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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: 5 stars
Summary: What a wonderful begining!
Review: This movie sets the standards for the rest to come! This movie was a delightful begining. It goes along with the book pretty well. If you haven't watched it yet then you must! You won't be dissappointed, I promise!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best movies ever made!!!
Review: The movie was a great take on the book! Harry, Ron, and Hermione are extremely delightful! To the reviewer that compared it to Star Wars: you have obviously been stuck in your basement doing nothing but being depressed that you could not think of such a great idea!! To the others reviewers that know when a great movie comes out: treat yourself and see it again!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: To Vanessa from New York and anyone else that hated this mov
Review: You (and a few others) hate this movie. Thats fine. But if you hate this movie why do you have to write a review that is so long that everyone falls asleep reading it? Just tell us you hate it. We don't care why. And fyi Ron Weasley has red hair in the movie because he did in the BOOK. Don't insult him and say he's high or gonna come out of a cereal box. Grow up. I like to see you or anyone else do a better job. Most of the actors are just kids. Quit being jealous cause they have a ton more money than you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Set your imagination free.
Review: This is the film version of J. K. Rowling's novel by the same name, the first in the Harry Potter Series. It's an imaginative, fascinating, fun-filled, awe-inspiring movie for all ages, regardless of whether you've read the books or not. (As a matter of fact it was watching this movie that I fell into the Potter mania and started devouring all the books).

You will love everything about the movie including the strong characters with their down-to-earth attitude inside their magical worlds and the fascinating possibilities and intricate plots and sub-plots presented in this movie and developed through the series. You'll also enjoy the brilliantly used visual effects, the fantastic scenery, the emotional musical score and, of course, the enchanting, captivating, and sometimes amusing, magic that will take you away to a bewitching place.

In this movie Harry discovers, under very unusual circumstances, on his eleventh birthday, that he is a Wizard. He leaves the normal world of Muggles (non-magical folk) where he lives with his Aunt and Uncle and goes to Hogwarts School to be trained in Witchcraft and Wizard. He meets new friends, learns what happened to his parents who died when he was a baby, faces the evil Voldemort for the first time, and shows his courage, bravery and determination trying to prevent the Sorcerer's Stone from falling into the wrong hands.

Not only does this movie faithfully captures the world J. K. Rowling created in her books, it also enhances it as only a well made film adaptation can. The actors are so well picked and their performances are so compelling that you'll never read any of the books without imagining the actors in the roles they played.

Don't believe the criticism that accuses Harry Potter of being a bad influence on kids and religion before giving it a chance. You will see for yourself that it is not. It is a good-natured story for children (and adults, too) about a group of good-natured characters that face difficult situations and have to put their values and principles to the test in order to triumph over the obstacles they face.

Buy this movie and enjoy it with your children and/or the kid inside you. Again, you'll love it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: WONDERFUL FUN
Review: From its mystical, magical opening on a suburban British street in the middle of the night to its final image, this movie packs an eye-popping load of magic on the silver screen. The wonders rarely cease, and the story has more than its share of excitement for all ages. J.K. Rowling's story is a metamorphisis, cleverly wraught, of all popular culture rolled into one superb children's fantasy, and the special effects team has worked overtime on this movie to bring it all to stunning life, including a remarkable game of Quidditch, played high in the air on broomsticks. Yet the early scenes in London, as Harry shops for his wizard school supplies in a magical mall, have a visual wonder that is rarely surpassed once we arrive at the school. The movie has the star power of Maggie Smith and Richard Harris, Alan Rickman and John Hurt -- all of whom provide the necessary gravity in the serious business of training young wizards. The young cast, which includes a completely non-sentimental Daniel Radcliffe as the perfect Harry Potter, could hardly be better -- that charm in the way that the youngsters in Mary Poppins and Oliver did in the 1960s -- the movie has a classic feel to it, with its epic vision and scope. It tries a bit too hard to work for emotion, however, and there is an antiseptic quality to the visual effects after awhile, since there barely a thin thread of heartstrings to pull you along. Still, the movie has at its core an uplifting, positive message that is unusual in family films today -- and seems resonant in these uncertain times. We all have the power within to conquer our enemies, the story seems to tell us. Beware, however --- despite its overall cheerful, even holidayesque tone, there are more than a few jolts of the scary variety, ones that will have your little ones screaming. The adults often shrieked in alarm when I saw it the other night.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Aspect Ratio Correct?
Review: Choose "Wide Screen" or the "Pan and Scan" version? Here is some help: For the most part in any DVD, the Wide Screen or "Letterbox" version is supposed to "PRESERVE" the aspect version that you saw at the movies. "Harry Potter" versions were probably filmed using 1.18:1 aspect ratio, but Warner Bros Pictures used a 2.35:1 aspect ratio to transfer to the widescreen DVD. This is good for the new widescreen tvs, but, this also cheats you out of this movies' integrety; whereas it deletes both the top and bottom portions of the original film. Some movies are SHOT in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and you usually do not lose anything with those - (why couldn't they just do the 1.18:1 aspect ratio as it was meant to be seen?) For purists, it's fine for the new television monitors and tvs, but I would prefer the full top to bottom view of the actors and things that they are holding and the hand movements.

