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| | Label: Warner Bros. Pictures
Salesrank: 61272
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| Used Price: $1.72 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
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 (Daniel Radcliffe) and his schoolmates Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), as well as his protector, the looming Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). 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. Writer Steve Kloves and director Chris Columbus keep the spooks in check, making this a true family film, and with its resourceful hero wide-eyed and ready, one can't wait for Harry's return. Ages 8 and up. --Doug Thomas
Description of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:
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 (Daniel Radcliffe) and his schoolmates Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), as well as his protector, the looming Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). 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. Writer Steve Kloves and director Chris Columbus keep the spooks in check, making this a true family film, and with its resourceful hero wide-eyed and ready, one can't wait for Harry's return. Ages 8 and up. --Doug Thomas
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Reviews:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone DVD 
2009-12-21 - I purchased this DVD immediately after reading the book and enjoyed watching it. It follows the book pretty well, of course events were shortened or left out because of time constraints but overall, I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it.
Finally I Watched the first movie
2009-12-17 - My mom bought me the first Harry Potter book when it first came out, I loved it and continued to read everybook since then. But I never started watching the movies until "Goblet of Fire" came out, I'm big on reading but not so much on movies coming from books. That being sad, I enjoyed this movie a great deal and it stayed very true to the book in my opinion. At this point everyone knows the story of Harry Potter and his beginnings so I'll skip on that. Luckily the movie jumped right into the plot, they didn't spend too much time on the his life with the Dursley's and touched on the more important scenes. The casting was done well, each of the kids were able to grasp and portray the personalities we've all read in the books, as well as the Hogwarts professors.
Reading all of the books before even watching the first movie didn't take away from the excitement of watching Sorcerer's Stone. I think this movie is a great intro into a fun and exciting series of books.
Fantastic!
2009-12-14 - We just got our blu-ray player, after holding out for so long. So, naturally, I am on a blu-ray buying spree. So far, of all of the blu-ray discs I have watched in high definition on our 1080p HD TV, these new "Ultimate Editions" of the Harry Potter films, have impressed me the most.
I am *NOT* an audio/video expert. However, I can say that the films look crisp and sharp, to me. We are playing the discs on a Playstation 3 using an HDMI connection to our Sony Bravia Z-Series 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV. The sound is quite nice as well. We don't have a full digital audio setup, but we do have a limited 2.1 sound system attached to our setup, and the sound seems to be better on the blu-ray discs, than the DVDs. But that may just be a placebo affect.
I was worried that because the films we made quite a while before blu-ray came out, or before it was super-common to film all digitally, and in high definition, that what we would end up with would be an upscaled version of the DVD footage, showing heavy grain and looking blurry. I can say that it doesn't look like that at all. It looks fantastic. Like the actors are right there in the room with you. Additionally, the blu-ray disc contains both the theatrical release, and the new extended version with cut scenes put back in. A *LOT* of scenes make more sense with those scenes back in. It helps if you have read the books, but if you haven't, then those extra scenes make the movies make more sense.
As for the extras, the booklet is nice, and has some interesting photos (and very little in the way of words or explanations to explain them). The case is fantastic, and high quality (the interior case which is the big box right inside the slipcover is the same kind of pseudo-leather the LOTR extended versions use, AND it has a nifty magnetic clasp to hold itself shut!). The over-sized trading cards are ridiculous and clearly a gimmick (but they are well made). The DVD copy has all of the old special features from previous releases. However, if you are a super-fan of the books and movies, it will be the blu-ray special features disc that you buy this set for. Specifically, for the hour long documentary included in each ultimate edition containing all of the behind-the-scenes stuff I have been wanting to see for such a long time now! They also do in depth interviews, and show stuff we have never seen before, like the actors screen tests, and their green-screening techniques.
I loved the set, I loved the price, I loved the quality of the films in HD, and I loved the extras. 5 stars, all the way!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ULTIMATE EDITION Blu-ray
2009-12-10 - To start off this isn't a review of the movie itself, by now you should have already formed an opinion of the movie for yourself or from other reviews of just the film. This is a review for the Ultimate Edition.
Two words: Absolutely Amazing!
This isn't just some scam from Warner Bros to get a few more dollars squeezed out of the Harry Potter movies, this is brand new and refreshing. Warner Bros packaged this set to be (or what appears to be) the last Harry Potter set to be had. Everything that you could want in a collectors set it included here.
The booklet included is surprisingly well done. The book keeps with the theme of the special feature exclusive to the ultimate edition. For example, in the Chamber of Secrets edition the booklet is all about the characters and their development, both at the beginning of the series and how they have evolved through the years. Included are stills from the movie, pictures of the theme (ie. characters, buildings, sets), and my favorite... concept art.
As for the character cards that are included they aren't anything super special but at the same time they aren't cheaply done. The cards are solid and printed well. I could see where some people will find them very satisfying and a highlight of the edition.
The thing that I was most impressed with, however, was the presentation. Finally someone released a special edition of a film and made it presentable and convenient. The boxes are made to look like books that fold open and are neatly packed on the inside. Also on the inside of the book there are images from the film, making it look very much like a collector's item. Warner Bros has really set themselves up nicely for the release of the next six of these.
Overall I was extremely pleased with this edition of the movie and cannot wait for the rest to be released.
a mixed bag, but still worth it 
2009-12-09 - The BluRay transfer does nothing for the film. John Seale's sometimes flat, muddy cinematography and the rushed FX shots become even more jarringly apparent. The reincorporation of the deleted scenes is a nice feature, however.
The "Creating the World of Harry Potter" documentary on the second disc is a very welcome addition. I appreciate when the film makers and studios make a more straight-forward feature like this, especially for a family-friendly or children's movie. Too often they're burdened with boring, kid-friendly infomercials that recycle the same behind-the-scenes footage. Much like...
...the third disc, which is disappointingly just a reprint of the bonus disc from the original 2-disc DVD release from 2002. While that disc was lauded at the time of its original release, the graphics are embarrassingly outdated now (WB couldn't spare a few thousand bucks for a menu refresh?)
