Rating: 
Summary: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Review: Hello, I am 12 years old and a big fan of the Harry Potter book series by J.K. Rowling. This film adaptation of the first installment of the Harry Potter series is an instant classic. The movie stays 100% true to the book. I applaud Chris Columbus for his wonderful cinematography in this movie. The only problem with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is that the actors fall short of my expectations and take away from the magical characters of the story.
While Daniel Radcliffe and Rupird Grint are terrible actors, Emma Watson is stunning in this film. I reccommend this movie to everyone. I hope you enjoy it! Don't take my opinion for it though. Buy the movie and see it for yourself. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!
Rating: 
Summary: Dreadful
Review: Movie is great. The DVD implementation is TERRIBLE.In order to get to any of the extras on the second disk, you have to go through a stupid "game" -- Installed on your PC it installs a gazillion extra programs. Put in the DVD rom player, it crashes the system. And the games are not optional or quick -- they are necessary in order to unlock the access to all the special extras, and take a LOT of time where, if you miss a step, you get thrown back to the beginning.
...
Beware - dropping it into your machine will trigger a dozen or so plugins for Interactual to install (assuming the player is already installed; otherwise it'll likely install the player). It'll also install a couple of stand alone helper apps, like a proprietary quicktime-vr like player (which requires you to reboot, and messes with your OLE runtime). On the other hand, if you don't play it in a dvd-rom you'll go slowly, gibberingly, insane playing it with a normal dvd remote. It'll probably end up *in* your tv. The remote that is. On this disc is where the seven "never before seen" scenes are. But wait! To
get there, we have to play the game! Yes, you must do combat with the disc to earn the right to see the extra footage. You can do it by trial and error, but that'll take forever. Basically you have to go to the "third floor", which you end up doing at least once by just clicking on things trying to figure out what they do. In fact, the first thing I clicked on, right after the warning about not going there, said "Oh, you've decided to go to the third floor. Well, don't say we didn't warn you..." Once you get through all this, there are brief glimpses of deleted scenes (they are obviously saving the rest out for a future created by), and clips from press releases "interviews with"
The "extra credit" section is dvd-rom only, but consists 90% of links that take you to marketting web sites for other products of the studios. One takes you to HarryPotter.com, but just the generic site, not a special dvd tie in. There *is* a feature where the sorting hat will actually randomly sort you, and display a picture that says "Welcome YourName to Whatever House", and take you to a web site that allows you to register yourself to get owlmail. Entertainingly, this web feature wasn't finished in time for the dvd release
So, in general, it might be mildly entertaining once, but in general the bonus features are a sterling example of how *NOT* to do this, and how to insult people in the process...
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the Magic?
Review: Harry Potter is all about magic, but there's precious little of it in this pedestrian, unimaginative movie version of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." As some other reviewers point out, certain key scenes have been changed or deleted, but I can't really complain. If Chris Columbus was to slog us through even more of Hogwarts and environs, it would be unbearable. It's difficult to explain how a director can take a wonderful book, great characters and a huge budget and still come up with almost nothing worth watching. Everything seems rote--Harry is blah and uninteresting, Hermoine is shrill and deeply irritating, Draco Malfoy is utterly unthreatening and the great British actors have nothing to do. The most appealing character is Ron Weasley who actually shows some emotion and energy in a few of his scenes. Hagrid also is heads above the others (excuse the pun). What can I say? It's a great disappointment--I had been waiting for six months to see this film in English. Hope the next one is better, and maybe they ought to look around for a new director--one who isn't such an awful muggle.
Rating:
Summary: A Remarkable Fantasy with Important Messages to Learn
Review: I find it hard to believe that so many people are so quick to judge and condemn the phenomenon that is Harry Potter. Upon emerging as a book (not just for kids but for the kid in all of us), it got children to turn off their video games and READ!!! It was amazing that a children's book would hold the best seller lists for months. Public schools as well as Colleges around the country have added the entire series to their curricula. Most nay-sayers would point that the stories teach about and glorify witchcraft and wizardry. May I point to a classic which was written a century ago and made into a movie that has been hailed as one of the greatest movies of all time???? The Wizard of Oz is all about a fantastic land full of witches, wizards, and other strange magical qualities....Another example was written over 50 years ago by a devout Christian. C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" contains as much magic, witches, and other strange phenomena as Harry Potter. People are so quick to judge and condemn that they are too blind to see what lies at the heart of the work. As for the movie itself, it is amazing how faithful it is to Rowling's first novel. The acting is phenomenal especially among the three children (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson). Miss Watson is so bossy and perfect that I actually believed that she was Hermione. The supporting cast is full of British acting royalty. Maggie Smith is fantastic as Pro McGonagall. Richard Harris is wise and learned as Dumbledore. Robbie Coltrane is hillarious as the gentle, often muddled Hagrid. I absolutely loved the Quidditch match. The whole movie just zipped along almost making me forget that it is over 2 and a half hours long Now for the heart of the matter. At the conclusion of the movie, Ron and Hermione are both awarded for standing along side of their friend in the face of danger. Harry himself is awarded for ultimate bravery and courage. Even poor Neville Longbottom is awarded for standing up to his friends when what they are doing is against the rules because it is dangerous. Is this not what people wish small chiildren to carry with them? It is a shame that anyone would wish to condemn this wonderful cultural phenomenon. Bravo to Ms. Rowling who created this wondeful world in an attempt to provide a better life for her children as a single mother!!! Eagerly awaiting Year Two at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry: Harry Potter and the Chamberr of Secrets."
