Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)

"Journey Beyond Your Imagination"

- Official tagline

The film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was the first film adaptation in the Harry Potter series. It starred Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, and was directed by Chris Columbus.

For the American and Indian release, just as was done with the book, the studio retitled the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Plot
Harry Potter is a seemingly ordinary boy, living with his hostile relatives, the Dursleys in Surrey. On his eleventh birthday, Harry learns from a mysterious stranger, Rubeus Hagrid, that he is a wizard, famous in the wizarding world for surviving an attack by the evil Lord Voldemort when Harry was a baby. Voldemort killed Harry's parents, James and Lily Potter, but his attack on Harry rebounded, leaving only a lightning-bolt scar on Harry's forehead and rendering Voldemort powerless. Hagrid reveals to Harry that he has been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After purchasing school supplies from the hidden wizarding street, Diagon Alley, Harry boards the train to Hogwarts via the concealed Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross Station.

During the journey on the train, Harry meets Ron Weasley, a boy from a large, but poor, pure-blood wizarding family, and Hermione Granger, a witch born to Muggle (non-magical) parents, who would both become Harry's lifelong best friends. Upon arriving at the school, the first year students are sorted into four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. As Slytherin is noted for being the house of darker wizards and witches, Harry begs the magical Sorting Hat not to put him in Slytherin. He is assigned to Gryffindor, along with Ron and Hermione. Harry notices a professor, Severus Snape, giving him peculiar looks.

Harry begins learning wizardry and discovers more about his past and his parents. Harry inadvertently makes Gryffindor's Quidditch team (a sport in the wizarding world where people fly on broomsticks) as a Seeker while defending another student, Neville Longbottom, from Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin first year, learning that his father was also on the team.

One night, Harry, Ron and Hermione encounter a giant three-headed dog named Fluffy belonging to Hagrid at the Forbidden Corridor on the Third Floor of the school. After the trio incapacitate an escaped mountain troll and Harry is nearly knocked from his broom by a curse during one of the Quidditch matches, the trio assume that someone is trying to get past the dog. Harry discovers the Mirror of Erised, which shows a person's heart's desire. The Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, moves the mirror and advises Harry against searching for it again. Using information let slip by Hagrid, Hermione discovers that the dog is guarding the Philosopher's Stone, an item that can grant its owner immortality. Harry concludes that his potions teacher, Severus Snape, is trying to obtain the stone. Harry gets caught out of bed at night wearing an Invisibility Cloak left for him by his father, and is sent to detention. While helping Hagrid in the Dark Forest, Harry sees a hooded figure drinking a unicorn's blood for its healing properties. The hooded figure then attempts to attack Harry, only to be scared off by an arriving centaur named Firenze, a close friend of Hagrid's. Harry concludes that the hooded figure was Voldemort and that Snape is trying to get the stone to restore Voldemort to full strength.

After hearing from Hagrid that the dog will fall asleep if played music and that he revealed this to a man in a local pub, Harry, Ron and Hermione conclude that Snape was the man in the pub and attempt to warn Dumbledore. Upon learning that he is away on business, the trio conclude that Snape will attempt to steal the stone that night and resolve to find the stone before Snape does.

They face a series of obstacles: surviving a deadly plant, flying past hundreds of flying keys and winning a violent, life-sized chess match. The trio use their skills to overcome the obstacles: Hermione uses her knowledge of spells to get past the plant, Devil's Snare; Harry uses his skills as a Seeker to get past the keys and catch the one that unlocks the door; and Ron uses his skill at chess to win the chess match. However, Ron is nearly killed in the chess match and Hermione stays with him as Harry goes on ahead alone.

In the final room, Harry finds out that it was not Snape who wanted the stone, but Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Quirrell. Quirrell reveals that he let the troll in and tried to kill Harry in the Quidditch match. He also reveals that Snape has been protecting Harry and trying to stop Quirrell all year. Then, Professor Quirrell forces Harry to look in the Mirror of Erised. Due to an enchantment placed by Dumbledore, Harry finds the stone in his pocket after looking in the mirror. After trying to get Harry to answer what he has seen in the mirror, Quirrell removes his turban and reveals Voldemort to be living on the back of his head. Harry tries to escape but Quirrell starts a fire by clicking his fingers to prevent his escape. Voldemort tries to convince Harry to give him the stone by pledging to bring his parents back from the dead, but Harry refuses. Quirrell then tries to kill him but Harry's touch prevents him from hurting him and causes him to turn into dust and die. When Harry gets up, Voldemort's spirit forms and passes through Harry, knocking him unconscious before fleeing.

