Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Two-Disc Special Edition)
January 2008 Reviewed by: Josh Barber Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

It's Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts Academy, and of course trouble is on its way. The Dark Lord Voldemort has returned, but not all threats are so easy to fight. When the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor refuses to prepare the students, Harry takes it upon himself to teach "Dumbledore's Army."

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix took a lot of flak for its story, but that was true of the book as well. As the kids grow up, the plot reflects that: This isn't some sanitized version of childhood, where everyone is playful all the time, but a rather realistic representation of teenagers and the way they deal with problems. Harry is grumpy and sulking. So were you at that age.

As the Harry Potter movies continue, the story just gets darker and darker, and so does the scenery. Unfortunately, this disc doesn't handle that very well. While the colors that survive are vibrant and solid, they're often swallowed up by the crushing blackness. You'll more often find yourself seeing a reflection of your room than whatever is happening in the shadows onscreen.

The audio presentation is very good, especially when sounds start echoing through the cavernous halls of the Ministry of Magic. The dialogue and vocal effects come through cleanly, and the score is never overbearing.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a two-disc release, with all the special features on the second disc. We begin with ten minutes of deleted scenes, presented without any introduction or explanation. The clips are mostly extensions of existing scenes, but we also get a two-minute shot of Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawney eating dinner. Yes, that sounds dull, and it's certainly not something that should have been in the final cut of the film, but it's surprisingly funny.

"Trailing Tonks" is a 20-minute tour of Leavesden Studios with actress Natalia Tena. It's a nice little showcase of how a movie set is laid out and what all the departments are in charge of. Lots of special features can tell you what the props department or the sound guys do, but this tour shows how it all fits together. The tone suggests this one is intended for the kids in the audience, but it's still a good watch for adults as well.

The longest feature is "The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter," an A&E television special that examines the history of the Harry Potter story through five movies and asks questions about the future. Sure, for people who have read all the books, this is probably a quaint flashback to a time when they didn't already know how everything turns out, but this is still a very well-done piece, with just a bit of insight and humor to make it more than just a collection of EPKs.

Finally, we have "Harry Potter and the Magic of Editing," a five-minute segment with director David Yates and editor Mark Day, with the two men talking about how the tone of a scene depends on selecting different takes and adding in all the proper sound and visual effects to make the final product. After a short course on how editing works, you're given the chance to edit your own scene.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix isn't the most engaging standalone film in the Harry Potter franchise, or for the uninitiated because of where it falls. As the fifth entry, it serves as a transition between the setup that has gone before and the ramp-up toward the grand conclusion that is to come. The DVD presentation is a bit lacking, but the movie itself is still worth bringing home.

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