Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Harry Potter Month: The Sorcerer's Stone Film: Still Magical After All This Time

Harry Potter Month is hosted by Faith at Geeky Zoo Girl and Micheline at Lunar Rainbows Reviews. This awesome event runs all through July, and you can find more information about it here.

It's been quite a while since I last watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; I always seem to catch the later films when they're on TV, lol. I've mentioned this quite a few times before, but the Sorcerer's Stone movie was my introduction to Harry Potter back in 2001. Prior to that, I had Jon Snow-level knowledge of the world of HP, i.e. I knew nothing. Seriously—absolutely zero. You know how sometimes you pick up the gist of a fandom because of its sheer popularity? Well, I didn't even manage that. So when I went to see Sorcerer's Stone, EVERYTHING was new to me.

From the moment Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hagrid left baby Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep, I was utterly engrossed in the story. I remember being appalled by the Dursleys' treatment of older Harry; I mean, his "room" was a cupboard under the stairs! I was thrilled when Hagrid turned up to take Harry away from those awful people, plus Hagrid remembered Harry's birthday! ♥ And then, the magic began in earnest.

My eyes devoured the Diagon Alley scenes. I was in just as much awe as Harry when he and Hagrid stepped outside the Leaky Cauldron. I loved the scene in Ollivander's and the fascinating connection between Harry's new wand and that of a certain Dark wizard.

As much as a visual feast as Diagon Alley was, I was in no way prepared for my first glimpse of Hogwarts. When the first years entered the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony, all I could think was, why couldn't I have gone to a school like that?! Magic. Everywhere! Something that really blew my mind was Hogwarts' moving pictures; I just thought they were the coolest thing ever! I also loved the album of moving photographs Hagrid gave Harry at the end of the movie and the photo of James and Lily holding baby Harry. ♥

I left the movie theater that day focused on a single task: to acquire all of the HP books ASAP. And I did. And here I am almost 15 years later, still talking about Harry Potter.

Rewatching the first film, it was hard to believe that nearly 15 years have gone by. I've probably seen Sorcerer's Stone that many times; it practically lived in my DVD player when it first became available in the format. Even after this many viewings, it just doesn't get old to me. I still love watching our beloved trio meet for the first time; my favorite bit in that scene is Hermione informing Ron that he has dirt on his nose, LOL. I still wish that I could have some of those yummy-looking treats at the Halloween feast. I still crack up at Hermione's notion that getting expelled is a fate worse than getting killed and Ron's comment that she needs to sort our her priorities. I still get teary during the Harry/Dumbledore scene in front of the Mirror of Erised. Speaking of Dumbledore, Richard Harris was truly perfect in that role, right down to the twinkle in his eyes. He just got the character.

I'm really glad that I decided to at least start a movie rewatch. Sorcerer's Stone will always be special as where the magic all began for me, and I associate a lot of happy memories with it. In the surest confirmation that 15 years have indeed passed since I first saw this movie, I fell asleep on the couch—sitting up—right before the trio headed down the trap door after Quirrell, lol. I had to finish watching the following evening. What can I say? I am 15 years older and didn't have a Time-Turner so I could go back to a few minutes before I dozed off and chug a cup of coffee. XD

14 comments:

  1. I love that Jon Snow reference XD

    When I was younger, I used to sit in my room with a mug of hot chocolate and my Hannah Montana blanket and switch the lights off, and then I'd turn on my Harry Potter movies and have a week-long marathon.

    I was evil and watched the movies before I read the books, but rest assured the movies did not disappoint: Diagon Alley was my favourite scene too!

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    1. I'd love to marathon watch all the movies just once, but I don't think it's going to happen without the help of a Time-Turner, lol.

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  2. Sorcerer's Stone is definitely one of my favorites of the movies <3 probably only outranked by Prisoner of Azkaban. Great post!

    Ellie | On the Other Side of Reality

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    1. PoA is my favorite out of all the films, too! Sorcerer's Stone is probably the sentimental favorite, though. :D

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  3. Philosopher's Stone is truly magical isn't it? It does SUCH a good job introducing us to the magic of this world. Harry being a wizard without knowing, Diagon Alley ♥ and Hogwarts! I love every second of discovery involved, even though at this point it's like a rediscovery 100x over XD I really like when Ron is all shocked like: do you really have the...the...the scar. And then: WICKED! Hahahaha! And I agree, the Mirror of Erised scene with Dumbledore breaks my heart EVERY.TIME. And you KNOW I agree with you (and then some) when it comes to Richard Harris so I'll just leave it at that LOL!

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    1. I LOVED how the first film introduced the world to movie goers like me who hadn't read the books. I had zero problems following along, and I'll never be able to emphasize enough how much this movie made me want to read the books. The Mirror of Erised scene is one of my all-time faves from the films; Richard Harris and Daniel Radcliffe were absolutely brilliant in it. ♥

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  4. LOL sometimes those time turners would come in handy :D I can't imagine the wonder you would feel getting to see the movie without experiencing any part of it. I'm that way with the first book. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading, but my experience with the movie was the normal excitement of "Yay! they included that!" and "They got that right!". Getting to see the Great Hall for the first time was such an amazing treat. I had imagined it, but my favorite part was the stars in the ceiling at night. They really did such a great job capturing that.

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    1. I'd read the first 4 books by the time the Chamber of Secrets movie came out, and when I went to see it, I checked off scenes from the books in my head, lol. Ahh, the ceiling of the Great Hall did look fantastic; I also loved how it looked for Halloween and Christmas.

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  5. I saw the first 5 movies before I read the books and, like you, I have a very powerful connection to them. I think I don't have issues with the movies being different because, for me, the stories exist side-by-side. I'll always love the actors and the visual world that the movies provide. But, I'll admit it too, I have trouble staying awake through some of the movies also. The early movies are so long! I love them, but it's hard to set aside time to watch them. If you find that time turner, I'd like to borrow it. I can hardly make it through one movie during the school semester.lol

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    1. If I had a Time-Turner, I would share it with everyone, LOL! I was a latecomer to the world of HP, about 2 years after I graduated college, but in a way I'm glad because I would've found it very hard to focus on studying if I'd discovered HP back then! :D

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  6. My initiation into HP world was exactly like yours. I went to see the first film without knowing anything about the book it was based upon or that, in fact, there was more than one book or that soon I would be swept into something called 'fandom'! I left the cinema in love with the story, the characters, the magical world, Hogwarts. I rewatched the first film again and again - about a thousand times - and I still get an amazing thrill when the brick wall turns into an archway and we enter the wizarding world. It's funny but when I saw Hagrid for the first time I thought that he was a great wizard :D in terms of magic, of course, because otherwise he is great!

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    1. He is great, LOL! I rewatched the first movie over and over and over again, too; I couldn't get enough of the magic! Watching this movie evokes such happy memories. I love that we both had similar introductions to the world of HP! :D

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  7. How nice it would be to have a time turner (though, I'm pretty sure I would screw something up.) This is such a nice look at Sorcerer's Stone. Thank you for sharing your experiences attached to this movie. It must have been incredible diving into Harry's world for the first time like you did. I can only imagine! I love Richard Harris's Dumbledore too; it's so incredibly sad that he passed after only the second movie.

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    1. If my friend, who'd read the books, hadn't suggested that we go see Sorcerer's Stone, who knows how much longer I would've gone without knowing about this world and these characters. And Richard Harris's performance is absolutely one of the highlights of this movie for me; his portrayal of Dumbledore was simply perfect.

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