Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

The first of eight films. Harry lives at his aunt's house, in the cupboard under the stairs. He has been told his parents died in a crash. A letter arrives on his eleventh birthday. The family burns it, but the letters do not stop, and finally a man breaks the door down. Harry is a wizard. His parents were killed, and the person who killed them could do nothing to him. From there the film is a school story. A train, a hat, four houses, a sport, lessons and a friendship. There is also a forbidden corridor. A door on the third floor and something hidden behind it. What the narrative is interested in is not magic but belonging: for the first time in his life Harry is wanted, and all the feeling in the film comes from that. The last section is a journey with three obstacles, and each is solved by one of the three children. The production was prepared under heavy pressure because of the book's popularity. The author insisted the cast be British and auditions were held across the country. Hogwarts was built largely from real buildings; several English cathedrals and colleges were used as interiors. The three main actors were eleven and twelve and stayed in the same parts for a decade. The music is by John Williams and the main theme was used across all eight films. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltrane are in the cast. Chris Columbus directed. Who it is for: a starting point to watch with children. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the darkness of the later films; this one is deliberately bright and fairy tale in tone.