Rating: 
Summary: The book's fantasy incredibly brought to screen!
Review: As a deaf person...I have to wait usually until the most current movies are brought out on DVD format. While everyone else was going to the movie, I had to wait another nine months in order to enjoy it. Movies such as Spider-Man can be somewhat enjoyable if you cannot hear the sound or speech, but for something like Harry Potter, where the writing and the interaction between all the characters in the book are so key to understanding, those of us with no hearing need to wait until someone bothers to caption them.Sometimes I am disappointed because the build-up by the media and word-of-mouth is such that I expect more from the movie than it is able to provide. That wasn't the case with this movie/DVD. As someone who remembers going to the library and reading every possible book I could get on mythology, the Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Anderson, many science fiction books written for children, and all books written on Merlin and the Arthurian legend, I was pleased when this generation had a book come out involving fantasy and fairy tale, that could withstand the test of time. The movie did a spectacular job of following the high precedent set by the book. Rowling was right to keep such strong control over her books so that they would be faithful to what she wrote. The movie is spectacular in special effects and in casting not only Harry, but his cohorts. Radcliffe is a read find and his humility in playing this part makes for one of the least obnoxious child actors I've ever seen. You can tell the kids had great fun making this movie in spite of the work. It's nice to see so many great British actors and actressess participating in this endeavor to bring the book to life. Thank heavens, Richard Harris' granddaughter threatened him if he didn't take the part of the headmaster of the school. And as a deaf person who relies upon facial expression, I waited with impatience for Rickman to show up and pull his usual glowering looks...he didn't disappoint. This is not a movie for small children. My grandchildren couldn't sit still that long. They come and go while watching this, but the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed it. My husband didn't get some of it because he didn't read the book. There is a bit missing if you don't read the book first...but people probably said the same thing about The Wizard of Oz. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, but no where near close to being the greatest
Review: While I liked the film, I thought it could have been made better. As a matter of fact, I was glad it did not stray at all from the book except with Quirrell dying like that . . .? That was kind of stupid. First off, the movie was too long for the length of the book. 152 minutes is quite long for a 90,000 word novel. Secondly they tried too many scenes in, then they widdled it down too short. Now I understand. With a book like Harry Potter, there is so much that you want to see made into a movie, but cutting them down so small took a lot of magic from the movie. Before Academy Awards night, I never saw the movie, but I thought, going only by what other people said that it deserved all of the nominations even if it did not deserve winning anything. Now since I have seen it, I would say it got more than it deserved and Harry Potter fans should be pleased. It deserved nominations for costumes, special effects and music score. No more, no less. And yes, I probably would have given the movie an extra star if I never read the book, but I have so I am more informed to make decisions about it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hollywood sellout for the sound-byte generation
Review: I'm afraid I'm not very positive about this film. I could barely make it to the end. As a student of film studies, I have to say that filmmakers today, especially Hollywood filmmakers, are tending more and more to rely on special effects and quick shots of people's expressions, and not enough on ACTING! Even the great Maggie Smith was reduced to a series of melodramatic poses and shallow facial expressions. And I was ready to tear that plasterboard fake smile off of Daniel Radcliffe's face by the end of the movie. I'm afraid he, like the rest of the characters in this film, suffer from terminal cool. I suppose thats what kids today want. And you can bet Hollywood will deliver. The film is also excessively violent. If you compare sections of the film with the way the story is told in the book, you can see the added amount of gratuitous violence. Children and creatures are hurled around and smashed against things like they're images in a video game. Realism? Get real! The special effects on the DVD are so loud, I had to keep turning the volume down. But then I couldn't hear the dialogue, so then I had to turn it up again. Too much noise, too much violence, not enough genuine acting, sophisticated storytelling, and human interaction. Period!
