Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Directed by Chris Columbus
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard—with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to harness his newfound powers with the help of the school's kindly headmaster, Harry uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths—and about the villain who's to blame.
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What critics say influenced Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Hogwarts looks suitably impressive, the troll and goblins are convincing, and most of the magic is nicely represented, but the flying sequences are disappointing, not looking a lot better than when Christopher Reeve donned his cape for Superman.
Although much of the action in this scene is quite convincing, occasional shots look like they come from the era of Christopher Reeve’s Superman movies, rather than the age of digital editing and bullet-time photography.
I won't even get into the whole element lifted from "Total Recall" where a previously unseen character's location is eventually disclosed other than to say that Paul Verhoeven and/or the estate of sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick should be demanding some royalties for stealing the imaginative revelation.
It strenuously tries but only intermittently succeeds in being magical in the vein of such seminal children fantasies as “E.T.” or “The Wizard of Oz.”
His overdramatic and redundant themes sound like a parody of his earlier work, ripping off Schindler's List (the main theme is only a few notes different), Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and above all, Hook.
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His overdramatic and redundant themes sound like a parody of his earlier work, ripping off Schindler's List (the main theme is only a few notes different), Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and above all, Hook.
Everything is perfect, from the Leaky Cauldron (a pub where everyone knows Harry's name) to Gringotts bank (nicely reminiscent of Mary Poppins) to Ollivanders Wand Shop (with a marvelous cameo from John Hurt as the shopkeeper).
With anticipation building to a fever pitch, and with Warner Bros. sitting on what could be the franchise to end all franchises (easily beating their "Batman," "Lethal Weapon," and "Superman" film series), expectations for the film--and how it compares to the book--were bound to be high.
The list of actors with voluminous credentials includes Richard Harris, as Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts; Zoe Wanamaker as Madame Hooch, the Quidditch coach and flying instructor; comedian John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick; the marvelous Robbie Coltrane as Hogwarts' lovable, bumbling giant and groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid; John Hurt ("The Elephant Man") as the wand seller, Mr. Ollivander; Dame Maggie Smith, an Oscar winner for her role as a teacher at a Scottish girls' school in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," as Professor Minerva McGonagall; and Alan Rickman ("Truly, Madly, Deeply"), who appears as the creepy professor of potions, Severus Snape.
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And Diagon Alley, where witches shop for flying brooms and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans on a secret London street, as well as Gringotts, a bank run by goblins, are such believable-looking places I was reminded of the first-time thrill of seeing the alien bar in "Star Wars."
The film also demonstrates something which the books did not - it's indebtedness to the mythology and ideas of the "Star Wars" series.
When you spend in the neighborhood of $125 million on the most widely anticipated literary adaptation since "Gone With the Wind," you want to get what you paid for.