Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Very good try, but doesn'te make it to the "great DVD" level
For those of you that have been living in a cave for the last several years, Harry Potter is a boy-wizard, raised by "Muggles" (non-magical people) who is taken away to a private school for wizards and witches when he turns 11. The success of J.K. Rowling's books made a film version inevitable, but also a risky venture (2nd only to Lord of the Rings). Chris Columbus's film stands up well on the surface. Unfortunately, in a more in-depth analysis, it's not much more than a kiddie movie.In defense of the filmakers, they saw the challenge of this first Harry Potter film as faithfully reproducing the atmosphere and magic of Hogwarts, the school. This they did admirably well with fantastic sets and a liberal helping of computer-generated images. Some of the CGI looks cartoony, but I suspect it is to prevent younger viewers from being scared. Likewise, the characters are faithfully reproduced by the actors - I was especially impressed with Smith as Prof. McGonagall, the teacher who demands a lot, is a strict disciplinarian, but still admired. We've all known teachers like that, but the performance generates such respect that you totally believe in McGonagall (rather than the screenplay dictating it), even in her rediculous witch hat. Likewise, Rickman and Harris as Snape and Dumbledore are pretty much exactly as you would picture them from reading the book. However, I have to question the interpretation in places. The two main misteps (the blame for which I place on director Columbus) are: 1. Harry is far too rebellious and confident in some scenes - to the point of arrogance - which was not Rowling's intention. 2. In filming most of the events of the book, the running time blew up to 150 minutes. This is not an adaptation so much as a photocopy! However, if interest was more in the environment than the story, future films will be better (especially as each book gets longer, it will be impossible to film all the events). All things considered, it's an enjoyable movie, although with limited replay enjoyment. As a special edition 2-DVD set, I was disappointed by the lack of material. The entire 2nd disc is devoted to little games that are annoying to adults and not fun enough to hold a child's interest. Especially annoying is the fact that to access the deleted scenes, you have to navigate through many games that give you little direction to solving the puzzles, and that kick you back to the beginning if you choose wrong. ARGH! Also, the "making-of" featurette is quite short (16 minutes). There is no commentary or other extras - why not bring in Rowling for a commentary on how things were adapted? Therefore, it's a disappointing DVD version of an enjoyable film.
Rating:  - Simply Amazing!!! The ¿Star Wars¿ of Children¿s Movies
Normally movies based on books are pale imitations of their paper counterparts. Few movies are exceptions to this rule. Jurassic Park was one of them. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is another one.For those who have not read the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone the movie is an adaptation of T.K Rowling's best-selling children's fantasy book and it follows the adventures of a mistreated young boy who lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin whose life changes when discovers his true, mystical heritage and the adventures that follow as he battles the forces of evil while learning to control his great powers at the mysterious Hogwart's school of witches and wizards. The specials effects in this movie are right up there with that of Star Wars. You'll marvel at the castles, magic spells (the invisible cloak) and other medieval type characters like the Centaur, the three-headed dog, the Troll, the Unicorn and other witches and wizards and all the other ULTRA-COOL things in the movie. Best Scenes of the Movie: The two best scenes in this film that REALLY sell the movie are the Quidditch Game scene (right up their, if not BEYOND, the Pod-Racer scene in Phantom Menance) and the life-sized Wizard's Chess scene at the end of the movie. As a book translation, this movie is DEAD ON TARGET with the book. No plot devices, etc were changed. However, it is not a complete translation. A lot of the "filler" material from the book was left out which is just as well. The movie runs a little long at about 2 ½ hours, but it is 2 ½ hours of perhaps the best movie you'll ever see or have seen all year. Clearly, this is the best movie I have seen all year long, and that says a lot!!! Appropriate for ALL ages, you'll love this movie if you are an adult watching it with your children or if you are a couple on a date or if you're a group of friends cruising the night away. There is a very good reason why the Harry Potter books have been the rage for the past few years and seeing it play out on the big screen just reinforces what everyone has been hyping about all along. Highest Recommendation
Rating: - 5-star movie + 3-star DVD = 4-star experience
Well, it's finally arrived. The filmed version of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" arrived on May 28 in a 2-disc set jam-packed with Special Features. Well, sort of. First, the movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is an adaptation of J.K Rowling's fantastic and successful novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (original UK name; movie and book dubbed in America). When I first saw the teaser Trailer, I was screaming! Harry Potter looked so fantasic on film! But when I saw it in theaters, it was far from the teaser trailer but still, it was a great movie. And the film was so true to the book, probably even more true than Peter Jackson's epic, The Fellowship of the Ring. Almost everything from the book is in there, with a few scenes and a particular character cut for an overlong running time (the movie's 152 minutes). Besides the faithfulness, they've cast some of the best British actors to play Hogwarts Staff and supporting characters. But the actors were looking at is the main trio. Harry is played by the extremely well look-alike, Daniel Radcliffe, Ron by funny Rupert Grint and Emma Watson playing the bossy but clever Hermione Granger. Surprisingly, the children hold up a definite performances, with most emotions expressed. The adults play well too. Maggie Smith plays the strict Professor McGonagall and Richard Harris playing the old and wise Professor Albus Dumbledore. But by far, the best performance of the whole film was Alan Rickman, playing the silky and sinister Severus Snape, the Potion's Master. You simply couldn't get a better Snape. He expresses everything Snape contains, sly, sinister, moody, mysterious and striking. Perfect cast, really. And you simply can't review this film without talking about John Williams' score. He's definitely not been original the last few years but still, he gives off the Harry Potter feel almost fully (Howard Shore's Fellowship of the Ring score takes best). The CGI effects are some of the best in recent filming, from a troll, to a baby dragon, to a CGI villain wizard bent on destroying poor Harry. Though some CGI effects could've been tightened up a bit. You could definitely see poor computer generation when a CGI Harry interacts with the CGI troll and The Quidditch Match. But then, Radcliffe did do most of his stunts. And the transfer from Theater to DVD is nice and crisp, keeping with all of the original colors from the theatrical release. The only problem is the bits of grain and small picture shimmering throughout the film. It's not a huge problem but may affect some people. And now, the "supposedly" greatest DVD ever. The second disc is set up somewhat like a game, as you are a new student in Hogwarts School. The gripe about the second disc is that the menus are so confusing and the small animation effects take too long to load to the next menu. You'll go through Diagon Alley to get your supplies and money but first you'll have to find which bricks to hit. This caused a bit of trouble and was annoying. There is one 10-15 minute interview with Chris Columbus, David Heyman (producer) and Steve Kloves (screenwriter) as with a few crew members. This was disappointing because many were expecting an interview with AT LEAST Daniel Radcliffe or any other actor but they didn't. They did talk about Sorcerer's Stone a bit and a little on Chamber of Secrets. Nothing phenomonal. And you can also access seven deleted scenes on the second disc. Cool so far, until you try to find them, heh. It takes so long to find the deleted scenes and you'll do it all over again when you want to see them again. While the deleted footage is great, it's only about ten minutes...all scenes combined. But they ARE worth it. In the end, it's a five star quality movie but the special features are too simple, as its for kids basically. The deleted scenes are really the only reason I put in the second disc. Let's hope for a "Special" Special Edition later sometime. Only a four star DVD. Could've been a lot better.
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