Rating: 
Summary: If you read the book don't bother watching the movie
Review: I read the book 2 years before the movie came out. I fell in love with the Harry Potter books. I heard they were coming out with a movie and I thought it would be interesting. I was wrong. They did a good job with casting. I thought they found the perfect Dumbledore! The movie was not at all what I thought it would be. They cut out the schene at the end with the purple fire. With all of the technology today, they could' ve done it and only added 2 mins. to the movie. I'm sure that they'll destroy Chamber of Secrets which was my favorite book. People who have never read the book but seen the movie, the book was over 100 times better.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful film... questionable extras....
Review: Since I figure that everyone has already seen Harry Potter and formed their own opinions, I'm writing this review primarily on the DVD and the much touted extras. The movie itself is wonderful - but the DVD set leaves a little to be desired. The first DVD in the set is great. They did a first rate job on the transfer and the sound. The second DVD with all the extras though is lacking a certain something. The extras disc has just enough to make you want more but doesn't have some of the very things that we all heard about during all the publicity about the film. I remember hearing over and over that the first cut of the film came in at over 3 1/2 hours. Then on the disc there are only a few deleted scenes totally under 10 minutes. They had the obligatory making of but that too seemed more than a bit short. Another frustrating thing was navigating the extras - it was close to impossible. It took me over ten minutes to work through the little game system to even access the deleted scenes(though I later discovered there was a very small place to click for direct access). This just wasn't fun. I don't enjoy being made to jump through hoops to watch a film and see the various extras packaged in. Maybe they should release one version for adults who don't like the games and another for children who enjoy things like that. Overall I love the film but I have this feeling that they are holding back to release another set sometime. It would be nice to just be able to purchase the film without having to wonder about another release coming out in a year.
Rating: 
Summary: I Can Stand To Watch It A Few Times.
Review: This is a miracle. I can watch a movie four times without getting bored. The book to script conversion is masterfully done, with the right changes needed. The special features don't go overboard, either, but they have enough to fulfill Potter's legions of fans. Is there a downside? Maybe the movie drags on at times and seems a little outside of even magical reality, but Rowling can push the envelope and still pull it off. The acting is decent enough, the effects are well done, the plot is incredible, and the entire thing is well carried out. "We expect great things from you, Harry Potter". Don't blow it come Chamber of Secrets. B+
Rating:
Summary: Good movie, decent DVD
Review: This is one of the few "childrens" DVD's in my collection. I loved the book and was looking forward to the release of the movie on DVD. The movie faithfully follows the award winning book. The movie looks good with only minor glitches some part of the video. Audiowise it sounded good on my system. The score by John Williams sounds especially good. My one real complaint with this DVD is the special features. I bought this in order to see the deleted scenes. The amount of time I spent trying to access them outweighed the actual running time of the scene. Way too much trouble for nothing groundbreaking. I also would have liked to have a commentary track from the director and maybe some of the stars. Overall this is a good DVD set, but the amount of work to access the special features is very annoying.
Rating:
Summary: a definate fan-pleasing flick.
