Word: columbus
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...make a film out of such a cinematic experience that 100 million readers have seen in their minds' eyes? Either by transferring it, like a lavishly illustrated volume of Dickens, or transforming it with a new vision. Columbus, along with screenwriter Steve Kloves and the Potter production team, chose Column A and made a handsomely faithful version, with actors smartly cast to type. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his pals Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) look word-picture perfect. Members of the Hogwarts staff--Dumbledore (Richard Harris), McGonagall (Maggie Smith), Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and Snape (who else? Alan Rickman...
...Stone in the original British version)--is a movie, true Hogwartsians will return to the source and compare written and visual texts with the care of a New Critical scholar. They will find that the book was better--richer in mood, in thrilling melodrama, in joy--than director Chris Columbus' meticulous, stolid film...
...fans of the book, the film is a dream come true. Columbus faithfully recreates all of the book’s major plotlines, which may satiate his audiences, also clocks the film in at an astounding 142 minutes—practically enough time to re-read the first book in its entirety. While minor alterations have been made (less pivotal characters such as Peeves the Poltergeist have been eliminated), on the whole, Sorcerer’s Stone is one of the most precise book to movie translations to emerge from Hollywood in a long time...
Ironically, its very faithfulness is one of the film’s flaws. It is quite obvious that the Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves are trying to squeeze in as much expository information about the series as possible, but the format of the strict narrative fails to capture the imagination and soul of Rowling’s literary wit and vision. Characters that prove to play essential roles in the stories to follow are often carelessly inserted, solely for the purpose of displaying them on-screen, if only for a few minutes each. Admittedly, part of the problem...
...only one worried about how the actors will age. "If they suddenly discover cheeseburgers on movie three," says Columbus, "I don't know what I'm gonna do." Other concerns will arise as the movies progress. The PG-rated Sorcerer's Stone is designed for kids ages six and older, but Rowling's books do get scarier. They also get longer. Columbus has already come up with a strategy for the very thick Goblet of Fire, which could hit screens in 2004. "I think it has to be two movies," he says. "We could shoot a four- or five-hour...