Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001)

On the run up the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald I’m rewatching and reviewing all the Harry Potter films, including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as they’re films that made up a big part of my childhood but I’ve never reviewed them before.

Orphaned Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) discovers he’s a wizard and joins the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he makes new friends and rivals and learns that there’s an evil that haunts the magical world.

It’s hard to talk about the Harry Potter films individually when you’ve seen the entire series and have read the books. You know where all these characters end up and The Philosopher’s Stone sets up so many character arcs and mentions so many people or items that will become more important later on in the grand scheme of things, and it does it all so well. With hindsight I appreciate The Philosopher’s Stone a lot, it’s a perfect introduction to this whole new magical world, taking the time to explain things while still having a compelling mystery at its core.

While he’s learning magic and potions, Harry meets Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) who soon become his best friends. When they’re not in classes the three of them stumble across a massive three-headed dog and soon get involved in a secret hidden in their school. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone works so well because one of its main story elements is the adults don’t or won’t believe the children, so they are the ones who have to go on a potentially dangerous adventure to save the day. Everyone has been a child so it’s a situation we can all relate to.

The main young trio Radcliffe, Grint and Hermione Watson give fine performances but it’s the adult cast that’s built around them that manages to be great but at the same time never overshadows their child co-stars. Richard Harris as Dumbledore is brilliant, he’s wise and calm but it’s clear he’s powerful and respected. Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane, as Professor McGonagall and Hagrid respectively, both bring warmth and humour to their roles. It’s Alan Rickman as Professor Snape that really stands out though. He plays Snape with such nuance that he’s an intriguing character from the outset.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is so bright and colourful which you appreciate more when you think about how dark, both in tone and colour palette, the latter films get. While some of the special effects have not aged so well, the Quidditch match is still thrilling to watch. The score is beautiful, and it’s funny going back to the beginning because these musical cues have become so iconic, and who knew this music would be here to stay.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is a great family film. It’s funny, exciting and has a compelling mystery at its heart. It’s a great starting point for adapting the books. 5/5.

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY: Favourite First Sentences

Top 5 Wednesday is a great feature created by GingerReadsLainey and hosted by ThoughtsonTomes. To find out more about Top 5 Wednesday and the upcoming topics, check out its Goodreads page. This week it’s all about memorable first sentences of a book and what they do to pull you into the story.

i capture the castle“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.” – I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
I’ve not actually read the entirety of I Capture The Castle, in fact I’ve only ever read the first chapter (not sure why I ever put it down and I must rectify this soon) but this first line has definitely stayed with me.

 

 

FullSizeRender (75)“I’m pretty much fucked. That’s my considered opinion. Fucked.” – The Martian by Andy Weir
The Martian starts as it means to go on and this opening sentence(s) give you the best introduction to Mark Watney.

 

 

pride and prejudice“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” – Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
I like how kind of blunt yet sarcastic this line is and straight away you know this is going to be a story about marriage and romance and the politics that will probably come with it.

 

 

harry potter“Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling
I like how the Philosopher’s Stone starts because it is so normal and potentially boring but then then you know that something decidedly not-normal is bound to happen.

 

 

stormbreaker“When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it’s never good news.” – Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz.
I read Stormbreaker for the first time over ten years ago and this is the first sentence that immediately sprang to mind when I saw this week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic. It’s so memorable because it is so true, no one ever wants their phone or doorbell to ring in the early hours of the morning because it’s never a good thing.

 

What are your favourite first sentences?

Remembering Alan Rickman

I’d just got back to the car after going shopping this morning when I heard the news that Alan Rickman had died. I was waiting for my mum to pay the parking ticket so was scrolling through Twitter as you do when I saw all the Tweets. It must have been just as the news broke because a lot of them were linking to news articles and were general displays of shock. I couldn’t really believe it either.

I was born in 1991 and grew up watching Alan Rickman. One of my mum’s favourite films (so therefore it became one of my favourites and a formative influence) was Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Alan Rickman was a fantastic, over the top and evil Sheriff of Nottingham. He had the best lines, stole every scene he was in and was more than a match for Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood. I love that film and it’s one that I’ll always watch whenever it’s on TV.

My next “proper” exposure to Alan Rickman was in the Harry Potter films. I was definitely a part of the Harry Potter generation, I remember starting to read Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone in 2001, just after me and my mum had moved into our new home after my parents had divorced. I loved the books and then loved the films. Some actors were perfectly cast in those films and Alan Rickman as Severus Snape was one of them. He was foreboding and intimidating but when it came to showing the softer side to Snape in the later films he was equally brilliant.

And then there’s the other performance that I will always think of when I think of Alan Rickman – Metatron in Dogma. I watched Dogma for the first time at University, I think I watched it so I could reference in in a film essay but I loved it way more than I thought I would. Rickman’s deadpan delivery and air of boredom when it comes to the ridiculousness he’s found himself involved in are wonderful.

There’s obviously many more roles that Alan Rickman will be remembered for but those three are what made him special to me. I can’t help but feel very sad at his passing, maybe it’s also the sadness from David Bowie’s death is hitting me now as well. To lose two such great and influential people in the space of a week is heart-breaking and a sign of our mortality.

RIP Alan Rickman, thanks for being so amazing.

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TOP TEN TUESDAY: Top Ten Inspiring Quotes from Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week – I’m thinking I might not take part every week but just see if a week takes my fancy. This week is Top Ten favourite Insiring quotes from books – now not all of these are inspiring per se but they might make you think or make you smile and I love them all for different reasons.

If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.
– The Twits by Roald Dahl

If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.
– Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

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