Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone DVD (2002) Daniel Radcliffe

Description

To try and please all the fans of JK Rowling’s novel was a challenge that the makers of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone met head on. The result of their efforts is one of the most lavish, beautiful and magical cinematic treats to hit our screens in years. Director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steven Kloves (thankfully with the help of Rowling herself) prove that although you can’t translate everybody’s reading of this much-loved book onto the cinema screen–maybe Fluffy was a bit more Fluffy in your imagination or Hagrid (superbly played by Robbie Coltrane) a little more giant-like–it is nevertheless possible to transfer Harry’s adventures with fidelity as well as superb energy and excitement.

If there is a downside it’s that the performances of the child leads tends to verge on the Sylvia Young-tastic in places. Nonetheless, the three young stars are both likable and watchable, showing great potential to grow into the parts as the adventures continue. The main disappointment is the substantial cutting of the ghost scenes and what promised to be a fine comic turn by John Cleese as Headless Nick, though with more Potter films on the way the ghosts will surely assume their rightful prominence later. There are, of course, some areas of the story that may frighten smaller children–such as the entrance of the evil Voldemort–and undoubtedly for any true Potter fan that cinematic entrance cannot live up to the images created in their imagination. All in all, though, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is what it should be: an unmissable treat for the whole family.