Now living and working in Glasgow. Looking forward to write some new reviews.
Now living and working in Glasgow. Looking forward to write some new reviews.
Member since:29.11.2000
Reviews:106
Members who trust:87
Here we go for another one of my long anticipated reviews for you guys and what other way to start than by reviewing a topic that is on the tip of everyone's tongue these days.
Firstly I will give a little bit of background on how the film was invented, from research I have found that it must have been an exciting opportunity to work on the film and the end result sure does prove this.
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" the great story from a lovely lass up here in Scotland J.K. Rowling who has subsequently become one of the wealthiest people in Britain due to her simple easy to follow kids stories. Lucky for her that it seems everyone loves her work and not just kids!
Back in the early days of the year 2000 a magical idea was born to bring the first in the series of books to life, Warner Brother's exclusively bought the rights to JK Rowling's books and set about planning the first feature film adaptation of her stories.
The film was directed by Chris Columbus renowned for his work on Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire. Columbus was the perfect candidate as he had read all the books with the help of his children and was fascinated with the wonderful world of Harry Potter like pretty much of the world at that time!
A never ending search began for the lead role of Harry and casting crews set auditions up and down the land to find the perfect lead role and none other than home grown Daniel Radcliffe took the role. Daniel's previous work was in BBC One's adaptation of David Copperfield in which he also
took the title role!
Many other cast members were then set with a glittering casting with some favourites from British TV such as Robbie Coltrane as the fantastic Hagrid who keeps on saying 'I should'nt have said that!' Best thing I have seen him in for a long time!
There is also the fantastic Maggie Smith who has been in many great movies but has also done a lot of TV, also working with Daniel in David Copperfield. Other names are Alan Rickman, Rupert Grt and Emma Watson.
So finally filming commenced and eventually the film hit our big screens mid November of last year 2001! With the hype of Harry the movie the book soared back to the top of the book charts all over the world and Harry mania had once again well and truly set in! This still was not enough to entice me along!
Until after the Xmas slumber was all over I was all worn out and sick of hearing about the 'Lord Of The Rings' so I decided to take a hike to the movies to view the much talked about LOTR only to find it completely sold out in all screens! So the only thing that could grab my interest was Harry. Well I am a big kid I thought let's give it a go!
The lovely assistant looked at two late 20 males begging for 2 seats in the kids film of the year! Well I was happy asking so on we went.
Myself and my friend Ryan had planned our trip to the cinema for a couple days and were not giving up so of we went and stocked up on the popcorn, hot dogs, skittles and Juice and headed for our screening!
The screen was packed with adults and kids of all ages, the last time I had been in a movie like this was Jurrasic Park (jeez that was ages ago!). This at first was a bit annoying cause the kids to the back of me were irritatingly loud, however, once the movie began they soon hushed, very nice peace to watch the show!!
The first thing I found about the film was that it really did appeal to all ages and instantly I was gripped by the sheer enchantment of the film itself at those very first few opening moments! The special effects were great in the first opening scenes and I sat back thinking I am really going to enjoy this!
The story I am sure most of you will know is about young Harry being brought to Privet Drive to be looked after by his Aunt & Uncle as his parents had been killed in an accident which is unveiled throughout the story as a battle between good and evil witches and wizards.
We are soon whisked across time to 11 years later and the cupboard under the stairs where Harry's room is! You instantly get the feeling that Harry is the outcast in the family, however, things do not take long to turn better for Harry.
The first glimpse we get of Harry's magic powers is on a visit to London Zoo when his horrible cousin Dudley falls into the snake pool due some magic Harry performs unknowingly to Harry himself!
The effects for these little tricks are great throughout the movie and with them being so flawless it makes them seem so real.
Not long after Harrys 11th birthday an owl visits the house late at night and leaves a letter for Harry, his nasty Aunt & Uncle do everything to keep the letter from him but more and more arrive every day until one day thousands of letters arrive coming through the windows, letter box and even down the chimney. This sends Harry's uncle mad and they leave the house for a light house type house miles out at sea! The letters contain Harry's invitation to attend Hogwarts which is the mystical school for witches and wizards and now Harry was old enough to attend, however, his family tried to put a stop to this through jealousy.
