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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) is the first book of the Harry Potter series, written by British author J.K. Rowling. The name was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by US publishers and released over a year later than in the UK. The other books in the series include: (2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), (3) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), (4) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), (5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), (6) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and (7) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007). Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was adapted for the screen by American screenwriter Steve Kloves.

This was a marketing decision made by author Rowling and Scholastic, the publishing house that released the novel in the United States. The decision to change Philosopher to Sorcerer was made because, in the U.S., a philosopher connotes a scholar of philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, logic, and other related fields. Philosopher does not typically connote an alchemist or magician, and magic is essential to the Harry Potter books. Consequently, the publisher suggested using another word with a more magical connotation, and Rowling suggested Sorcerer. Rowling gives this explanation: "Arthur Levine, my American editor, and I decided that words should be altered only where we felt they would be incomprehensible, even in context, to an American reader... The title change was Arthur's idea initially, because he felt that the British title gave a misleading idea of the subject matter. In England, we discussed several alternative titles and Sorcerer's Stone was my idea."

At the start of the film, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) has his 11th birthday.

Harry's mother Lily and his Aunt Petunia Dursley (Fiona Shaw) were sisters, making Harry and Dudley Dursley (Harry Melling) first cousins.

Petunia Dursley disliked her sister Lily (Harry's mom) because, as a witch, Lily earned the family's admiration and attention. Then Lily married James Potter, and their son Harry was born a wizard. When Lily and James were killed and Harry came to live with the Dursleys, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) considered him to be a freak, and so they treated him accordingly.

When Harry was a baby, his parents were killed by the evil dark wizard Lord Voldemort (aka He Who Must Not Be Named). Voldemort is so powerful that no wizard can stand against him. Yet, when Voldemort attempted to kill little Harry, he failed. Something about Harry prevented Voldemort from harming him, but Voldemort's attempt left Harry marked with a lightning bolt on his forehead. News of Harry's survival spread throughout the magic community so that every witch and wizard is familiar with his name.

While shopping for Harry's wizardry supplies in Diagon Alley, Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) stops at Gringott's to withdraw some money for Harry and also to pick up a mysterious package being safe-guarded in the bank's vault. Later in the film, we learn that it is the philosopher's stone.

The philosopher's stone is a legendary substance that medieval alchemists believed capable, under favorable astronomical conditions, of changing lead into gold by a process they called transmutation. The philosopher's stone was also believed to contain the secret of immortality. Through it, the "elixir of life" supposedly could be distilled.

There are seven Weasley children. Percy (Chris Rankin) and the twins, George (Oliver Phelps) and Fred (James Phelps), are all scholars at Hogwarts. Ron (Rupert Grint) is beginning his first year at Hogwarts. Still at home is Ginny (Bonnie Wright). The sixth Weasley child is Charlie, but he's studying dragons in Romania. There is a seventh Weasley named Bill, but he is not mentioned in this movie. Mum is Molly Weasley (Julie Walters) and Dad is Arthur Weasley (also not mentioned). The Weasleys are full-blooded wizards.

Because he has dirt on his nose. Most viewers see this scene on the Hogwarts Express as a way of introducing their personalities. Ron Weasley is going to be a sort of scruffy scamp, i.e., if ever there's a wizard with a broken, secondhand wand, it will be him, whereas Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) is going to be a perfectionist, a know-it-all, and a mother hen.

According to author J.K. Rowling, Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft is located in Scotland. [See An interview with J.K. Rowling (2000) by L. Fraser, pp 20-21]. Scotland as the location for Hogwarts might also be surmised from the amount of time it takes to get there going directly north from platform 9-3/4 in Kings Cross station, London (over six hours). The school is not noticed by local Muggles because of the magical protections surrounding it. For the movie, however, various locations in England were used for scenes that took place at Hogwarts.

Hagrid defines muggle as "nonmagical folk." Muggle has actually made it into the Oxford English Dictionary where it is defined as "a person who possesses no magical powers. Hence, in allusive and extended uses: a person who lacks a particular skill or skills or who is regarded as inferior in some way." Although Harry's father is a full-blooded wizard, his mother was born of muggles.

They are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, each named after its founder. The houses function as a "family" as well as a dormitory. New students are assigned to one of the four houses by the Sorting Hat, which attempts to match each student's strengths with the house where they are best suited. Throughout the academic year, the various houses compete with each other in different ways, earning points for good behavior and losing points for rule-breaking. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup. The Sorting Cap initially considers Harry for Slytherin House, but Harry keeps mumbling, "Not Slytherin," so the Cap ultimately assigns him to Gryffindor, as it also assigns Ron and Hermoine.

Professor Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris), headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith), deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, head of Gryffindor House, and teacher of Transfigurations, Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), head of Slytherin House and Potions Master, Professor Quirinus Quirrell (Ian Hart), temporarily-assigned teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, Professor Flitwick (). head of Ravenclaw house and Charms teacher, and Madam Hooch (), who teaches first-years to fly on broomstick. Although not a professor, [b]Rubeus Hagrid plays an important role as Hogwarts groundskeeper.

