Cast and Crew: Chris Columbus (Director); John Williams (Score); Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Warwick Davis, Verne Troyer, John Hurt, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman
What It’s About: Half giant Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) frees Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) from a life of neglect with his relatives, the Dursleys, and takes him to Hogwart’s School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. There Harry learns about the world of magic that runs hidden from Muggle (mundane human) eyes, its dangers and his very prominent place within it.
Why Watch it Today?: According to the books by J.K. Rowling, today is Harry Potter’s birthday, a pivotal event. Celebrate with the first film in the series, a delightful introduction to the story.
The League of Dead Films 
Unless, of course, you’re a die-hard fan of the books. In which case it’s apparently a teeth-grinding exercise in frustration, akin to watching someone else’s slide show of an extended vacation inside the book itself.
Or so my then-love informed me at the time. It helped her understand what I’d just gone threw, being a comic book fan in the 90s, and we ultimately grew closer for it.
So I guess I owe this film one…crap…never mind. I guess I have to go watch it again. Now that the series is complete, I’ve been vaguely curious about how these early bits stack up.
Yeah, I read the books after I saw the film, and I can see how a die hard fan could think that-but then I really wouldn’t have considered watching the movies, never mind reading the books had I not randomly caught this I on ABC Family while house sitting in a condo with a broken furnace. So, if you’re going to start somewhere, I found this to be a charming choice.
Watched it a couple of days back.. followed by the rest of the potter series. Definitely a good film!
Agreed-I coincidentally saw the last one today, ready to start over.