Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released 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. The story follows Harry Potter, a boy who discovers he is a wizard on his eleventh birthday, and is sent to the magic school Hogwarts. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The adult cast features Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman and Ian Hart.
Two British film industry officials requested that the film be shot in England, offering their assistance in securing filming locations, the use of Leavesden Studios, as well as changing child labour laws.
The first teaser poster for the film was released December 30, 2000, with the first teaser trailer being released via satellite on February 29, 2001 and then debuting in cinemas with See Spot Run.[ 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. Another video game, for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox was released in 2003. Mattel won the rights to produce toys based on the film, to be sold exclusively through Warner Brothers' stores. Hasbro also produced products, including confectionery items based on those from the series. Warner Bros. signed a deal worth US$150 million with Coca-Cola to promote the film, and 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.
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 film. Rowling also approved the screenplay, written by Steve Kloves. The film shot primarily at Leavesden Film Studios, as well as historic buildings around the country, and was released in the United Kingdom and the United States on November 16, 2001. Along with mostly positive critical reception, 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.
Tagline:
Let The Magic Begin.
Cast
Richard Harris - Professor Albus Dumbledore
Maggie Smith - Professor Minerva McGonagall
Robbie Coltrane - Rubeus Hagrid
Saunders
Triplets - Baby Harry Potter
Daniel Radcliffe - Harry Potter
Fiona Shaw - Aunt Petunia Dursley
Harry Melling - Dudley Dursley
Richard Griffiths - Uncle Vernon Dursley
Derek Deadman - Tom
Ian Hart
- Professor Quirinus Quirrell
Ben Borowiecki - Diagon Alley Boy
Verne Troyer - Griphook the Goblin (as Vern Troyer)
John
Hurt - Mr. Ollivander
Richard Bremmer - He Who Must Not Be Named (voice)
Geraldine Somerville - Mrs. Lily Potter
Plot
Harry Potter is seemingly an ordinary eleven-year-old boy, living with his ultra-conventional, insensitive, negligent relatives, the Dursleys. On his eleventh birthday, Harry learns from an enormous, mysterious stranger called Hagrid that he is actually a wizard, famous in the wizarding world for surviving 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, being nearly destroyed in the process and only leaving a lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead. 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, as well as enemies, among the Hogwarts students and staff. Harry learns that Voldemort has been in a state of near-death since the attack on Harry ten years earlier, but a plot is brewing for the dark lord to regain his power and strength 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.
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