Hagrid visits the little house and this scene may I add seemed quite scarey but the story unfolded mainly at this part! This is when I understood why the search for Harry was so important. Harry was whisked of to the train station to be taken to Hogwarts, this was another interesing little scene trying to find platform 9 3/4?.
On arrival at Hogwart's viewer's are presented with some excellent cinematography as the school looks completely sensational a work of art! Many things happen through his first year at Hogwarts but I will not spoil the story line to much for those of you who may not have seen the movie.
One of the best parts of the school year was the Quidditch match where Harry is nominated as a seeker the youngest for over a century at Hogwarts. This had me on the edge of my seat as I wanted the Gryffindor team to win! Another highlight was the live game of chess that made anyone who knows the game understand the sheer beauty of this game in real life!
There are many other exciting scenes and storylines and special effetcs to see and I will not spoil them at this point for you!
Now the highlight of the film was the amazing performance from the three main lead young characters, Daniel as Harry, Emma as Hermione and Rupert as Ron! With shining performances given by all three child actors and the many others who may have taken a specific role in this movie I am sure they will be around for a while to come.
As previously stated Robbie Coltrane was fantastic and was greatly appreciated as the marvellous character Hagrid, a natural comic and not to over powering for the movie a subtle character needed at the right times and the best performance from him in ages.
There were many other actors that I have mentioned above who have great credits to their names and altogether making a great movie.
I am sure that JK Rowling will be more than happy with this movie and it has inspired me to get out get the books and read them all, however, if rumours are true that all four are to be feature films (No 2 is currently in production!) I will do as I have with this movie watch first then read, as I find reading a book then watching the adaptation you can often be disappointed!
Go out to a feel good movie today watch Harry Potter the story is easy to follow and is simply charming!
Squidget :o) 2002
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Whilst enjoying reading your review on the harry potter film I would like to just point out that there are elements in the book which never made it to the film. I have read all the Harry potter books, to see what my son was going on about, and they are even better than the films. You can still enjoy the films because of all the special effects, and they are very gripping, but in my opinion you can never beat a book for it's quality and for getting your imagination going
angeelu 17.08.2002 16:38
This is the first DVD I bought... and it's my favourite. I loved the book (well, all 4 of them) and I loved this film too. Can't wait for the follow up in November!
Angeelu :o)
purebitch 01.03.2002 16:07
I enjoyed this film, but felt it could have been a little better..I liked your op, it was good.
To try and please all the fans of JK Rowling's novel was a challenge that the makers ... more
ofHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stonemet head on. The result of their efforts is one of the most lavish, beautiful and magical cinematic treats to hit our screens...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
As the first Harry Potter film of the celebrated series, this is a must for ardent fansand ... more
newcomers to the global fantasy phenomenon. An adaptation of J. K. Rowling's enchanting, funny debut novel,Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(known as the ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
To try and please all the fans of JK Rowling's novel was a challenge that the makers ... more
ofHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stonemet head on. The result of their efforts is one of the most lavish, beautiful and magical cinematic treats to hit our screens...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Not a lot really, No American Actors Disadvantages: Poor editing, no soundtrack to speak of, poor special effects, generally poor adaptation
Advantages: Offers freedom to watch all films so you can keep a continual track of the story. Disadvantages: Although enjoyable, the later films are more compelling to view than those before.
![Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Two Disc Widescreen Edition) [DVD] [2001]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78534968.jpg "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Two Disc Widescreen Edition) [DVD] [2001]")
![Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone [2001] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78491628.jpg "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone [2001] [DVD]")
![Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone [HD DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/77973745.jpg "Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone [HD DVD] [2001]")
Jan 5th, 2002
(Jan 8th, 2002)
very helpful by (100%):
![Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone [DVD] [2001]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/88350446.jpg)
![Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone [DVD] [2001] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/84126628.jpg)
