First Harry Potter movie was the story taken from the novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. This novel had a vast series and its writer was a British woman J.K Rowling. This movie gained huge success in all the series. The story covers the life of a wizardry boy Harry Potter. He entered the magic school and experienced different incidents there.
1.What is the first Harry Potter movie?
First Harry Potter movie came out in 2001 with the name Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s Stone. This movie was a great success and it attracted kids from almost all over the world. Harry Potter movie has many parts with different incidents mainly covering the life of a wizard boy.
This story of a wizardry boy from Harry Potter books led to many successful parts of the movie. Also, Warner Bros produced the movie and so, everyone knew it will be a success. But, many producers rejected the story and Warner Bros took it to work on.
The name of the movie needs some discussion here. The novel’s first copy was Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone. And, this name was well known in Britain since the writer published it in 1997.
But, the writer was smart enough to change the name of the novel. She first published this novel in 1997. But, the copies were only available in INDIA and America. She changed the name at that time and published it again in the same year.
That’s because she knew that her targeted audience was kids. Also, the kids will not watch the movie with interest if it has the name of ‘philosophy ‘ in it.
So, she changed the name and named the movie Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone. Now, let’s check out some more facts about the first Harry Potter movie.
1.1When did the team release the first Harry Potter movie?
As I told above, the writer changed the name of the novel and named it Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone. So, as the movie was novel based, the first movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone came out on 16 November 2001.
This movie was the writer’s debut movie in her career that was a great success. Also, this movie starred Daniel Redcliffe as the lead role, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. The latter two were Harry Potter’s friends in the movie. The director of the first Harry Potter movie was Chris Columbus who was an American filmmaker.
1.2History of the first Harry Potter movie
J.K Rowling sent the first copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to David Heyman in 1997. Heyman considered it trashes and kept it in his least priorities. He thought it was ‘rubbish’ and didn’t even read it. But, later on, his secretary found this copy and read it.
She loved the idea of the life of a wizard. So, she passed it to Heyman and gave a positive response to the story. This developed his interest in reading it. He read the story and it impressed him as well. Also, this led Rowling to sell four-film book rights to Heyman in 1999.
Regarding the first film based on the book, Rowling had some demands. The writer wanted the lead characters to be British. But the main casts were Irish. The writer also refused to give a right of the leading characters to Warner Bros.
That’s because Rowling wanted the characters to adapt their roles exactly like the books. So, there was no intention of keeping the roles different from those in the book. This was the writer’s main intention for the first Harry Potter movie.Also, she wanted a part in the movie to keep it more story-like.
Later in 2000, during March, both Rowling and Heyman selected Chris Columbus for film direction. And, Steve Kloves was the screenplay writer of the movie. Also, Rowling took a large part in the movie and Chris Columbus had no issue. Herman took the movie production responsibility.
1.3Leading characters of the first Harry Potter movie
Choosing the characters to play the lead role was also not an easy task. The team took 7 months in auditioning for Harry Potter, Hermoine, and Ron. Heyman and Kloves selected Daniel Redcliffe for the leading role of Harry Potter. They selected him in an audition in a theatre after searching for 7 months. Rowling was much impressed with Daniel’s acting skills saying that she didn’t think there was a better choice.
So, they all convinced Daniel’s parents to let him act in the movie. Also, they had chosen Rupert Grint and Emma Watson among thousands of children during auditions. Choosing Daniel for the role of Harry, Emma for Hermione, and Rupert for Ron was the best decision.
This leading cast was exactly how Rowling thought it should be. So, the first Harry Potter movie production took place in September 2000. The series continued till 2010 in December and it ended there. Also, the team made all the movie series in Leavesden Studios. This studio is now open all the time for the public to explore more. Heyman has produced all the film series with his production company Heyday Films.
Except for Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix, Kloves wrote all the screenplay for the movie. The new screenplay writer for the order of the Phoenix was Michael Goldenberg.
The sixth part of the movie was very costly so the team decided to split the next part (seven) into two. However, the seventh part was shot as one film part.
Also, read Harry Potter kids to learn more about Harry’s life.
1.4 Director of the first Harry Potter movie
As I told above, the director of the first Harry Potter movie was Chris Columbus. This American director also directed Mrs. Doubtfire and Home Alone before signing for this project.
1.5 Leading characters of the first Harry Potter Movie
Daniel Radcliffe played the lead role in the Harry Potter movie. Radcliffe was from London as he was born there on 23 July 1989. Before the role of Harry Potter, he worked on a project on BBC production. David Copperfield handled this project on BNC.
He played a role in the movie ‘The Tailor Of Panama in 2001. This film starred Pierce Brosnan as well. The other two actors were British kids and the role of Harry’s best friends. These friends were Hermoine and Ron as I told above.
From the first Harry Potter movie till the last, these characters are a flawless role. Along with them, there were other supportive roles in different parts of the movie. These roles include Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Richard Harris along with Gary Oldman. There are no changes in these characters from Harry Potter online book.
Also read Rowling’s net worth.
2.Summary of the first Harry Potter movie
Harry Potter (Daniel Redcliffe) is an orphan child in the movie and his uncle (Richard Griffiths) as Vernon raised him. His wife (Fiona Shaw) as Petunia hated Harry. They both raised him with a great grudge for him. Also, the aunt and uncle told Harry that his parents died in a car accident. But this is was not true.
Harry was on bad terms with his cousin Dudley who is fat and rude towards him like his parents. The three of them made him stay in a small chamber that was under the stairs. Harry hated them because the three of them were living in Harry’s parents’ house and still treated him like a slave.
On Harry’s 11th birthday, he gets in an argument with his cousin and that turned into a fight. Harry tried to sway his hands and that pushed his cousin and threw him away with a great force. So, at that time, he came to know that he was not an ordinary child. His uncle and aunt came to know that he was a wizard “as well”!
2.2Plot Twist
Harry Potter was not the only wizard of his family. His father was a great wizard and his mother was a witch. They both had a battle with another wizard Voldemort who killed them. He also tried to kill Harry as well. But Harry‘s luck saved him and took Voldemort’s power away somehow.
Also read Is Snape Harry Potter’s father?
2.3Letter from the school
On the exact day of that mishap, Harry received a letter. This letter was from someone from Hogwarts school of witchcraft. The letter invites him to the Hogwarts School to learn witchcraft and become their student. Also, a giant man Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid brought a letter to Harry.
Hagrid told the truth about Harry’s parents and Harry’s wizardry. He told Harry that Voldemort(Richard Bremmer) has killed his parents. Also, Voldemort killed them because they were protecting Harry and they did not die in a car accident.
In the first Harry Potter movie, you can see Harry with a lightning mark on the forehead. This Mark is the attack scar from Voldemort that Harry survived as a baby. Also, in this attack, Harry deprived Voldemort of his power. These two cases made Harry Potter famous in the wizardry world that Harry was going to join. Also, his aunt and uncle didn’t believe in magic stuff at all. So, they didn’t tell him anything about that incident.
Harry was quite excited to learn the new skill and sees how magic would be. So, Hagrid took him to the magic world and the school Hogwarts.
2.4Harry made new friends
In the Hogwarts school of wizardry, Harry met his new teachers and made new friends. He became friends with Ron Weasely and Hermione Granger all of a sudden. While roaming all over the school with Harry, the three of them found a secret. They got to know that Alan Rickman as Severus Snape was planning to steal something. They did not know what that thing was but the three-headed dog was guarding it. It was the sorcerer’s stone in all.
As they were the first-year students of the wizardry school, nobody would believe them. So, they decided to reveal the secret robbery plan Snape was having. Also, in this case, they faced many hurdles to keep the daily schooling well. These hurdles also included the Quidditch sport, the three-headed dog, and fluffy as well.
Also check Hogwarts’ Uniform.
3.Summary
J.K Rowling wrote Harry Potter that got a great success in different parts. The story title was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone. But, the writer changes it into Sorcerer’s stone. The novel based film highlights the life of a wizard kid.
The kid lived with his aunt and uncle and didn’t know his powers until his 11th birthday. Hagrid told the truth about his parents’ murder from Voldemort and took Harry to the Hogwarts wizardry school for magic training. He made new friends and investigated the evil plan of Snape with this friends.
4.13 facts about the first Harry Potter movie
You will be stunned to know about some interesting facts about the first Harry Potter movie. While knowing about these facts before watching the first Harry Potter movie online you will never believe what the characters did.
4.1More facts about first Harry Potter movie
Directors
Musicians
Language
Countries Chris Columbus (1,2movie)
Alfonso Cuaron (3rd movie)
Mike Newell (4rth movie)
David Yates( 5,6,7,8 movies)
Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, John Williams,
Alexandre Desplat.
English
The U.K, U.S.A.
Producers
Screenplay writers
Story based on
Leading characters
Budget Chris Columbus, David Heyman, Mark Redcliffe,
J.K Rowling, David Barron.
Michael Goldenberg,
Steve Kloves.
Harry Potter novel.
Daniel Redcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson.
8 movies ( $1.2 billion).
Editors
Company productions
Released
Movie duration
Box office earning Peter Honess, Steven Weisberg, Mark Day, ■■■■ Audsley, Richard Francis Bruce.
Heyday Films, 1492 pictures, Warner Bros Pictures.
2001-2011.
1179 minutes in all.
8 movies ($7.7 billion).
Also read Harry’s houses.
4.2.Richard Harris refused to do Dumbledore’s character thrice!
Dumbledore is the most significant character in the Harry Potter movie. The actor who played this role brilliantly was the late Richard Harris, an Irish actor. After the first Harry Potter movie, he revealed a secret about his role in an interview. While interviewing with the Zap2it, he said that the film crew offered the role thrice.
Every time the team offered him an increased amount than the earlier one. But, he kept refusing because anyone who will be involved, had to be all the time in all the sequels. This was against what Harry decided for his last years to spend. So, he had to deny the role again and again.
But, his granddaughter Ella made up his mind for the role. She convinced him by saying that she would not talk to him ever again if he didn’t play the role. So, Harry ended up playing the role of Professor Dumbledore brilliantly.
Also read Hogwarts Houses.
4.3.Robin Williams was turned down to play Rubeus Hagrid
Robin Williams eagerly wanted a part in the first Harry Potter movie.However, the director didn’t choose him despite his back-to-back requests. The only reason that Christopher Columbus gave several rejections were Rowling.
Columbus knew that Rowling only wanted British caste and the other reason was that he already said no. So, there was no chance to take him to the movie. Upon this, in an interview with the New York Post, Robin said the truth about the movie. He said that he wanted several parts of the movie. But, the team did not want the American actors.
4.4.Steven Speilberg left Harry Potter
Steven Speilberg was making the first Harry Potter movie with Kloves. Spielberg was well known for ‘Jurassic Park’ movie making and ‘E.T’ making as well. But, before the completion of the first Harry Potter movie, he dropped out. He told the reason for dropping out in an interview with Digital Spy in 2012.
He said that he thought he was not ready for making a brilliant movie for kids’ attention. Also, his children thought that he was working on a stupid idea. But, while dropping out, he was sure that the movie was going to be a big hit. That’s because its books were already very famous.
4.5Terry Gilliam for directing the first Harry Potter movie
Terry Gilliam is one of those directors who said that the team considered them. Yes, I’m talking about the Harry Potter movie team. Moreover, he said that in the film fest of the entertainment Weekly’s cape town in 2013. He told the audience that Rowling wanted him to direct the first Harry Potter movie.
Not only this, but he said that the producer also wanted him as the director. He even said that when the team approached Alan Parker, he was surprised. According to Gilliam, Parker said the team that they must not approach him but Gilliam. Also, Gilliam further said that he knew he would never get the role.
4.6. The last scene was also the first scene
In the first Harry Potter movie, the first scene shot was the last as well. This was quite weird for the three main characters Daniel Redcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. That’s because they shot the scene first of all and it has to come at the end of the movie.
In an interview with the entertainment weekly’s Binge podcast, Columbus explained the scene. In this scene, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were setting off the train. They were going home like other kids and saying goodbye to one another. Harry and Ron were huddled outside the train. Also, the three of them said goodbye to Hogwarts and Hagrid and went to the Hogwarts express.
Also check best historical fiction book.
