Movies - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

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	Movies - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States) was a highly successful film released in 2001, based on the fantasy novel of the same name by best-selling author J.K. Rowling.

An agent of Warner Brothers bought the movie rights to the film at a relatively low price soon before the book's incredible success. The movie was made at Leavesden Film Studios and released in 2001. The second, third and fourth books have also been made into films. The rest of the series will follow.

The film made in excess of $950 million at the worldwide box office (third only to Titanic
and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
) and received three Oscar nominations.

J. K. Rowling insisted that the entire cast be British, in keeping with the cultural integrity of the book and the movie. Exceptions are Irish character Seamus Finnigan (Devon Murray), Professor Dumbledore (Richard Harris is also Irish), and Madam Hooch (American-born Zoe Wanamaker).

She also approved the screenplay, written by Steve Kloves.

Taglines: The Magic Begins Soon and Let The Magic Begin.

Synopsis

Harry Potter, a seemingly ordinary eleven-year-old boy, is actually a wizard and survivor of Lord Voldemort's attempted rise to power. After living with his horrible Muggle relatives for 11 years, he learns of his true identity and is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he befriends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The trio find themselves in all sorts of adventures, eventually leading them to discover a deadly peril threatening the school.

Alterations from the book

There are many differences between the film and book, some of which are more prominent than others, including:

The characters of Peeves
the Poltergeist, Professor Binns and Pansy Parkinson
are omitted entirely.
* A scene with Peeves was filmed but left out of the theatrical cut: it is rumoured that a forthcoming extended "director's cut" will restore his scene.
Harry does not find out that Lord Voldemort
killed his parents until after he buys his wand.
Harry never goes back to the Dursleys' between Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express. While not implicitly shown, it appears Harry and Hagrid spend some time at The Leaky Cauldron (they are shown having dinner there when Hagrid talks about Harry's past.)
Harry does not meet Malfoy
until after they get to Hogwarts.
The scene at the Railview Hotel in Cokeworth with the Dursleys is omitted.
In the book, the man who gave Hagrid
Fluffy is Greek, whereas in the movie he is Irish.
The Christmas Day scene with dinner, the Weasleys, and all Harry's presents other than the Invisibility Cloak was cut from the theatrical release, but was included as a deleted scene on the DVD version.
In the book, wizard chess involves the pieces calling out (oft-times contradictory) advice to the players. In the movie, it involves the pieces fighting and destroying each other when a piece is captured.
Harry, Ron and Hermione discover Fluffy in a different way than stated in the book; rather than being tricked by Malfoy into going out of their dormitory at night and running from Argus Filch
, they get lost when the staircase they are on changes direction.
The book has Harry seeing his extended family in the Mirror of Erised, where in the film he only sees his parents.
Ron joins Harry, Hermione, and Draco during their detention in the Forbidden Forest, rather than Neville
.
Quirrell's and Snape's protections for the Philosopher's Stone are omitted, cutting down Hermione's role in the final scenes.
Norbert the dragon's hatching scene is in the film (just like the book), but Norbert is not seen being taken to Romania by Harry & Hermione (in the book, Harry & Hermione take the crated dragon up to the astronomy tower where one of Charlie Weasley
's friends wisks Norbert off to Romania on his broom). In the film, Hagrid does say that Norbert had to be sent off, though.
Of the centaurs, only Firenze is shown. The others, Ronan and Bane, are cut.
Firenze is shown as a dark haired centaur in the movie. He is a blond, blue eyed palomino-colored centaur in the book.
The climax is far more dramatic than in the book. For example, Quirrell gets turned to ash, which then crumbles, in the places that Harry touches him, rather than simply being burned. Harry also has a moment of hesitation, where it looks as though he might actually give the stone to Voldemort. Since Harry actually sees Quirrell die, rather than passing out before the professor's death, this could possibly lead to a plot contradiction in the fifth movie.
The explanation that Snape dislikes Harry because of Snape's relationship to James (Snape hated him, even though James saved his life) is omitted.
In the book, one of Dudley Dursley's friends, Piers Polkiss, comes along with him to the zoo. In the film, Piers is totally omitted.
In the book, Dumbledore
tells Harry that he sees himself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks in the Mirror of Erised, which was omitted in the movie.
The majority of the first chapter is cut out, as in the following three films.
Hermione says Voldemort's name (after the Forest part). She is not supposed to say it until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Aunt Petunia and Dudley are blond in the book.
Neville Longbottom's role in the film is considerably less than in the book. In the book, Neville accompanies Hermione in the train and joins them when they see Fluffy. Neville also gets into a fight with Malfoy in the Quidditch match. The substory in the book is Ron trying to teach Neville to stand up for himself. That is ommited, but the scene where Neville stands up to Harry, Ron and Hermione is still in the film.
In the novel, the large, dangerous wooded area outside Hogwarts is called the Forbidden Forest. In the movie, it is referred to as the Dark Forest.

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