Rating:
Summary: the Best Movie/DVD/VHS Ever
Review: Let me Start by saying that when i saw it in theaters i loved it - i saw it three times Than we vacationed and they had Hp on [t]V and i watched it three more times and found it better than the first three times And now i got the DvD and saw it 5 more times - and the special features are also great. The best Performances include: Maggie Smith and Ian Hart
Rating: 
Summary: The movie is ok
Review: I think it does a very good job of retelling the books I mean they practically take the chapters word for word. Harry Potter also provides some wonderful cameo roles for 2 very fine english actors namly Allien Rickmen and John C(from Monty Python). It suffers from from only one thing the kids sound like they are reading from the script of a middle school play. It is not really an issue for your kids, and you will probably be too busy paying attention to the special effects to notice.
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting movie for all ages
Review: After hearing all the hubbub about Harry Potter from children and adults alike, I had to see for myself. I was pleasantly surprised by this well-made movie and by the wonderful imagination of the author who created this delightful story. It has everything a child could want in a story--a likeable hero, his two pleasant sidekicks, scary villains, and fast-paced action. Everything about this movie is first-class, from the excellent cast to the writing to the special effects and visual delights which await the viewer. It joins other wonderful children's classics, such as The Wizard of Oz, and creates a totally satisfying entertainment experience for adults as well as children. The popularity of this story is well-deservedl--well-done Ms. Rowlands and everyone who had anything to do with this film!
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie.
Review: This is a very great film w/ many actors that fit the characters perfectly. The DVD features are fairly well done, but can get tedious when trying to access some of the extras. One of them is the deleted scenes. You have to basically do many different task to access this feature. Sure it's great if your doing it for the first time, but after that it gets pretty annoying. On a positive side, this DVD has probably one of the best sounds around (That's if you've the right equipment). Overall it's a very good DVD that's not to be missed by any Harry Potter Fan.
Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter
Review: The DVD version of Harry Potter was exactly what I expected it to be. It was something that required concentration and a knowledge of what was happening in the untones of the movie to understand. It truly followed the book. The added scenes were fantastic and the photography was outstanding. The second DVD.....I am having trouble getting through the mazes, but that is life.
Rating:
Summary: one of the worst movies i've ever watched
Review: The first 20 minutes were ok and kept me entertained, but once Harry gets to the school, there ia a whole hour of dreamy, pointless nothingness that left me empty and asleep. Following that there is a whole sequence where Harry plays some game where he has to catch some gold bug thing, and that is followed by about 30 minutes of plot development, which was ok. I'll let you be the judge and not give away the exciting ending.
Rating:
Summary: Harry 5 stars, but the DVD only 4 stars, here's why...
Review: Having read the books multiple times (I re-read the 1st ones every time a new one came out) I was very psyched to see the film. The sets, casting, screenplay, acting, etc was superb... every little detail of the world of Harry Potter was marvelously captured on screen with intelligence, humor, and love of all those involved. Every scene was straight from the 1st book, even though not the entire book was within the film. Sigh, this is a child's film & therefore I understand that they couldn't have everything from the book in the film because that would have made it 3+ hours long. The only major drawback was the very badly done CGI during the Quidditch games. They did so well with every other scene in the film, but abruptly threw the games together. Every single time they shifted from live action to CGI it was painfully noticeable. When I see a film I like to lose myself within it, and the 2nd rate work they did with the CGI during the Quidditch matches threw me right back into reality. Because of this I would have given it 4 ¾ stars, but Amazon likes whole numbers. As for the DVD... there is no "real" making of Harry to mention, or for that matter any special features at all... AND THEN I had to go here to Amazon to find out that you MUST play the game on disc two to be able to see the deleted scenes. I never play the games held in the DVD's because they always are too easy, or poorly done to even bother. Sometimes they are also hard to control with the remote (which is really bad being that I watch my DVD's on a PS2!) I have to tell TM & Warner Bros. Shame on you for ripping off the fans, for the extra money spent for a DVD, one should get more extras. For example, "Lord of the Rings" gives you all the special features you expect in a DVD & a 10-15 minute sneak peak of the next film... I would have given this DVD 3 stars, but the film is still so good I averaged the ranks together and gave it 4 stars.
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