Anyhow, Daniel and Miyagi are on their way when the owner and trainer of the Cobra Kai, John Kreese (Martin Kove) is beating up on his losing student. This prompts Miyagi to intervene and ‘make his knuckles bleed’ without even touching him. You need to remember this for Karate Kid part III (actually you don’t, you’ll be reminded with flashbacks again).

Once the initial euphoria of Daniel’s victory has settled down we can get on with the storyline. Miyagi must return to Okinawa because his father is dying, but in doing so he will have to fight his old friend Sato (Danny Kamekona) to the death for stealing his betrothed some 40 years earlier, before escaping to America.

There, that’s the storyline.

As with the first Karate Kid, you can pretty much guess the rest. Daniel will fall for some pretty young Okinawa beauty, some local hoodlums with trash some plants attempting to act tough, Miyagi and Sato will eventually put things behind them and Daniel will have a one-on-one fight in the end, which he no doubt wins with the use of some new move that he learns throughout the course of the film.

All goes without saying.

In truth, and not a lot of people would say this, Karate Kid part II is actually a better film than the original, if perhaps not quite as enjoyable. Daniel’s character is far more likeable and with much of the drama centring on Miyagi (who is a far better actor than many give him credit for) the film stands up much better than the first.

However, nothing can quite top the impact and sheer enjoyment of the first film, with that memorable scene where Daniel realises that he has been learning karate for three whole days without even knowing it.

Just like the first film however, this Blu-Ray release is completely devoid of special features (save for the original featurette), and doesn’t even contain the original trailer.

Also – the original Karate Kid films are a trilogy, so where’s the third film on Blu-Ray?

All of that side, The Karate Kid part II is another classic of 80s cinema and a worthy follow up to the original. It’s a shame more effort hasn’t been put into the Blu-Ray release, as the original trilogy DVD was crafted with real love and attention. Owners of the DVD trilogy need not bother with this, but if for some strange reason The Karate Kid Trilogy isn’t in your collection, you could do a lot worse than these very affordable Blu-Rays.

This DVD boxset (the UK version, not the really cool American version with the crate packaging and map) contains the original 14 episodes of Sharpe and was released one episode at a time, starting in 2002, before this packaged set gained a separate release some time later.

The series is set during the Napoleonic War at the start of the 19th Century, and centres around a British sergeant named Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean). Sharpe saves the life of General Sir Arthur Wellesley (soon to be Lord Wellington), single-handedly killing three Frenchmen in the process. This is more impressive than it perhaps sounds considering that the rifles used at the time could only fire one shot before needing reloading, and even the best soldiers at the time could only manage two rounds per minute.

As reward for his bravery, Sharpe is promoted by Wellesley to the rank of lieutenant, and given command over a group of men in the 95th Rifles, including a rather belligerent chap named Sergeant Patrick Harper (Daragh O’Malley). The problem Sharpe initially faces is that, being raised from the ranks, neither officers nor soldiers want anything to do with him. The officers think he is common and not gentleman (and they’d be right) and the soldiers think he’s not a proper officer and will get them all killed. It’s this initial conflict that drives the first episode, Sharpe’s Rifles, as Lieutenant Sharpe must contend with mutiny in the ranks, and a disliking from other officers, if he is to survive.

Naturally survive he does, and he endures many adventures (most of which being based on the books by Bernard Cornwell). Throughout the course of the 14 episodes (all filmed for a 2 hour timeslot on ITV, so are effectively feature films in their own right) Sharpe marries 3 times, gets promoted up as far as Lieutenant Colonel and performs a great many heroic deeds, much to the annoyance of the French (and many of the English officers).

Sharpe is very much a man’s man, and doesn’t care whether he offends anyone (including ladies) which accounts for much of his charm. If he’s not telling ‘fops’ to ‘get off their bloody horse’, he’s given ladies compliments on their cleavage (as he does to Liz Hurley, who plays a former flame and a prostitute in one episode and is forced to undress in front of him).

Other guest appearances of note include Daniel Craig as a no good British officer, Alexis Denisof (from Buffy and Angel) as a cowardly officer who steals Sharpe’s wife and Brian Cox as a devious Irish Major.

