HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE (FILM)

'''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''', known in the United States as '''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone''', is a 2001 fantasy/adventure film based on the novel of the same name by J.K. Rowling. Directed by Chris Columbus, it is the first in the popular Harry Potter films series. It stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, a boy who discovers he is a wizard on his eleventh birthday. It also features Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively. The adult cast features Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman and Ian Hart.
Warner Bros. bought the film rights to the book in 1999. Production began in 2000, with Columbus being chosen from a short list of directors to create the film. Rowling insisted that the entire cast be British, in keeping with the cultural integrity of the book and the movie. Rowling also approved the screenplay, written by Steve Kloves. The film was primarily made at Leavesden Film Studios, and it was released on November 16, 2001. It made in excess of US$976 million at the worldwide box office and received three Academy Award nominations. The second, third, fourth, and fifth books have also been adapted into successful films, with the sixth and seventh confirmed.

Contents

Plot

Cast and characters

Production

Development

Casting

Filming

Music

Differences from the book

Marketing

Response

Box office performance

Critical reaction

References

External links

Plot

Harry Potter is seemingly an ordinary eleven-year-old boy, but is actually a wizard and a survivor of an attempted murderous attack by the evil dark Lord Voldemort, when Harry was just a year-old infant. Voldemort killed Harry's parents, but was surprisingly unable to kill the baby, and is nearly destroyed in the process. He was, however, able to leave a lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead. Harry was taken to live in an ordinary (muggle) household with his only remaining relatives, the Dursleys: his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley. The Dursleys are strongly opposed to any sort of involvement with magic, and Harry is given the impression that his "ordinary" parents simply died in a car accident, and that he is just an ordinary boy. But on his eleventh birthday, Harry learns from an enormous, mysterious stranger called Hagrid that he is actually a wizard, and is in fact famous in the wizarding world for surviving Voldemort's attack. Harry is invited to begin attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
In defiance of his aunt and uncle's wishes, Harry chooses to go to the school, where he begins to learn magic and make new friends (and enemies) among the Hogwarts students and staff. Harry learns that since Voldemort's attack on him about ten years earlier, Voldemort has been in a state of near-death because the killing curse rebounded upon him. But a plot is brewing for Voldemort to regain his power and achieve immortality through the acquisition of a Philosopher's Stone, which grants immortality to its owner. Harry and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, discover the plot and seek to prevent the theft of the stone, which is hidden in a protected chamber at Hogwarts. They must overcome many magical obstacles, including getting past a vicious three-headed dog named Fluffy and playing a deadly life-sized game of Wizard's Chess, to try to stop Lord Voldemort from getting the stone.

Cast and characters

★ 'Daniel Radcliffe' as 'Harry Potter': A seemingly normal child with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead and an ability to make strange things happen. He was raised by his aunt and uncle from the age of one year, following the death of his parents, about whom he knows very little. On his eleventh birthday Harry discovers that he is a wizard. Harry then attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he is sorted into Gryffindor House.

★ 'Rupert Grint' as 'Ron Weasley': A red haired wizarding boy, one of seven children of a disadvantaged family. Ron meets Harry on the Hogwarts Express and develops a long standing friendship with him. He is sorted into Gryffindor with Harry.

★ 'Emma Watson' as 'Hermione Granger': An extremely intelligent witch who was "Muggle-born". Despite initially irritating them, she becomes friends with Harry and Ron after the pair save her from a cave troll. She is sorted into Gryffindor.

★ 'Richard Harris' as 'Albus Dumbledore': The Headmaster of Hogwarts. He is one of the most famous and powerful wizards of all time, having in the past defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald. He took Harry to his aunt and uncle following the death of Lily and James Potter at the hands of Lord Voldemort.

★ 'Robbie Coltrane' as 'Rubeus Hagrid': A half-giant and the Groundskeeper at Hogwarts. He takes Harry to Privet Drive on a flying motorcycle, then takes him from his aunt and uncle on his eleventh birthday, after which the two develop a strong bond. He has a fondness for magical creatures, in particular dragons.

★ 'Alan Rickman' as 'Severus Snape': The Potions Master and head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts. He dislikes Harry due to a grudge against Harry's father. He is a former Death Eater but is trusted by Dumbledore.

