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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) (2001)

tomatometer

80

Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 186
Fresh: 148 | Rotten: 38

Being so faithful to the book is both the movie's strength and weakness. The movie unfolds exactly as written in the book, so there is little room for surprises or discoveries. For Potter fans, what more can you ask for?

75

Average Rating: 6.7/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 10

Being so faithful to the book is both the movie's strength and weakness. The movie unfolds exactly as written in the book, so there is little room for surprises or discoveries. For Potter fans, what more can you ask for?

audience

81

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 1,048,795

My Rating

Movie Info

The best-selling novel by J.K. Rowling (titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in England, as was this film adaptation) becomes this hotly anticipated fantasy adventure from Chris Columbus, the winner of a high-stakes search for a director to bring the first in a hoped-for franchise of Potter films to the screen by Warner Bros. Upon his 11th birthday, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), who lives in misery with an aunt and uncle that don't want him, learns from a giant named Hagrid (Robbie

May 28, 2002

$317.6M

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (186) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (154) | Rotten (38) | DVD (44)

A near-perfect commercial and cultural commodity.

March 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

I hear the J.K. Rowling books are great, and on the basis of this 2001 movie I'm ready to believe it.

March 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment (1)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It offers more delights than disappointments -- and that qualifies as one of the year's great reliefs.

August 9, 2002 Comment
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The filmmakers want to show us a magical world that is, at the same time, wholly believable. They want to create matter-of-fact miracles, but what they end up with is mostly just plain matter-of-fact.

January 22, 2002 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comments (2)
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[A] complete triumph...

November 27, 2001 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | Comment
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

You can't expect perfection from muggles.

November 24, 2001 Comments (3)
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Although it suffers nominally from being over-stuffed and under-paced, it's grand and involving, with magnificent production design and special effects, and some fabulous thesps present and correct.

June 27, 2011 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

First Potter movie is a magical ride but also intense.

December 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

A combination of computer graphics, detailed sets, and real-life locations gives the film the authenticity its fans expect. (Blu-ray Ultimate Edition)

December 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

a fantastic beginning

July 5, 2008 Comment

Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, Zoe Wanamaker and Maggie Smith, to name but a few, all put in an appearance and it is these old hands who are the best aspect of the film.

October 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Eye for Film | Comment
Eye for Film

Suffering from too much fantasy over too little reality, Sorcerer's Stone sets Harry Potter up for a longer and fruitful career as a screen legend.

July 24, 2007 Comment
Oscar Guy

Because the film is so glossy, so flippant in its presentation of the world that author J.K. Rowling has spent her sizable novels dissecting, that I still don't have a good idea what all the fuss is about.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | Comments (4)
Big Picture Big Sound

The quickest, zappiest two and a half hours of entertainment you'll ever see.

July 8, 2007 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | Comment
Guardian [UK]

Even though a few of the book's scenes have been cut, fans probably couldn't hope for a better adaptation. It bodes well for the rest of the series, when strong stories start taking precedence over set-up.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

What a feast for children! Long, and engrossing. Kids will love it! Wizard!

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

A spectacular franchise takes flight.

November 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | Comment (1)
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

I couldn't find one mis-step, one wrong move, or one disappointment in the transition from print to celluloid.

September 30, 2005 Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | Comment
Three Movie Buffs

Columbus' rendition of the first Harry Potter is a slavish adapation of the book, lacking imagination or vision, though not as bad as to be insufferable to watch

September 4, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

The special effects aren't overwhelming and the ideas aren't too far-fetched, but the story will reel in just about anybody.

July 5, 2005 Full Review Source: Bullz-Eye.com | Comment
Bullz-Eye.com

Unfortunately, many fine performances are nearly wasted by Columbus's predictable direction and an overbearing, relentless soundtrack.

December 6, 2004 Comment (1)
Looking Closer

Even though this movie impresses and delights on it's own, it is more exciting to view it as a teaser for the films to come

December 6, 2004 Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | Comment
Bangitout.com

Even without a whit of singing, it is the 'Wizard of Oz' of our time. (Published 12-22-01)

October 30, 2004 Full Review | Comment

A sense of loss accompanied my appreciation of the movie. The images created by my own imagination...will now be changed forever.

June 22, 2004 Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | Comments (2)
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)

Gets the party started. Good enough for me.

January 17, 2012
jarobb3

Super Reviewer

A smart fantastic start to an ptherwise average franchise only really for action or potter fans.

November 10, 2011
Michael M.
Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

    1. Ron Weasley: Sunshine daises butter mellow, turn that stupid fat rat yellow!
    – Submitted by ethan t (28 days ago)
    1. Hermione Granger: Feels weird going home, doesn't it?
    2. Harry Potter: I'm not going home, not really.
    – Submitted by Michael C (35 days ago)
    1. Ron Weasley: Lucky we didn't panic...
    – Submitted by Sara B (58 days ago)
    1. Hermione Granger: Stop moving, both of you. This is devil's snare! You have to relax. If you don't, it'll only kill you faster!
    2. Ron Weasley: Kill us faster? Oh, now I can relax!
    – Submitted by Sara B (58 days ago)
    1. Ron Weasley: You're a little scary sometimes, you know that? Brilliant... But scary.
    – Submitted by Sara B (58 days ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen (DE)
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (UK)
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