Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray]

Overview

After directing the first two movies in the Harry Potter franchise, Chris Columbus opted to serve as producer for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and passed the baton to Y Tu Mamá También director Alfonso Cuarón. Though "immensely popular" is an understatement when it comes to Harry Potter, Azkaban is somewhat of a departure from its predecessors, and particularly beloved among fans for its surprise ending. Prisoner of Azkaban also marks the introduction of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who has escaped from the title prison after 12 years of incarceration. Believed to have been the right-hand-man of the dark wizard Voldemort, whom Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) mysteriously rendered powerless during his infancy, some of those closest to Harry suspect Black has returned to exact revenge on the boy who defeated his master. Upon his return to school, however, Harry is relatively unconcerned with Black. Run by Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) -- who is widely regarded as the most powerful wizard of the age -- Hogwarts is renowned for its safety. Harry's nonchalance eventually turns to blind rage after accidentally learning the first of Black's many secrets during a field trip to a neighboring village. Of course, a loose serial killer is only one of the problems plaguing the bespectacled wizard's third year back at school -- the soul-sucking guards of Azkaban prison have been employed at Hogwarts to protect the students, but their mere presence sends Harry into crippling fainting spells. With the help of his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), and Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), Harry struggles to thwart the Dementors, find Sirius Black, and uncover the mysteries of the night that left him orphaned. ~ Tracie Cooper

Product Details

Release Date:	11/07/2017
UPC:	0883929564071
Original Release:	2004
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Language:	English
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	10,714

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Daniel Radcliffe	Harry Potter
Emma Watson	Hermione Granger
Rupert Grint	Ron Weasley
David Thewlis	Prof. Remus Lupin
Gary Oldman	Sirius Black
Alan Rickman	Severus Snape
Maggie Smith	Minerva McGonagall,Lavender Brown
Michael Gambon	Albus Dumbledore
Pam Ferris	Aunt Marge Dursley
Tom Felton	Draco Malfoy
Emma Thompson	Professor Sybil Trelawney
Julie Walters	Mrs. Molly Weasley
David Bradley	Argus Filch
Robbie Coltrane	Rubeus Hagrid
Timothy Spall	Peter Pettigrew
Julie Christie	Madame Rosmerta
Paul Whitehouse	Sir Cadogan
Richard Griffiths	Uncle Vernon Dursley
Robert Hardy	Cornelius Fudge
Fiona Shaw	Petunia Dursley
Mark Williams	Mr. Arthur Weasley,Composer
Harry Melling	Dudley Dursley
Adrian Rawlins	James Potter
Geraldine Somerville	Lily Potter
Lee Ingleby	Stan Shunpike
Lenny Henry	Shrunken Head
Jimmy Gardner	Ernie the Bus Driver
Jim Tavare	Tom the Innkeeper
Abby Ford	Young Witch Maid
Oliver Phelps	George Weasley,Fred Weasley
Chris Rankin	Percy Weasley
Bonnie Wright	Ginny Weasley
Devon Murray	Seamus Finnegan
Warwick Davis	Filius Flitwick,Old Man in Portrait
Matthew Lewis	Neville Longbottom
Sitara Shah	Parvati Patel
Josh Herdman	Gregory Goyle
Genevieve Gaunt	Pansy Parkinson
Alfred Enoch	Dean Thomas,Dean Thomas
Dawn French	Fat Lady in Painting
Annalisa Bugliani	Mother in Portrait
Tess Bu Cuaron	Baby in Portrait
Ekow Quartey	Boy No. 1
Kandice Morris	Girl No. 1
Rick Sahota	Boy No. 2
Jamie Waylett	Vincent Crabbe
Bronson Webb	Slytherin Boy
Sharon Sandhu	Girl No. 2
Danielle Tabor	Angelina Johnson
Peter Best	The Executioner
Dame Maggie Smith	Actor
Jim Tavaré	Tom the Innkeeper
John Cleese	Nearly Headless Nick
Kathrin Nicholson	Pansy Parkinson
Violet Columbus	Girl With Flowers
Miriam Margolyes	Actor

Technical Credits

Steve Kloves

J.K. Rowling

Alfonso Cuaron	Director
Steve Kloves	Screenwriter
David Heyman	Producer
Mark Radcliffe	Producer,Producer
Chris Columbus	Producer
Callum McDougall	Executive Producer,Producer
Tanya Seghatchian	Executive Producer,Producer
Michael Barnathan	Executive Producer,Producer
Roger Guyett	Special Effects
Tim Burke	Special Effects
Stephen Hamilton	Special Effects
John Richardson	Special Effects,Special Effects
Jina Jay	Casting
Greg Powell	Stunts,Stunts
Nick Dudman	Makeup Special Effects
Lorne Orleans	Producer
Martin Bayfield	Stunts
Alfonso Cuardon	Director
Tim Aidley	Special Effects
Eleanor Beaton	Sound Effects
Richard Beggs	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Tim Blackham	Sound Effects
Peter Burgis	Sound Effects
Jose Castellon	Sound Effects
J.K. Rowling	Screenwriter
George Cottle Jr.	Stunts
Chris Carreras	Producer
Paula DuPré Pesmen	Producer
Scott Smith	Special Effects,Special Effects
Rohan Claassen	Special Effects
Rob Dunbar	Special Effects
Thomas Guerrier	Special Effects
John Kilshaw	Special Effects
Anthony Lucero	Special Effects
Noel McGinn	Special Effects
Simon Payne	Special Effects
Howard Berry	Special Effects
Mattias Lindahl	Special Effects
John Cramman	Special Effects
Demi Demetriou	Special Effects
Ronnie Durkan	Special Effects
Chris Giles	Special Effects
Matthew Harlow	Special Effects
Patrick Johnson Jr.	Special Effects
Nick Joscylene	Special Effects
Noah Meddings	Special Effects
Luke Murphy	Special Effects
Craig Narramore	Special Effects
Ceri Nicholls	Special Effects
Lee Phelan	Special Effects
Ben Philips	Special Effects
Grant Rogan	Special Effects
Phoebe Tait	Special Effects
Kevin Wescott	Special Effects
Benjamin Esterson	Special Effects
Emma Mac	Stunts
Marc Mailley	Stunts
Gordon Seed	Stunts
Joann Thompson	Stunts
Andy Smart	Stunts
David Lewis	Stunts
Abigail Letchford	Stunts
Darren Holland	Key Grip
Colin Hazell	Key Grip
Tolga Kenan	Stunts
Claire Skelton	Stunts
Kenny Atherfold	Key Grip
Paul Herbert	Stunts
Kelly Dent	Stunts
Bradley Farmer	Stunts
David Holmes	Stunts
Rickie Hubbucks	Stunts
Felicity Walker	Stunts
Joanna Whitney	Stunts
Luke Quigley	Key Grip
Dave Rist	Key Grip
Mark Lisbon	Stunts
Anthony Knight	Stunts
Timothy Blackham	Sound Mixer