It’s Sean Bean’s performances in Sharpe that saw him tipped to play James Bond (before Brosnan finally got the nod) and then to appear as a 00 agent in Goldeneye. Sharpe is fantastic entertainment, whether you’re interested in the historical aspect of the Napoleonic Wars, or whether you just like to see a northern hero sticking it to the Frogs (as Sharpe himself calls them). The boxset is also great value for money in the UK, with 14 DVDs included.

Special Features

This is a little disappointing as the Sharpe’s Legend documentary that is included with another boxset release is absent from here, so you only really get photo galleries. There’s not even an episode guide booklet, so unless you have the outer box itself you can’t even tell which episode comes next in the sequence as the DVDs aren’t even marked with volume numbers.

Don’t let the absence of special features put you off though, this is British television at its absolute best – and better yet, there are another two episodes of Sharpe that were made after this release so you can get another fix once you’ve watched all of these.

The first season of Robin Hood was good clean fun, where nobody really suffered or died. The second season went down something of a dark road, before it’s very dark conclusion – which is where the third season kicks off. Pitched as being much darker than the previous seasons, they weren’t wrong.

Robin Hood season three begins with Robin wanting revenge of Guy for what happened in the Holy Land, and Robin seemingly prepared to give up on his duties to the people of Nottingham, and England.

The arrival of Friar Tuck (we wondered he wasn’t in the first two series) managed to convince Robin that his place was defending Nottingham and his king, so the third series could get underway.

What makes this series different is that relationships are constantly changing, and characters are descending into darkness. Where Alan a Dale had betrayed Robin and his men in series two, only to make amends, in this third series some characters were finding nothing at all worth fighting for and are prepared to betray everyone, family included. Guy of Gisborne for example has become a shell of a man, not forgiving himself for killing Marion and losing any respect, or fear, for the Sheriff.

Allies of Robin’s become his mortal enemies, and his mortal enemies become his most trusted friends. The conclusion of the series is both suitably climactic and harrowing at the same time, as it even threatens to go all ‘Wild Bunch’ at one point.

Is this version of Robin Hood the best TV version? Well, there is the excellent Robin of Sherwood (1984-86) which also ran for three series to contend with, but this third series of Robin Hood is perhaps on a par with that. It’s certainly the best of the three series, even without the delectable charms of Lucy Griffiths.

As ever, the storyline has been left open, and perhaps following the latest big screen outing for the legend that is Robin Hood, with Russell Crowe, we may get another Robin Hood series before too long.

With Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, released on DVD tomorrow, some of those problems have been addressed. Firstly, the action sequences. They are now edited properly and are, not to heap too much praise on Bay, excellent. The opening sequence where Optimus Prime battles with a huge crane Decepticon and Sideswipe destroys a Decepticon Audi R8 is fantastic. Better than anything in the first movie.

Optimus himself is now finally the Autobot he should have been in the first film. The scene where he takes on three Decepticons at once, including Megatron and Starscream, is superb.

Just like the first film, where we see Megan Fox getting her iconic ‘opening Bumblebee’s bonnet’ shot, in Transformers 2 we get the ‘straddling a bike’ shot, as Bay gives the little boys in the audience just what they want. It’s gratuitous, but we don’t care.

The addition of the Decepticon Wheelie is a great one. Wheelie transforms into a radio controlled truck, and is a lewd creature with a crush on Michaela. He’s the sort of comic relief that works, unlike much of the other comedic moments in the film.

There is a point in the film where it looked as though we were moving in Species, where the Decepticon who took the disguise of a teenage girl tried to seduce Sam and steal what was in his head. This isn’t quite what Transformers is about, but at least Bay kept his diversion to a minimum during the film and went back on track very quickly.

While Transformers 2 is better, there are still some big problems with the film:

The biggest problem I have with this movie, and with the first one for the matter, is Bay’s insistence on filling the screen time with pointless comedy. With Transformers 2 however I’m not referring to the comedy scenes with Sam’s parents, instead the problem is the comedic Transformers themselves. Why does Bay insist on inventing Transformers characters such as the ‘Twins’? They’re not funny and they’re not needed.

