An orphaned boy discovers his magical heritage and attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he uncovers the truth about his parents' death and faces a dark force seeking immortality in this introduction to the Wizarding World.
Synopsis
On his eleventh birthday, Harry Potter, who has spent his life living in a cupboard under the stairs with his neglectful aunt and uncle, receives a letter revealing that he is a wizard. Whisked away from his mundane life to the majestic Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry befriends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger while learning to master magic. However, amidst the wonder of spells and Quidditch matches, Harry discovers that a dark wizard named Voldemort, who killed his parents, is seeking a legendary stone hidden within the school's walls to restore his power.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United Kingdom
United States |
Premiere date |
November 16, 2001 |
Running time |
152 minutes |
Genre |
Adventure
Fantasy |
Budget |
$125,000,000 |
Box Office |
$1,024,000,000 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Chris Columbus |
Produced by |
David Heyman |
Written by |
Steve Kloves |
Music by |
John Williams |
Cinematography |
John Seale |
Edited by |
Richard Francis-Bruce |
Production Co. |
Heyday Films 1492 Pictures |
Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #01 in Harry Potter Collection
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The Plot
The Boy Who Lived
In the late hours of the night on 1 November 1981, a quiet stillness settles over Privet Drive in the Surrey town of Little Whinging. The celebrated wizard Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris) meets with his deputy, Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith), to discuss tragic news: the deaths of James and Lily Potter (Adrian Rawlins and Geraldine Somerville). They await the arrival of the Potters' orphaned one-year-old son, Harry Potter (Saunders Triplets), who is being transported by their half-giant associate, Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). Breaking the silence, Hagrid descends from the sky on a flying motorcycle with the sleeping infant in his arms.
As the trio approaches the front lawn of Privet Drive house #4, McGonagall voices her strong objections to leaving Harry with the Dursleys, the Muggle family residing there. Having spied on them in her Animagus form—a silver tabby cat—she condemns them as the "worst sort of Muggles." However, Dumbledore insists that this placement is essential; Petunia Dursley (Fiona Shaw) is the only living relative who shares Lily’s blood, a bond that ensures a powerful magical protection for Harry. Dumbledore gently places Harry on the doorstep with an explanatory letter, wishing the boy luck before he, McGonagall, and Hagrid depart into the night.
The Keeper of Keys
Ten years later, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) lives a miserable existence as a household servant to the Dursleys. Treated with open hostility, he resides in a cupboard and bears the brunt of his spoiled cousin Dudley's (Harry Melling) constant bullying. Strange events seem to follow him; during a family outing to the zoo, Harry inadvertently causes an accident involving a snake enclosure. Shortly after, the house is bombarded by unsolicited letters delivered by owls. Desperate to outrun the messages, the hysterical Uncle Vernon moves the family to a desolate, two-story hut on a rock island.
As midnight strikes, signaling the start of Harry's eleventh birthday, the door to the hut is smashed open by a mysterious giant stranger. It is Hagrid, who introduces himself to a bewildered Harry and reveals the truth: Harry is a wizard. Hagrid presents him with a birthday cake and an acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When Vernon attempts to forbid Harry from attending, Hagrid chastises both him and Petunia for lying to the boy about his heritage for a decade. When Vernon insults Dumbledore, Hagrid loses his temper and casts a spell that gives Dudley a pig's tail, much to Harry's delight.
Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express
The following morning, Hagrid escorts Harry to the hidden wizarding market, Diagon Alley, to purchase school supplies. Their first stop is Gringotts Bank, where Harry discovers he has inherited a small fortune. After purchasing his wand, Hagrid surprises Harry with a snowy owl as a birthday gift. While resting at the Leaky Cauldron, Hagrid explains the source of Harry's fame: when Harry was an infant, the dark wizard Lord Voldemort murdered his parents with the Killing Curse. However, when Voldemort turned the wand on Harry, the curse rebounded, leaving the dark lord powerless and Harry with nothing but a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead.
Weeks later, Harry travels to King's Cross Station and boards the Hogwarts Express via the concealed Platform 9 3/4. On the journey, he befriends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), a boy from a poor but loving pure-blood family, and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), a brilliant witch born to Muggle parents. Upon arrival at Hogwarts, the first-year students undergo the Sorting Ceremony to be placed into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Aware of Slytherin's reputation for producing dark wizards, Harry silently begs the magical Sorting Hat, "Not Slytherin." Respecting his choice, the Hat sorts him into Gryffindor, the house of bravery, joining Ron and Hermione. Across the hall, Harry notices Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin, staring at him with a peculiar intensity.
The Troll in the Dungeon
Harry begins his magical education, discovering a natural talent for flying on broomsticks. He inadvertently makes the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Seeker after defending fellow student Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) from the bullying of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), a Slytherin student. Harry and Ron also learn that the Gringotts vault Harry visited with Hagrid was broken into shortly after they left, sparking their curiosity.
One night, the trio stumbles upon the Forbidden Corridor on the Third Floor, where they encounter "Fluffy," a massive three-headed dog belonging to Hagrid that is guarding a trapdoor. Tensions rise later during the Hallowe'en feast when Professor Quirinus Quirrell bursts in to warn that a mountain troll has infiltrated the dungeon. While the other students are escorted to safety, Harry and Ron realize Hermione is trapped in the girls' bathroom. They rush to her aid, fighting and incapacitating the troll. This act of bravery cements a lifelong friendship between the three.
