Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Film Review

 I have watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone many times now, and every time I notice something new. This time watching it, I made notes and watched it as a critic and not just a viewer. I really like the structure of the film. At the very start of the film, we see Hagrid, Dumbledore and McGonagall take baby Harry to his auntie and uncle after the death of his parents. Seeing the wizards first, it sets the tone for the whole film. When Harry is a bit more grown up, you see how horrible his home life is. He still lives with his auntie, uncle and his cousin and he sleeps under the stairs. Showing this is important because it gives us something to compare his life at Hogwarts to. When the family begin to get bombarded with letters, we know that Hogwarts are desperate to get in touch with Harry. We already know that he means something to the wizards because of the opening scene, so this must mean they need him for something. This was very carefully structured. In Joseph Cambell's 17-stage Monomyth, a cycle of events which are based on 'The Hero with 1000 Faces, Part I', he separates the book into seventeen main parts. The letter scene in Harry Potter is the main characters' 'call to adventure'. Then, when Hagrid visits the family in the night at their new house and tells Harry that he is a wizard, we get our refusal to call. Harry wrongly explains to Hagrid that he is "just Harry" and not a wizard. 

Throughout the film, we see Joseph Cambell's 17-stage Monomyth come up time and time again. The 'belly of the whale' being when Harry is sorted into Gryffindor, the Quidditch match is an example of a 'Road of Trails' and so on. At the end of the film, Harry gets on the train to head home after experiencing everything he did at Hogwarts and this is the 'Master of Two Words' and the 'Freedom to Live'. 

Watching the first Harry Potter this time round really opened my eyes to the film's story. I now see it differently.