The TV or the "Full Screen" version, (Still not 1.18:1 aspect ratio but shows the bowl being pushed on the table by Hagrid), was meant to fit on a regular TV screen. Here, little portions are lost in the left side of the film. I prefer to take the little loss on the sides versus losing the top and bottom, showing clapping, wand holding, etc to be seen, so skip the widescreen and purchase the "Full Screen" version if that is what you want. Either way, the movie is a PIP! I thought that the essence of mystery mixed with human emotion is nicely portrayed. Nothing is as good as the book, (your own imagination is used there), but the movie does give some nice escape in imagination with some excellent acting and computer gra-fix!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Faithful And True...
Review: After reading Rowling's book, I was expecting a total disaster of a movie. I couldn't imagine the possibility of a decent film version of such a great book. I was gladly wrong! HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE translates perfectly to the screen. The story is faithfully engaging and the characters are played as if they walked off the pages of the book. When I first saw Alan Rickman as Snape, Maggie Smith as MacGonnagal, and Richard Harris as Dumbledore, I was amazed at how much they WERE the characters! Harry himself (Daniel Radcliffe) is perfectly cast, as are his friends, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint). Even Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) is captured in all his warm, loveable glory! The story is well known: Harry grows up with his dastardly mean muggle aunt, uncle, and cousin Dudley, not knowing that all along, he's the hero of the entire wizarding world! One day, Harry begins to find out who / what he really is. An entirely new universe opens up before him, leading him into the great adventure that is his true destiny. A riveting tale of discovery, courage, and friendship. As for all the hyper-religious, paranoid, hysteria out there, I'll never understand it. Having read the book and seen the movie many times, I sense no threat to my spirituality whatsoever. Nope, HPATSS is just very well-written fantasy fiction, turned into a wonderful family movie. Highly recommended...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Ehhh....OVERATED!
Review: Didn't like the book, didn't like the movie. Here's an event movie that holds up to being an event. This filmed version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, adapted from the wildly popular book by J.K. Rowling, stunningly brings to life Harry Potter's world of Hogwarts, the school for young witches and wizards. The greatest strength of the film comes from its faithfulness to the novel, and this new cinematic world is filled with all the details of Rowling's imagination, thanks to exuberant sets, elaborate costumes, clever makeup and visual effects, and a crème de la crème cast, including Maggie Smith, Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, and more. Especially fine is the interplay between Harry and his schoolmates Ron and Hermione, as well as his protector, the looming Hagrid ). The second-half adventure--involving the titular sorcerer's stone--doesn't translate perfectly from page to screen, ultimately because of the film's fidelity to the novel; this is a case of making a movie for the book's fans, as opposed to a transcending film. All in all it's your typical kid flick. If you want a great fantasy film, I'd strongly suggest Lord of the Rings.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Promising Start
Review: Very promising start. 4.5 stars really. Well casted and beautifully animated. Bit too faithful to the book. Rather British in its preoccupation with getting it just right and dotting every i and crossing every t. But a very good 1st try.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: lousy
Review: Hi everyone,
I just want to express my opinion about this movie. I am a huge Harry Potter fan and love the way that JK Rowling captures normal life in this caracter. I can fully relate to Harry's actions. When I heard that a movie was going to be made I was overjoyed and couldn't wait to get into the movie theatre. But I was supremly overestimating the magic I hoped Chris Columbus was going to put into this movie. The actors are lousy, even I could do a better job. There is one scene where Harry and Ron meet for the first time in the Hogwarts express which is very important since it trigures a long friendship. But all the is said is. "I'm Ron Weasly" "I'm Harry Potter" (Silence for about a minute) then Hermione comes in. Which leads me to Emma Watson. No offence meant Emma but your haircut was fashion like 300 years ago an back then people used to wear wigs in shame. What happened to Harry's messed up hair and his green eyes which are a key part of the story? The Quiddich match has even worse effects than "Gladiator". Although the only character which I think is played reasonably well is Severus Snape, that scene where he comes into the classroom is just much different and with much, much, much less magic than in the book. People, this is a world famous novel and your giving it to the dogs. The end is just much too sudden. HARRY, WE WANT TO SEE YOU ACTING!!! i can just imagine seeing Chriss Columbus talk to Daniel, saying "'Cut! Daniel, u showed 2 much emotion!" Number 1 is really really really lousy, i strongly advise against it.


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