Rating: 
Summary: Magical film, lackluster DVD
Review: I have no quarrel at all with disc one in my recently purchased two DVD set. I enjoyed watching the film at home even more than in the theater. The transfer was sparkling, and the sound and score magnificent. On disc two, my quarrels begin. Trying to view the extra features on the DVD was akin to torture. After hours of tootling with it I finally managed to watch the 7 deleted scenes, at least three of which were highly enjoyable, particularly the full scene of Snape's reprisals of young Harry and Hermione in the potions classroom (this should have been retained in the film!). I said ENJOYABLE, not worth the massive headache I had after a night of toying through senseless games and irreverent insults courtesy of Jim Dale, the narrator of the "books on tape" versions of the novels in the Harry Potter series. I previously enjoyed his work (he's a wonderful voice talent and brought real magic to the audiobooks) but this was just too much! And at the same time, it wasn't enough. Rumor has it that four hours of footage were shot for this film, but we get seven deleted scenes of about 9 minutes total? After all the features I saw on television leading up to the film's release, they could only muster a very short and very talky "Interviews" segment? With the second film in post production the summer before its release, is it not time to reward loyal readers and watchers with a teaser trailer? I enjoyed a very hilarous feature on NBC's dateline where Katie Kouric interviewed people at King's Cross Station about the whereabouts of Platforom 9 3/4. Would it have been too much trouble to include some fun for adults as well in the form of information about Harry Potter's massive impact on popular culture and literacy? About how the books fostered a new and fervent reading culture in our children? I guess not...and as such, some of the most loyal fans of a great series have been pretty drastically let down.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, very good DVD
Review: Last winter's release of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was a complete triumph, setting a standard that may be impossible for future films of the series to meet.
It's not just the great casting (especially the kids, who are fantastic) and the digital magic we have come to expect from movie effects. The real triumph is how fully the creative team captured J.K. Rowling's imaginary world and all the important events.
It's all there. Everything you loved about the book is at least alluded to in the film, it's in there somewhere. The screenwriters did not substitute their own cleverness for Rowlings' nor did they slavishly copy every detail. They used what they had to to make the story clear and sprinkled the rest in as well as they could. And they did a brilliant job of it. (It does cause some worry. Subsequent books of the series have grown longer and longer. How can they possibly fit them into a movie that doesn't last 6 hours, without leaving out an awful lot?)
It's important to remember when viewing something like this ("Fellowship of the Ring" is an even better example) that the book is not the story. The book tells the story in the way a book does. Movies tell stories in a different way, they're a different experience, which accounts for frequent complaints or disappointments.
But "Sorcerer's Stone" works as a movie without sacrificing anything of the book. And that is a terrific achievement.
The DVD has plenty of special features, but they're displayed in a way that's a little too cute for me. My kids love all that schtick, but I'd just as soon scroll down a menu and click what I want instead of playing a game to get what I'm after.
But that's a fairly trivial complaint, I'll admit. The packaging is pretty slick, the features (once you find them) are plentiful and interesting, and the movie is excellent.
(One side note - While the special effects capture Quidditch pretty well, it only illustrates how stupid the game is. Why have all those other players when the only ones that really matter are the seekers? Why not have your other players forget the quaffle and chase the snitch? As a fairly intense sports fan, I find the broomstick game absurd, impossible to believe. I've gotta think if there really were a wizard game on brooms, it wouldn't be Quidditch, which makes no sense.)
Rating:
Summary: Annoying special features
Review: I bought this DVD b/c I liked the movie and was looking forward to seeing the deleted scenes and other extras. This DVD, however has some of the most irritating special features of any I own. When I pay money for a DVD, I don't expect to have to navigate through pointless extras to see the deleted scenes. Most of them aren't even that interesting (flavored jellybeans, poorly produced tour of Hogwarts, etc.) I still have yet to spend the hours it takes to view the deleted scenes. The only thing worth viewing, besides the movie, is the interview segment. If you are buying this DVD for the extras, be prepared for the frustration.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie fun; why so hard to access specials?
Review: I'm not a Harry Potter reader, but I still love the movie. The DVD edition has terrific anamorphic video and great sound. Even the darkest scenes show plenty of detail on a capable home theater. Why are the special features, especially the deleted scenes and interviews buried in kids games? I'd just like to see them without wading through silly games and "tours." Come on, DVD authors, we are not all 11 year old wizards. We muggles just want to view the features.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for Kids!
Review: This is partly a response for the review about "Good For Kids???" This movie and series of books is about imagination, expanding people (and kids) minds about lives different from their own. By not allowing kids to see a movie like this is cheating them. The world is not sugar coated and in these times, tolerance of those different from us is even more important. Good parents would allow their children to see other points of view than their own (obviously within limits), so that they can raise well-rounded children with open minds. Let Harry Potter live on!
Rating:
Summary: Succeeds in being not lousy...but is boring in parts.
Review: Sometimes promotional hype takes on a life of it's own and the actual merits of a film can be difficult to determine.
If you knew nothing of Harry Potter books or the author and were grading this movie as simply that...a movie, it really doesn't stand up so well.
What bugged me the most were the recycled ideas. None of this material is in the least bit original. It's just given a new hair cut and presented to an audience of children who are unaware of how much is borrowed from C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and a slew of other authors.
The film is overly long and doggedly loyal to the book, which offers up no surprises. I had hoped that more children would have looked at this movie and realized it could have been much, much better. As it is, there are some fun scenes, but they are hidden among more boring scenes. I felt as though the movie was always building up to something that never arrived and then the credits rolled.
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