Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 4K + BD Screen Caps

THE MOVIE — 4.0/5

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth installment in the 7-part franchise (with Deathly Hallows being split into two), continues the darker path of the series, a far cry from the lighter Chris Columbus-directed films that also fits in with how the story and the characters are evolving towards a final showdown with Lord Voldemort.

This addition to the Harry Potter saga I was never particularly fond of, in comparison to Prisoner of Azkaban which remains my favorite, yet it is still stylistically far better than Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets and the plot also seem to be better constructed for whatever reason (no doubt back to the director). While Alfonso Cuaron did a great job looking introspectively into Harry Potter and company in Azkaban, and especially Harry’s relationship with his uncle, Goblet of Fire also has some key emotional elements mixed in with some thrilling action sequences.

Mike Newell was an interesting choice to helm a Harry Potter movie (though in comparison to Chris “Home Alone” Columbus, I guess it’s not out of the ordinary) as Newell’s previous endeavors included the underrated and charming romantic-comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral, biopic-drama Donnie Brasco and rise of woman power in Mona Lisa Smile, hardly a resume that screams action-fantasy. Newell hasn’t done a whole since outside of 2007’s Love in the Time of Cholera and 2010’s fantasy-adventure flop, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time which was competently directed but with a story that failed to connect. In regards to Goblet of Fire, I thought Newell did a good job maintaining the momentum of the franchise’s ultimate story (Voldemort vs. Potter) while still making it an effective middle chapter.

As for the cast, the three leads (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint) continue to show their growth as actors from Year 1 to Year 4 having gained more experience in merely 4 years of basically non-stop filming (taking breaks between years 2/3, 4/5 and 5/6 with the final 3 (Year 7 split into two parts) being filmed back-to-back-to-back. It’s almost stunning to see how much these kids have evolved and ultimately grown up before our eyes that when the franchise is done, it’ll be interesting to go back and watch these from the beginning.

Once again, the supporting cast Newell and company assembled, from those returning to the newcomers, is quite amazing. We all know how great Michael Gambon is playing Dumbledore (replacing Richard Harris after Chamber of Secrets) as well as Gary Oldman who has a tiny role but has more to do in Order of the Phoenix, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Miranda Richardson and others, but then you add actors like Brendan Gleason and Ralph Fiennes (not to mention soon-to-be Twlight-er Robert Pattinson) to the mix and it’s one of the best large ensembles ever put on screen.

Overall, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire may not be my favorite Potter movie and perhaps not the best of the series, but at the same time it still has some great action mixed with a well told story that fits in nicely with the others in the franchise.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.0/5

This release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. All the bonus material is on the third disc.

Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 4: Sound and Music (54:12; HD) – This edition delves into the music and sound design for the HP movies with cast and crew members give their insights on the importance of the music provides and how it evokes emotion to a scene. There are also interviews with the composers who have worked on the series, John Williams (Years 1-3), Patrick Doyle (Year 4) and Nicholas Hooper (Years 5-6). I assume at the time this was filmed, Alexandre Desplat (Year 7.1) had not been hired and thus interviewed. It then shows how the sound effects were created from bottles to doors closing as well as ADR work which to me is the most interesting aspect of the documentary.

Conversations with the Cast (30:36; HD) – Included on the previous releases, this featurette is now presented in HD and has Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint being interviews by Richard Curtis talking about Goblet of Fire.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Behind the Magic (48:51; SD) is a TV special created to advertise the film and get the fan base excited to see the fourth installment. It’s a lengthy featurette and some of it is annoying, especially the host, but you do get a glimpse at some behind-the-scenes footage.

Inside Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (43:48; SD) is another TV special that not only looks at making the fourth movie but also journeys back to the first three films. I guess this was made to catch audiences up before seeing GoF.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The Adventure Continues (24:12; SD) takes a look into the world of the fourth Potter movie and the new characters, creatures, sets and action sequences. It’s another special created to air on ABC, A&E, BBC or wherever and advertise Goblet of Fire.

Harry Potter: Animal Magic (23:25; SD) – The annoying host (or at least the annoying script he has to read) returns and takes a closer look at the variety of animals, and their human handlers, that help made the world of Harry Potter a magical place.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Dark Matters, New Masters (13:02; SD) – The final TV special concentrates on the dark forces at work against Hogworts and Harry Potter led by Lord Voldemort.

Additional Scenes (9:58; HD) – There are eight deleted or extended scenes that are fun to watch with some good performances but the film was already a lengthy two and a half hours, scenes did need to shore up.

Finally, the second disc wraps up with the Teaser Trailer (1:17; HD), Theatrical Trailer (2:16; HD) and advertisements of Harry Potter products.

VIDEO – 4.25/5

Now the bad: I’m pretty certain it wasn’t my set-up but there were two shots where the aspects of the image were blown out. One was during the introduction to the Quidditch match early on as Fudge’s face has absolutely no detail and the other was toward the end when Harry’s parents appeared to help him escape from Voldemort; again, blown out and really hard to see what is going on. Just to be certain, I put in the Blu-ray copy and while the images for both are bright, you can still see certain detail. So I’m not entirely sure what is going on, but it would appear the application of the HDR actually made things worse, not better. I’ll do some further testing to be sure and will update if I discover something different.

AUDIO – 4.75/5

OVERALL – 4.0/5

Overall, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a solid entry into the franchise, the first of the five from Mike Newell, and does a decent job balancing the dark elements with some brighter scenery, a departure from Alfonso Cuarón’s Prisoner of Azakban. This 4K release offers up flawed by still good video, excellent audio and a good amount of features ported over from the UCE.