★ 'Maggie Smith' as 'Minerva McGonagall': The Deputy Headmistress, head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. She accompanies Dumbledore to Number 4 Privet Drive when Harry is taken to his aunt and uncle. She has the ability to transform into a tabby cat.

★ 'Tom Felton' as 'Draco Malfoy': A wizard from a rich background. After Harry rejects his initial offer of "friendship", Draco develops an ever lasting hatred of Harry and his friends. He is sorted into Slytherin.

★ 'Ian Hart' as 'Professor Quirrell': The slightly nervous Defence-Against the Dark Arts Teacher at Hogwarts. He sports a purple turban, which harbours the near dead form of Lord Voldemort underneath.

★ 'Matthew Lewis' as 'Neville Longbottom': A timid student who is a friend of Harry, Ron and Hermione. He is the frequent target of Malfoy and his gang.

★ 'Richard Griffiths' as 'Vernon Dursley': Harry's uncle who works for the drill company Grunnings. He treats Harry poorly, only caring for his son Dudley. He does not wish Harry to find out about his true identity, and burns every letter Harry receives from Hogwarts.

★ 'Fiona Shaw' as 'Petunia Dursley': Harry's aunt, who like Vernon, treats him poorly.

★ 'Harry Melling' as 'Dudley Dursley': Harry's over-weight and spoilt cousin.

★ 'John Hurt' as 'Mr Ollivander': The owner of ''Ollivander's'', the finest wand producers in the wizarding world. He possesses the ability to find the perfect wand for any person who needs one, and claims to remember every wand he's ever sold. He tells Harry that he received his scar from Lord Voldemort.

★ 'Warwick Davis' as 'Filius Flitwick': A small wizard, he is the Charms teacher and head of Ravenclaw at Hogwarts.

★ 'John Cleese' as 'Nearly Headless Nick': The ghost of Gryffindor house, his head is partially severed following a botched execution.

★ 'Julie Walters' as 'Molly Weasley': Ron's caring mother. She shows Harry how to get to Platform 9¾.

★ 'Richard Bremmer' as 'Lord Voldemort': The darkest wizard of the age. He was defeated and nearly destroyed, when the killing curse he attempted to use on Harry rebounded and hit him. He was reduced to existing only as part of a host body and searches for the Philosopher's stone and a chance for immortality. Bremmer only plays Voldemort in the flashback scene, when he is revealed to Harry, his voice and motion capture was provided by Ian Hart.^[1]

Production

Development

In 1999, Rowling sold the film rights to the first four ''Harry Potter'' books to Warner Bros. for a reported £1 million (US$1,982,900).^[2] A demand Rowling made was that the principal cast be kept strictly British, nonetheless allowing for the inclusion of many Irish actors such as the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and for casting of French and Eastern European actors in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' where characters from the book are specified as such.^[3] Rowling was hesitant to sell the rights because she "didn't want to give them control over the rest of the story" by selling the rights to the characters, which would have enabled WB to make non-author-written sequels.^[4]
Although Steven Spielberg initially negotiated to direct the film, he declined the offer.^[5] Spielberg wanted the adaptation be an animated film, with American actor Haley Joel Osment to provide Harry Potter's voice. Potter's Field Jeff Jensen However, Spielberg contended that, in his opinion, there was every expectation of profit in making the film, and that making money would have been like "shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam dunk. It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge."^[6] In the Rubbish Bin section of her website, Rowling maintains that she has no role in choosing directors for the films and said "Anyone who thinks I could (or would) have 'veto-ed' him [Spielberg] needs their Quick-Quotes Quill serviced."^[7] After Spielberg left, talks began with other directors, including: Chris Columbus, Terry Gilliam, Jonathan Demme, Mike Newell, Alan Parker, Wolfgang Petersen, Rob Reiner, Tim Robbins, Brad Silberling, and Peter Weir. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) Greg Dean Schmitz Petersen and Reiner then both pulled out of the running in March 2000.^[8] It was then narrowed down to Silberling, Columbus, Parker and Gilliam.^[9] Rowling's first choice director was Terry Gilliam.^[10] However on March 28 2000 Columbus was appointed as director of the film, with Warner Bros. citing his work on other family films such as ''Home Alone'' and ''Mrs Doubtfire'' as influences for their decision. Chris Columbus to Direct Harry Potter

"''Harry Potter'' is the kind of timeless literary achievement that comes around once in a lifetime. Since the books have generated such a passionate following across the world, it was important to us to find a director that has an affinity for both children and magic. I can't think of anyone more ideally suited for this job than Chris."

