Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Looking back I’m amazed at how fast the films came out. All 8 movies were released between 2001 and 2011, giving BARELY 11 years for a grand total of 8 films. That’s nearly one every year and a quarter! Usually a series is released with films hitting theaters every 2-3 years apart, but with the Potter world revolving around J.K. Rowling’s willingness to help with the film writing, as well as Warner’s desire to get all 7 books (the last two were the start of the modern trend of splitting books into two films that we have today) out WHILE the kids still looked the ages they were supposed to be. Luckily it payed off, as the Harry Potter films have become legendary for making GOBS of cash AND the incredible ability to make 2.5-3 hour films and have kids pay attention the whole time. A feat that is VERY difficult to do I might add, considering the age groups they were targeting.

This is the 4th year for Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends at Hogwarts academy, and this one is JUST a little bit differently structured than the three that came before it. Usually we’re seeing Harry slumming it with his Uncle Vernon and cousins, but this time Harry has already just about made it to school. However, the young boy is troubled by strange visions of Voldemort and a few strange men. Each night he wakes up after seeing the same dream, but puts it off for the time being, as the whole of the magical community is getting ready for the Tri-Wizard tournament. This event revolves around a series of trials and tasks that are VERY dangerous, and have one wizarding student over the age of 17 the ability to put their name into the goblet of fire, which then chooses a single emissary from each of the three major wizarding houses. This year something shocking happens. A name is chosen from each of the three schools, with Viktor Krum from Bulgaria, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons, and Cedric Diggory (a young Rob Pattinson, who proves he can actually act instead of stare vapidly as a sparkling vampire) of Hogwareds. BUUUUUUUUUUUT, the cup spits out a FOURTH name, that of Harry Potter.

Shocked and confused as everyone else (the cup is a magically binding agreement, which the heads of the schools CAN NOT undo), Harry is forced into participating, despite the fact that he’s only 14 years old and his skills are not up to par with the older students. One by one, Harry completes his tasks, bringing him to the inevitable end where his own dreams, and reality become one. Simultaneously we also have several sub stories that play out in the interim between differing tasks (which are sometimes days apart). Ron and everyone else is wondering if Harry actually cheated and got himself in, lying about it in the process, while Hermione is having a little bit of a fling with Vickto Krum. Effectively putting a little bit of an embarassing gap between her and the twitterpeeted Ron, and her good friend Harry. Harry himself is also having sparks with a young student named Cho Chang (Katie Liu Leung) as well as having to deal with his disturbing dreams. Dreams that even Dumbledore refuses to allow him closure on and may hold the key on what is to come.

While I think that The Prisoner of Azkaban is the best written, and best directed film of the series, The Goblet of Fire is a VERY close second just due to the fact that it is fun. The book was probably the best of the series, and a MASSIVE book to boot. However, there have been some tweaks and changes to the plot to cram it into a 2 hour and 40 minute (ish) film. Something that was kind of a necessity, but left out key elements of the plot, as well as several secondary relationships between people. HOWEVER, the film is still a great watch, as the elements of the tournament make it a long standing event rather than splitting the film up into smaller events (like the quidditch match, the final battle, and various other sub plots). The action is just as heavy duty as The Prisoner of Azkaban, and while it’s not as good a story, the action more than makes up for those faults.

The Goblet of Fire is probably the most fun of the series for multiple reasons. The first is that it is still light hearted and breezy in tone, while still having a mature nature to it. If you watch the films in short order, you can see the maturation of the tone and nature of the films as Harry ages. With each additional year the series gets more and more serious, as Harry goes from naive young child to someone with a purpose and destiny. As the characters age and mature, so does the films. The Goblet of Fire is the first of the series to sport a PG-13 rating (but not the last) and it brings with it a sense of seriousness and depth to it. Goblet also is the first in the series that just sucker punches you with a sense of real LOSS as a character dies. We’ve had a few deaths along the way, and we’ve seen the serious side of Voldemort’s return, but it took us until the fourth film to actually have the audience sit there and go “whoa, there’s some serious stakes here” as a character dies that just sucks the wind out of the viewer. Director Mike Newell did a one off film for the franchise, but ends up making one of the most enjoyable films out of the entire series with his mixture of deeply serious dread, and light hearted adventure without ostracizing the viewer.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images




Video:

This is just another one of those situations where I’m a broken record that just keeps on going and going. Yup, another 5 star transfer from these 4K remasters, and another double thumbs up from me for buying them. The old VC-1 transfers for the first 4 films were woefully neglected as Warner released and rereleased them year after year without giving them a facelift. The Ultimate editions used the same transfers, but re-encoded with the newer extended cuts (for the first few films), but largely they are the same looking discs that we’ve had for almost a decade. (or more for a few). However, these new 4K DI’s and HDR encodes make for STUNNING demo material, and I’ve been underwhelmed by many a catalog 4K title as of late. Colors are warm and vibrant, contrasting the darkness that envelopes the Potter world of Hogwarts. Dim shadows and flickering candle light take up much of the film, but the bright blues of the Goblet of Fire shine brightly in the darkness, coupled with a cool blue tone for interior shots (and the end fight with Voldemort) to make for a very light colored film. HOWEVER, the exterior daytime shots (such as when Harry fights the dragon) are much more neutral in color and tone, but still maintain a very light blue tinge to them. Details are extraordinary, with every scale of the dragon showing up, as well as every ripple of the underwater rescue scene for the viewer to see. The difference between the 4K UHD and the old Blu-ray is simply startling, and showcases just how HDR can make a dramatic effect on an older film.






Audio:

Once more, these films have had stellar DTS:X tracks from the first movie to number 8. Each and every time they have scored 4.5/5 stars to 5/5 stars and show very little difference in quality. Like usual, The Goblet of Fire follows suit with a great sounding mix that showcases the high flying action of the series. The more talky points of the movie in between “trials” is a bit forward heavy, but still makes use of the surrounds inside of the great hall, or during a teaching of Mad Eye Moody. The trials are much more robust and powerful, with deep waves of LFE and a fantastic sense of ambiance no matter the situation. All around, a near perfect track that makes great use of the overheads (listen to the under water rescue scene, it’s incredibly immersive from all angles) and the film’s low end is just devastating to listen to.





Extras:

• PIP: In Movie Experience
• Behind The Story
- Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 4: Sound and Music
- Conversations with the Cast
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Behind the Magic
- Inside Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The Adventure Continues
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Some Animal Magic
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Dark Matters, new Masters
• Deleted Scenes
• Trailers

Final Score: ​

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a fun watch for fans of the Potterverse, and makes a big splash in the series as one of the better films of the franchise. Lots of action, lots of color, and a much bigger picture for the end game of the series. I love to rewatch this film every few years, as it is one of the most fun and exciting movies of the entire 8 film series. The tri-wizard tournament is exhilarting, and the final reveal of Voldemort in his final form makes for an incredible end battle, one that results in one of the biggest tear jerking moments of the first 4 films. The uptick in 4K UHD quality is, once again, well worth the price of admission for both audio and video, but the extras are housed directly on the Blu-ray discs itself rather than on the 4K disc.





Technical Specifications:

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emily Watson, Rupert Grint
Directed by: Mike Newell
Written by: Steve Kloves (Screenplay), J.K. Rowling
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS:X (DTS-HD MA 7.1 Core), French, Spanish DD 5.1, English DVS
Studio: Warner
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 157 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: Own all eight Harry Potter films on Ultra HD Blu-ray on November 7th!

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Great Buy

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Yes, great movies to have.