4.7.Daniel got an allergy to lenses
According to J.K Rowling’s books, Harry Potter had bright green eyes. These eyes were a resemblance with his late mother Lily. But, in the first Harry Potter movie, the movie makers tried to give green contact lenses. And, Daniel couldn’t wear them even for the first part. That’s because he had pure blue eyes and the lenses irritated him a lot.
Also, Daniel told BBC in 2015 that the lenses were very painful so he could not wear them. He had an allergy to green contact lenses. As a result, the team couldn’t shot a full movie with the lenses and shot only the first part. They managed with the glasses in the remaining movie only.
4.8.The food in the hall feast shot smelled disgusting
There was a scene in the movie that covered most of the part of the movie. It was a hall feast scene that was for all the Hogwarts students daily. Warwick Davis played two roles as Professor Flitwick and Griphook the Goblin.
In an interview with the UK Tabloid the Mirror in 2014, Davis discussed the awfulness of the food. He said that the hallway shooting took 3-4 days in all. The team provided a lot of food and asked them to eat the feast. But, this was only for the first shot in the first Harry Potter movie.
The next day, the team did not allow them to eat the food but to pretend only. That’s because the team left the food there for the whole night for the next day’s shooting. And, on the third day, they could smell the food while entering the hall. It was indeed an awful smell. The food contained a lot of vegetables, meat, and roasted potatoes.
4.9 Hermione could not get buck teeth
In the book, Hermoine had bucked teeth that were her significance. Also, she was supposed to have an overbite like in the book. But, here again, there was a hurdle. The team arranged fake teeth for her to wear for the whole film. But the teeth irritated Emma and she could barely speak.
So, in an interview with Weekly Binge Podcast, Columbus discussed the teeth. He said that he realized that Emma could not speak with those teeth. They were so huge that if anyone looked closely, they could see the fakeness of the teeth.
Also check out How to bind a book?
4.10.Rowling drew a map of Hogwarts
For film production designing, Stuart Craig had taken the responsibility. But, when he met Rowling in 1999, she drew a map of Hogwarts. Also, this stated her idea of Hogwarts. Craig was the production designer manager of the first Harry Potter movie and the other two.
He said that the map that Rowling created, contained all the necessary scenes. There was a Hogwarts castle of course, and a dark forest. Also, there were a Quidditch pitch, a Whomping Willow, and a black lake. The Hogsmeade village and the perimeter of the road describes how creative was Rowling. She was aware about the availability of all these elements in her book and her movie. This made the best wizardry impression in the movie.
4.11.Rupert Grint did rapping
Rupert Grint told about his audition for the movie in an interview in 2001 with Rossie O’Donnell. He said that he got to know about the auditions going on for the movie. So, as many other kids were recording their videos he also recorded them. He told the interviewer that he recorded the video in the drama teacher outfit.
His drama teacher used to wear the outfit in the same style. Also, he rapped in the video for telling why did he want the role. This impressed the movie team and he got their response within three days.
4.12.Theyhung a ■■■■ mouse in Petunia’s apron
In directing movies, the main problem is dealing with animals. Particularly, when you need animals to look at you. This problem occurred several times in the first Harry Potter movie. Fiona Shaw did the role of Petunia in the Harry Potter movie.
She told about her weird experience in an interview with the AV Club 2019. She said that in one scene, she had to look at the owl through the window. The owls should also look at her. But, the problem was that the owls kept looking at the cameras that were behind them. So, the team hung a ■■■■ mouse on her Apron so that the owls look at her. This resulted in the owls looking at the mouse and they could record the scene.
4.13.Rupert made a caricature of Alan
While giving an interview to the Behind the scenes, Rupert told about the caricature. He said that he used to do doodles in the book. He doodled with his quill exactly as Ron did in the movie. Also, he first doodled Alan Rickman and he was making an unattractive caricature of him.
But, he did not know that Rickman was standing right behind him. When Rupert saw Rickman, he got afraid of him. But, Rickman had a good nature with a good sense of humor. Instead of getting angry, he liked the caricature and kept it with him. Rupert Grint told this when behind the scenes interviewed him after Deathly Hallows part 2.
