Search - Harry Potter Years 1-3 on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 9/13/2022...

A must for the whole family!

Scenes have been omitted

Mark T | Dallas | 01/08/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I truly love the Harry Potter series. My wife and I devoured the first five books and we take a day off from work to see the movies on opening day. For Christmas, my wife got me the "First 3 years" DVD box set. As we were watching each movie, but especially the third, we kept getting the feeling that something was missing. At first I thought I was losing my mind, but, from some clues in the Prisoner of Azkaban, we figured out that certain scenes- some particularly pivotal- have been left off the box set. Never mind the cardboard vs. plastic casing, leaving scenes out from the theatrical run is the antithesis of a DVD release where, allegedly, more scenes should be added.

The omitted scenes I know for certain are:

1. Sir Nicholas's party. In the DVD, there is a scene of ghostly knights charging through The Great Hall, but with no follow-up scene(s) to explain this action. What should come next, which was part of the theatrical release but was deleted for this box set, was a scene showing the knights entering Sir Nicholas's death-day party. Then, there are more scenes of Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the party, the only "mortals" to attend. They are baffled by some of the strange food and depressed by the atmosphere, so they decide to leave. Sir Nicholas thanks them personally for coming on their way out. I can distinctly see in my mind's eye John Cleese making some kind of feeble toast and then later on dejectedly bidding farwell to the Hogwarts kids.

2. There are some black and white flashback scenes of Harry's parents (at least his dad, from what I recall) poking fun at an obviously loner-type Snape, during their days as students at Hogwarts. This scene explains much of the animosity Snape has for Harry. At least one other main character (Sirius Black, I think, or maybe Lupin) appears in these flashback scenes. Again, I vividly remember the black and white look of these scenes, and the students (Harry's parents, etc.) sitting beneath a tree. These scenes are so crucial! Why would the filmmakers omit them?!

I'm really disappointed in the choice to omit these scenes. While the Sir Nicholas scenes aren't integral to the plot, it doesn't make sense to leave them off the DVD box set. And certainly, cutting the flashback scenes of Harry's parents on the DVD box set is just inexcusable, particularly considering the extra freedoms available with DVD releases.

What were they thinking?

Has anyone else noticed this? Please let me know in your review. Thanks so much."

Great movies, poor boxed set

Pen Name | Fairbanks, Alaska | 09/19/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This review refers to the 6-Disc boxed set. I was disappointed to find out that literally all this is is the original three movies combined and put into a box with some Harry Potter scenes on the outside of it. I didn't expect them to actually create new DVDs, however they could have at least done something new with the packaging to enhance it. The first two movies are in cardboard DVD cases, and the third is in a regular plastic DVD case, which looks wierd. Also, after some use the cardboard cases fell apart. The glue that held the clear plastic piece that actually holds the DVD came off and the plastic piece fell off on both of the first two movies. I had to tape it back on.

I gave it three stars because the movies are great, but the collection is poorly done and a waste of money. At least they could have thrown in a 10 page pamphlet or something to go along with it. I would wait until a few more movies come out and someone does a better box set. Although if you want to own all three movies, this is pretty much the same as buying them separately."

Widescreen or Fullscreen??

Movie Hunter | New York, NY | 12/30/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I understand that the box set happens to have two cardboard cases( years 1 and 2) and one plastic case (year 3).

My question is if it's the "WIDESCREEN" set why is year three the "fullscreen" version? Was it mispackaged? Has anyone else encountered this problem?
"