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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: 5 stars
Summary: Just how you imagined it
Review: I went to see the movie on opening day. I truly enjoyed it. The 2.5hours flew by. The scenery and cast were just how I had imagined during my reading. Of course, the movie could not go into all of the detail of the book (it would be 10hours long) but it did just fine. I will definitely see any sequels and will pre-order it on dvd.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Entertaining but not charming like the book....
Review: Of course I wasn't expecting a page-by-page retelling or film adaptation of the novel. However, I think like so many good books (I have yet to review JK Rowling's books but will in 2002), much of the characters' charm, the book's sense of whimsy and the overall feeling of this being a children's book are lost on the big screen. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE might better be served as a long-term TV adaptation on BBC TV, rather than as a special-effects laden (though not overwhelmingly so) blockbuster movie.

2 1/2 hours' time doesn't allow the director enough time to fully develop the characters' individual nuances. Having read the first book twice now, I had imagined (in great detail) just what the characters look like, how the cupboard under the stairs is furnished, etc. etc.

Having said that the young actors in the film are marvelous actors and they really carry the film. Much has been made of Robbie Coltrane's role as Hagrid, the loveable Giant and how he "stole" the movie from them. I disagree more than 100% on this point. His performance is agreeable, but hardly a scene-stealing one. Maggie Smith is as she is in every film of hers, so "at home" in her role as Professor McGonagle. So British her comportment!

My favorite performance of all is that of Alan Rickman playing Professor Severus Snape. That darkly melodious voice and that coal-black hair really bring his "unlikeable" character to life. Snape really plays his part to the balcony here. I think Rickman probably had the most fun of any the adults playing such a dastardly character!

All in all a pleasant diversion, but I very highly recommend reading the books first and foremost to get the real flavor for the magical place that is Harry Potter....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie
Review: I saw this movie with my 10 yr. old son and we both loved it. One comment that he made during the movie was that the scenes and the characters were just how he pictured them when he read the book. I think they did a great job making this movie true to the book. I suggest that everyone who has read the book go see the movie, you will really enjoy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL
Review: I went to the cinema hoping to see one of the best movies ever made and I WAS NOT DISSAPOINTED. The film is so good that I have already seen it 5 times!! It is so true to the book and the acting is brilliant.Daniel Radclieff IS THE TRUE Harry Potter.This kid is great.The rest of the cast was brilliant too.I loved Hermione with her comments...It was like seeing the book coming to life.Diagon Alley,Hogwarts and all was just like I was imagined them to be.
Bring on The Chamber Of Secrets!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great movie, yet bad in some parts!
Review: The movie was great with cool effects and parts I had imagined when reading the book! The only thing is, that some parts were changed around and some characters never appeared like Peeves the Poltergeist, whom I was looking forward to see. In the movie, Ron went into the Forbbiden Forest, but in the book it was Neville. Ron doesn't go in there till year 2! I was upset about the Throught the Trapdoor scene because, they skipped the potion challenge and also where, in the book, Harry, Ron, and Hermione pass a knocked out troll. Other than that I still loved the movie! It was ok, except for a few parts, but if I explain them I will go on forever! By the way, where was Professor Sprout of Herbology as well?

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: run, run as fast as you can
Review: I have read all 4 harry potter books and went to the movie theater with high expectations. But i was very disapointed. Anyone who has read any of the books and remotly enjoyed them will hate this movie. It does an extreme injustece to the books and i could feel myself getting dumber by the minute as i watched this mutalation of an extremly well written book. However anyone who is wowed only by visual efects, corny jokes and weak plots should by all means go and see this intallectualy represive movie. ps the acting and dialog were insulting in how much they were dumbed down ...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Movie Ever Made
Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is, quite literally, the best movie I have seen in my entire (almost) 30 years of living. No other movie (and I have seen a lot of them-multiple times) can surpass its highly talented cast, amazing special effects, beautiful cinematography, flawless editing, and, above all, its wonderfully unique storyline. This movie is - and I say this without hesitation or reservation - purely magical.