It's a simple game, really. Each team has seven players: three chasers, two beaters, one keeper, and one seeker. The chasers try to put the big red quaffle ball through one of the opposing team's three hoops. If a chaser is successful, his or her team gets 10 points. The keeper defends his team's hoops. Beaters use small bats to hit bludger balls at the other team's players. Beaters protect their teammates by making sure that the bludgers are always heading toward the other team. The seeker tries to catch the Golden Snitch ball. When a seeker catches the Snitch, his team gets 150 points and the game ends. Usually the team whose seeker catches the Snitch will win, but it could also lose if the team is trailing by 160 points or more. If that team's seeker grabs the Snitch, they get 150 points and the game is over, but they lose by 10+ points. What happens when a seeker catches the Snitch while their team is trailing by exactly 150 points (thus requiring a tie-breaker scenario) is unkown. One more thing. Quidditch at Hogwarts is played while riding on brooms.

*What appears to be a Transfiguration class is shown which is what Harry and Ron arrive late for on their first day.

*Snape's potion class is shown where we get the idea he doesn't like Harry (an extended version of this scene is on the DVD special features and some of the VHS).

*The Charms class is shown where they learn how to levitate objects.

*The first years' first flying lesson is shown in good detail.

*We briefly see a Defence Against the Dark Arts class when Professor McGonnagall asks if she can see Oliver Wood.

Harry's snowy owl: Hedwig

Ron's rat: Scabbers

Hagrid's baby dragon: Norbert

Hagrid's boarhound: Fang

The three-headed dog guarding the stone: Fluffy

Neville's toad: Trevor

Two reasons: (1) they thought the Stone would be safe at Hogwarts, as it was being guarded by Fluffy and a number of the professors, and (2) destroying the Stone would have killed Nicolas Flamel.

Yes. Nicolas Flamel [?c.1330-1418?] was a medieval alchemist reputed with being successful at creating a philosopher's stone. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, he is a friend of Professor Albus Dumdledore and uses the elixir of life created by the philosopher's stone to keep himself alive. At the end of the movie, however, he decides that it is time to destroy the stone, and so it is done.

Most of it. Some scenes from the book are compressed, and there are some notable omissions. The book has a different opening, which introduces Vernon and Petunia Dursley before Harry is put on their doorstep. Vernon has some strange encounters on the streets with weirdly dressed people who are in the midst of celebrating something. (We later understand that it is Voldemort's downfall they are celebrating). Harry's early years are mentioned in more detail, especially the dull times he had when the Dursley's dumped him on Mrs. Figg, the next-door neighbour. In Diagon Alley, Harry has an early meeting with Draco Malfoy while he is buying robes, but Draco does not properly introduce himself until the train voyage to Hogwarts. Harry immediately notices Malfoy's disdain for Ron and his family and declines his friendship.

Apart from the other house spirits, there is another particularly nasty poltergeist called Peeves, who gets his pleasure from pulling all sorts of pranks with the students and Mr Filch. Peeves' only fear is for the Bloody Baron, though he makes a point to be on somewhat good behavior around Professor Dumbledoor; Harry later uses this information to his advantage when he is under the Invisibility Cloak and pretends to be the Bloody Baron who turned himself invisible. The scene where the trio discovers Fluffy is also different. In the book, Malfoy challenges Harry to a wizarding duel at midnight, which Harry and Ron accept. They sneak out that night but find that Malfoy tricked them in an attempt to get them in trouble. On their way back, they run into Neville. The three get redirected to Gryffindor Tower and end up going into the third floor corridor.

The subplot of Norbert the Dragon is more detailed. As breeding dragons is illegal, Harry and Hermione convince Hagrid to let Norbert go off to Romania to live with others of his species. They use the Invisibility Cloak to carry Norbert to one of the towers where Ron's brother Charlie (who works in Romania as a Dragon Keeper) picks him up during a transport. However, they are discovered outside their dorms during curfew hours, which leads to a major point deduction for Griffindor house and having to go with Hagrid to the Forbidden Forrest as punishment.

Also, near the end of the movie, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione are going after the stone, Snape's protection of the stone is left out. In the book, this is the last chamber before the room with the Mirror of Erised. It is comprised of 7 potions, and the door to the next room is blocked by magical fire. Harry and Hermione must use logic to decide which potion will get them through to the next room.

Harry enters the last chamber through the trapdoor by himself because Ron was injured during the Wizards' Chess game, and Hermione stayed behind to help Ron. When he gets inside the chamber, expecting to see Professor Snape attempting to steal the stone, he sees Professor Quirrell instead. Quirrell reveals that Snape tried to save Harry during the Quidditch match as opposed to Quirrell trying to kill him. Harry gets the stone in his pocket through the Mirror of Erised because he wanted it but did not want to use it (a little spell by Prof Dumbledore). Voldemort is a parasite on the back of Quirrell's head, because he is not yet strong enough to exist independently. Quirrell tries to kill Harry for the stone, but Harry kills him by touching him, which blisters him and turns him to dust. The next thing Harry knows is waking up in the infirmary surrounded by presents from his admirers. Dumbledore tells Harry that the students know everything now, that Ron and Hermione are both okay, that the stone has been destroyed, and that there are other ways by which Voldemort could return. Gryffindor wins the House Cup by 10 points thanks to Dumbledore awarding Gryffindor 170 points. Just before Harry leaves on the Hogwarts Express to return to London, Hagrid gives him a photo book filled with moving pictures of him and his parents.