— Lorenzo di Bonaventura

Steve Kloves was selected to write the screenplay for the film. He described adapting the book as "tough", as it did not "lend itself to adaptation as well as the next two books." Kloves was sent a "raft" of synopses of books proposed as film adaptations, with ''Harry Potter'' being the only one that jumped out at him. He went out and bought the book, and became an instant fan ever since. When speaking to Warner Bros. he stated that the film had to be British, and had to be true to the characters.^[11] David Heyman was selected to produce the film. Rowling received a large amount of creative control for the film, being made an executive producer, an arrangement that Columbus did not mind. Chris Columbus Talks Potter
Warner Bros. had initially planned to release the film over the July 4 2001 weekend, making for such a short production window that several proposed directors pulled themselves out of the running. However due to time constraints the date was put back to November 16 2001.^[12]

Casting

Susie Figgis was initially appointed as casting director, working with both Columbus and Rowling in auditioning the lead roles of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Scenes from Columbus' script for the 1985 film ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' were used in auditions for the film. IGN: Trouble Brewing with Potter Casting? On July 11 2000 Figgis left production, complaining that Columbus did not consider any of the thousands of children they had auditioned "worthy". Open casting calls were held for the main three roles,^[13] with only British children being considered. ''Harry Potter'' Casting Frenzy The principal part of the auditions took place in three parts, with those auditioning having to read a page from ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', then if called back, they had to improvise a scene of the students' arrival at Hogwarts, they were then given several pages from the script to read in front of Columbus. In July 2000, American actor Liam Aiken was supposedly offered the title role on personal request of Columbus,^[14] although this was debunked by Rowling who stated that Harry had not yet been cast and "believe me, he's going to be British when he is."^[15] Finally, despite the previous rumours, on August 8 2000, the virtually unknown British actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were selected from thousands of auditioning children to play the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively.^[16]
Despite Rowling's insistence that the cast be kept British, Rosie O'Donnell held talks with Columbus about taking the role of Molly Weasley,^[17] although the role was eventually given to Julie Walters. Warner Bros. Confirms Potter Casting Tim Roth was offered the role of Severus Snape but rejected it to work elsewhere and the role was given to Alan Rickman.^[18] At the same time as Roth's negotiations, Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith were in talks to play Rubeus Hagrid and Minerva McGonagall,^[19] with both taking the roles.^[20] Richard Harris was offered the role of Albus Dumbledore, but initially rejected it,^[21] only to reverse his decision and take the role after he was forced to by his granddaughter.^[22] Ook the Owl was cast as Hedwig,^[23] and Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan.^[24] Ian Hart was cast as Quirrell, with Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw being cast a Vernon and Petunia Dursley.^[25] Despite initial reports that the role had gone to Julie Walters, Zoë Wanamaker was cast as Madam Hooch, ''Potter'' Pics: Part Two – The Hogwarts Set at Durham Cathedral with John Cleese cast as Nearly Headless Nick. Leslie Phillips was then cast as the voice of the Sorting Hat. Potter Set News & Pics Warwick Davis was cast as both Filius Flitwick and a Gringotts bank teller, Davis Confirms Potter Role with Matthew Lewis being cast as Neville Longbottom, and Joshua Herdman cast as Gregory Goyle. Potter Casting Bits Galore Geraldine Somerville and Adrian Rawlins were cast as Lily and James Potter. Rik Mayall was cast in the role of Peeves, having to shout his lines off camera during takes,^[26] but the scene ended up being cut from the film.

