Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Chris Columbus, UK, USA, 2001o
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard -- with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to harness his newfound powers with the help of the school's kindly headmaster, Harry uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths -- and about the villain who's to blame.
On his eleventh birthday, orphan Harry Potter discovers that he's a wizard, so off he goes to Hogwarts School to learn the ways of the wand. But it isn't all lessons and making friends: Harry is destined for a showdown with the evil Lord Voldemort.
Sometimes the best plan is to do things by the book. With over 100 million Harry Potter readers desperate to rush down cinema aisles to see their hero on the big screen for the first time, you can't blame Chris Columbus for sticking close to J.K. Rowling's novel. It's one thing to let your imagination loose with the words on the page; it's another to have those images backed up by a multi-million dollar Hollywood budget. And from the very first sight of an owl perched on the Privet Drive road sign to the closing shot of the Hogwarts Express pulling away from the station with the majestic school sitting high on the hills behind, we know that every golden galleon has been well spent.
That's why this faithful adaptation won't fail to win over the book's fans with its 'wow' factor. It thrives on audience recognition. John Williams' score swells at the key moments - Here's your first glimpse of Hogwarts! Isn't Diagon Alley crammed with Dickensian detail! - as Columbus pulls back curtain after curtain to reveal all of the avid readers' favourite bits. The stand-out sequence is the Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match, a fast-paced medieval Rollerball with broomsticks.
Alan MorrisonDer elfjährige Waisenjunge Harry Potter erfährt, dass seine Eltern eine Hexe und ein Magier waren, die ermordet wurden. Während seines ersten Jahres an einer Schule für Zauberei besteht er gemeinsam mit seinen beiden neuen Freunden ein gefährliches Abenteuer im Kampf gegen die Kräfte des Bösen. Aufwändig inszenierter, ebenso turbulenter wie spannender Fantasyfilm nach dem gleichnamigen Erfolgsroman, der sich überwiegend an den vielen attraktiven Schauwerten orientiert, während er den subtileren Tönen der fantasiereichen, fabulierfreudigen Vorlage deutlich Zügel anlegt, um die kommerzielle Breitenwirkung nicht zu gefährden.
N.N.Galleryo
