Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
June 2003 Reviewed by: Anthony Di Marco Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

I had no interest in seeing the initial Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, when it first hit theaters -- I just did not have a high opinion of the previous work of director Chris Columbus. So, I decided to skip it and saw The Lord of the Rings instead. Chalk it up to ignorance and a little bit of arrogance, because now that I’ve seen both films about Harry, I understand what the hubbub is all about -- these are epic films with interesting plots and likable characters. More importantly, the second movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is a lot of fun.

After a lengthy absence from the action/fantasy genre, Columbus returned to it following a middling career directing films like 9 Months and Mrs. Doubtfire. A protégé of Steven Spielberg, Columbus accepted the job to direct the first two Harry Potter films after Spielberg opted out. But Columbus is no Spielberg. While Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone delivered an interesting and whimsical story, Columbus rarely got creative with his camera. Each shot seemed to be composed out of economy rather than creativity. Where Spielberg would have made the camera dance, Columbus composed each shot statically, with little energy. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone also had a finale that seemed tacked on.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a more entertaining and adventurous film. Columbus seems more creative and less stiff with his camera. Sequences flow with greater kinetic energy and ease. The technical details are also more accomplished. The scenes involving Aragog and his spiders and the serpent Basilisk are both knockouts, and great examples of how seamlessly digital effects can be combined with live action. Even the photo-realistic quality of Dobby the House Elf caught me by surprise. The little imp rivaled the remarkable Gollum, from The Lord of the Rings, in how real he looked.

I was very impressed by the acting in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are, as in the first film, all top-notch, but Kenneth Branagh’s performance, as Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, steals the show. I could not help laughing each time Gilderoy appeared on screen with his phony smile and self-absorbed attitude. It is definitely one of Branagh’s best performances.

Solid images and sound made this DVD a joy to watch. The mostly brown, gray, and black palette exhibited excellent detail and seamless integration between digital effects and live action. Technically, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is visually better than its predecessor. The first film had a chalky, smeared look in many scenes that integrated live action with matte backdrops or digital imagery. Such shortcomings are not apparent in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Audio was equally well done. The mix sounded very natural, dynamic, and well balanced, with some great detail and bone-chilling ambiance. There were instances where I paused my DVD player because I thought I heard a voice in my adjoining family room. I later realized that I was hearing subtle ambient cues from the soundtrack.

For a story possessing a surplus of imagination, the features on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are pretty run of the mill. The intricate DVD menu artwork is more impressive than many of the features. A behind-the-scenes featurette on Professor Albus Dumbledore’s office and an interview with author J.K. Rowling and screenwriter Steven Kloves were standouts in a sea of filler and half-hearted children’s games. The production-design featurette on Dumbledore’s office gave some nice insight into the huge effort filmmakers go through to keep the audience’s suspension of disbelief anchored. When you’re told that it took 250 artisans to create one set that is seen twice in the film, you can’t help being impressed. It was also interesting to hear Kloves and Rowling discussing their screenwriting process and how secretive J.K. Rowling was about the future of Harry Potter.

Just prior to the release of The Lord of the Rings and the first Harry Potter film, the fantasy/adventure genre was all but dead. Films like this were not made because they were expensive and required well-developed mythology to succeed. With so much slam-bang, brainless action playing in local cinemas, it’s nice to see that some filmmakers still believe in having fun and telling a good story.

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