Filming

Filming began in October 2000 at Leavesden Studios and in London itself. Filming ended in April 2001, with final work being done in July 2001. Principal photography took place on October 2 2000 at Goathland railway station in North Yorkshire.^[27] Canterbury Cathedral was touted as a possible location for Hogwarts, only for Warner Bros. offer being rejected because of concern over the film's "pagan" theme. All 7 Harry Potter Books to Film? Inverailort Castle in Scotland was also considered.^[28] Alnwick Castle and Gloucester Cathedral were eventually selected as the principal filming locations for Hogwarts,^[29] with some scenes also being filmed at Harrow School.^[30] Other Hogwarts scenes were filmed in Durham Cathedral over a two week period, ''Potter'' Privet Drive Pics these included shots of the corridors and filming for some classroom scenes. Oxford Divinity School served as the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, and the Duke Humfrey Library being used as the Hogwarts Library.^[31] Filming for Privet Drive took place on Picket Post Close in Bracknell, Berkshire. Filming on the street took two days, with the producers only having planned for one, the delay meant that they had to pay the street's residents more money than they had anticipated. As such, for all of the subsequent film's scenes set in Privet Drive, filming took place on a specially constructed set in Leavesden Studios, which proved to have been cheaper than filming on location.^[4] Australia House in London was selected as the location for Gringotts Bank,^[33] whilst Christ Church, Oxford was the location for the Hogwarts trophy room. London Zoo was used as the location for the scene in which Harry accidentally sets a snake on Dudley, with Kings Cross Station also being used as the book specifies. Due to the film's title difference in America and the United Kingdom, all scenes that mention the stone had to be filmed twice, once with the actors saying "philosopher's" and the second with them saying "sorcerer's".
Columbus planned to use both animatronics and CGI animation to create the magical creatures in the film, including Fluffy. Nick Dudman, who worked on '', was given the task of creating the needed prosthetics for the film, with Jim Henson's Creature Shop providing creature effects. John Coppinger stated that the magical creatures that needed to be created for the film had to be designed multiple times.^[34] CGI was used to create both Norbert and the mountain troll.

Music

John Williams was selected to compose the film's score.^[35] Williams composed the score at his homes in Los Angeles and Tanglewood before recording it in London in August 2001. One of the main themes of the score is Hedwig's Theme, which Williams used as "everyone seemed to like it".

Differences from the book

Main articles: Differences between book and film versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Columbus repeatedly checked with Rowling to make sure he was getting the little details in the film correct. Kloves described the film as being "really faithful" to the book. He added some dialogue, which Rowling approved of. One of the lines originally included had to be removed after Rowling told him that it would directly contradict an event in the then-unreleased ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''.^[36]
Even so, as with many book to film transitions, there are differences between the plot of the film and the original source material. The first chapter of the book begins the story from the point of view of Vernon and Petunia Dursley in the days leading up to them being given Harry to look after, highlighting how Muggles react to magic. A month of Harry's summer, which includes several of Vernon's attempts to escape the constantly arriving Hogwart's letters are cut from the film. Some conflict between Harry and Draco, including their original first meeting in Madam Malkin's robe shop, is cut. The character of Piers Polkiss is cut, and some of Nicolas Flamel's role is changed around or cut altogether. Snape's potion riddle task on the way to the philosopher's stone, which Hermione solves, is also cut. Norbert is mentioned to have been taken away by Dumbledore in the film; whilst the book sees Harry and Hermione have to take him by hand to friends of Charlie Weasley. As such, the reason for the detention in the Forbidden Forest is changed, with Ron having to go with Harry, Hermione and Draco, unlike the book in which Neville has to go. The Sorting Hat's song is axed, with Scabbers appearing very little. In a visual change, Aunt Petunia and Dudley both are made brunette, having been blonde in the novel. Firenze is described in the book as being palomino with light blonde hair, although he is shown to be dark in the film.^[37]

Marketing

The film's soundtrack was released on October 30 2001. A video game based on the film was released in 2001 by Electronic Arts for several consoles. Potter Postlude Another video game, for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox was released in 2003.^[38] Mattel won the rights to produce toys based on the film, to be sold exclusively through Warner Brothers' stores.^[39] The following week it was announced that Hasbro also had the rights to produce products, including confectionary items based on those from the series.^[40] The first teaser poster for the film was released December 30 2000,^[41] with the first teaser trailer being released via satellite on February 29 2001 and then debuting in cinemas with ''See Spot Run''.^[42] Warner Bros. signed a deal worth US$150 million with Coca-Cola to promote the film, with discussions also being held with Pepsi. "Lumos!" Lego produced a series of sets based on buildings and scenes from the film, as well as a Lego Creator video game based on the film.^[43]

