Harry Potter Sweeps Into Muggle Theaters ... and Stores
This is an archetypal story; one about a boy born into greatness whose world is turned upside down by an evil being. It is the story of that hero who was raised in a world far from his own where he was unaware of his history and the world where he is heir to a heroic legacy. In his new world, the boy is not accepted; he is not even liked.
Finally, the boy is thrust back into the world where he was born. And there, his journey starts.
Like Hercules and Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter must face the knowledge of his “noble” birth; and he must defeat the evil being who forced his banishment from a world that knew and loved him. Like many other literary and film heroes, Harry Potter wins only because of his personal and spiritual greatness; and in defeating his nemesis, Harry Potter saves the world from the evil Lord Voldemort.
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is not an animated film. I am reviewing it this month with special dispensation from Suite101.
The special effects were impressive. As the movie starts, an old man we will later know as Professor Dumbledore holds up a kind of lighter and balls of light fly from surrounding lightposts into his device and darken the neighborhood in preparation for a giant on a flying motorcycle, who delivers a young Harry into Dumbledore’s arms. From that point on, the audience has been transported into Harry’s world, where everything magical is real and the special effects are commonplace. A Quidditch match on flying broomsticks is possible and probable with the work accomplished by the special effects coordinators in this film. And, although I felt they did an admirable job with the invisibility cloak, I was not completely convinced by its representation on film and felt I was watching a 50's era effect.
As someone who has read all four Harry Potter books and eagerly anticipates the continuation of the series, I was prepared to be disappointed by the movie, as many readers are. However, I wasn’t. The actors, from Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore, Alan Rickman as the evil Professor Snape and Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall to newcomer Daniel Radcliffe as hero Harry Potter and the representations of Hagrid, Neville and Draco, the choice of actors kept to the original story. I could see Harris as Dumbledore and especially Rickman as Snape. My imagination needed only minor alterations when watching the film representations – a difficult task when transferring a book to the big screen.
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