Is the Transformers Universe not big enough that characters such as these need to be invented? Their onscreen antics take away from the real quality of the film, such as the scenes where we finally see Optimus Prime acting like the character that he is, and the great relationship between Megatron and Starscream.

As for what Bay did to Jetfire, that’s inhumane. Jetfire is one of the best of the original Transformers. He is extremely powerful, fast and above all torn. Whether you follow the cartoon continuity or the comic continuity, the character of Jetfire is very complex, and he is a confused soul.

Yet Bay decided to turn him into comic relief and have him as an old duffer. It was senseless and a waste of a great character.

Another negative of Revenge of the Fallen, and this is going to annoy a great many people, is the relationship between Sam and Michaela (Shia and Megan). Shia is an OK actor, and Megan has proved in films since that she’s more than just a pretty face and a hot body, she can act. Yet in this film the pair are given wafer thin characters and are expected to make them work. They are given a lot of screen time and dialogue, but it doesn’t work. The childishness of Sam’s character, refusing to speak for ten seconds when being chased by a Decepticon and his insistence that he’s trying to keep Michaela interested by not telling her he loves her doesn’t ingratiate him to the audience, nor would it to anyone.

His character comes across as very annoying, which is a shame as he’s supposed to anchor the film.

Don’t get me wrong, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen is much better than the first film. The action sequences are shot, and more importantly edited, much better and Optimus Prime gives the impression that he really is a ‘kick ass’ leader. There’s still some way to go however before Bay makes a Transformers film that does the franchise justice.

The essence of the film is that you have a space warrior crash landing in Norway in the middle of the Viking age, having brought a ferocious space monster with him. His own people couldn’t stop this thing with loads of space age weaponry, but we’re fairly sure some Vikings with swords and hammers can do the trick. Sure enough, we’re not disappointed.

When Kainan (James Caviezel) crashes in his ship he sets about launching a distress beacon and exploring his surroundings, where he sees evidence that his space monster (the Moorwen) has also survived the crash and has began killing the local populous.

At this point Kainan manages to get himself captured by Wulfric (Jack Huston), the heir apparent to his clan, as the Viking sneaks up on him, despite the fact that Wulfric is on horseback and Kainan has a space age gun. Just how you sneak up on someone when you’re on horseback is beyond me, but he managed it.

It’s actions like this that make you think that Kainan isn’t much of a warrior, yet his escape from capture would lead you to suggest otherwise. Surely they’ve not forgone the character for the purposes of advancing the plot?

Anyhow, throw in Sophia Myles as Frey, the feisty Viking who Wulfric intends to make his wife and a village full of Viking warriors and you have a smorgasbord of victims ready for the Moorwen to set about, and set about he does in very violent fashion.

Be warned, this isn’t some creature flick where the victims are dragged kicking and screaming into the darkness. People lose limbs, heads, get split in two and then there’s the money shot of the creature’s lair, brim filled with bodies for its young to feast on. This is a film full of disturbing imagery.

The battle scenes in the film are suitably entertaining, with a small role for Ron Perlman adding to the carnage as only he can do, but it’s the bonding sequences and the predictability that let the movie down.

Surely when the hunting party killed a bear in the woods they knew it wasn’t the Moorwen? Yet still they celebrated, right up to the point where it started killing them again.

Outlander is no Predator, but it’s no AVP either. It’s somewhere in between and should provide a few good chuckles on a Saturday night as you play ‘guess which Viking will get killed next’.

Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann along with director John Hough return for this delightful sequel to Escape to Witch Mountain. Barney Miller’s Jack Soo also stars as a truant officer who ends up helping Tia find Tony and provides some classic comic relief with his deadpan style. This time around, legendary actors Bette Davis and Christopher Lee play the film’s villains and they provide just the right amount of menace. As always, Christopher Lee imbues just the right amount of menace to his character.

