Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Full Screen Edition) (Harry Potter 1)

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I was into Harry from the first book. In other words, the hype didn't compel me to read Harry. It was actually my mother. She read the first book and told me to go find it. I did. And it wasn't easy, let me tell you. Book stores at the time weren't stocked to overflowing with Harry Potter merchandise.

It took me a little while to get into the first book (for some reason, I had to keep reading and re-reading the first chapter before I "got" it), but I soon developed Pottermania. I bought every book as it was published (I even waited in line at a local bookstore when the fourth book was released at midnight), plus all the books on CD read by Jim Dale and I even purchased the British versions of the books via Amazon.com UK.

The CDs are amazing. Jim Dale is a master storyteller who performs all the voices flawlessly. (See my reviews of the CDs for more information.) I couldn't bear to get out of my car a time or two as Dale read the books. I was totally and completely engrossed.

So when I first heard that they were making a movie of the first book (with a movie per book planned), I was both excited and quite skeptical. I didn't think any Hollywood version could match the Harry Potter I created in my mind, fueled by Jim Dale's skillful readings and characterizations.

Well, I was right. But not because Hollywood took liberties with Harry Potter (the way they did with, say, the first Lord of the Rings movie); rather, because the movie was such a literal adaptation that I felt myself growing ever more bored, waiting for what I knew to be the next scene.

Admittedly, Daniel Radcliffe is a perfect Harry Potter. But other characters didn't fare so well in my opinion. Malfoy, for example, wasn't leering and sneering enough. (And he didn't sound like Jim Dale's portrayal of him in the CD versions.) Snape wasn't sinister enough. And I wasn't bowled over by the movie version of Ron Weasley, either.

And -- horror of horrors! -- I thought the Quidditch match as filmed by director Chris Columbus was a snooze-fest. Worse yet, it wasn't how I pictured it to be. Or, maybe it was EXACTLY how I pictured it to be. I don't know. All I can tell you is that I wasn't amazed or thrilled with the Quidditch playing in the movie.

I know most Harry Potter fans thought the literal adaptation was being faithful to J.K. Rowling's books. But I thought the adaptation was so literal that I knew what was around every corner. It was as if I was watching a Harry Potter documentary, rather than a feature film.

As I watched the movie, I kept thinking two things: (1) This is a movie, and (2) My imagination is so much greater than this movie.

By the first point, I mean that I couldn't suspend disbelief long enough to get into the movie. I was always keenly aware it was a movie, a movie made from my favorite books. Again, it felt like I was watching a documentary of the Hogwarts school student.

By the second point, I mean that the sights, sounds, smells and experiences of the Harry Potter books already HAD a place in my mind. This movie didn't add to them; in fact, the movie detracted from them. It simply couldn't compete with the Harry Potter I safeguarded in my head.

So where does that leave me regarding the DVD release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and -- more importantly -- the rest of the movies planned for each book?

Sadly, I don't think I'll be buying the DVD. It just doesn't stand up to repeated viewings.

Plus -- and this is the truly sad part -- I don't think I'll be watching any more of the movies as they're released. There's simply no point in doing so.

The Harry Potter I know and love already lives -- in my head.

And that's where I'd like him to remain.


An entertaining movie for all ages!   January 22, 2002
Lee Haskell (CHARLESTON, SC United States)
68 out of 75 found this review helpful

I put off seeing this movie because I took to heart the People Magazine review which hinted that children would enjoy the movie more than the adults. I finally went only after I was disgusted by the hateful e-mails I received from the lacking-in-imagination, finger-shaking Christian fundamentalists. These e-mails suggested that I abide by their obviously bent and twisted moral visions to denouce this so called "harmful" movie. I went to see the movie to judge for myself.

As a Christian adult,(who is old enough to have a child older than Harry Potter's age!) I thought the movie was enchanting and well worth the full price of the ticket and would see it again. For someone who averages going to the theatres once or twice a year, a movie has to be exceptional to make me desire viewing the movie again at the theatres. I laughed out loud and had a delightful time watching the movie. This movie was escapism pure and simple. For the length of the movie, I was there with Harry Potter while he put up with his nasty relatives, got excited about the introduction of new friends and a new and magical world and my heart skipped a beat too when Harry met "Fluffy". And all the while, my real world problems were blissfully forgotten. This fun but harmless movie brought out the kid in me and would surely do so for any other adult whose mind is wider than the width of a number 2 pencil.

