sort of kill the magic a bit, at least temporarily.

I still recommend watching them, of course, especially if you've got kids who are fans of the movie. Getting an inside look at how scenes like "The Seven Harrys" and "The Frozen Lake" were filmed gives one a healthy respect for the effects team who made the events in the movie look so realistic and the beautiful, ominous feel of the picture seem so natural. I think kids will absolutely love learning about all of the different components that go into making one little scene.

The most in depth feature on the disc is "Maximum Movie Mode." In this mode, Jason Issacs (Lucius Malfoy) hosts the experience which allows viewers to see all kinds of extras while watching the movie. Everything from deleted scenes, to commentaries, to info from the book pops up to give HP fans as much magical meat as possible. Maximum Mode will be especially interesting to those who have not read the Harry Potter books, because the features give background to the story and fills in some missing details.

Of course, the feature many will most look forward to is the sneak peek at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Go ahead, wet your appetite. It won't be long now!