Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (dir. Chris Columbus, 2001)

Last updated on: November 21, 2015 at 9:41 pm by Peter T. Chattaway

Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (dir. Chris Columbus, 2001) 2015-11-21T21:41:12-08:00 Peter T. Chattaway

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

If there is one thing the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone may prove, it’s that fidelity to the original text isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. For over a year, director Chris Columbus has assured followers of the young orphan wizard that he intends to stay as true to J.K. Rowling’s phenomenally popular novels as possible — he has repeated this mantra so often he probably says it in his sleep — and to be sure, his film gets many things right. But, with the help of screenwriter Steve Kloves, Columbus tries to cram so many of the book’s subplots into the film that you are constantly aware of how much of Rowling’s original story is missing. This may be heresy to Potter fans, but films and books are very different media, and a more thorough rewrite could have made this a better movie.

But first, the good news. Apart from the special effects, which are so extravagant that only a Hollywood studio could have afforded them, this is a thoroughly British production, full of many vivid details that capture the sometimes medieval, sometimes Dickensian charm of Rowling’s books. The adult cast is a “Who’s Who” of English thespians, many of whom are perfect in their roles. Robbie Coltrane has a sly, boisterous charisma as the friendly giant Hagrid, John Hurt is slightly foreboding as a seller of magic wands, Maggie Smith affects a delightful Scottish brogue as Professor McGonagall, and Fiona Shaw is a perfect caricature of snobbery as Harry’s Aunt Petunia, who thinks people with magical powers are “freaks.”

But the movie is ultimately about Harry and his classmates, and it is to the credit of the film’s young and mostly inexperienced cast that they give performances every bit as convincing as their adult colleagues. Under Columbus’s direction, Daniel Radcliffe skillfully captures Harry’s joys and insecurities, and the scenes in which he comes into contact with the legacy of his dead parents are truly touching, without tipping into the sappy sentimentality that made some of Columbus’s previous films, like Stepmom, so suffocating. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, playing Harry’s friends Ron and Hermione, also do well, though they sometimes recite their lines a little too deliberately.

The bad news is that the filmmakers, in their efforts to squeeze the story into the film’s two-and-a-half-hour running time, have left out many of the small character moments that made the book so charming and provided Rowling with many opportunities to flesh out the mystery that takes up the bulk of it. At times, this makes the cameos of famous British actors somewhat distracting; Julie Walters pops up as Ron’s mother, and John Cleese as a ghost named Nearly Headless Nick, but their presence serves no purpose except to take you out of the movie. In other cases, the tendency to whittle the characters away actually undermines the story; we see so little of Professors Snape (Alan Rickman) and Quirrell (Ian Hart) that there is no payoff when the nature of their secretive relationship is finally revealed at the end of the film. And Richard Harris, as Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore, is too noble, and seems almost stuffy, compared to the enjoyably absurd character in the books.

Rowling herself has said she authorized the movie because she wanted to see a game of Quidditch — a sort of basketball played on flying broomsticks — but the one game we see in the film is a busy blur of computer-generated motion, and doesn’t adequately capture the joy of flight or the thrill of such a fantastic form of competition. The other special effects are a mixed bag. Some are simply beautiful, such as the shimmering wrinkles of Harry’s invisibility cloak and the wall of moving bricks that guards the entrance to Diagon Alley, the wizards’ shopping district. But others are painfully artificial, particularly where living creatures like centaurs and trolls are concerned.

Potter fans can at least take solace in the fact that this is the first film in an ongoing series, so perhaps the filmmakers will refine their future efforts. Then again, each of Rowling’s books has been longer than the last — the fourth, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is nearly three times as long as The Philosopher’s Stone — and if it proved so difficult to do the first story justice, one wonders how they will cope with the others.

— A version of this review was first published in The Vancouver Courier*.*

harry potter and the philosophers stone

Previous Post

November 13, 2001

Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (dir. Chris Columbus, 2001)

Next Post

December 1, 2001 Fantasies and fairy tales speak to our spiritual needs

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anglican Planet Articles BC Christian News BC Report Bible Movies Bible Review Blog Books & Culture Campus Times CBC Radio Christianity Today ChristianWeek Essays Faith Today Festival Cinemas Guide Film Journals Georgia Straight Interviews MB Herald National Catholic Register Salvationist Today's Christian Two Chairs Ubyssey Uncategorized Vancouver Courier Vancouver Sun

Select a Month August 2025 April 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 May 2024 February 2024 December 2023 May 2023 March 2023 November 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 January 2012 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 November 2003 October 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 March 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 January 2000 October 1999 August 1999 May 1999 April 1999 February 1999 January 1999 December 1998 November 1998 October 1998 August 1998 July 1998 June 1998 April 1998 March 1998 January 1998 November 1997 September 1997 July 1997 June 1997 April 1997 March 1997 February 1997 January 1997 December 1996 October 1996 September 1996 June 1996 March 1996 February 1996 January 1996 April 1995 November 1994 September 1994 September 1991

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who lost his strength when his hair was cut?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Absalom Samson Elijah David