Hello! Really enjoying ciao-ing at the moment! Have been busy lately,so have loads of products to re...
Hello! Really enjoying ciao-ing at the moment! Have been busy lately,so have loads of products to review! XxX
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Harry Potter and The Philosopher Stone (HPATFS) is based on the book with the same title by J K Rowling. The film is taken from a series of books/films. HPATFS was directed by Chris Columbus and released on 16th November 2001. HPATFS stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. Running time of the movie is 147 minutes.
Harry Potter is an orphan. He lives with his rich aunt and uncle and cousin Dudley ; they are horrible to him. On Harry's eleventh birthday , he receives a letter telling him that he has been accepted at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. What will happen to Harry when he attends Hogwarts ? Why Is Harry in more danger than any of the other students ? Watch Harry Potter and The Philosopher Stone to find out!
I had heard of Harry Potter but had not read any of the books , but when a friend recommended I read them , I decided to , so on the same day I went out to my local W H Smith and bought a copy of Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone for a price of Ł5.99. I read the first book at quite a convenient time I suppose ; I read the book a week before Christmas and within a couple of weeks the movie was released. I enjoyed reading the book very much , and so decided to take a trip to the cinema to see this film.
One thing which I noticed when I walked into the cinema was the fact that there were people of all ages sitting there waiting for the film to start. I had originally thought that this was a kids movie (even if there was a few long complicated words , I didn't understand in the book - I was ten at the time!). Everyone enjoyed the movie (well, most people did any way , I could tell from the amount of positive chit chat coming from the audience as they made their way out of the cinema. One thing which I thought was
good , was the fact that you didn't need to have read the book in order to enjoy this film , as the storyline is clear , although reading the book would give you a better understanding of the film. I think I enjoyed this film as much as I did because I liked the book and therefore knew that the film would be good. I felt the acting was poor. Yes , I know that the main characters were only ten/eleven year olds , but I considered them to be very poor when compared to American actors and actresses of their ages. I thought that the acting was quite simplified and too over-acted in some places , especially Hermione. Although the acting wasn't brilliant you could still go through the emotions the characters feel throughout the film.
I thought that considering this movie is for kids , it's quite a long and perhaps confusing movie for a child. Although I enjoyed this movie and had no problem with the time , I was quite sad when it ended.
Another criticism I have is the special effects. Some were amazing and cleverly done , for example the ghosts were brilliant and so were the moving stairs. Some effects though , I found to be too fake and too computerized. One effect I found to be poor was the half man / half horse. Yes I know it would have been extremely difficult to find someone who was half human and half horse (I'm joking…obviously you wouldn't be able to find half human / half horse) but I do think they could have been better than they were , as it was as though it took the magic away.
I loved the magical feel I got when watching this movie. It makes you feel like your living in this world of Hogwarts. It really gets your imagination going and makes you think how being a wizard would make life easier : if you were late for an appointment , click your fingers and your there.
Some parts of the book were missing in the movie. I understand that it would have been necessary to cut some parts out in order to keep the running time of the movie a reasonable length , although some parts they cut out were quite big parts. For example Peeves , who was a ghost didn't even appear once in the movie ; in the book he is quite a big character , and one of my favourites , so it was strange that he was not included in the film. A second thing I noticed was missing ; When Harry and co arrive at Hogwarts they have to put on a 'special' hat one by one , in front of the whole school. The hat is magical (of course!) and decides which school house each new student should be in. Most of the time , the good people go to Griffindor and the nasty ones go to Slytherin. There are also two other houses called Hufflepuff and Raven claw , although we don't really hear much about them in the movie. We hear the names been mentioned although the movie is mainly based on Griffindor and Slytherin. Anyway , back to telling you about the hat. In the book the scene where the hat decided who goes to what house , is quite a long 'ceremony' and big event on the first day back at Hogwarts after the summer holidays , although in the film , it's just seen as something quite casual. In the book the hat sings a long song ; the lyrics are in the book and it takes up over a page , yet there is not one line of this song heard in the song which is a shame.
Harry and Draco are big rivals in the book and are always fighting and falling out. However in the film , their rivalry isn't really seen as a big issue as it is in the book. In the book the two really hate each other , yet in the film it's kind of like there's just a little bit of bickering between them.
I was surprised that this film wasn't Americanised. By that I mean , I was surprised that because Harry Potter is such a big thing , the film wasn't made in America. In a way I'm glad it was kept British as it makes us proud to think Harry Potter is 'ours'. Also , I don't think an American Harry and Hermoine would work so well!
The music in the film is brilliant. It's so dramatic and I even like some of the songs , although they all sound quite similar to me!
One thing I liked about this movie was the costumes. They looked so good. I especially liked the brightly coloured Quidditch outfits. For those of you who don't know Quidditch is 'the' sport in Harry Potter land.
When I first saw this movie , I thought it was really good. But then when I saw the second and third and fourth movies I thought that this movie was quite basic and there isn't that much 'magic' in it compared to the other movies. It's a great introduction to Harry Potter though!
I would definitely recommend this movie! It's a great family film ; great for watching on a Sunday afternoon!
* Quotes *
Dumbledore: It does not do to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live.
Mr. Ollivander: Curious... very curious... Harry: Excuse me, sir, but what's curious? Mr. Ollivander: I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. It just so happens that the phoenix whose tailfeather resides in your wand gave another... just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand... when its brother gave you that scar. Harry: [puts a hand to his forehead] And who owned that wand? Mr. Ollivander: We do not speak his name! The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. It's not always clear why. But I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible! Yes. But great. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hermione: Now if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you can come up with another clever idea to get us all killed - or worse, expelled.
* Harry Potter and The Philosopher Stone Facts * Robbie Coltrane was the very first person to be cast. The hut that Hagrid lives in was knocked down in case fans vandalised it Mrs Mogonal's (spelt something like that ?) cat went missing for two days during filming. Richard Harris (Dumbledore) accepted the part of Dumbledore because his grandaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he didn't. Daniel Radcliffe was in the bath when he was told he had got the part of Harry!
Thanks For Reading October 18th 2008 Xdonzx
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As the first Harry Potter film of the celebrated series, this is a must for ardent fans ... more
and 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 businessdays...
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...
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 dispatchedwithin 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: wonderful, great special effects, impressive cast, Rupert Grint and Robbie Coltrane Disadvantages: Emma Watson, Malfoy is underused, a year's wait for number 2 in the series!
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.
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Oct 19th, 2008
very helpful by (100%):
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