JR Late Night Blogs: JR's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Review

HARRY POTTER and the SORCERER'S STONE REVIEW

TOP 5 in the ALL-TIME WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE ($968,657,891)

TOP 43 in the ALL-TIME USA BOX OFFICE ($317,557,891)

TOP 4 in the ALL-TIME NON-USA BOX OFFICE ($651,100,000)

THE BEST HARRY POTTER MOVIE SO FAR...

TOP 1 CHILDREN'S BOOK ADAPTATION MOVIE

TOP 1 SCHOOL - PREP/BOARDING/CATHOLIC MOVIE

TOP 3 FANTASY MOVIE

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Name of the Film: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Year: 2001

Date of Theater Release: November 16, 2001

Genre: Adventure/Family/Fantasy/Mystery

Director: Chris Columbus

Writers: JK Rowling (novel), Steve Kloves (screenplay)

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Producer: David Heyman

MPAA Rating: PG

Running Time: 2hrs 33mins

Production Budget: $125million

Plot:

Young Harry Potter has to lead a hard life: His parents have died in a car crash when he was still a baby, and he is being brought up by his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. For some reason unbeknownst to the bespectacled ten-year-old, the Dursleys let him live in the small chamber under the stairs, and treat him more like vermin than like a family member. His fat cousin Dudley, the Dursley's real son, keeps bothering Harry all the time. On his eleventh birthday, Harry Potter finally receives a mysterious letter from a certain Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, telling him that he is chosen as one of the future students of that supposedly renowned school. Hagrid, the gigantic man who brought the letter, finally introduces Harry into the real circumstances of his life: His parents were a wizard and a witch, they were killed by the evil wizard Voldemort protecting him. Harry still has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead from that event. Since he survived the attack as a baby, and also somehow deprived Voldemort from his powers, he has been famous in the wizarding world ever since. The Dursleys, strong disbelievers in that magical crap, never told Harry anything about his true self. So, Harry is strongly surprised, yet absolutely happy to start his training. At Hogwarts, Harry meets his teachers, and becomes friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The three of them accidentally find out that the potions master, Severus Snape, seems to plot on stealing something that is guarded by a three-headed dog. Since nobody would believe some first years to have found out such important things that even would incriminate a Hogwarts teacher, they take it on themselves to find out what Snape is up to. Their quest for the truth leads across many obstacles, from keeping up the everyday school life, a bewitched Quidditch match (Quidditch is a popular wizard sport), Fluffy, the three-headed monster dog and quite some tasks one has to overcome to get to the guarded object. (Source: Julian Reischl {julianreischl@mac.com})

Awards:

*2002 Saturn Award - Best Costumes (Judianna Mackovsky)

*2002 BMI Film Music Award (John Williams)

*2001 Bogey Award in Titanium

*2002 Critics Choice Award - Best Family Film: Live Action

*2002 Artios - Best Casting for Feature Film: Comedy (Jane Jenkins, Janet Hirshenson)

*2002 CDG Award - Excellence in Costume Design for Film: Period/Fantasy (Judianna Mackovsky)

*2006 Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema

*2002 Evening Standard British Film Award - Best Technical/Artistic Achievement (Stuart Craig)

*2002 Sierra Award - Best Family Film

*2002 PFCS Award - Best Family Film

*2002 Special Achievement Award - Outstanding New Talent (Rupert Grint)

*2002 Young Artist Award - Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actress (Emma Watson)

*2002 Young Artist Award - Most Promising Young Newcomer (Rupert Grint)

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Cast:

1. Professor Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris)

2. Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith)

3. Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane)

4. Baby Harry Potter (Saunders Triplets)

5. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)

6. Aunt Petunia Dursley (Fiona Shaw)

7. Dudley Dursley (Harry Melling)

8. Uncle Vernon Dursley (Richard Griffiths)

9. Professor Quirinius Quirell (Ian Hart)

10. Diagon Alley Boy (Ben Boroweicki)

11. Griphook the Goblin (Verne Troyer)

12. Hermione Granger (Emma Watson)

13. Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton)

14. Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint)

15. Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis)

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Additional Information:

1. Trivias

- Robbie Coltrane was the very first to be in the movie cast.

- Richard Harris only agreed to taking the part of Albus Dumbledore after his eleven year old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again.

- The hut used during the filming as Hagrid's hut has since been demolished in case fans of the film swamped it.

- The movie is known as "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" everywhere except the USA and so every scene in which the Philosopher's Stone was mentioned was filmed twice, once with the actors saying "Philosopher's" and once with the actors saying "Sorcerer's".

- Daniel Radcliffe learned he'd won the role of Harry Potter while in the bathtub.

- By February 2002 this was the second highest grossing film worldwide after Titanic (1997).

2. Goofs

- The mechanism which makes the Quidditch box shake can be seen underneath the box when Wood falls over after catching the Bludger.

- When Harry and Hagrid are in the Bank at Diagon Alley. Hagrid gives the goblin a card. Multiple time through camera shots the cards corners have been bent and smoothed.

- Harry's glasses sometimes have lenses, and sometimes don't, as do Dumbledore's.

- As the three children run across the field to Hagrid's hut, Harry says a few lines ending with "... why didn't I see it before?" Hermione is mouthing Harry's lines with him.

- On the train, the same hill as well as lake (as seen by the waves in the middle of the water) are seen multiple times.

- Harry's scar clearly changes positions throughout the movie.

3. Memorable Quote

= Dumbledore: It does not do to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live.

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Scenes from the Film: