What is immediately apparent is quite how tired the old 1080p Blu-ray image has become when compared to this new scan. HDR and WCG really show the benefit of UHD Ultimately, this first film fails to really ignite or excite, it plays out like family entertainment, it is the ‘safe bet’ that executives wanted and crucially it managed the success required for the commissioning of the second film. The editing of the book does not go unnoticed however, large sections are removed, most are, to be honest, superfluous to the narrative, one part though, the third lock to the Philosopher’s Stone in which Hermione used logic not magic is missing but curiously she is awarded the extra house points. In fact that can be said about any of the assembled cast, with particular merit for Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore who adds an austere aloof and majesty to this most beloved of characters. Yet the film does work there is a reasonably exciting dynamic between the principle cast of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson and crucially they depict their literary counterparts well. The book itself, being the first and least mature, reads much like a ‘kids’ book - lots of exciting pieces strung together with a loose narrative. Initially I put this down to the film missing a large portion of the source material, which, of course, it does, but actually that’s not the problem. Broadly the film covers the major points of the book, however, it does come off rather like a whole lot of set pieces strung together with a weaker narrative. Whilst on the train to school Harry meets the two people that will become his lifelong friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and together these three discover exactly what is hidden within the walls at Hogwarts and use the meagre skills they have developed over the first year at Wizard school to prevent it from being used by a hardly human Voldemort. He also informs him that his parents were killed by a very powerful dark wizard called Lord Voldemort, and that it was he who was responsible for the lightning scar on Harry's forehead. The story sees 11 year old Harry, who has been living with his brutish Uncle and Aunt and their equally brutish son, visited by a half giant called Hagrid, who informs him that he is a wizard and hands him an invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rowling was brought in to consult and the director chosen was ‘safe’ and ‘family friendly’: Chris Columbus. As such there were very few, if any risks taken. Just like the first book, this first film had a lot riding on it because the future potential was huge.
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