Rating: 
Summary: Excellent movie adaptation: grueling DVD goodies
Review: In case there is cross posting of products this is a review of the Special widescreen edition DVD.
... However the basic primes is of a boy who grows up as the orphan nephew of a family that does not believe in magic only to find that he is a famous wizard. How will he handle his situation and the interaction with friends?
The movie its self as with all movies would have to be a mini-series to incorporate all the nuances of the book. However this movie does an excellent job of selection and gives the overall feel of the story.
Naturally comparing and contrasting this story with others in it genre you will always find a better or a favorite. This in no way diminishes the excellent story and the cohesiveness of the movie.
A great advantage of the DVD is that if you have not gone to the movie several times, you have time to stop comparing it to the book and can now enjoy it as the movie.Warning! The extra goodies are not geared toward a DVD player and are a waste of plastic if you do not have a computer ...If you pass the download game and ad game then you can now use the goodies which are rehashes of the movie and sound bite interviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Potter flies, but is short on magic...
Review: Maybe I'm just becoming more muggle. I'm an adult and have read and enjoyed all the Potter books. They are quite charming and entertaining. I found the film version faithful to the elements of its source novel. Director Chris Columbus (HOME ALONE) creates a visual world exactly as described in print. That is quite a feat, especially when its time to break out the broomsticks for a fast game of Quittich. But, while the film has the elements of its source, it is lacking in the heart of the source. There is little emotional attachment left. This is an adventure that plays closer to the British Hardy Boys then to The Wizard of Oz. The film remains pretty void of emotional attachment. None of the relationships are given enough time to establish. The story structure is rather episodic, as is the book, and so the pacing is different from most 'Hollywood' movies. To capture absolutely every element would have the film run into the 5-6 hour range. But, what they chose to include and what they chose to excise is questionable. The cast is superb, from the 3 child actors, Robbie Coltrane as the giant Hagrid on to Alan Rickman as the suspicious Professor Snape. And the musical score by uber-composer John Williams adds the final textures to the film. It seems apparent that the franchise will continue both in more books and a continued film series. So, Harry Potter might eventually be the most popular young boy ever. Younger Children might be challenged, not so much by the few moments of 'meanies', but by the 2 and a half hour running time. Director Columbus must be commended for doing the unthinkable, entertainingly and faithfully bringing the novel to the screen. But, cuts should have been made to make the better film, not to preserve every element of the novel. And, we could've used a bit of the soft stuff. The DVD itself is loaded and creates an event out of each viewing. A great audio and widescreen video transfer. But some of the menus and attractions are too ambitious. You actually have to work to get to some of the more interesting features. You can only hope its worth the wait when you get there.
Rating:
Summary: Great FollowUp to the Book
Review: My daughter has been reading the Harry Potter Series to my 5 year old grandson. They have almost completed the last published book in the series, and eagerly await the next book. It has been interesting to hear my grandson 'compare' the book to the movie. He has learned much about discrimination, differences, and choices from seeing the movie. He has been able to share with me how he had 'pictured' the characters and the situations, and how they were shown in the movie. I think this is an excellent 'followup' to having read the book. The minds of the artists who made this movie are very creative, innovative, and the new modern technology is superb. There are few movies that can include ALL the script from the book. Chris Columbus made excellent choices as to what would move the story along. Kudos to the cast, the staff, and all those who brought this movie to finality. A good rule of thumb...Always read!! Don't allow reading to become a lost art! After reading a book or story, then view the movie to see how the director interprets the book. It will teach you much about YOURself, and your own imagination!!
Rating: 
Summary: peeves!
Review: did peeves the poltergiest make this movie?.cause hes not in the film.i was so dissapointed with harry potter.i almost fell asleep during the forbidden forest bit even though its my faivourite chapter in the book.snape is a bit dull.dumbledore is dull and mcgonnagall dull.why doe s flitwick look like a gargoyle.ron and hermione are ok but i hope the next one is better.
Rating:
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: Being the sort of person who is strongly allergic to hype, I've stayed well clear of the whole 'Harry Potter' phenomenon up til now. Great, another overwrought kids book full of silly names, and bratty child heroes. But, when my roomie came home with the DVD, my curiosity got the best of me and in the dark of night I smuggled the disk up to my room and into my player.