Anyone who has read the Harry Potter books (and few have not) can appreciate how important it is to take a book such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and keep those images formed in our minds pure. That is to say that, I believe, the biggest fear one encounters before attending a movie based on a book they have read is that the movie will forever spoil their image of the story. Not so for Harry Potter. In fact, for me, it enhances it. And that is saying a lot, considering that many things we can picture while reading the book are so unique (three-headed dogs, paintings whose subjects move about, and door keys with wings, to name just a few). Everything portrayed in the movie is perfect. Not one image was different than how I had imagined it. And, this is saying something not only about the actors and director of the movie, but about the author herself, J. K. Rowling. After seeing the movie with friends, all of us agreed that the movie was just as we had imagined the book. I think that's pretty amazing.

From the moment the movie starts, you find yourself in a completely different world-the world of the muggles. In the opening seen, we see a cat sitting in a dark neighborhood street, and instantly we know what is about to transpire. The brilliant Richard Harris enters, as Professor Dumbledore, and puts out the street lights, one by one, with his "put outer." It's pretty cool. Hagrid flies in on his motorcycle (a pretty comical scene in and of itself), and the tone is set for the rest of the movie - somewhat dark, but always mysterious, always interesting, and, above all else, FUN.

The Dursleys are just as you would expect them to be: wonderfully mean and annoying. When reading the book, we sympathize with Harry. When watching the movie, we sympathize with Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley are bad to Harry, but not so much that it's difficult to watch. The tone is still light (even though, with the tone already set, it could easily have been too dark), and it's actually fun watching how Harry is going to handle the Dursleys. I expect that in the second movie this will be even more the case. And, hey, where did they get all those owls?

The most magical scene for me is when Hagrid and Harry enter Diagon Alley. You want to be there with them. You feel the astonishment and wonderment that Harry would have felt upon encountering such a place. Everything, to the very last detail, is so magnificent. You know you're no longer in the "stuffy" world of the muggles, and you want more. And, fortunately, you get more.

Few images in movies have made me feel as much like a 5-year-old as did the scene when we first see The Hogwarts Express (right after first encountering the Weasleys, which by its own right, tickled me pink). My first thought was "goody, goody, we get to take a train ride and eat cool jelly beans!"...come on, how many movies can make you think THAT?

The Great Hall-and how great it was!!! With many extra actors sitting at very long tables, you really get the feeling like you are a scrawny little 11-year-old kid in a big sea of classmates. It's intimidating. And, the sorting hat is hilarious. So are the castle ghosts (John Cleese is awesome). And, when the owls bring the mail-VERY cool.

Hermione, Ron, and, of course, Harry Potter himself could not have been cast better. Snape was brilliant, Professor McGonagall so beautifully "proper", and Professor Dumbledore was the educational icon.

Quidditch. Ah, wonderful quidditch. All I can say is I am thankful that this movie was made in 2001 and not in 1934 so that flying around on broomsticks was SO much easier for the actors. And fun for us.

I loved the Mirror of Erised, the Invisibility Cloak, the moving staircases, Fluffy...everything that is so meaningful, interesting, and fun in the book is at least that in the movie.

This movie stunned me visually, touched me emotionally, and stirred my imagination in the most wonderful way. I know that the next movie, due out next year at this time, will be every bit as wonderful. We expect great things from you, Harry Potter. See you next year.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My reveiw of the books
Review: I like the books! The fourth book was a little long. I hope the fifth book comes out soon. My Mom read them, too. She is a teacher. I'm waiting for the movie to come out on TV. I don't go to movie theaters!

I've heard that the author copied her Harry Potter stories from another series with Larry Potter. Can you give me more information on this?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Harry Potter Movie
Review: I thought it was an AWSOME movie! not to mention that Daniel Radclffe is a total cutie pie! I am going to see the movie for the 3rd time tomorrow! I wasn't much of a fan of Harry Potter then i saw the movie and now i am like totally obsessed!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It was missing lots, but nothing was changed or added.
Review: I was glad to see that they pretty much stayed true to the book. The only thing I didn't like is that there were a lot of things missing, and I felt that you should read the book before watching the movie.

Read the book, then watch the Movie.


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