Where Escape to Witch Mountain was a road movie that took place in the countryside, for Return from Witch Mountain, Hough sets what is essentially a chase film in an urban area complete with a suitably groovy score by Lalo Schifrin that sounds like it came from a 1970s cop show. Return is sorely missing the presence of Eddie Albert from the first film but Jack Soo does a fine job as the kids’ adult guardian of sorts. As far sequels go, this one is pretty good and is not just a formulaic repeat of Escape.

Special Features:

There is an audio commentary by director John Hough and actors Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards. Eisenmann and Richards share their experiences making the film and joke about their costumes and hairstyles. Hough explains, that like with Escape, he insisted on shooting on location wherever possible and this included the streets of L.A. He gives his impressions of working with Bette Davis and Christopher Lee on this solid track.

“Making the Return Trip” takes a retrospective look at how the film came together with key cast and crew members reminiscing about making it. Eisenmann tells a funny anecdote about Davis and her entourage. Various aspects, like shooting on location and the visual effects, are also covered.

“Lost Treasure: Christopher Lee, the lost interview” was conducted with a Spanish journalist while promoting Return. He speaks fluent Spanish and talks about his character and shows clips from the film.

“Disney Kids with Powers” is a montage of clips from various Disney films of kids doing extraordinary things.

“The Gang’s Back in Town” reunited three out of four of the actors who played the Earthquake Gang in Return. They talk about what they’re doing now and share some of their memories of making the film.

“1978 Disney Studio Album” is a montage of clips from that films that Disney released that year.

“The Eyes Have It” is a vintage Donald Duck animated short film which sees Donald trying to learn how to be a hypnotist and putting the zap on poor Pluto.

Finally, there are “Pop-Up Fun Facts” which allows you to watch the film with trivial factoids frequently appearing on-screen.

Tia (Richards) and Tony’s (Eisenmann) foster parents have recently died and the two children have been taken to an orphanage where they come into conflict with a boy who’s bullying behaviour provokes them to reveal their special abilities. They can communicate with each other telepathically and he can move objects with his mind while she can see into the immediate future.

Aristotle Bolt (Milland) and his henchman Deranian (Pleasence) become very interested in Tia and Tony and exploiting their abilities. So, Deranian poses as their uncle and adopts the children. Bolt dazzles them with his affluent lifestyle. However, Tony and Tia discover that Bolt is not the nice guy he appears to be and they escape. The children cross paths with a man named Jason (Albert) who is traveling across the country in his RV. He’s got a gruff exterior and doesn’t like kids but underneath he’s an ol’ softie who ends up helping Tony and Tia find their true home.

The two child actors – Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann – are excellent and do a good job selling their otherworldly abilities. They come across as smart, inquisitive kids who try to find out where they came from. It also doesn’t hurt that they have excellent chemistry with veteran character actor Eddie Albert. At first, Jason seems wary and guarded with everyone but he warms up to the children and helps them in their quest. Genre veteran Donald Pleasence gives a suitable amount of creepy menace to his villainous role.

Ultimately, Escape to Witch Mountain is an exciting and entertaining science fiction adventure mixed with a road movie but for children. For those who grew up with this film, this DVD will provide nostalgic memories of simpler times. The film has never looked better and has stood the test of time.

Special Features:

There is an audio commentary by director John Hough and actors Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann. Hough says that this film was his second Hollywood motion picture. He managed to shoot most of it on location and as realistically as possible. Eisenmann and Richards have a lot of fun watching their younger selves and tell some entertaining anecdotes about making the film. It had always been a dream of Hough’s to make a film for Disney and he enjoyed the experience.

“Making the Escape” is a retrospective look at the film. Disney wanted something a little grittier and liked Hough’s previous film, The Legend of Hell House (1973) and hired him. Eisenmann and Richards speak admiringly of working Hough. They also give their impressions of working with Eddie Albert, Donald Pleasence and Ray Milland. Eisenmann and Richards say that they looked up to Albert as a father figure.

“Conversations with John Hough” features the filmmaker imparting advice to aspiring film directors. He attributes his success in the industry with his passion for filmmaking. His goal was to have a long career and make all kinds of films.

“Disney Sci-Fi” is a montage of Disney films with science fiction elements in them, including the likes of Tron (1982) and The Rocketeer (1991).