The Mirror and the Nicolas Flamel Mystery
During Harry's first Quidditch match, his broomstick begins to jerk violently, as if possessed. Hermione spots Snape in the stands maintaining eye contact with Harry and mouthing incantations, leading her to believe he is cursing the broom. She sets Snape's robes on fire to break his concentration, allowing Harry to regain control and catch the Snitch, winning the match for Gryffindor. Later, while discussing the three-headed dog with Hagrid, the gamekeeper accidentally slips a name: Nicolas Flamel.
Christmas brings a mysterious gift for Harry: an Invisibility Cloak that once belonged to his father. Using the cloak to explore the Restricted Section of the library for information on Flamel, Harry discovers the Mirror of Erised. The magical mirror shows him the deepest desire of his heart: a vision of his living parents. Dumbledore finds Harry entranced by the image and gently warns him that the mirror gives neither knowledge nor truth, and that men have wasted away before it. He advises Harry not to seek it out again.
Norbert and the Detention
When the term resumes, the trio pieces together the mystery: Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone, an object capable of producing the Elixir of Life for immortality. They deduce that Fluffy is guarding the Stone and suspect Snape is trying to steal it to restore Voldemort. Their investigation leads them to Hagrid's hut, where they witness a dragon egg hatch into a Norwegian Ridgeback, which Hagrid names "Norbert." Realizing the danger, they convince Hagrid to send Norbert to a dragon colony in Romania.
Although they successfully smuggle the dragon away, they are caught out of bed by Filch, thanks to a tip-off from Draco Malfoy. McGonagall reprimands Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Draco, stripping Gryffindor of points and sentencing all four to detention in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. There, they split up to search for a wounded unicorn. Harry and Draco stumble upon a hooded figure drinking the silver blood of a dead unicorn. Draco flees in terror, but the figure advances on Harry. He is saved by the arrival of Firenze, a centaur, who reveals that drinking unicorn blood keeps one alive at a terrible price. Harry realizes the hooded figure was a weakened Voldemort, and that Snape must be seeking the Stone to return the Dark Lord to full strength.
Through the Trapdoor
The urgency escalates when the trio learns from Hagrid that he accidentally told a stranger in a pub how to get past Fluffy: music puts the beast to sleep. Suspecting the stranger was Snape, they rush to warn Dumbledore, only to find he has been called away on urgent business. Convinced the theft will happen that night, Harry, Ron, and Hermione resolve to protect the Stone themselves.
They sneak to the third floor, using a flute to lull Fluffy to sleep. Descending through the trapdoor, they face a series of magical obstacles designed by the teachers. Hermione uses her knowledge of spells to free them from the deadly Devil's Snare plant. Harry uses his skills as a Seeker to fly among hundreds of enchanted winged keys and catch the one needed to unlock the next door. Finally, they encounter a violent, life-sized chessboard. Ron takes command of the game, ultimately sacrificing his piece to allow Harry to checkmate the king. Ron is knocked unconscious, and Hermione stays to tend to him while Harry proceeds to the final chamber alone.
The Man with Two Faces
In the final chamber, Harry is shocked to find not Snape, but the timid Professor Quirrell. Quirrell reveals that he let the troll in as a distraction and was the one cursing Harry's broom during the Quidditch match; Snape had been muttering a counter-curse to save Harry's life. Quirrell forces Harry to look into the Mirror of Erised, which has been moved to the chamber. Under Dumbledore's enchantment, the Mirror deposits the Philosopher's Stone into Harry's pocket because he seeks to find it, but not to use it.
Quirrell unwraps his turban, revealing the face of Voldemort protruding from the back of his head. The Dark Lord tempts Harry, promising to resurrect his parents in exchange for the Stone. Harry refuses. Quirrell attacks, but upon touching Harry's skin, his hands begin to burn and crumble. Harry's touch is agony to him. As Quirrell disintegrates into dust and dies, Voldemort's spirit rises from the remains and passes through Harry, knocking him unconscious before fleeing the castle.
The House Cup
Harry awakens in the hospital wing, where Dumbledore explains that the Stone has been destroyed. He reveals that Quirrell could not touch Harry because Lily Potter's sacrifice left a lingering protection of love in Harry's skin. Harry reunites with Ron and Hermione, who have both recovered.
At the end-of-year feast, the Great Hall is decked in the colors of Slytherin, who are poised to win the House Cup with 472 points. Ravenclaw has 426, Hufflepuff 352, and Gryffindor sits in last place with 312. However, Dumbledore interrupts the proceedings to award last-minute points for the recent events. He awards Hermione 50 points for the cool use of intellect, Ron 50 points for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in years, and Harry 60 points for pure nerve and outstanding courage. Finally, he awards 10 points to Neville Longbottom for the bravery required to stand up to his friends. These additions propel Gryffindor to victory, ending Slytherin's streak. As the students prepare to board the train home for the summer, Harry looks back at the castle, acknowledging that while he must return to the Dursleys, Hogwarts is his true home.
