a great coming of age film it was good to see the stuggles of a child trying to find out who they are and placed in the regular world and not fittting in but trying to also fit in a magical world
It's got both it's pros and cons. To say that it is a great movie is to much and to say that it is horrible would just not be right. I am by no means a really big fan of Harry Potter, I've read the books, seen the movies. I really don't find much special about any of it, but this movie, the first installment of the series is actually pretty good.
If you've read the book then you'll know what to expect because not much is really changed. I think that Chris Columbus did a wonderful job on this movie, as well as all of his work in the Harry Potter series before he left. I think that may be why the first three films in the series are my favorite, because I am a Chris Columbus fan.
Although I like this movie and the fact that Chris Columbus brought a lot of magic to the screen. There are a few cons about this movie, there is just something about the kids' acting that doesn't seem right, maybe they were nervous, maybe they were excited. I don't know but whatever it is, I noticed that it isn't there in any of the other films. But they were probably excited, and who can really blame them? They starred in a pretty big Hollywood movie.
Rather intruiging film on its own and a great introduction to the series, which succeeds and has to because I am not, nor will I ever be, a fan of the books. Never read them. But the cast for this series alone is jaw-dropping, featuring a who's-who of English acting. I didn't expect much from this film and I am glad to say I was very pleasantly surprised.
Sometimes the best plan is to do things by the book. With over 100 million Harry Potter readers desperate to rush down cinema aisles to see their hero on the big screen for the first time, you can't blame Chris Columbus for sticking close to J.K. Rowling's novel. It's one thing to let your imagination loose with the words on the page; it's another to have those images backed up by a multi-million dollar Hollywood budget. And from the very first sight of an owl perched on the Privet Drive road sign to the closing shot of the Hogwarts Express pulling away from the station with the majestic school sitting high on the hills behind, we know that every golden galleon has been well spent.
That's why this faithful adaptation won't fail to win over the book's fans with its 'wow' factor. It thrives on audience recognition. John Williams' score swells at the key moments - Here's your first glimpse of Hogwarts! Isn't Diagon Alley crammed with Dickensian detail! - as Columbus pulls back curtain after curtain to reveal all of the avid readers' favourite bits. The stand-out sequence is the Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match, a fast-paced medieval Rollerball with broomsticks. It soars where The Phantom Menace's podrace stalled on the third lap.
Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone has one advantage over so many other blockbusters: it already knows that it's the first in a series, so it doesn't have to become a self-contained hit movie before its sequels can receive the green light. This means it deliberately takes its time setting up the characters and the scenario before, like the book, pulling in a quest-cum-whodunnit plot to provide a climax. This structure is fine for the initiated, but it might leave first-timers feeling a bit uncomfortable with the shape of the movie. And because it's more of a kids film than the book was just a kids book, the two-and-a-half hour running time is bound to provoke some cinema squirming from young viewers.
That said, Columbus ensures there's a bit of on-screen magic coming our way every couple of minutes, and not just in the shape of expensive effects. Near-perfect casting ensures character colour from the adult actors and allows the central trio of kids (Radcliffe, Grint and Watson) to prove that three heads are better than one (unless your name is Fluffy).
Coltrane as cuddly giant Hagrid and Grint as Harry's cheeky chum, Ron, steal some scenes, but it's Radcliffe who leads us through Harry's journey from open-jawed underdog to pint-sized hero. Sympathetic and strong, brave and believably ordinary, he becomes the audience's counterpart in this weird world of witches and wizards.
Even though a few of the book's scenes have been cut, fans probably couldn't hope for a better adaptation. It bodes well for the rest of the series, when strong stories start taking precedence over set-up.
I think this is one of the best Harry Potter movies because it keeps in a lot of info from the book and it mostly makes sense. I like the book a lot better, though. It was cute to see the actors so little in this movie!
Great movie! Awesome series! First movie of a series is usually the best, and it goes for the first Harry Potter. But like all series, they must come to an end at one point or another. Sad that the last Harry Potter movie is coming out November, but can't wait to see it! Personally, i don't like Harry Potters character that much, but i love the story line!
Call me a nerd, but I've always been a fan of the harry potter series. It puts a twist on the old age tale of witches and wizards. I enjoyed the movies as well as the books.
The acting in this one is kind of all over but it's kind of cute to make fun of that. The style is really impressive and that opening scene is really exactly how I pictured it in the book.
This is the first entry in the exciting adventures of Harry Potter based on the books by J.K. Rowling. what makes the first installment a great film is the performance of Daniel Radcliffe. A classic within itself.
i gave this one a full rating cause this is the first part of the movie.......
and you know why?????
well if there was no 1st part, do you think that there would be any story of Harry potter??
anyways three cheers for our harry potter hero.....
(no not Daniel Radcllife)
J.K ROWLING!!! WHO ELSE!!!
I like the books, but the films (the first two at least) are pretty awful. Chris Columbus is a total hack. The only time he ever did anything close to right was Home Alone.
Lovely kick-start to the series. Magical in every sense however the acting of the main trio leaves a lot to be desired Perhaps they will improve as time goes on.
Harry Potter is one of those series of movies that will never become unpopular. This one (The Sorcerer's Stone) Is basically about their first year at Hogwarts. Harry, Hermonie and Ron meet and they become friends. Throughout the movie, they encounter some crisis, some of which include the troll during Halloween. As the movie wraps up at the end, Harry comes face to face with Voldermort and he beats him and gets the stone. I really enjoyed this one movie and I know the rest of them will also be good. This movie is a little long, but that makes everything fit into the movie, and if it was any shorter then it would not be right.
MCT:August 28, 2008
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