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Movies / On DVD / Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

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Reviews Counted:182

Fresh:142

Rotten:40

Average Rating:7/10

Consensus: 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?

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some scary moments and mild language

Runtime: 2 hrs 39 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:Nov 16, 2001 Wide

Box Office: $317,557,891

Synopsis: As Harry Potter’s (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) 11th birthday draws near, he anticipates little in the way of excitement or presents from the Dursleys, Harry’s unpleasant relatives who took him in following... As Harry Potter’s (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) 11th birthday draws near, he anticipates little in the way of excitement or presents from the Dursleys, Harry’s unpleasant relatives who took him in following his parents’ deaths and forced him to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs.

But this year, Harry’s birthday will be different.

A mysterious letter addressed to Harry arrives, written in peculiar green ink and accompanied by an owl. Harry is surprised and excited by the curious dispatch, but his horrified Uncle Vernon (RICHARD GRIFFITHS) destroys the letter before Harry has a chance to read it.

The next day, another letter and owl arrive, only to be squelched by the Dursleys. As each day follows the next, letters and owls continue turning up on Harry’s doorstep until the Dursleys, fearing they can no longer suppress the contents of the peculiar correspondence, flee with Harry in tow to a remote hut where they’re confident they cannot be found.

Their plan appears to be working when suddenly a LOUD CRASH carries the hut door off its hinges, revealing the awesome bulk of an enormous giant called Hagrid (ROBBIE COLTRANE). Furious with the Dursleys for destroying the letters and trying to conceal their nephew’s real identity, Hagrid reveals the secret that will change Harry’s life: he, Harry Potter, is a wizard!

Much to Harry’s disbelief, it transpires that the puzzlingly persistent letters are invitations for him, on the occasion of his 11th birthday, to leave the regular world and join his similarly-talented peers at the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hagrid goes on to explain that Harry’s parents did not die in a car crash as his insecure relatives have repeatedly told him – they were in fact murdered by an evil wizard who in turn etched the distinctive lightning scar on Harry’s forehead!

Harry is completely overwhelmed by the revelations about his parents and the invitation to Hogwarts. However, faced with another night in the cupboard under the stairs and a life of hand-me-downs, he doesn’t hesitate in accompanying Hagrid to London’s Kings Cross Station, where he discovers the secret Platform 9 3/4 and catches the Hogwarts Express.

Aboard the train packed with wide-eyed first year students, Harry befriends fellow wizards-in-training Hermione Granger (EMMA WATSON) and Ron Weasley (RUPERT GRINT). Together with his new friends, Harry embarks on the adventure of a lifetime at Hogwarts, a wondrous place beyond Harry’s wildest imagination where he discovers his extraordinary talents and finds the home and the family he never had. -- © 2001 Warner Bros. [More]

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Richard Harris, John Cleese, Julie Walters, Maggie Smith, John Hurt, Tom Felton, Warwick Davis, Zoë Wanamaker

Director: Chris Columbus

Director: Chris Columbus
Screenwriter: Steve Kloves
Producer: David Heyman
Composer: John Williams
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Release:

Dec 8, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

Blu-ray Disc Features:

  • Region [unknown]

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, Spanish
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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a fantastic beginning

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
07/05/08
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

A near-perfect commercial and cultural commodity.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/05/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
03/05/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
10/25/07
Amber Wilkinson
Amber Wilkinson
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.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
07/24/07
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
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.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment 3 Comments
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

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

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
07/08/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
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.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Alan Morrison
Alan Morrison
Empire Magazine

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

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

A spectacular franchise takes flight.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/17/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

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

Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
09/30/05
Scott Nash
Scott Nash
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

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
09/04/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

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

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
12/06/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
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

Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | comment Comment
12/06/04
Jordan Hiller
Jordan Hiller
Bangitout.com

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

Full Review Source: Kansas City Kansan | comment Comment
10/30/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

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

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment 2 Comments
06/22/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

There's nothing more appropriate, more scary, more mysterious, more thought-provoking, more chilling, more exciting, more dynamic and more fun for the whole family than this.

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
02/24/04
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

Though generally overrated, it's a good start to what will undoubtedly become an epic film franchise.

Full Review Source: Radio Free Entertainment | comment Comment
01/15/04
Andrew Manning
Andrew Manning
Radio Free Entertainment

A Xerox copy of the book, and a copy is never as good as the original.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment 2 Comments
04/20/03
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

Full of well-designed atmospheric charm, full of wondrous, expensive effects and mediocre-at-best acting, full of media hype and holiday-season merchandising opportunities.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online
 
 
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