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Too close to the book
MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER
Hermione,(Emma Watson) Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ron (Rupert Grint) decide what to do next.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (ENGLISH)
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Dir: Chris Columbus
HARRY POTTER does not have much of life and seems condemned to be bullied by his uncle, aunt and whining cousin. Things change on his eleventh birthday when he receives an invitation to join Hogwarts, the famous school for witchcraft and wizardry.
Harry learns to his amazement that he is actually a wizard and the son of two powerful wizards who died not in a car crash as he was told but fighting the evil wizard Voldemort. Harry leaves for Hogwarts after doing the necessary shopping and meets fellow wizards Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Life in Hogwarts is full of fun with Quidditch, Halloween parties and the odd troll thrown in. All is not well though at the venerable institution and the potions master Snape seems to be up to no good. Draco Malfoy from the rival Slytherin house is also watching out for an opportunity to trip up Harry.
Those who have read the books will have no trouble recognising the proceedings and that proves to be the film's undoing. All the scenes work and some of them excellently well like the quidditch scenes and the chess game.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone has all the ingredients of super success and also of spawning a whole industry. It has the look and feel of the Star Wars films and one can see it rapidly gaining cult status with children and grown ups alike.
However, the film suffers, as there is no sign of the director's vision or creativity. Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Step Mom) seems to be carrying this burden of having to make a literal translation of the book.
He came to the project after the author J. K. Rowling vetoed several other choices. And that seems to be working on his mind when he refuses to take any creative licence.
The direction then seems heavy and laboured with the feeling that this is Rowling's vision, not mine, which totally strips the magic from the movie.
This film follows The Lord of the Rings, which is also a film version of a cult book. There, however, director Peter Jackson had the confidence to present his vision of Tolkien. While LOTR followers might not have agreed with Jackson's vision, the film was richer for it. If only Columbus had been willing to take those risks!
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