Rating: 
Summary: A modern day wizard of Oz
Review: Harry Potter has quickly established itself as one of the most valubable franchises in the world. This is one of the best family movies of this new century and it moderns classic fantasy movie tales like the Wizard of Oz. It's so good because it stays true to it's roots and it dosn't offend the original book.Harry Potter(Radcliffe) has no idea that he's a wizard. He has no idead that as a baby he stoped the most evil dark lord wizard the world has ever known. Harry lives with his mean Aunt and Uncle along with their son Dudley who hate him because he ins't normal. After letters start appearing at the home inviting Harry to Hogwarts School of Wizardy and Witchcraft he starts to realize things might not be what they seem to be. Harry is rescued by his mean family by Hadgrid(Coltran). He arrives at Hogwars almost an instant celebrity because of his defeat of Voldemort as a child. He quickly becomes friends with an outcast Ron Weasley(Grint) and miss know it all Hermoine(Watson). The three develop a quick friendship and are all the three really have. Trouble starts to arise at the school though and because I don't want to spoil the details for you, but it's up to the three to save the day. One of the reasons this movie is so good is because of the awesome cast. All three of the big young kids are perfect. Radcliffe got hand selected from thousands of kids who wanted the part and he's a good child actor. A lot of kids stuggle with such big roles. Look how much Jake Elliot struggled in The Phantom Menace. So much is on there shoulders and Radcliffe picks the ball up and runs with it. He's perfect as Potter. All the adults are casted perfectly also. Alan Rickman is great as Snape. This guy can flat out act and you have to love him in the film. He is so awesome. I like Richard Harris as Dumbeldore. This was one of the last performances of his legendary carear and it's great. Chris Columbus did a great job with this film. This guy was perfect for the movie. He's done blockbuster family films like Home Alone and Mrs.Doubtfire and he can add this one to the list. He shot the movie well and made it an instant family classic. A lot of respect has to be given to Steven Kloves. He wrote the script for the movie based of the writings form J.K. Rowling. He stayed true to her book and didn't offend her or the fans. To many writers do that way to often and it's glad to see it not be done. If you want to sit down with your family and watch a great family movie than this is it. It's a modern day classic Wizard of Oz and is a great tale of friendship and love. Two qualities we need more of in this world.
Rating: 
Summary: Harry Potter fun but 2nd disk is a pain
Review: This movie is great-especially when you have read all the books and want more Harry Potter fun! Th cast is wonderful and Alan Rickman is awesome as Professor Snape. But the 2nd disk is difficult to use(that is why I gave this boxed set 4 stars). Once you get to the brick wall before Diagon alley you must find the combination so you can even see the "never before seen footage". I found help here from a review on Amazon so I could actually figure it out! Once you get to the deleted scenes they are fun to see-especially the extended sequence with professor Snape. This is what helped me:
Hit "Diagon Alley" and enter on your remote. Next is finding the correct bricks.
hit:
left, up, up, enter
up, enter
up, enter
down, down, enter
down, enter Next you need to go to the bank.
Highlight the sign "Gringotts" and hit the down arrow key on the remote to highlight the key. You will need that for the bank.
Hit right and then enter on the remote. The vault is now open and you can exit. Next you need school supplies. Highlight "Ollivanders" and enter. This is where you purchase your wand. Eventually you will get the wand upon trying each box. Once you find it, you can leave the store. Go to the main menu and hit "classrooms" and from the next screen choose "Potions." Then highlight the mortar and pestle and hit enter. There are three potions you will need to make when asked.
Sleeping Potion: Asphodel and Wormwood
Alternative Name for Aconite: Monkshood and Wolfsbane
Cure for a boil: Snake Fangs and Porcupine Quills Next you need to get the right key for the door. This is the room with the flying keys. You need to hit:
right, up, up, right, enter
This will have you select the small key with the broken wing. Next you have to choose the right potion from seven of them.