Harry wakes up at the school's hospital wing. Professor Dumbledore explains that the stone has been destroyed and that Hermione and Ron are safe. Quirrell burned at Harry's touch because, when Harry's mother died to save him, her death gave Harry a love-based protection against Voldemort. Harry soon exits the hospital wing and is reunited with Ron and Hermione, with Ron once again brought back to consciousness. During the end-of-year feast, Gryffindor has 312 House Points, Hufflepuff 352, Ravenclaw 426 and Slytherin 472. The Gryffindors are upset, but then Dumbledore interrupts and announces that recent events must be taken into account and has a few last minute points to award. First, fifty points to Hermione for cool use of intellect while others were in peril, fifty points to Ron for the best played game of chess that Hogwarts had seen for many years, sixty points to Harry for pure nerve and outstanding courage, and ten points to Neville for the bravery of standing up to his friends. These last-minute points win Gryffindor the House Cup, and all the Gryffindors celebrate their victory. Before Harry and the rest of the students leave for the summer, Harry realises that while every other student is going home, Hogwarts is truly his home.

The Trio

 * Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter 
 * Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
 * Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

Hogwarts Staff

 * Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore
 * Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall
 * Alan Rickman as Severus Snape
 * Ian Hart as Quirinus Quirrell
 * Zoë Wanamaker as Rolanda Hooch
 * Hazel Showham as Septima Vector (uncredited)
 * Unidentified actress as Aurora Sinistra (uncredited)
 * Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
 * Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick
 * David Bradley as Argus Filch
 * Unidentified actress as Oriental employee (uncredited)
 * Paul Marc Davis as Wizard teacher (uncredited)
 * Unidentified actress as Healer (uncredited)

Other Hogwarts Denizens

 * John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick
 * Nina Young as The Grey Lady
 * Leslie Phillips as the voice of The Sorting Hat
 * Simon Fisher-Becker as The Fat Friar
 * Terence Bayler as The Bloody Baron
 * Elizabeth Spriggs as The Fat Lady
 * Rik Mayall as Peeves (cut from the film) (uncredited)
 * Adam Alderman as Ghost (uncredited)
 * Paul Marc Davis as Lord Draben (Ghost of Cavalier) (uncredited)

Lord Voldemort, His Death Eaters and Followers

 * Richard Bremmer as Lord Voldemort (flashback)
 * Ian Hart as Lord Voldemort (voice)

Gryffindor

 * Leilah Sutherland as Alicia Spinnet
 * Danielle Tabor as Angelina Johnson
 * Alfie Enoch as Dean Thomas
 * James Phelps as Fred Weasley
 * Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
 * Julianne Hough as Gryffindor Girl (uncredited)
 * Emily Dale as Katie Bell
 * Luke Youngblood as Lee Jordan
 * Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
 * Sean Biggerstaff as Oliver Wood
 * Chris Rankin as Percy Weasley
 * Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan

Hufflepuff

 * Eleanor Columbus as Susan Bones
 * Louisa Worley as Unknown Hufflepuff (uncredited)
 * Gemma Sandzer as Alice (uncredited)

Ravenclaw

 * Christina Petrou as Amanda (uncredited)
 * Kevin Lee Yi as Terry Boot (uncredited)
 * Unknown as Ravenclaw prefect (uncredited)
 * Derek Hough as Ravenclaw Student (uncredited)

Slytherin

 * Scot Fearn as Adrian Pucey
 * Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
 * Josh Herdman as Gregory Goyle
 * Jamie Yeates as Marcus Flint
 * Will Theakston as Terence Higgs
 * Jamie Waylett as Vincent Crabbe
 * Amy Puglia as Miles Bletchley (uncredited)