Editorial Reviews

As noted at the time of its theatrical release, the third Harry Potter film is somewhat darker in tone than its predecessors, but the change in mood was certainly beneficial -- Azkaban is clearly the best of the series to date. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) begins his third year at Hogwarts under an ominous cloud: A killer wizard named Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from prison, and there's every indication that he's heading for the well-hidden sorcery school to do young Potter in. The bulk of the film finds Harry, accompanied by loyal friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), trying to unravel the tangled strands of a mystery, with occasional help from their favorite new teacher, Professor Lupin (David Thewlis). The relatively benign witchcraft on display in the first two Potter films takes a backseat to more malignant occultism in Azkaban; the constant threat of impending death, along with some genuinely frightening scenes involving lycanthropy, makes this installment somewhat problematic for very young viewers. Seeing it from the security of home will lessen the impact on kids, but parents might want to prepare their most impressionable children for a slightly more scary time than they would normally have at Hogwarts. Director Alfonso Cuaron skillfully employs atmospheric visual effects and gives the film a more genuinely gothic look than the earlier Potter entries. Recurring cast members Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, and Robbie Coltrane are seen to good advantage; and Michael Gambon, taking over as Dumbledore for the late Richard Harris, figures prominently in a time-shift subplot that's extremely well worked out. Oldman is suitably menacing as the accused killer, and Thewlis brings genuine warmth to his sympathetic but complex character. Prisoner of Azkaban abounds in the delightful fantasy trappings that engage a youthful sense of wonder, but the darker undercurrents of its complicated plot make it unusually engrossing for older viewers as well.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third installment of what will eventually be a seven-book series, is somewhat of a teenager unto itself. As familiarity inevitably begins to set in, the mere existence a magical community is no longer enough to sustain Harry emotionally, nor is the sparkling façade of Chris Columbus' Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets enough to satisfy audiences. Consequently, a then-43-year-old Alfonso Cuarón was faced with one of the key challenges of early adolescence in agreeing to direct the film -- establishing an identity and channeling the seedling stages of angst into productivity. Thankfully, Cuarón clearly remembers what it's like to be 13. From raging hormones and expanding egos to crippling self-doubt and hope despite it, the hallmarks of youth are apparent in virtually every frame of Prisoner of Azkaban. The actors, of course, play no small role: Daniel Radcliffe has improved exponentially, while Rupert Grint continues to exhibit an impressive knack for comic timing. Emma Watson is perfect as Hermione; similar to Michael Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore, Watson emanates wit and power, and, in staying with her character, communicates a sense of harried urgency in everything she does. The veteran British actors making up the Hogwarts staff are equally impressive. Emma Thompson, in particular, is delightfully batty as the boy-who-cried-Grim divination teacher, while Alan Rickman's Professor Snape is as unfathomable and complicated as ever. Though David Thewlis offers a solid performance as the haunted Professor Lupin, Gary Oldman is perhaps the most notable newcomer to the film series. With little time to spare, Oldman manages to express the tragic but unerringly loyal nature of Sirius Black. The nature of the soul and the life-altering effects of circumstance and choice are the two key elements of Prisoner of Azkaban, and Cuarón, to his credit, has helmed a production that is all soul. Even without the rich description of the book, the essence of the characters and the world they inhabit are more apparent than they have ever been, and the CGI fits into the "Potterverse" so seamlessly, it's easy to forget that Hippogriffs (a sort of half-eagle, half-horse) aren't part of the natural world. The only real fault in Cuarón's Azkaban, as devoted fans have duly noted, is the all-too-brief Shrieking Shack showdown, and the omission of Harry's final talk with Dumbledore. Besides depriving audiences of some well-needed history (why Snape hates Sirius enough to enjoy watching the soul sucked out of his body, the extent of the friendship between the Marauders, and the significance of the stag shape of Harry's Patronus, for instance), Dumbledore's explanation concerning the vast implications of the actions we take, and the life-debt Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall) now owes Harry because of a spontaneous decision, is not just an integral aspect to Prisoner, but to the series as a whole. Yet, even with a key scene conspicuously missing, this adaptation, more than its predecessors, gives an inkling into the tremendous success of the Harry Potter franchise, because Prisoner of Azkaban finally got what Harry is about -- magic, the bonds of friendship, and a whole lot of heart.

All Movie Guide