Choose the yellow bottle (right, right enter). From that point, you will get to the mirror of Erised and the Sorcerer's Stone. Highlight the stone and hit enter. Now you can see the hidden clips! There are tons of other hidden things on this disc. You just have to play around with finding the items. There is also another hidden part on Disc 1.
When you get to the main menu, hit right arrow on the remote to highlight the owl and enter. This gives you your own invitation to go to Hogwarts!
Rating: 
Summary: Diversionary Entertainment
Review: Harry Potter is an orphan who was adopted by his maternal aunt and who is unhappy at home. Then a giant shows up to take him away to a new school and promised happiness (the daydreams of many young teenagers?). This film shows 'Warthogs' as another English Public School, but one that trains wizards instead of future civil servants and management (a parody?). The special effects used here are more advanced than "Jurassic Park". Would this work be successful without these tricks? Do children benefit from this fantasy or other ersatz fairy tales? Are they a juvenile version of Romance novels? The teacher of "Potions" promises the skill of changing people's minds. Is this a parody of Advertising or Public Relations? The Flying lesson shows interpersonality conflicts, and how disobedience creates a problem for one student. The appearance of the threatening troll creates a diversion (a symbol for "townies"?). The special effects are best in the game of quiddich, much better than in the much older "Star Wars". Harry captures the gold flying ball and wins the game. [Was the fix in?] The Cloak of Invisibility reminds me of "The Invisible Man" (which warned against experimenting with drugs). There is a magic mirror which shows people what they want; the old white-bearded wizard correctly warns against indulging in fantasy! When Harry is threatened in the Dark Forest, a centaur shows up to save him, and warns him to stay away (certain places are not safe for teenagers even if they have magic powers). Harry and his friends learn of a plot to steal the Sorcerer's Stone! This can change lead into gold, and give eternal life (not the same thing as eternal youth!). The chess game with life-size figures is another diversion. Finally the real villain is found; Harry discovers you can't judge by appearances. The villain is killed by the unsuspected magic of Harry. The story ends with Harry celebrating with his friends, an obligatory happy ending for commercially successful films. [Why do the students wear dunce caps?] But what happens after they graduate? I haven't seen too many want-ads for "Wizards"; were these jobs all out-sourced to Romanian? There isn't much of a plot, just loosely connected scenes. But I shouldn't have told you that.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining movie for all ages!
Review: I put off seeing this movie because I took to heart the People Magazine review which hinted that children would enjoy the movie more than the adults. I finally went only after I was disgusted by the hateful e-mails I received from the lacking-in-imagination, finger-shaking Christian fundamentalists. These e-mails suggested that I abide by their obviously bent and twisted moral visions to denouce this so called "harmful" movie. I went to see the movie to judge for myself. As a Christian adult,(who is old enough to have a child older than Harry Potter's age!) I thought the movie was enchanting and well worth the full price of the ticket and would see it again. For someone who averages going to the theatres once or twice a year, a movie has to be exceptional to make me desire viewing the movie again at the theatres. I laughed out loud and had a delightful time watching the movie. This movie was escapism pure and simple. For the length of the movie, I was there with Harry Potter while he put up with his nasty relatives, got excited about the introduction of new friends and a new and magical world and my heart skipped a beat too when Harry met "Fluffy". And all the while, my real world problems were blissfully forgotten. This fun but harmless movie brought out the kid in me and would surely do so for any other adult whose mind is wider than the width of a number 2 pencil. What it did not affect was my serious beliefs in what I hold to be true and right. A belief that can be changed by a child's obviously fictional movie wasn't that strong in the faith department to begin with and to blame this light movie for causing any harm to anything is laughable at best. Shame on those in the holier-than-thou camps who tried to discredit this movie by sending those nasty chain letters by e-mail. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. In this case, there wasn't even a molehill. In the past, I usually found a little fire where there was smoke but in this case, the smoke and the all the whining was completely unfounded. I am shocked and surprised that serious adults can make such an issue out of this when there are real issues that we Christians need to deal with. This cannot be one of them lest we Christians lose our credibility or at best, everything else we make an issue of be put in the same "they-are-blowing-smoke-about-nothing-again" light.