Unknown house

 * Christina Petrou as a First year student (uncredited)
 * Dani Harmer as Hogwarts Schoolgirl (uncredited)
 * Holly Ann Filtness as Schoolgirl (uncredited)
 * Will Howes as Hogwarts Student (uncredited)
 * Oliver Lavery-Farag as Hogwarts Student (uncredited)
 * Cath Peakin as Hogwarts Student (uncredited)
 * Bianca Sowerby as Hogwarts Student (uncredited)
 * Bernadette Jane Vanderkar as Hogwarts Student (uncredited)
 * Amelia Adams-Pearce as Student (uncredited)
 * Christina Cartwright as Student/Extra (uncredited)
 * Katie Amber Duff as Hogwarts Student (uncredited)
 * Marc Hendrey as Schoolboy (uncredited)
 * Maude Hirst as School Pupil (uncredited)
 * Jasmin Walia as School Child (uncredited)
 * Adam John Blendick as Hogwarts Student (uncredited)
 * Darren Tough as Hogwarts Schoolboy (uncredited)
 * Stefan Pejic as Student (uncredited)

Wizarding World Related

 * Julie Walters as Molly Weasley
 * David Brett as Dedalus Diggle
 * John Hurt as Garrick Ollivander
 * Derek Deadman as Tom
 * Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley
 * Jean Southern as Food trolley lady
 * Ben Borowiecki as Angus (Diagon Alley boy)
 * Unknown actress as Doris Crockford (uncredited)
 * Leila Hoffman as Augusta Longbottom (uncredited)
 * Lia Alu as Wizarding florist (uncredited)
 * Unknown actor as Elderly visitor at Leaky Cauldron (uncredited)
 * Alexander Watson as Extra (uncredited)
 * Paul Bannon as Train Porter (uncredited)
 * Lucy Elworthy as Voice Over (uncredited)
 * Samantha King as Girl (uncredited)
 * Jenny Luard as Extra (uncredited)
 * Niall Phillips as Young Boy (uncredited)
 * Dominic Smith as Phillip (uncredited)
 * Natasha-Maria Smith as Supporting Artist (uncredited)
 * Laurence Estrin as Extra (uncredited)
 * Kay Hayes as Backround Artist (uncredited)
 * Nakesha Hurst as Extra (uncredited)
 * Deena Noley as Extra (uncredited)
 * Kristen Vanders as Extra (uncredited)
 * Henry Allan as Extra (uncredited)
 * Amanda Duerre Lotus as Girl (uncredited)
 * Natty Anastasia Selfe as Extra (uncredited)
 * Matthew Entwhistle as Extra (uncredited)
 * Gary Wronecki as Wizard (uncredited)
 * Annaleise Vertannes as Extra (uncredited)
 * Gary Wronecki as Wizard (uncredited)

Ghosts, Spectres, Photos or Flashback Performance

 * Adrian Rawlins as James Potter
 * Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter
 * Richard Bremmer as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
 * Saunders Triplets as Baby Harry Potter 

Muggles

 * Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley
 * Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley
 * Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley
 * Harry Taylor as King's Cross Station Guard
 * Kieri Kennedy as Child in zoo (uncredited)

Magic Creatures

 * Verne Troyer as Griphook
 * Warwick Davis as Goblin At Desk and the voice of Griphook
 * Rusty Goffe as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Alan Bennett as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Sarah Bennett as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Peter Burroughs as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Adam Alderman as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Mike Edmonds as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Lisa Osmond as Goblin Banker (uncredited)
 * Paul Grant as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Katie Purvis as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Kiran Shah as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Ray Griffiths as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Franky Mwangi as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Jo Osmond as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Degsey Dee as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Aimlee Dixon as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Melanie Dixon as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Mark Lisle as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Pete Mandell as Goblin (uncredited)
 * John Phillip Matthews as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Jenny O'Sullivan as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Nicholas Read as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Gerald Staddon as Goblin (uncredited)
 * David Vears as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Jimmy Vee as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Scott English as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Darren Horan as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Mark Sealey as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Aimee Holden as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Andy Herd as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Martin Henderson as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Karen Anderson as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Phil Holden as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Nathan Phillips as Goblin (uncredited)
 * Ray Fearon as Firenze

