Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows

As Harry races against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, he uncovers the existence of three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows.

It isn't just thematic darkness that shrouds The Deathly Hallows. Yates' Potter is bathed in ominous, unrepentant shadow, often plunging Radcliffe and his cohorts into the black maw of some unspeakably grotesque cinematic beast. But the results are so suitably distressing, so inexplicably beautiful, so perfectly polished that intermittent issues like diminished detail, impenetrable delineation and inherent crush cease to matter. Like The Half-Blood Prince before it, The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 boasts an excellent 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer. Kloves' bleak tone, Eduardo Serra's evocative sun-starved photography, and Yates' world-weary aesthetic reign supreme, and the wizards at Warner have remained true to each one without fail. Color accuracy and saturation are impeccable, skintones are convincing and lifelike, and black levels are deep and ominous. Yes, fine detail takes a slight hit whenever the sun sets and the lights grow dreadfully dim. But exceedingly refined textures and crisp, clean edges abound. Better still, significant artifacting, banding, aliasing and other anomalies never materialize, and ringing is kept to an absolute minimum. The only Part 1 oddity worth mentioning is the occasionally erratic noise that hovers overtop of the image, but even its most sudden spikes are negligible and rarely detract from the overall impact of the presentation.

Part 2 represents an even darker descent into Hogwarts and every now and then even makes Part 1 look cheery. But its 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer. It's dark, absolutely, but it's also haunting, evocative, and utterly faithful to Yates and Serra's overcast-twilight palette and grim intentions. Colors have been mercilessly drained of life, but bursts of magic, chambers of gold, walls of flame and visions of the past nevertheless boast a spread of vivid primaries and rich, storybook hues. Fleshtones are pale but natural, complementing the film's tone perfectly; shadows threaten to overwhelm every inch of the screen, but delineation doesn't falter; black levels are as deep, inky and ominous as anyone could hope for; and crush isn't an issue. Any loss of detail traces back to the original source, not the studio's high definition encode. Not that there's anything in the way of actual detail loss. Closeups, midrange shots and everything in between and beyond reveal wonderfully resolved fine textures. Better still, edge definition is crisp and satisfying (with only a hint of ringing to contend with), a faint veneer of unobtrusive grain lends the image a beautiful filmic quality, every set and costume looks as lived-in and worn as it should, and clarity is, in every instance, as forgiving or foreboding as Yates and Serra intended. Moreover, artifacting, banding, aliasing, aberrant noise and other unsightly distractions are nowhere to be found. Some extremely minor and altogether infrequent smearing is present, negligible as any affected shot is, but it's strictly a product of post-production noise reduction, as it was visible in the film's theatrical presentation. Don't blame the encode, though, if you even notice any instances of it at all.

Suffice it to say, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows impresses and then some... providing you're willing to embrace each film's prevailing shadows and accept each presentation on its own darkly dreaming terms.

From the ungodly dissonance that opens the film to the raging storm that gives way to the end credits, the first film's outstanding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track summons the full strength of the Harry Potter series and does the saga justice. Spine-shattering teleportation spells, ear-splitting energy blasts, ground-shaking Death Eater attacks and other thunderous elements put the LFE channel through its paces and deliver the sonic goods, time and time again. Meanwhile, the rear speakers grab hold of every element that spreads across the soundfield, turning forest chases and Horcrux battles into enveloping show-stoppers. Yes, a good portion of the film's sound design is subdued and atmospheric, but only insofar as it enhances the isolation and loneliness Radcliffe, Grint and Watson experience on their journey. Near-invisible pans whip from channel to channel, environmental ambience is pleasing, directionality never misses its mark, the track's dynamics won't soon be forgotten, and Alexandre Desplat's wind-swept score fills the soundfield without fail. As if that weren't enough, dialogue is crystal clear, perfectly prioritized and marvelously grounded in the film's earthy soundscape, regardless of how quiet or chaotic a scene becomes.

The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 conjures up an equally jaw-dropping, window-rattling, sternum-thumping DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that takes every advantage of the eighth Harry Potter installment's absorbing sound design. LFE output isn't just powerful, it's all powerful. Toppling towers thunder to the ground, rubble roars as it scatters, explosions erupt with ferocity, dragons screech with authority, rickety vault carts clank and clunk heavily and heartily, giants lumber, halberds crash to the ground, and magic bolts tear through the soundscape. Rear speaker activity mounts an equally aggressive assault on Hogwarts as armies clash in the oh-so-convincing distance, chaos erupts around the listener, and directional effects are precise and, in spite of all the dark deeds afoot, relatively playful. But it isn't all shock and awe. Quiet, thoughtful moments precede every Death Eater storm, and the nuances and subtleties of the film's atmospheric soundfield are magnificent. Whether dealing with the vast expanse of an underground cavern or the wind-swept depths of a slumbering forest, dynamics are impeccable, pans are disarmingly smooth, and dialogue, be it whispered, spoken or shouted, is clean, clear and intelligible, no matter how explosive the wand-vs-wand battles become. And Desplat's somber score? As delicate, graceful and climactic as it should be.

Make no mistake, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows sounds even better than it looks, and that's saying a lot. Both films will turn heads, thrill fans, and wow audiophiles and neophytes alike.