4.14.The team recreated some scenes twice
As I told in the start of the article, the first Harry Potter movie had two different names. The first book that Rowling wrote was Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone. But the movie had two different names. In the US, it was Sorcerer’s stone instead of philosopher’s stone. So,
whenever any phrase came about philosopher’s stone, the team replaced it with sorcerers’ stone. So, there were many scenes that the team had to recreate.
Also check out Life changing books.
Duration of the Harry Potter movies
| Duration of all the parts in sequence | |
|---|---|
| Sorcerer's Stone | 2hr 32mins |
| Chamber of secrets | 2hr 41mins |
| Prisoner of Azkaban | 2hr 22mins |
| Goblet of Fire | 2hr 32mins |
| Order of the Phoenix | 2hr 18 mins |
| Half blood Prince | 2hr 33 mins |
| Deathly Hallows part 1 | 2hr 26 mins |
| Deathly Hallows part 2 | 2 hr 10 mins |
1.Summary
The first Harry Potter movie attained great success after so many troubles. The director had to redirect some scenes with a changed name. Also, the casts shared their experiences and their struggles for the roles in the movie.
FAQs
1. Does Harry Potter speak Parseltongue even after Voldemort?
As the Parseltongue came from Voldemort’s soul part in Harry he could speak it till Voldemort’s life. This soul appeared in Harry while he was a baby and Voldemort tried to kill him with his parents. But, when Harry killed Voldemort, his soul in Harry’s body was destroyed and Harry could no longer speak Parseltongue. However, we see that Harry was able to speak that language again when he goes back in time.
2.Is Lord Voldemort Hermione Granger’s father?
Hermione Granger is not Voldemort’s daughter. Also, J.K Rowling has started Hermione’s family heritage in her novel. She is an intelligent girl and the brightest witch of the future. She was born in 1979 on 17 September. Her parents were dentists and Muggles by profession. Whereas for Lord Voldemort, his name was Thomas Marvolo Riddle.
He was an orphan and he did not marry anyone till death. That’s because all his interest was to conquer the magic world and kill Harry. Because he came through a prophecy during wizard war 2 that Harry will kill him.
3.How did Harry Potter get his scar?
Harry Potter got the scar in his childhood when he was just a baby. It happend because his parents were wizards and they fought with Voldemort. Voldemort attacked him to kill the three of them. But, Harry’s mother Lily created a circle of love that protected Harry Potter from the attack. This circle somehow soaked Voldemort’s power and his half soul. Also, the attack left a scar on his forehead.
4.What position Harry Potter had in the Quidditch game?
Harry Potter had the position of the seeker. Also, he was the younger seeker of the game. And, he made a century after making the first-year Quidditch Gryffindor team.
5.Who was the first seeker in the Quidditch game before Harry Potter?
Harry Potter was a student of Hogwarts in the year 1991. This was the time when he joined the school. But, Charlie Weasely left the school in 1991. Also, there was nobody in Gryffindor House to play as a seeker. But, Harry was flying by himself in his first training. This impressed professor McGonagall and she made him the seeker.
6.Which ones are Ravenclaw celebrities in the Harry Potter movie?
These celebrities are Hugh Grant, James Blunt, Carrie Underwood, Natalie Portman, and Stephen Fry. Stephen Colbert and Denzel Washington also come on the list of Ravenclaw celebrities.
7.Why did Draco Malfoy hate Harry Potter?
He hated Harry Potter because he was jealous of him and had envy against him. Also, in the movie, he always had a cold face and he hid his emotions all the time. But, his hatred was still emerging from his heart for Harry Potter.
8.What is the story of Harry Potter’s owl?
Harry Potter had an owl and you will see that in almost every part of the movie. On his birthday, Hagrid visited Harry Potter and gifted him an owl because he did not like cats as pets.
9.What happens in the first part of the Harry Potter movie?
In the first Harry Potter movie, Harry receives a letter from Hagrid for admission in Hogwarts. He learns that he is a wizard like his parents and that Voldemort killed them. He befriends Ron and Hermoine on the train to Hogwarts.
10.How Hermoine died in the Harry Potter movie?
She died because a mountain troll attacked her in Hogwarts. Harry, George Weasely and Fred killed the troll but Hermoine died due to severe injuries.