“Disney Effects, Something Special” takes a look at the visual effects in Disney films with Harrison Ellenshaw who worked on Tron. He points out that the studio had a history of effects-heavy films starting with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). This featurette points out several effects are achieved with examples from the studio’s films.

“1975 Disney Studio Album” features a montage of Disney films that came out that year along with attractions that opened in Disney World.

“Pluto’s Dream House” is a classic Disney animated short film featuring Mickey Mouse’s dog Pluto.

Finally, there are “Pop-Up Fun Facts,” which allows you to watch the film with trivial factoids pertaining to the film appearing on-screen.

He proves that he’s got the action chops in the film’s prologue where James Bond (Craig) ruthlessly dispatches several adversaries in a thrilling car chase along busy, twisty country roads in Siena, Italy. This film also returns to the franchise’s trademark opening credits sequence with barely silhouetted naked women float around in some kind of trippy limbo with Bond repeatedly firing his gun as Alicia Keys and Jack White provide a suitably hard-hitting, bombastic duet called, “Another Way to Die.”

Bond is still dealing with the death of Vesper Lynd, the woman he loved in the previous film. He’s also investigating a shadowy organization that boasts having operatives everywhere, including MI-6, much to the chagrin of Bond’s superior, M (Dench). He uncovers one of the secret organization’s high level operatives, Dominic Greene (Amalric – a dead ringer for a young Roman Polanski), a man who specializes in overthrowing governments in Third World countries in exchange for their resources. He currently has his sights set on Bolivia but of course Bond is determined to stop him because he also tried to kill the woman he loved in Casino Royale.

Daniel Craig builds on the foundation he established in the previous film. With the death of his lover, Bond has little to live for except for revenge and this gives him an icy intensity that Craig conveys so well with his penetrating blue eyes. He’s been one of the consistently fascinating actors to watch in the last ten years. He’s got undeniable charisma and backs it up with some serious acting chops.

Forster does a surprisingly excellent job creating a lean, no frills revenge story under the guise of a Bond film. He is more than capable of handling the action sequences, of which there are many, and invests us in Bond’s personal quest for vengeance all the while fulfilling the usual expectations of a Bond film: beautiful women, death-defying stunts, exotic locales, and world-dominating villains. In a refreshing break in formula, Quantum of Solace is not a stand-alone adventure but instead wraps up the narrative loose end left hanging at the end of Casino Royale. This gives the film a truly satisfying conclusion as Bond is finally able to put a painful part of his past to rest and move on to the next mission and, of course, the next film.

Special Features:

The first disc features a music video for “Another Way to Die” with Alicia Keys and Jack White in a slick video done very much in the style of the opening credits sequence. As far as Bond songs go, it’s actually quite good and a definite improvement over Chris Cornell’s song for Casino Royale.

Also included are teaser and theatrical trailers.

The second disc starts off with “Bond on Location,” which takes a look at the challenge of finding original locations all over the world for the film that fit the specific visual look that Forster wanted to achieve. This included set design, how the extras looked and so on.

“Start of Shooting” examines the daunting task of following up the phenomenonal success of Casino Royale. Craig had to do much more extensive training for this film, including things like stunt-driving.

“On Location” sees Forster viewing the film’s various locations as characters unto themselves. They shot in some pretty remote areas.

“Olga Kurylenko and the Boat Chase” takes a look at the new Bond girl and how they viewed her character as Bond’s equal. The actress did a lot of physical training so that she could do many of her own stunts.

“Director Marc Forster” talks about what he brings to the film. The cast speaks admiringly of him.

“The music” examines composer David Arnold’s work on the film and how he tried to reflect its themes in the music. Alicia Keys and Jack White talk briefly about working together and we see footage of them shooting the music video for their song.

Finally, there are “Crew Files,” a collection of mini-featurettes spotlighting various crew members who introduce themselves and then explain what they do on the film with behind-the-scenes footage.