Rating:
Summary: Aspect Ratio Correct?
Review: Choose "Wide Screen" or the "Pan and Scan" version? Here is some help: For the most part in any DVD, the Wide Screen or "Letterbox" version is supposed to "PRESERVE" the aspect version that you saw at the movies. "Harry Potter" versions were probably filmed using 1.18:1 aspect ratio, but Warner Bros Pictures used a 2.35:1 aspect ratio to transfer to the widescreen DVD. This is good for the new widescreen tvs, but, this also cheats you out of this movies' integrety; whereas it deletes both the top and bottom portions of the original film. Some movies are SHOT in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and you usually do not lose anything with those - (why couldn't they just do the 1.18:1 aspect ratio as it was meant to be seen?) For purists, it's fine for the new television monitors and tvs, but I would prefer the full top to bottom view of the actors and things that they are holding and the hand movements. The TV or the "Full Screen" version, (Still not 1.18:1 aspect ratio but shows the bowl being pushed on the table by Hagrid), was meant to fit on a regular TV screen. Here, little portions are lost in the left side of the film. I prefer to take the little loss on the sides versus losing the top and bottom, showing clapping, wand holding, etc to be seen, so skip the widescreen and purchase the "Full Screen" version if that is what you want. Either way, the movie is a PIP! I thought that the essence of mystery mixed with human emotion is nicely portrayed. Nothing is as good as the book, (your own imagination is used there), but the movie does give some nice escape in imagination with some excellent acting and computer gra-fix!
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie For Harry Potter Book Readers
Review: The books may be always better but this is a really good movie. It does the main idea of the story. Really good!!!
Rating:
Summary: Where the magic never ends. 15th april 2004.
Review: Harry potter 1 and 2 are both as good as each other, i can't wait for the next one to come out. Harry potter is all magic, it is one of the best films i have ever seen, the acting is great and the characters. ANYONE WOULD PROBABLY ENJOY IT.
Rating: 
Summary: Too sad.
Review: I have read the books and listened to the audiobooks (so amazingly performed by Jim Dale - who needs a movie?) many, many, MANY times. I am addicted to Harry Potter. The books have a magical quality that I did not expect the movie to convey, but I didn't really expect the movie to be awful. It was awful. Wretched, in fact. The acting was just terrible and the casting... My lord, who came up with these actors? Aside from Hermione, Professor McGonigal, Professor Snape (and in the later movie, Lucius Malfoy), this movie was just terribly cast. Who decided that Ron was a bumbling idiot? What happened to Harry's relentlessly messy hair and, when exactly was it, that the moviemakers decided he should be a cocky little snot? Hermione was both well-cast and well-portrayed, but sadly they took out her best scenes. The story was choppy and so badly cut that the movie made no sense - why did Harry suspect Snape of trying to steal the Stone? Snape hadn't done anything yet! I am filled with sorrow that something with so much potential was so badly mishandled. Fortunately, Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets was a bit better. The terrible casting persists, of course - as it must - but the story held together and the special effects were dramatic without being overdone. If the trend continues, movie three ought to be quite good.
Rating:
Summary: Brought the book reader out of his protest
Review: I was going to protest seeing this movie for I did not want my cherished images of the books be over written by some wanna be movie. Trust me it was not like that. It was perfect. I mean I gave It FIVE STARS!
Rating:
Summary: HOGWARTS IS FUN!!
Review: I had the DVD since when they first available on DVD, I watched it with my mom and my sisters. They really liked it. But the length of the movie is kind of long. 2-1/2 hours. So I still like to watch this movie. My sister liked it, too. I also like Harry's best friends (Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger). They almost took the same class as Harry. I also like the Quidditch part. Harry's team (Gryffindor) won. I also read the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Book and played the video game.
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