Review: This movie, was of course, the most anticipated of its kind. After the almost magical success of the Harry Potter books, it would be MORE surprising if a movie DIDN'T make a smash! JK Rowling, a fabulous author, deserves the successful recognition of a movie version-- it is only a shame that in these days, a movie is almost expected. I personally would have preferred to let the books remain legends in themselves. This movie was quite wonderful, nonetheless. First of all, we had really wonderful British actors and actresses. From those we already knew would be brilliant (Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman), to the pleasant surprises (Daniel Radcliffe and especially Rupert Grint), the cast was awfully strong. The recreation of the atmosphere invoked by Rowling in her books is to be thoroughly applauded. The touches and nuances of color, texture and feel were absolutely perfect. The sound (especially the phenomenal musical score) deserves praise. Daniel Radcliffe delivered a rather sensitive portrayal of the newest brand of hero: The timid, "who me?!", real-life, youthful chap who is raised to nobility despite himself and to much humble surprise. (Frodo in "The Lord of the Rings" and Peter Parker in "Spiderman" are two other surprise-hero roles) A couple gripes: Special effects looked like they were headed out to be flawless, until we got the icky video-gamey ogre and the dissapointing revelation of Lord Voldemort's face. Also: Emma Watson wasn't exactly ON. I hate critiquing actors because sometimes they are perfect in one role and just miss it in another, occasionally it isn't their fault. I just found Emma's Hermione more annoyingly one-demensional than Rowling's Hermione. She played up the confidence without tempering it with Hermione's slight insecurities. It's just a thought. Also, despite all my praise, I realize that without the fabulous book series, this movie could never stand on it's own. This sounds obvious-- I mean, if the books hadn't been written, the movie wouldn't have been a concept, let alone a reality. But let me explain: This movie just doesn't mean as much unless you already loved the books. It isn't a great piece of film in itself. It is loyal to the text and faithful to Rowling's descriptions. Unfortunately, the best books-turned-movies were not exact replicas, but affectionate homages. The movies reflected the book without exactly copying it. Of course, I am no director, and deeply admire anyone who can take such a literary success and even attempt to create a theatrical success as well. I realize that I am probably in the minority with my criticisms, and there is much to like about this movie. Worth seeing, but NOT instead of the books. My advice? Read the books instead. Hats off to all, especially Rowling.
Rating:
Summary: The problem exists, somewhere
Review: I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone between the publications of the second and third books, and have enjoyed them all. When I saw the trailer for the film, I was intriquged. Alright: I wanted to see the movie. A great book, and the trailer was good (although I know well that modern trailers are no indicator of quality). What's not to like? In fact, even watching the movie, I had difficulty finding the flaws. Most of the scenes worked quite well. A violent chess match towards the end of the film was probably the best moment of the film. And none of the acting is really at fault. Richard Harris, how we will miss you, come the third film (note: Harris, who died recently, played Professor Dumbledore). However, although the parts have no major flaws, (forgive the cleché) sometimes the whole is less then the sum of the parts: for whatever reason, the Sorcerer's Stone is flawed. If I were to hazzard a guess, I'd say the editing is to blame. The movie seems badly paced, with too much time before school starts, cramming the rest of the plot into too small a time period. And some information is given in a far more forced way then it is in the book. There are a few other facets that could have use some major improvements. However, Chris Coloumbus may do right by the second book. The stakes are lower (The Chamber of Secrets is, so far, the low point of the series), as are (my) expectations. He could make it a much better movie then it's precessor. If not, there's a new director for the third. I, with reservations, anticipate the sequal.
Rating: 
Summary: The wonderful world of Harry Potter!
Review: This is a great movie and I love the special features on the DVD. The deleted scenes were not easy to find, but they were worth the effort. You find them on the special features disc in the classroom section and click on the symbol on the torch. Going to classes was very interesting. I don't know how many times I got blown up and ended up in the hospital wing in Potion's class! The interviews with Chris Columbus and David Heyman were informative and gave you a view of the building of the sets. I do wish that interviews with the cast had been included. I was delighted that the movie followed so closely to the book. There were a few scenes that were different (students sent to the Forbiden Forest, Norbert, Harry and Draco's meeting, etc.) but that did not detract from the movie. Although I did have to go see it a second time to enjoy it fully and not compare it to the book. This movie is the first in the series of Harry Potter and no fan should be without!
Rating:
Summary: Extra Footage
Review: Great film overall. Yes, the extra footage is on the disk, but you have to walk through a series of tests based on the movie to get to it. It took us forever (and I didn't think the footage was all that special). But just to set the record straight, it is there. I think we ended up walking through all the chapters on the extras disk to find the footage.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing special.
Review: This movie start fairly good, but once they get to the castle it stalls out. Nothing big really happen, only isolated events. The game part of the movie just doesn't do it for me. Overall: Fair.
Rating:
Summary: creative and entertaining
Review: Having seen the movie in the theater, I was expecting the DVD to be the same experience. Surprise, seeing the movie for the second, third, and fourth time, only brought out the special effects even more. An entertaining, and clever movie that is fun to watch with the whole family.
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