This film is set in the 1950s with Lucas and Spielberg wisely addressing Ford’s age (how could they not?). This time around, we are introduced to Indy (Ford) and his partner Mac (Winstone) while they are being held captive by Russians masquerading as American soldiers at what will eventually become the top secret Area 51 military base. The Russians are led by the ruthless Irina Spalko (Blanchett) and are looking for a crate that houses the mysterious Crystal Skull. Why they are interested in this exotic item is initially unclear but Indy is able to escape and head back home only to learn that he’s been fired from his job at Marshall College because the FBI question his loyalty to the United States (yeah, right). Indy meets Mutt Williams (LaBeouf), a greaser who looks like he stepped right out of The Wild One (1953), who tells him that a former colleague of Indy’s, Dr. Oxley (Hurt) is being held captive in Peru while looking for one of the Crystal Skulls. He was also trying to find El Dorado, a mythical lost city made out of solid gold. Indy and Mutt team up to find Oxley and along the way rescue Mutt’s mother, Marion Ravenwood (Allen).

There is a nice moment where the film acknowledges the passing of Indy’s pal Marcus Brody and his father to which the Dean (Broadbent) of the college sagely observes, “We seem to have reached the age where life stops giving us things and starts taking them away.” The Dean also observes that he hardly recognizes the country anymore because the threat of Communism has made everyone paranoid. Sound familiar? This acts as a nice little commentary on our current situation – just substitute Communism for terrorism. Lucas and Spielberg also insert all sorts of cultural references throughout the film, like a fight that breaks out in a diner between college athletes and greasers, and period rock ‘n’ roll music mixed with John Williams’ rousing score.

One of the many criticisms directed at the film was the ridiculousness of some of Indy’s escapes from dangerous situations, like the one early on where he survives a nuclear explosion. Let’s not forget that in Temple of Doom (1984) he escaped an impossible fall from an airplane with an inflatable raft. These films are not grounded in realism and this one is no different. Another gripe was the use of CGI, but aside from some dodgy looking killer ants, it’s used judiciously and blends seamlessly in with the rest of the film.

The chemistry between Ford and Shia LaBeouf is quite good, especially early on when they first meet and get involved in an exciting chase through Marshall College campus. This is the first role LaBeouf has done in his young career where he finally has decent material to work with and demonstrates that he has the ability to hold his own with the likes of someone like Ford. The veteran actor is in great shape and it is wonderful to see him don the Indy gear yet again. Ford can still pull off the physically demanding stuff and slips effortlessly back into the role as if no time has passed between this one and The Last Crusade. It feels like he has been phoning in his performances in films for quite some time but this isn’t the case on this one and you can tell he’s having fun by the passion in his performance. It also great to see Karen Allen return as Marion – easily the best of Indy’s love interests in the franchise. She was the strongest, most interesting, and had the best chemistry with Ford. They pick up where their characters left off in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and it is obvious that the undeniable rapport between them is still there.

The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has all the elements you’d come to expect from an Indiana Jones films: exciting chases, exotic locations, merciless villains, humor, romance, and a dash of the otherworldly. So, how does it rate against the other films in the franchise? Raiders will always be the best, but this new one is certainly better than Temple of Doom but not as satisfying as The Last Crusade (1989).

Special Features:

The first disc starts off with “The Return of a Legend.” With the final shot of The Last Crusade, Steven Spielberg assumed that he was done with Indiana Jones but five years ago fans started asking about another film. It was Harrison Ford who expressed an interest in revisiting the character and kept after George Lucas and Spielberg. This featurette takes a look at how this new film came together.

“Pre-Production” examines the preparation and planning that went into the project. Spielberg wanted to maintain the same look as the previous films. We see Ford getting outfitted with his iconic gear while Shia LaBeouf says that Spielberg gave him three films from the 1950s to study in order to get a handle on the time period that the film takes place.

The second disc starts off with the impressive “Production Diary: Making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” It is broken down into six featurettes or can be viewed all together for a feature-length look at principal photography: from the first day to the final one. For Spielberg it felt like no time had passed between films. This is a detailed look at shooting in key locations of the film: New Mexico, Connecticut, Hawaii, and four soundstages in Los Angeles. There is plenty of on-location/on the set footage as we see Spielberg and co. at work.

“Warrior Makeup” takes a look at the make-up job done on the warriors that guard the temple that houses the Crystal Skulls.