And was instantly hooked! On it's own, I found the film to have just the right mix of humor, warmth, and yes...magic. The heroes aren't bratty at all, but loveable, with just the right touch of vulnerability to make you care for them. Even the female lead, who all too often in these sorts of films is either bratty, or in need of rescuing every five minutes, manages to hold her own with the boys. The special effects are fine, and the cast of seasoned actors seems to be quite enjoying themselves. The script is quite charming, with all the great touches of british wit that make their fantasy stories seem so charming. I haven't had this much fun since my younger days of watching Doctor Who. Add to that the youthful enthusiasm of Speilburgs early films and you have quite the winning combination. Like most everyone else though, I have to take one star off for the DVD itself. I certainly have no problem with a disk full of games and the like to keep the kids entertained, but I had hoped that there'd be a bit more meat on the disk for us serious movie fans. More deleted scenes, a proper commentary, that sort of thing. I can only hope that at some point, WB will grace us with a Special Edition set for us older viewers. I'm not sure I'm ready to join the long line of rugrats haunting the Waldenbooks to buy the books. But for the $... HP is a real bargain, and a must-have title for the fantasy lover, or those who just want to feel like a kid again.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, lousy DVD
Review: Well, most people have already made up their minds about this movie, whether they loved or hated it, but a few more thoughts here... For me, the picture did seem to be missing something--it didn't really grab me as much as I thought it would; seemed to be a bit lacking in emotional depth. I didn't get the sense of how desperately unhappy Harry was to be living with his relatives, and what a relief it was for him to get the invitation to Hogwarts. I'm not sure that's the fault of Daniel Radcliffe, though, since the film skipped over the first part of the book pretty rapidly... One section of the film that really DID work for me, emotionally, were the couple of scenes dealing with the Mirror of Erised--very nicely done, and rather touching. Other plusses... The casting was very good, I thought. I really liked both Ron and Hermione. The Quidditch match was great--doesn't that look like fun?! And Hogwarts was splendid, both inside and out. How could I possibly resist all that mediaeval architecture? Great to look at--and nearly all the interiors were shot at actual locations, in rooms hundreds of years old, not sets. The music was very fitting as well--I'm not a big John Williams fan, but the main theme for this film was just perfect. So, after seeing the picture several times my complaints have subsided--I do enjoy it! It does lose a bit on the small screen--seeing it on the big screen, in six-channel sound, is of course much more impressive than watching it on television. (For instance, in several scenes if you looked closely you could always seen the figures in the paintings on the walls moving slightly--it's hard to notice that on the small screen. And when the flying keys crashed into the closed door, they made a very deep THUD that you felt in your chest--you got a sense of how dangerous they were. Lots of little details like that are lost on tv...) Now, as far as the DVD presentation of the film itself goes, boy, what a DUD. I honestly don't know what the people at Warners were thinking when they put this thing together. There is almost no supplemental material at all--there was so much that could have been included, but wasn't. No director's commentary, no in-depth behind the scenes material, no out-takes, no interviews with the child actors, NOTHING. Disc two is almost entirely a sort of ... game/puzzle combination. You have to do all sorts of tasks in the proper order to get to the stone and your reward, which is seven brief deleted scenes. I don't know what age this is aimed at--certainly not adults, and not many kids either, I would think. And the thing is, there is no way to get to those scenes directly through the menu--you have to go through the entire thing every time you want to see them. Just stupidity... However, there is a shortcut which others have mentioned. I couldn't do this on my particular DVD player that is hooked up to the television, but it did work when I put the disc in the computer. Bring up the track listings, and click on track 80. Wait just a moment for the scene to change--when the row of bottles appears, click on the round one. And that will take you to the deleted scenes. A few of the scenes are interesting enough--problem is, there aren't many of them. For instance, I know that there was some material shot with the Weasley family at the train station, but none of that was here. What I would really have liked to see was a longer cut of the film, about three hours in length, with an intermission added. That would have been perfect for viewing over two evenings, for those people who are pretty busy. (I'm thinking of myself--by the time I finish working at about eleven every night, I'm too tired to watch a two and a half hour movie in one sitting anyway!) The rough cut of this picture ran a whopping FOUR HOURS--there was plenty of material to work with, to put together a longer version. So, I'm rather annoyed that the film wasn't lengthened, though perhaps someday another version will be available. Still, I'm very glad I bought the disc to be able to view the film, or certain scenes, whenever I'm in the mood to do so.
Rating:
Summary: Charming Movie! Disappointing Additions.....
Review: I saw this movie twice on the big screen and I'd have to say that I enjoyed it even more when I viewed it on the small screen. The home theatre feels more cosy somehow. It is a beautifully rendered version of a wonderful book. With incredible detail added to build up the world Harry inhabits. Most cast members seem tailor-made for their parts. Unlike at the theatre, it's relatively long running time was no hardship with the option of "pause" and as a great admirer of the book, I couldn't help but wish for even MORE SCENES to expand on the story. The only "flaw" in this version for some reviewers was a lack of major, earthmoving plot points, but for this fan of the Harry Potter series of books, it was a faithful, loving and respectful telling of the story. And a movie that I think I will enjoy viewing many times. The second disk which offers additions is much, much less than I had hoped for and a serious disappointment. The tour of Hogwarts and Hagrid's cottage is cheesy graphics, fuzzy and just not up to any respectable standards. The 'games' are simplistic and pointless. And once played, never a challenge again, even for little kids. In a movie offering such beautiful attention to detail, I would have expected more (from the extras) and would rather had have more out-takes from the film than just the seven scenes offered. The only worthwhile part of this disk is the rather extensive interviews with Chris Columbus and several of the other artists responsible for making this movie. I understand that there are more features available with a CD ROM, but we were not able to view those, so I don't have any comments on what they might add to this disk. So 5 stars for the movie and 2 stars for the extras from this reviewer.
Rating: 
Summary: Have I gone crazy?
Review: While I am unable remember for sure, but for all the hoopla over the extra 10 minutes of unseen footage, there seems to be quite a few minutes missing from this DVD version from Warner Bros. Smells like a "release again at Xmas" as the "full theatrical version" to me. Best to wait until then to purchase this DVD
Rating:
Summary: a great movie
Review: and faithful to the book. For those that haven't read the book, the movie is complete and self-explainatory and you probably won't feel "lost". The extra game you have to navigate in order to see the deleted scenes is a bit of a pain, however. Once suffered through, the scenes are worth the trouble but it would have been nice to have the option of merely viewing the scenes alone.
Rating:
Summary: DVD disappointing for MAC users
Review: For those of us who own a Mac, we will not be able to view the extra scenes. I found this very disappointing. To buy a DVD which states there will extra scenes on the DVD and to not have the opportunity to enjoy them. This is a fairy tale. I rate the actual movie 4 1/2 stars, the DVD 2 stars.
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