Product Review: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1

 

I was recently asked if I would like to receive a copy of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1 which was released on DVD and Blu-Ray today.  I'm not a massive fan of the Harry Potter franchise although I can appreciate it's a good story and the films are well done. Perhaps I'll get a bit more into it as the children get older, although I know a lot of adults who love it.  

Whilst I feel quite comfortable about showing my children the first and even the second Harry Potter films, I am a bit more reluctant with the rest of the series as they get darker and darker, and this current release is darker yet and this is recognised with the "12" certificate.  If you've got a die-hard Harry Potter fan on your hands it might be a hard decision to not let them watch it but I really think it is going to depend on what type of child you have.

The Deathly Hallows is a lot slower in pace than the other films, mainly due to the fact that this is one half of the big finale. I think it's fair to say that when a book is so epic, it deserves to be done right and whilst splitting films like this frustrates the extremely impatient part of me, I can understand the reasoning and see the benefits of this.

The copy I received was one with the Triple Play feature. If you don't know what this it is it means it you get the film in three formats - Blu-Ray, DVD and a digital copy. I am a big fan of this having first seen it on the Ice Age 3 DVD last year.  We haven't yet made the leap to Blu-Ray but may do in the near future and I think having a digital copy, in the age of iPods and iPads is a great idea.  The Triple Play version is available at selected retail outlets.  The disc is also full of the usual extra features like deleted scenes and cast features.

For real fans there is a limited edition Dobby DVD sleeve available only at Sainsburys, whilst stocks last.  Each exclusive sleeve features a sticker with details of a competition giving you the chance to win a limited edition Dobby plush (like the one I have received, pictured below) of which there are 5,000 up for grabs.  See here for more details.

I enjoyed this film and thought it was very well done, however I have to admit to not having had read the books so I cannot compare it to that. Sacrilege, I know! Whether I'll ever go back and read them remains to be seen.  It's a good family film but perhaps not one for younger children because frankly it's quite scary in places!

With thanks to Think Jam PR for the review copy and Dobby plush!

love & kisses

Mrs M x

PS Does Helena Bonham-Carter rock as Bellatrix or what?!