Animals

 * Hugo, Bully, Bella, and Vito as Fang (uncredited)
 * Gizmo, Ook, Kasper, Oops, Oh Oh, Swoops, Elmo, Bandit and Sprout as Hedwig (uncredited)
 * Maximus, Alanis and Cornilus as Mrs. Norris (uncredited)
 * Mrs. P. Head as McGonagall's Animagus form (uncredited)
 * Dex and 11 unknown rats as Scabbers (uncredited)
 * 4 unknown toads as Trevor (uncredited)
 * Many unknown owls as Owls (uncredited)

1. The Boy Who Lived

 * The film begins with Harry's arrival at Privet Drive, omitting Vernon Dursley's day at Grunnings and his encounter with the wizards during his lunch break on the day before Harry arrived.
 * Vernon Dursley noticed Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form earlier in the day, thinking she was reading a map. This was omitted in the film.
 * Ted and Jim McGuffin are omitted from the film.
 * At the start of the novel, Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form had been observing Vernon Dursley prior to her meeting with Dumbledore and Hagrid. While this scene was omitted from the film, it was referenced when McGonagall voiced her objections in leaving Harry in the Dursley's care when she said she had "watched them all day".
 * In the film, when Dumbledore leaves Harry on the doorstep of the Dursleys' house, he says, "Good luck, Harry Potter." In the book, he just says, "Good luck, Harry."

2. The Vanishing Glass

 * When Dudley counts the presents in the book, he says there are 36 and that is two less than last year, although Aunt Petunia then shows him the present he has missed out. In the film, it was Uncle Vernon who counted the presents, and while the count remains at 36, Dudley had 37 presents last year instead of 38.
 * In the book, the Dursleys and Harry are accompanied to the zoo by Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss. He is omitted in the film.
 * The Dursleys attempting to have Harry stay with Arabella Figg is omitted, as well as the mention of her having broken her leg and also the possibilities of Harry being watched by Vernon's sister, Marge who hates Harry and Petunia's friend, Yvonne who is on vacation in Majorca.
 * In the book, before going to the zoo, Vernon tells Harry that if any funny stuff happens he will be in the cupboard from then until Christmas, while in the film, Vernon tells Harry that if any funny business happens, he won't have any meals for a week (although this happens in the book after the zoo incident, when Vernon says to Harry to go to his cupboard and stay there with no meals).
 * In the film, Vernon pulls Harry by the hair demanding that Harry tell what happened; when Harry explains, he is thrown into and locked in the cupboard by his uncle, who says to him through a small vent: "There's no such thing as magic!"
 * In the book, the glass of the snake tank remains vanished. In the film it returns, trapping Dudley in the tank.
 * The Keeper of the reptile house who asks where the glass went is omitted from the movie since the glass came back and trapped Dudley inside the tank.
 * Harry states in the second film that the snake at the zoo was a python (But there was a sign in the film saying 'Burmese Python'). The snake at the zoo is said to be from Burma. In the novel, it is a boa constrictor from Brazil, not a python from Burma. However, both the novel and the film reveal the snake was bred in captivity.
 * In the book, the snake addressed Harry as "amigo" when thanking him for freeing it - presumably, a nod by JK Rowling to its South American ancestry as "amigo" means friend in Portuguese and Spanish. In the film, the snake simply says "thanks".

3. The Letters From No One

 * Dudley appears to know about Hogwarts, as he stares worriedly at Harry like his parents do. In the books, Dudley does not know about magic when Harry gets his letter.
 * The scene when Harry gets Dudley's second bedroom is omitted. Harry's new bedroom in the second film is left unexplained.
 * The scene where Harry and the Dursleys go to a random hotel to get away from the letters was omitted from the movie, so instead they went straight to the hut.
 * The scene with Harry and the Dursleys using the rowboat of the toothless old man to get to the hut is omitted; Therefore, the old man is also omitted from the film, but he appears in concept artwork only.

4. The Keeper of the Keys

 * In the book, when Hagrid first met Harry on the island he knew who he was right away, while in the film Hagrid initially mistook Dudley for Harry until Dudley corrected him.
 * In the book, Vernon Dursley warns Dudley not to receive or eat anything that Hagrid gives him when he was making sausages for Harry. In the film, Vernon doesn't mention this to Dudley, as Dudley is later seen eating some of Harry's birthday cake, which Hagrid makes him stop by giving him the pig's tail.
 * In the book, Hagrid grabs the gun and ties it into a knot. In the film he grabs the barrel of the gun and bends it upwards only.
 * In the book, Harry does not say "Thank you" to Hagrid when he gives him a birthday cake, but in the film, he does.