What it did not affect was my serious beliefs in what I hold to be true and right. A belief that can be changed by a child's obviously fictional movie wasn't that strong in the faith department to begin with and to blame this light movie for causing any harm to anything is laughable at best. Shame on those in the holier-than-thou camps who tried to discredit this movie by sending those nasty chain letters by e-mail. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. In this case, there wasn't even a molehill. In the past, I usually found a little fire where there was smoke but in this case, the smoke and the all the whining was completely unfounded. I am shocked and surprised that serious adults can make such an issue out of this when there are real issues that we Christians need to deal with. This cannot be one of them lest we Christians lose our credibility or at best, everything else we make an issue of be put in the same "they-are-blowing-smoke-about-nothing-again" light.


Fun for HP newbies; disappointing for HP fans   April 5, 2002
K McK (WI, USA)
60 out of 96 found this review helpful

(Note: this review is of the movie as released in theaters, not of the DVD, which promises to come out with several more hours of deleted scenes.)

I just saw HP for the second time in the theaters yesterday, after practically memorizing all four books. My brother and I were quite disappointed, while my mother enjoyed it. Probably because she'd never read the books.

The difficulty I had with the movie is that it made *such* an effort to be true to the book, that the 90% of the book that was cut for time was all the more obvious and disappointing. The end result was a set of disjointed scenes that contained the bare minumum of information that the screenwriters could convey and still advance the plot.

Most of the character development (and actually, several of the *characters*) was cut for time. All dialogue was so intent on getting the needed information to the audience in as short a time as possible, that the conversations seemed forced - quite unlike the natural flow of the book's dialogue. And the humor - one of the biggest strengths of the books - was eliminated almost entirely (Fred and George, for example, had a grand total of three short scenes and two jokes). The most touching scenes of the book (Dumbledore's "she loved you" exchange with Harry at the end, and Hagrid's gift of the pictures of Harry's parents) were present, but rushed and not developed, and so they carried no emotional impact. Particularly since the movie cut most of the information that would have gotten across just how starved for love Harry had been with the Dursleys.

As for the acting, it was passable. Harry's actor needs some work. Ron and Hermione are well played, as are Snape, Quirell, and Hagrid. Dumbledore (what little we saw of him) was well-played, but seemed considerably more tired than I pictured. I saw no twinkle in his eyes, and he wasn't nearly as inspiring as in the books.

Most of my problems relate to the cutting, which was of course necessary because of time constraints. I just hate to see what they'll do to Book 4..


Faithful to the book, yet works on film.   November 18, 2001
tvtv3 (Sorento, IL United States)
52 out of 67 found this review helpful

The following behind J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter is tremendous. However, just because a popular and world-famous book is turned into a movie, doesn't mean that the movie will be a success. Nor does it mean the movie will be any good. Often, movies based upon novels are terrible (look at the many bad movies based upon Stephen King stories, for instance). Sometimes, a movie based upon a novel ends up better than the original work (FIELD OF DREAMS or JURASSIC PARK for instance). However, it is a very rare case when a movie based upon a novel succeeds as a piece of cinema and stays true to the original work. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE is such a film.The film stays true to the novel on which is based and leaves very few details out. It also works quite well as a movie. Even more surprising is that the film successfully introduces the world of Harry Potter to the uninitiated, without becoming bogged down in details. The actors do a brilliant job, the special effects are fairly believable, and the cinematography is picturesque. The only major drawback to the film is that the characters aren't completely fleshed out. Of course, complexity of character perhaps is best left out of the first of what will be many films in a series.A delightful film that most are sure to at least half-way enjoy.


Great Movie!!!   May 4, 2002
51 out of 62 found this review helpful

At first I was reluctant to see this movie because I didn't want to ruin the books. I decided to see it anyways in the small hope that it might be good. I am so glad I saw it!!! This movie is completly true to the book. Besides a few minor details at the end it was almost exactly like the book. The director obviously relized the importance of not changing the movie from the book... This movie stays interesting all the way to the last scene. If your a Harry Potter fan than you should definetly see this movie!!!