Harry Potter Retrospective: Part 1: The Philosopher’s Stone

By Merlin’s beard, has it really been TEN whole years since the release of HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE (or SORCEROR’S STONE for our American cousins)? I was working at Cineworld Feltham (don’t go, it’s ghastly) at the time and knew little of the wizarding wonders of the Potter-verse, so I was taken aback to see hoards of fanatic kids and sighing parents rushing to sell out every screening. Truly this was the start of something incredible. And what a ride it’s been. Ten years later, the eighth and final movie is about to apparate onto the silver screen, completing the journey of one of the greatest franchises, and indeed one of the only bespectacled heroes, in cinematic history. It’s had a thousand imitators (PERCY JACKSON, I will see you after class!…… that wasn’t meant to sound so erotic) and not one has come close to the scale, success and (to the surprise of many) credibility of the films. They’ve included every British actor who has ever lived and has been seen by everyone who was ever born… Okay I’m getting a tad carried away, but I’m just so hyped to see the final film. I couldn’t be more excited if Emma Watson herself flew in through my window on a broomstick in classic Hermione attire with two flagons of Butterbeer and a pirate copy of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. So let’s build up to it with a look back at every Potter movie, starting oh so predictably with THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE. Ascendio, bitches!

November 2001 saw the much anticipated release of HPATPS (as it shall henceforth be referred) to the delight of muggles the world over, and it didn’t disappoint. Well, I saaaaaay that. Of course for many it could never live up to the book and some despaired at the differences, but we’ll get to that shortly. For most people, it was a thoroughly enjoyable caper featuring adorable kiddy winks flinging spells around like Gandalf having a stroke. The appeal was multi layered, as children loved seeing their literary hero’s bought to life and adults got a kick from seeing a cavalcade of great British thesps having what looks like the time of their lives.

The performances from our young heroes, on the other hand… Well, they’re not so great. I mean, they were only 11 or so at the time, and few of them were even actors beforehand. So have a heart, not all child performers can be Chloe Moretz or Natalie Portman. But they were trying, dammit! According to Mike Newell (dir. GOBLET OF FIRE) they were only cast because they were ‘BLOODY adorable!’ Which they were, and watching them grow up on the big screen has been oddly moving.

The film is by far the lightest of the bunch, as well it should be. It’s the perfect (or PRE-fect, Percy Weasley knows what’s up!) introduction to the Potter-verse and sets the tone wonderfully, allowing for glimpses of darkness that will envelope the series later on. Some scenes are pretty grim; the hooded Voldemort sucking the blood of a slaughtered unicorn and Professor Quirrel turning to dust could be pretty shocking for very wee nippers, as could the face of Voldy (his friends call him Voldy) appearing on the back of Quirrel’s skull. At the heart of darkness for this film though, is the initial tragedy that started the disequilibrium, which was a double murder and attempted infanticide. There aren’t many family films where the villain tries to kill a baby. But these are all inoculations against what is to come in future films, which feature giant spider attacks, werewolf transformations and a dénouement in GOBLET OF FIRE which must have had the censors wondering how far a 12A certificate can be pushed.

A lot of things I’d like to praise about the film are of course due to the novel. A hero in specs, a heroine whose intelligence and bookishness are seen as absolute positives, a character with ginger hair who is as brave as he is funny, these are all desperately rare in Hollywood and are great for kids who never see these aspects of themselves represented on screen. We have Rowling herself to thank for this, likewise most of the casting. But the differences between the film and the book would always be an issue for some. Hermione, for instance, was criticised for being too pretty in the film. In the books her hair is wilder and her two large front teeth gave her a gerbil like quality. Here we have the helping hand of Hollywood who, presumably, thought some wild haired rodent girl would look odd on the posters, so the pixie-like Watson was cast. There may well have been an exec saying ‘She’s gonna be BANG tidy when she’s older.’ If there wasn’t, I’m sure most of them thought it.

HPATPS has it’s fair share of problems. The ropey pre-pubescent acting is too cringe worthy for some, the lack of Rik Mayall’s Peeves was disappointing, John Williams score, although charming, seems to never stop and the CG is pretty rotten. This is surprising being Warner Bros, who aren’t exactly luddites in that field. Any scenes where the kids are flung about (Harry on the troll’s shoulders, Neville on his runaway broomstick and falling down the castle wall) look poorly animated. The jumps between close ups on the actors and wide shots of them in mild peril are rather jarring, like cuts between Bruce Willis and his much taller and longer haired stunt man in DIE HARD. Only this time the stunt men seem to be from Roger Rabbit’s Toon Town.

But these are small gripes on what is essentially a magical experience (boy, that’s some lazy ass writing right there). The highlights far exceed any problems, and in a movie so in need of visual effects, it’s refreshing to see the high points are actually the performances. It cannot be underestimated how much it helped the blossoming series to have not just big names, but incredibly respected actors. Richard Harris, Ian Hart, and Julie Walters to name a few are genuine heavyweights, revered by critics and fellow board-treaders. Even the cartoonish evil aunt and uncle are given real substance by theatrical stalwarts Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw.

One of the joys for me was the coup of getting Maggie Smith to break out her old PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE accent for Professor McGonagall, which to fans of her performance in that film, must have been satisfying and surreal in equal measure. Her prim and elegant performance perfectly encapsulated the stern but kindly influence that our hero needed, and the scene in which Harry receives a new Broomstick and a friendly smile from his erstwhile frosty tutor is a wonderfully warm moment. The late Richard Harris’s Dumbledore is, for many fans, the better of the two portrayals, his successor being Michael Gambon. Harris’s understated, almost quiet performance reveals the humanity under the hat and the beard, and the hospital scene in which Dumbledore explains Lily Potter’s sacrifice for her son and its ramifications is a small, tender moment that helps resolve the film and also lay out questions to be answered in the inevitable sequels. This is countered nicely but his delightful delivery of the line, ‘Alas! Earwax!’

Ian Hart’s Quirrel deserves a lot of praise, least of all because it’s his only appearance in the series. His stuttering, jittery façade played to the comic hilt by Hart makes his sudden and genuinely surprising turn to two faced (see what I did there) villain in the final act seem all the more convincing. Also, he gave us the most quoted line in the film- “TROOOOOOOOOOOLL in the dungeon!!” and for that, we at THN tip our hats. Our SORTING HATS!! BOOM!!

Special commendation must go to Alan Rickman’s superb portrayal of Professor Snape. His pregnant pauses, his beautiful eyebrow work, his precise walking of the thin line between revulsion and strange attraction. Snape’s story arch promised to be the most interesting in terms of his character development and his relationship with others, and Rickman’s gleefully insidious performance means that Snape will join the hallowed ranks of Hans Gruber and The Sherriff of Nottingham as one his greatest screen performances and cinemas most popular villains. Oh, and Robbie Coltrane is a right laugh as Hagrid.

I have two strong memories about the first time I saw HPATPS at Cineworld Feltham ten years ago.

1. Does JK Rowling know that chocolate frog is racist slang and
2. I’ve never heard applause like this at the cinema.

I remember thinking ‘Well it was good, but it wasn’t THAT good.’ But that’s not the point. HPATPS won’t make anybody’s Top Ten movies, and truth be told it’s not even in the Top Five Harry Potter films. But it’s like the first track on an album. It’s an appetiser, it sets the tone for what’s to come, and the first track is never the best. The films get progressively darker, funnier, more poignant and more action packed. Jim Broadbent and Brendan Gleeson will pop up and HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE simply can’t compete with that. However, it is a terrific start to one of the most beloved film series of all time and is guaranteed a special place in the hearts of a generation.