Response

Box office performance

The film earned in excess of US$976.5 million at the worldwide box office,^[44] which made it the second highest grossing film in history at the time.^[45] As of 2007, it is the fourth highest grossing film of all-time, behind ''Titanic'', '', and ''.^[46] It was the highest grossing film of 2001,^[47] and had the highest grossing opening weekend in the United States of the year.^[48] The film took in £16 million during its opening weekend in the United Kingdom, becoming the highest grossing opening weekend in the country's history.^[49]

Critical reaction

The film received generally positive reviews from critics, earning a "Certified Fresh" rating of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes,^[50] and a score of 64 out of 100 at Metacritic garnering "generally favorable reviews".^[51] Roger Ebert called the film "a classic", particularly praising the visual effects used for the Quidditch scenes.^[52] Brian Linder of IGN.com gave the film a positive review calling it "a good film"; he compared it closely to the book concluding that it "isn't perfect, but for me it's a nice supplement to a book series that I love".^[53] Although criticising the final half-hour Jeanne Aufmuth stated that the film would "enchant even the most cynical of moviegoers."^[54] Negative criticism included Richard Corliss of Time, who considered the movie a "by the numbers adaptation", criticizing pace and the "charisma-free" lead actors.^[55] The film received three Academy Award nominations, for "Best Art Direction", "Best Costume Design", and "Best Original Score" for John Williams. It did not win any of the awards.^[56] The film was also nominated for seven BAFTA Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Robbie Coltrane. The film won a Saturn Award for its costumes, and other awards from the Casting Society of America and the Costume Designers Guild.^[57]

References

1. Credit Confusion
2. WiGBPd About Harry
3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
4.
5. No "Harry Potter" for Spielberg
6. For Spielberg, making a Harry Potter movie would have been no challenge
7. Rubbish Bin: J K Rowling 'veto-ed Steven Spielberg
8. Two Potential "Harry Potter" Director's Back Out
9. Harry Potter Director Narrowed Down
10. Terry Gilliam bitter about Potter
11. A Wizard of Hollywood Michael Sragow
12. Bewitched Warner Bros. Delays Potter
13. Attention All Muggles!
14. Liam Aiken as Harry Potter?
15. J.K. Rowling on HARRY POTTER casting & Chris Columbus
16. DANIEL RADCLIFFE, RUPERT GRINT AND EMMA WATSON BRING HARRY, RON AND HERMIONE TO LIFE FOR WARNER BROS. PICTURES'"HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE"
17. 'Rosie' in Harry Potter?
18. Alan Rickman (Snape)
19. Harry Potter: Snape & Hagrid Cast?
20. Author's Favorites Cast For Harry Potter.
21. Harris Rejects WB's Dumbledore Offer
22. Richard Harris: The Envelopes, Please
23. Ook The Owl Lands Hedwig Role, Sorcerer's Stone to Lens at Leavesden
24. More ''Harry Potter'' Casting News
25. The Press Goes Potty for Potter
26. Potter Gloucester Set Report
27. ''Potter'' Pics: Hagrid, Hogsmeade Station, and the Hogwarts Express
28. Euro-AICN Special Report: HARRY POTTER, and a little bit on Aardman's next
29. Will The Real Hogwarts Please Stand Up?
30. Another Hogwarts Location for Potter
31. Hogwarts Oxford Location Pics & Rowling Speaks
32.
33. ''Potter'' Gringotts Chosen
34. Potter Creature Feature
35. Harry Potter Composer Chosen
36. Screenwriter Kloves Talks ''Harry Potter''
37. Harry Potter: Books vs films Kimberley Dadds; Miriam Zendle
38. Sorcerer's Stone ships out Thorsen, Tor
39. Mattel Wins Harry Potter Toy Rights
40. Hasbro Gets Harry Potter Merchandise Rights
41. Potter Poster Pic
42. Potter Preview Premieres Tomorrow
43. Son of Harry Potter LEGOs
44. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE
45. Potter makes movie chart history
46. WORLDWIDE GROSSES
47. 2001 WORLDWIDE GROSSES
48. 2001 DOMESTIC GROSSES
49. Harry Potter smashes box office records
50. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
51. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
52. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone (PG) Roger Egbert
53. Brian Linder's Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Brian Linder
54. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Jeanne Aufmuth
55. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Movie Review Corliss, Richard
56. 2001 Academy Awards
57. Awards for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

External links

★ Warner Brother's Harry Potter site

★