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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Full Screen Edition)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Full Screen Edition)

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

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Christian perspective on an engrossing fable
Review: Harry Potter is a simply charming, exciting, and wholesome old-fashioned entertainment for children and adults alike. Christians (especially fundamentalists) decried the books when they came out, and then the film, but such hysteria betrays utter ignorance of what Potter is about, and where its roots lie. It stands in an ancient tradition of story-telling, with the familiar imagery of monsters and magic being used to illustrate the struggle between good and evil. At its core is a message that is truly Christian in spirit.

Potter has humble beginnings, growing up with his aunt and uncle who reject and despise him, before on his 11th birthday discovering that invested in him are magical powers that most children only dream of. From there he is taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he must learn to use his powers responsibly and morally. Like Christ, Potter is faced at every turn with the temptation to misuse the powers he has been granted, to befriend evil and use his abilities for his own, selfish gain. His journey culminates in a final battle in which he faces evil head on and, in a fiery climax, laden with infernal imagery, he must decide whether to put his own desires (however legitimate and heartfelt they may be) above the good of others.

The virtues of self-sacrifice, honour, and love clearly (and predictably, of course, but that is not the point) emerge the victors in this oft-told story of war between good and evil. How shallow must one be not to be able to see, beneath the trappings of mythology, magic and folklore, that this is the kind of tale every child wants to hear, and ought to hear? Potter's pilgrimage is one that begins with childish fascination with magical powers, but goes on to show us that power is not merely a toy, but is a gift which carries with it responsibility and duty; power means nothing and is worth nothing when it is wielded apart from love. As St Paul wrote, 'If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing' (1 Corinthians 13:2).

I asked myself what made Potter into such a hero. He is hardly any more interesting as a character than his peers: the presumptuous Hermoine Granger; Potter's unassuming best friend, Ron Weasley; and the dastardly Draco Malfoy. On the contrary, Potter is rather bland as a character, and there are far more curious traits to be found in others. He does, however, exemplify all that is good (even though he might be found ambiguous in some regards, but this is a staple of good story-telling). He is an underdog who, in finding that he has been given a precious gift, also finds justice and compensation for the way he has been treated. And it is a gift which he uses in the right way. The character of Harry Potter is no hazardous doorway into occultism and wizardry (as if Rowling's creation bore anything other than a very superficial resemblance to real witchcraft anyway); rather he is a role model in whom parents and teachers can have confidence. He is a hero, and his popularity is proof that goodness and virtue are still what people (children most of all) value, admire, and want to emulate.

The tale is told with great excitement, awe and invention. Amongst a wonderful cast, Alan Rickman stands out as the creepily disconcerting Snape. As an exhilarating and enchanting adventure, even aside from the positive message conveyed, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is marvellous.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW!
Review: This was the greatest DVD I have ever seen in my entire life! Filled with fun and mystery, it's great for all ages!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Just as great as the books!
Review: I am a major fan of the J.K. Rowling books of Harry Potter. I was costantly on the edge of my seat to read more and more of Harry Potter with all the time I could. After I have finished the four books, I bought and saw the movie.
This movie made me love Harry Potter even more. Daniel Radcliffe has done great in this movie, so has Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson.
This movie is exactly like this book and the whole cast is exactly like the characters in this book. This film is definetley a success!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kids love it...
Review: Kids watch it over and over..nice to have a movie in the house that the kids love so very much...well worth the money.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: a little dissapionting
Review: the movie was a little dissapointing. it just didn't relate to the book enough. but if u havn't read the book then you might enjoy it more. overall it was still a good enough movie to watch when there's nothing on t.v.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: a review of the DVD, not the movie
Review: I won't review the movie like everyone else has. I have the same minor quibbles about the movie that everyone else has. I missed Peeves, and I missed the logic puzzle, and I missed Norbert's escape. But the movie isn't what's for sale here. The DVD is. I'm so disappointed in the quality of the DVD that I doubt I will ever watch it again. Not one of the special features works for me. My Sony DVD player will not show them at all, and the special features as well as the DVD-ROM-specific features have never worked on my computers. I'm no technophobe and no idiot; I've tried this DVD in three DVD-ROM drives on three computers, in at least four different pieces of DVD player software, and I have yet to get past Ollivander's without catastrophic crashes and multiple scripting errors. I'm considering buying this movie on VHS so that I can see the extra scenes; I know they're on the DVD, but they simply don't work.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: shouldn't be...
Review: I don't think that this item should be featured as something a person who is in to Left Behind might be interested in. Granted, I haven't seen it, so my rating is not exactly fair, but sorcery and Jesus Christ should not be catagorized together

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Surprisingly good
Review: First of all, my 3 year old loves this movie. The first time he saw it, he was scared a little. The monster that looks like shrek is fascinating to him and ofcourse quidditch is exactly what all little boys want to see. Flying in brooms playing sports and being a hero on the field. I read the books and I expected the movie to fall short and I was very surprised that it was good.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Magical
Review: I'm not a kid. I read the books and was hooked with this fantastic world.
I have played the movie to people my age and older (34+) and they have run to buy the books.
For those of you who think that the movie could not be better than or come close to the book...you are in for a surprise.

The movie(s) will never be like the book(s). If they were the same it would be called a "MINISERIES".

Great imagination, superb scenarios, decent effects...who cares about the acting?...this is pure enterntainment.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Almost a great movie
Review: I've read the book two times (the four of them, in fact), and I love it. The movie is faithful to the book and also most of the actors, especially Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore and Hagrid. But I have to admit that the actor who played Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) wasn't as good as I expected (altough he did look as I imagined Harry).

The backgrounds where great, and they did pay atention to details and that's what makes a movie magical.

In the end, I think it's a good movie, worth buying.


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