5. Diagon Alley

 * Hagrid tells Harry about the death of his parents while he is still with the Dursleys on the island in the sea in the book. However in the film, Harry asks about this at the Leaky Cauldron, and it is here that Hagrid tells Harry about his parents.
 * In the film, Hagrid does not tell Harry that he was expelled from Hogwarts but allowed to remain as gamekeeper at the school, while he does in the book; this would not be revealed until the next film.
 * This scene is also the first time Voldemort is mentioned, while in the book he is mentioned by Dumbledore and McGonagall at the beginning (though he is referenced with talk about rumours).
 * In the book, Quirrell does not have his turban until after his failed attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts. In the film, however, Quirrell has his turban before the robbery. This change is indicated by the fact that he shakes Harry's hand at the Leaky Cauldron in the novel, but does not wish to in the film. However, not wanting to shake Harry's hand cannot be due Voldemort sharing Quirrell's body, because as Quirrell dies, he does not understand what is happening to him (he yells, "What is this magic?!").
 * In the novel, when Harry buys his wand, Hagrid is with him. But in the film, Hagrid is not present, having gone to buy Hedwig. Also, in the novel Harry is with Hagrid when he buys Hedwig, before going to Ollivanders Wand Shop.
 * In the book, Harry names Hedwig from a History of Magic book. In the film, it is not mentioned where the name was chosen from. Hedwig's name isn't even mentioned in the film.
 * In the novel, when Harry buys his wand, he tried many wands before Mr. Ollivander thought of the 11 inch holly wand with a phoenix feather core, but in the film he only tried two wands before Mr. Ollivander thought of the right wand. Also in the novel, when Harry waved the wands, they didn't do anything, but in the film when he waved the wands, they blew papers and boxes of wands off the shelves and broke a vase.
 * Madam Malkin is omitted despite her name appearing on a sign.
 * In the book Harry first met Draco Malfoy in Diagon Alley while shopping and later learned who he was on the Hogwarts Express, where Harry chose not to befriend him after Draco insulted Ron Weasley. In the film, both these events occur at Hogwarts before the Sorting.
 * In the book Harry first hears about Quidditch from Draco Malfoy while in Diagon Alley before Hagrid explains what it is after Harry met up with him. In the film this was instead moved to Hogwarts during Harry's first flying lesson after Madam Hooch mentions it when she has to take Neville Longbottom to the hospital wing.
 * After his first visit to Diagon Alley, Harry returns to live with the Dursleys for several weeks and Vernon Dursley drives him to the train station. In the film, Harry went to the train station with Hagrid just after buying his school supplies.
 * The character Peeves is omitted, although a scene was filmed for him, but ended up being cut, even being omitted from the current DVD release. Peeves never appeared in any of the films.

6. The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

 * In the book Harry first learns about the connection between Dumbledore and Flamel on the back of his chocolate frogs card. In the movie, it is Hermione who comes across the name in a book she picked up for 'light reading'. In a deleted scene however you see Harry finding the name on a chocolate frog card after which the trio runs off to the library, so it only appears as a "mistake".
 * In the book, Neville comes into the compartment where Harry and Ron are sitting asking if they have seen his toad, which was omitted. Later Hermione shows up again with Neville asking the same question. In the film, Hermione shows up by herself asking if anyone has seen a toad, and that a boy named Neville has lost one.

7. The Sorting Hat

 * In the book, before the sorting begins, the Sorting Hat sings a song, but this does not happen in the film.
 * Sorting was done alphabetically in the novel, and out of order in the film. Also, only Hermione, Malfoy, Susan Bones, Ron and Harry are seen to be sorted in the film, although presumably the others were sorted after Harry, even though this is not shown.
 * In the novel, after the sorting, Dumbledore stands to say a few words and comically utters a few random words at which point supper begins. This is omitted in the film, with Dumbledore giving the start of term notices instead.
 * Harry learns that only Slytherins go bad from Hagrid in Diagon Alley. In the film, he learns it from Ron during the Sorting ceremony.
 * In the book Percy Weasley wears glasses but throughout the films, he is seen without them.
 * Hedwig's name is never mentioned, except in a deleted scene. The same goes for Mrs. Norris. Both names are mentioned in later films.

