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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Widescreen Edition)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Widescreen Edition)

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: True to the book?
Review: How many people out there read a book, watch the movie, and realize the film did no justice to the author's imagination?

How many people have wanted to erase the memory if a terrible movie that destroyed the amazing novel it was made from?

Me, I'm one of those people, and in my life, I've read just two books that were accurately portrayed on the big screen. The first being Frank Darabont's 1999 film "The Green Mile," and the second being "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

I wanted to see this movie before everything got out into the public about the way it transitioned onto film. I caught a special showing this morning and was totally blown away. I read the book about two months ago and was shocked to see how much the film followed the book. From the great hall to the look and feel of the movie, director Chris Columbus had it perfect.

The Quidditch match was supurb and and sets breathtaking. The acting was good, and overall I thought Hagrid and Snape were the most impressive. The girl who played Hermione was snotty and stuck-up, and did a fantastic job with her character. Daniel Radcliffe was somewhat dull at the beginning, but opened up throughout the film to give an average performace, which I hope he will work on to perfect the most important character for the second film.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" has the imagination of a five-year-old. Young or old, you'll enjoy this movie. Kids will fall all over it, and adults will remember their childhood. I'm sixteen and am wishing I was about nine so I could have all the action figures and costumes and not make a fool of myself.

A must see movie, and the best of the best so far this year. (Although I'm sure "The Fellowship of the Ring" will surpass it greatly.)

Thanks for reading.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Nothing Amazing
Review: I was not quite sure what to expect from this film; annoyed at first at the casting of Daniel Radcliffe and a cynical view of the first few adverts did not have my hopes up high. However some of the comments I heard were encouraging, so I faced the film with an open mind.
Now firstly the major changes to the book:
1) The second quidditch match (against Hufflepuff) was cut entirely. It is meant to be areally short match, could they at least cut at some point in the film to Harry holding the snitch after mentioning that the next quidditch match was coming up soon. As a result of this, the defeat of Gryffindor by Ravenclaw is not mentioned.
2)Part of the bit about Norbert (Hagrid's dragon) is cut. Norbert is one of the worst parts of the story and I think he should have been cut all together.
3) Snape's potion test before they get to the Philosopher's stone is gone. This is the change I am most annoyed about.
The film is generally well cast (Alan Rickman is brilliant as Snape), but all the main characters are exactly as you would expect them, no interesting takes on the characters. Also the film is a bit hurried and I would imagine that anyone who has not read the book would find it confusing at places. If your a fan, you must see this out of curiosity. If you're not, don't bother.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: ALAN RICKMAN and THE QUIDDITCH MACH Made The Film...
Review: ...as good as it was. As a family film and mystery fil, it was exceptional. As a film screaming the word BLOCKBUSTER out, it was AOK. I just feel that if I don't go and see it again for anything else, it would be 2 things:

1) ALAN RICKMAN. He fits perfectly into the role of the creepy and honorable Professor Snape.

2) THE QUIDDITCH MATCH. Exciting and full of dazzling visual effects.

Other great acting performances by John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. Story a bit slow and weak. Other than this, it's great. Great for kids, even though a tad too long (143 Min.). Grade: A

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great scene after Scene. Super Film
Review: I'm not sure if it was the fact that I was watching Harry with my 11 year old son, and enjoying the excitement he was feeling-- getting to watch the movie he'd read and reread all the books about. But it sure felt good. Time after time there were moments when I just filled up with good feelings. But it could also have been all the magic in the movie. Magic in movies is a natural way to get the tear ducts working. And this movie had such a wealth of it-- fun, gentle. Those people who are complaining that this story is in any way anti-religion or sacrilegious are .... story-taleban.

Anyway, for that handful of peel who haven't read the book, this is a great story about a boy, Harry Potter, who, raised by obnoxious muggles (non-wizard ordinary humans) on his 11th birthday, receives an invitation to attend the Hogwarth's School for Wizards. He makes friends, learns magic, faces life threatening danger-- pure Joseph Campbell Hero's Journey. And it works. Outside of maybe ten minutes near the end, when things slow down a bit, this is a wondrous film which makes you feel good watching it.

My favorite actor was Robbie Coltrance, who played Hagrid a goodhearted simple mountain of a man with a huge, flowing beard, obviously attractive to nesting birds. He brings to mind visions of the Iron John Robert Bly described in his book which helped start the men's movement.

Alan Rickman (Spock in Galaxy Quest) does a great job playing Snavely, head of the Slytherin house at Hogwarths-- as reptilian as the Slytherin name suggests.

The special effects were great, very nicely and seamlessly woven into the story so things feel so real-- well, not the candles floating in air.

John Wiliams musical score adds to the emotional underlayments of the story. It's worth sitting through the close to 15 minutes of credits to hear his music.
This film deserves the acclaim for the records it is going to be breaking.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This Movie was Awesome!!
Review: I saw this movie last night and it was so cool! There were parts in the book that weren't in the movie and there were a few slight changes from the book to the movie. Over all it stuck to the book, which is really good. Most books that have been made into movies change the book completely! Everyone should go see it...if you can get a ticket! :)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: My opinion
Review: (...) If you were like me, being a totally pathetic Harry Potter fan, you'd know all the books front cover to back by heart. My friends and I had fun commenting throughout the whole movie. There were loads of scenes missing, and some crucial details were changed to make the movie shorter. I guess that's for the best, because I can still have those scenes to myself without anyone ruining them for me. The child actors were great, I must say! Their dispositions were totally from the book. I know Chris Columbus tried to stay as faithful as possible to the book, and i'm very thankful for that. The only thing about this movie is that so many scenes were cut from the book, that if you hadn't read it, you would be a little confused as to what was going on. But then again, who the heck hasn't read the book?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Best Movies ever!
Review: This movie was great! Although i was slightly disapionted that they did not show many deatils and transisons, if they had it would of been a three hour movie. By far the best part was the special affects. Watching qiuditch was Very thrilling. I enjoyed all the humor. I won't give away the ending . However, i do feel that you should not watch this if you have not read the book, because it is so fast paced it would be hard to understand.The acting was great, the special efects were great,Evrything was great! So go!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SILVER UNICORN BLOOD, SILVER SCREEN
Review: This movie is awesome. I loved it. The adult star - studded cast was marvelous. The fresh from the street actors were weak at times( lack of emotion, accent problems), but overall great. I am one of the legions of HP fans who went into the movie with a scar over my right eye and my favorite house's (Slytherin) crest on my shirt. The movie did not keep exactly true to the book, it would have been what? 6:30,but I didn't mind to to much.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not as good as the book, but still worth seeing
Review: There are a few things that annoyed me about the movie, like the few things that were changed in the movie, and the many scenes cut out. Ron, Hermione and Harry were great, but the attention focused too much on them, and a lot of the minor characters didn't have many speaking roles. Alan Rickman (Snape) was the best, in my opinion, but he also didn't have as much screen time as he should have. The time of the movie was long, but I didn't realize that the two and a half hours had gone by until the credits rolled. (It was only until I was in the car and saw the clock that I asked myself where the time had gone!) I definately recommend this movie, because it is more spectacular than it is annoying.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent film!
Review: I have to admit that I was a little worried that the makers of the movie might have trouble making the transition from a book to a movie. But as a gigantic Harry Potter fan, I can say that the movie completely met my expectations. The actors couldn't have been better. Everybody did such an amazing job. The characters were just as I had envisioned them. I also really love the music by John Williams, it adds a lot to the movie. All of the sets were fantastic. Don't miss this film, even if you're not a Harry Potter fan. I'll probably watch it again.


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