Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone [DVD] [2001]

Product Information

The video transfer is good. There are no compression signs at all and the visuals are pleasing. The CG isn`t as breathtaking as I was expecting, but still, it`s cute for a kids` movie.

Harry Potter and The Philosopher`s Stone (Widescreen) (UK) Harry Potter and The Philosopher`s Stone (Widescreen) (UK)

Oh, boy. Harry Potter is here. The hype was huge (people were actually lining up near the stores that sold the DVD), but does it live up to the expectations? As I mentioned earlier, I didn`t get a chance to review the 2nd disk, thus I did not review the extras. I rated the extras 5 - the average for them so far.

Well it`s a new film, so what is their to be expected. It`s in nice 2.35.1, and I can`t recall the layer hop that much. For a disk that was pretty well guaranteed to sell in the millions, it is a fairly disappointing product. I guess their target market was not the type of discerning adults that read DVD Reviewer! Until he is rescued by a beetle eyed giant of a man, enrols at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. All because Harry Potter is a wizard! I have to say that on a repeat viewing many of the child actors grate. Hermione is a star, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle are spot on, Harry is OK (probably quite a good portrayal of Harry, who is an OK sort of bloke, but the actor is bad at portraying nervousness or excitement), but Ron is too flat and mournful, Neville is extremely wooden, and Percy is frankly appalling! Of course, it could be the direction rather than the actors themselves, and obviously it is a bit demanding to expect a whole cast of child actors to be perfect throughout a long feature film, but I can think of better examples, Lord of the Flies being one of them. Most of the cast of Grange Hill could do better than this, I think. Only DD, and no DTS, which is odd as it probably would have fitted on the disc with ease, particularly as there is no commentary at all. But it sounds pretty good all the same.

Harry Potter The Complete Collection: 20th Anniversary Harry Potter The Complete Collection: 20th Anniversary

The film? When I saw it in the cinema, I thought it was great and gave it 9/10 on IMDb: I was just pleased that for once the people making the `film of the book` hadn`t messed around too much with the plot. I didn`t feel any empathy towards Harry`s character, either due to the acting or perhaps due to his eyebrows (which make him look like a clown, rather than like a magician). Follow the adventures of Harry Potter as he discovers the magical, the dangerous, the unpredictable world of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It`s way way way too violent for a movie targeted for children and young teenagers. Come on! The ball match scene is extremely violent, not to mention the two Chess matches. Sure, the good guy(s) win(s) eventually, but the process itself is simply too violent. Had I had any kids, I wouldn`t have let them see this movie. Not until they`re into the older part of their youths.As an adult, I find the real joy of the books is the satirical description of the `Muggles` world and the Dursleys in particular, and the creation of a whole parallel magical world, with its own Ministry of Magic, school rules and so on. Sadly most of this is missing in the film (maybe we will see a bit more in the sequels when we visit the Weasleys` home, but I am not too hopeful). The Dursley family are excellent in the film, and the shot of all the identikit estate cars parked in Privet Drive was inspired, but there was just not enough of this building up period, and so the line `You`re a Wizard, Harry` lost most of its impact.