8. The Potions Master

 * In the book, Harry and his friends attend Charms class at some point before Potions, but in the film, they attend it much later.
 * In Potions, when Harry is unable to answer Snape's questions, he says that Hermione should try and answer instead, he takes 1 point from Gryffindor and then he loses another point for not telling Neville not to put quills into his cauldron during potion-brewing. In the film, this scene appeared as a deleted scene with Snape coming down to sit in front of Harry giving him the answers, then takes 5 points from Gryffindor for Harry's cheek and the scene with potion-brewing is completely omitted from the film and this deleted scene.

9. The Midnight Duel

 * In the novel, during the Flying Lesson after Neville breaks his wrist, Draco Malfoy says he might leave Neville's Remembrall on a tree for him to find, but in the film, he suggests to leave it on the roof.
 * In the novel, when Professor McGonagall arrives to take Harry, she looks frustrated and one of the Patil twins and Ron try to explain what happened, but in the film, McGonagall is calm and calls Harry by his name and then asks him to follow her.
 * When McGonagall takes Harry inside to make him a Seeker, Oliver Wood is attending Charms Class with Professor Flitwick, but in the film, he is having Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrell.
 * In the film, McGonagall tells Wood she has found him a Seeker outside Quirrell's classroom, but in the novel, she takes Oliver and Harry to an empty classroom where they find Peeves writing rude words on a blackboard.
 * In the novel, McGonagall mentioned to Harry in front of Oliver Wood that James Potter was a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team when he was at Hogwarts, while in the film, Hermione escorts him (and Ron) to a trophy window where Harry sees his father's name on a trophy badge saying that he was a Seeker.
 * The scene where Malfoy challenged Harry to a duel, but had actually tricked him by tipping off Filch was omitted. Instead, Harry, Ron and Hermione see Fluffy in the Forbidden Corridor after their escape from Filch and Mrs. Norris when accidentally entering the third floor. In the book, Neville was also with them when first meeting Fluffy.

10. Hallowe'en

 * In the book, Harry's first Quidditch training session takes place at 7:00 p.m., but in the film, it starts at daytime at an unknown period. The time is unknown because the scene where Harry receives the message along with the Nimbus 2000 is cut from the film.
 * In the film, when Oliver Wood was explaining the rules of Quidditch to Harry, Wood said "You catch [the Golden Snitch], Potter, and we win." However this is inaccurate because catching the Snitch only awards 150 points and if the opposing team is leading by more than 150 points, the team that caught the Snitch will lose (the odds of this happening are very low). In the book, however, Wood said, "Whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win" which explains it more because he said "nearly always win", not "we win".
 * In the book, Harry's receives his Nimbus 2000 before his first training session with Oliver Wood and before his encounter with the troll but in the film, he receives his broom after these two events occur. Due to this difference, Harry flies the Nimbus 2000 in the book during training, but in the film, he doesn't have the Nimbus 2000 or any other broom and therefore doesn't fly.
 * Due to Peeves's omission from the film, Ron suggests that people are playing jokes since he states that a troll couldn't get in on its own because they're really stupid. In the book Ron has the feeling that it could've been Peeves who let the troll in for a Halloween prank.
 * In the book, when Hermione is crying in the bathroom and Professor Quirrell announces that there is a troll in the dungeon, Harry and Ron go to find her and see the troll going into a room (not realising it's the bathroom) and lock the door thinking they've locked the troll into some random room until they hear Hermione screaming and realise they've locked the troll in with her in the bathroom. In the film Harry and Ron watch the troll go into a room, Harry says, "It's going into the girls' bathroom!" and they go in to save Hermione.
 * In the novel, when Ron tries to levitate his feather in Charms class and is doing it incorrectly, Hermione tells him to make the gar nice and long, while in the film, she tells him the pronunctuation is Leviosa and not Leviosar.
 * Also, in the film, when Ron doesn't do the incantation correctly, he waves his wand up and down very quickly, when Hermione tells him to stop because he's going to take someone's eye out. This dialogue did not appear in the book.
 * In the film, Seamus Finnigan's feather blows up while in Charms class, and later, his cup of water blows up while he is trying to turn it into rum. The act of Seamus's works blowing up on him would become a recurring joke throughout the film series.