“The Crystal Skulls” examines the legend behind them and the mystery of how they were made. Stan Winston and his team created the props for the film and we see how they were constructed.

“Iconic Props” takes a look at some of the gear used in the film – who uses it, when it’s used, and its source.

“The Effects of Indy” examines the digital photography and matte paintings done in the film. We see the scenes that were enhanced by CGI and how the final product was achieved.

“Adventures in Post-Production” takes a look at editing phase. Spielberg shot and edited on film, the latter of which is rare nowadays. Editor Michael Kahn talks about the challenge of working on this film while Ben Burtt shows how he created some of the sounds used in the film.

“Closing: Team Indy” is a brief montage that pays tribute to the cast and crew of the film.

“Pre-Visualization Sequences” features the rough, CGI footage for three sequences from the film that gave the filmmakers an early look at what they would look like.

Also included are five galleries of artwork, production stills and behind-the-scenes photographs.

Finally, there are three trailers.

If you’re unfamiliar with the books, or even the first movie, your enjoyment of Chamber of Secrets will be seriously dented. It’s Harry’s second year at Hogwarts and after a warning from Dobby the house elf, things start to go wrong when students start turning up petrified (ie: frozen) in the school corridors. It seems the infamous Chamber of Secrets has been opened and all mudbloods (children with non-magic parents) are in danger of being attacked by a monster. So Harry, Ron and Hermione take it upon themselves to find out who’s behind it all.

A new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher arrives, but professor Lockhart (a scene-stealing Kenneth Branagh) isn’t all that he seems. We also meet Draco’s father Lucius for the first time (Jason Isaacs), who openly despises mudbloods and would like to see Dumbledore fired from Hogwarts. Harry also has to put up with Colin Creevey, an obsessed fan with a camera permanently attached to his hand. “Can you turn him around for a picture?” he asks Harry when Ron starts spewing slugs.
“No Colin, get out the way!” Harry cries.

J.K Rowling’s books and Steve Kloves’ adapted screenplays are in fact very clever mysteries that have more in common with Agatha Christie than Roald Dahl. Such a rich, detailed world is a hard thing to put on screen, but kudos to director Columbus for not worrying about the running time (two and a half hours is practically unheard of for a children’s film, but then again just as many adults will be watching).

The benefit of having the books for reference and shooting the series almost non-stop means the creators can see what was wrong in the first film (dodgy CGI for example) and correct them. So here the Quiddich match is slicker, more violent and the special FX are…well, more special. This is because Columbus chose to shoot all the FX stuff first, so the people at ILM would have longer to perfect them, and it has paid off. Columbus is also more imaginitive with the camera as it slides around like a snake and gives us some wonderfully gothic angles. Hogwarts seems to darken as the movie progresses; corridors lead off into darkness, statues cast long shadows etc.

Chamber is much more action-packed too. Quiddich bludgers smash through grandstands like bombs, cars zoom over train-tracks in mid-air, giant spiders attack in swarms.

Sure, it’s overly sentimental, and if you want to be cynical the dialogue and some of the acting is awful (Alan Rickman I’m looking at you), but the three leads are growing into their roles comfortably and if you go along for the ride, Chamber of Secrets is a lot of fun. (It’s nice to see some genuine British slang in there too. When was the last time you saw a Hollywood film where a British character says ‘She’s mental’ or ‘You’re having a laugh’?)

Special features:

Better than Philosopher’s Stone, but still lacking a commentary. What we do get is an interview with Steve Kloves and J.K Rowling, though it’s not as great as you’d think because the interviewer asks the most banal questions. The trump card is the 19 deleted/extended scenes which include Harry darting through a crowd of onlookers at the quiddich match, Hermione recovering in hospital sans whiskers and a longer scene with Harry and Lucius in the Diagon Alley shop. The scenes were obviously cut for time or they included exposition that had already been covered, but it’s still interesting to watch them. There are also photo galleries, quizzes, guided tours, building Dumbledore’s office set and brief interviews with most of the cast.

Chamber of Secrets is a great sequel and Prisoner of Azkaban is due out some time next year. You’ll be a muggle to miss it.