11. Quidditch

 * The scene with Harry in possession of the book Quidditch Through the Ages outside school and Snape takes it and deducts 5 points from Gryffindor is omitted. This also omits the scene where Harry tries to get the book back and Snape is bandaging his wounded leg.
 * In the book during the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match, Gryffindor's score is 20 and Slytherin's is 60 until Harry wins 150 points for catching the Golden Snitch. In the film, both Gryffindor and Slytherin were tied with 20 until Harry caught the Snitch which also resulted in Harry winning 150 points.
 * In the book, when Hermione tries to stop Snape from jinxing Harry's broom (when it is really Quirrell), she accidentally knocks Quirrell over as she runs by him. In the film, when the other wizards near Snape see that he is on fire, one of them shoves Quirrell to the ground, breaking his eye contact.
 * In the book, Hagrid says that he bought Fluffy from a "Greek chappie" while in the film, Hagrid says he bought Fluffy from an "Irish feller".

12.The Mirror of Erised

 * Irma Pince is omitted.
 * Fred and George Weasley having bewitched several snowballs to follow Quirrell around and then to hit him on the back of the head (and into Voldemort's face) is omitted.
 * Draco Malfoy insulting Ron's family, his poverty and Hagrid's hut in front of him is omitted.
 * In the novel, Harry receives a wooden flute from Hagrid, a fifty pence piece from his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, a jumper from Molly Weasley, a large pack of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione and the Invisibility Cloak from Dumbledore. In the film, Harry only receives the Cloak, but the jumper appears in a deleted scene.
 * In the novel, Ron hints that Harry has received an Invisibility Cloak, but in the film, he doesn't know what cloak it is.
 * In the novel, after Harry tries on the Invisibility Cloak, he reads the message that came with the package, but in the film, Harry reads the message before trying the cloak on.
 * Also, in the film, the last line of the Christmas note ('A Very Merry Christmas to you') is omitted.
 * In the novel, Harry sees his parents and his grandparents in the Mirror of Erised, but this was changed in the movie to where Harry just sees his parents.
 * Harry sees the Mirror of Erised thrice on Christmas instead of three days like in the book. But the part where Harry didn't feel like having fun appeared in a deleted scene.

13. Nicolas Flamel

 * The Hufflepuff-Gryffindor Quidditch match, where Snape is the referee, is omitted in the film. This is where after the victory against Hufflepuff, Harry sees a hooded figure rush off into the forest as he is about to put away his Nimbus 2000 in the broomshed and hops back on his broom to follow them into the forest, encountering Snape and Quirrell and overhearing their conversation. Instead in the film, Harry hears Snape talking to Quirrell in a corridor near the library before stumbling upon the Mirror of Erised.
 * Also due to this change, in the film Filch interrupts Snape and Quirrell's conversation by stating there was a student out of bed due to having Harry's lamp. In the book however after Harry dropped the lamp while in the library's Restricted section, Filch went to get Professor Snape just as Harry is sneaking into the room where the Mirror of Erised is stored to hide.
 * Since the Quidditch match was omitted, the part of Ron and Neville Longbottom getting into a fistfight with Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle on the stands during the game is also omitted.
 * In the film, Harry, Ron and Hermione discover the link to Nicolas Flamel and the stone through a book, rather than Albus Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog Card, although a deleted scene shows them discovering the connection through a chocolate frog card, but it was switched when edited).
 * In the book, Nicolas Flamel's name is spelled Nicolas. In the film, an "H" is added spelling it "Nicholas Flamel".
 * In the film, when Harry, Ron and Hermione are reading the information about the Philosopher's Stone, Nicolas Flamel's wife Perenelle is not mentioned and another fact that isn't mentioned is about Nicolas and Perenelle enjoying a quiet life in Devon.

14. Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback

 * The part where the dragon Norbert is sent to Charlie Weasley is omitted. Instead, Hagrid later revealed to the Trio that Dumbledore sent him to Romania (whether to Charlie or not it is not revealed, although it is mentioned in the film that Charlie works with dragons in Romania).
 * When Harry and Hermione get detention, it is because they left the Invisibility Cloak in the Astronomy tower while sending Norbert to Charlie Weasley and were caught by Argus Filch at the foot of the stairs. Neville was also given detention for being out of bed because he was trying to warn Harry about Malfoy and was caught by Professor McGonagall. In the film, they get detention because Draco Malfoy saw them in Hagrid's hut past curfew (which is similar in the book, except that Draco did not inform McGonagall). Ron is also with them in the film, while in the book he was recovering in the hospital wing after being bitten by Norbert. Therefore, in the film, Ron gets detention instead of Neville.

15. The Forbidden Forest

 * Professor McGonagall takes 50 points from Slytherin instead of 20; She says "50 points will be taken. Each." before saying "All four of you will receive detention". Until she says that, Malfoy did not know that he would also be getting detention. In the book, Malfoy is caught by McGonagall before Filch catches Harry, Neville, and Hermione.
 * In the book version, it is mentioned that the other Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs/Ravenclaws were very upset with the Trio having lost a lot of points. This is not shown in the film (excluding Gryffindor's initial disappointment in having lost the House Cup at the end), however according to a Magazine article on the DVD release of the film, there was a scene filmed of Harry and Ron looking at the House Point Hourglasses in the Great Hall, but was not included in the movie or on the deleted scenes of the DVD.
 * Other than Ron serving detention in Neville's place for the film, Harry is paired with Draco and Fang initially when the group divides into two groups at the start of detention. In the book Harry is initially paired with Hagrid and Hermione when the group divides up, but after Draco pulls a nasty trick on Neville, Hagrid is forced to swap Harry and Neville between each group.
 * Ronan and Bane are omitted from the film. Firenze is the only centaur who appears. Bane later appears in the Order of the Phoenix film, however.
 * In the book, Harry gets a ride on Firenze's back and he escorts the boy back to Hagrid, Draco, Fang, Hermione and Neville. In the film, the ride is omitted and Draco and Fang return to the scene of the crime with Hagrid, Ron and Hermione to find Harry, Firenze and the dead unicorn.

16. Through the Trapdoor

 * In the book, when Harry, Ron and Hermione tell Professor McGonagall they have to see Professor Dumbledore, Harry almost says that Snape is going to try and steal the Philosopher's Stone, but then corrects himself and says someone, but in the film, Harry just says that someone is going to try and steal it.
 * Due to Peeves' omission from the movie, the scene where Harry manages to drive him away by impersonating the Bloody Baron while under the Invisibility Cloak with Ron and Hermione is omitted.
 * Harry, Ron, and Hermione never have the flute that would put Fluffy to sleep, as they do in the book. Instead the trio enters the room under the Invisibility Cloak, spotting there a self-playing harp enchanted by Quirrell. Fluffy is asleep until the spell wears off. Also in the novel, the trio find a harp under Fluffy's paw, but in the film the harp is standing up, playing, at a distance away from Fluffy instead of being under its paw.
 * In the film, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione fall into the Devil's Snare, Hermione and Harry escape by relaxing, and Hermione saves Ron with Lumos Solem. In the novel, Hermione was able to find a damp wall and free herself before the plant had a firm grip on here. She also frees both Harry and Ron with bluebell flames.
 * Likewise, in the novel it is Hermione who panics during the incident with the Devil's Snare and Ron who has to snap her out of it. In the film, this is reversed - Ron panics and Hermione calms Ron down.
 * In the novel, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, each seizes a broomstick and kicks off into the air to chase the Winged Keys, while in the film, only Harry does, as there is only one broom. This could be a deliberate choice by the filmmakers to clearly show each of their skills (Hermione with spells, Harry being a Seeker, and Ron with Chess).The same is for the PC game and LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4.
 * In the book, the chess game depicts the pieces simply knocking each other out and dragging captured pieces off the edge of the board. In the film, the chess game was depicted with the pieces destroying each other (presumably to be fixed with Reparo at the end of the game).
 * On the way to the Philosopher's Stone, each obstacle was created by a teacher. While probably the same case in the film, this wasn't directly acknowledged; In the film, Quirrell's second mountain troll and Snape's Potion Riddle are omitted, although they are present in the video game. Because of these omissions, Hermione stays with Ron after Ron was injured in the chess match at McGonagall's room instead of travelling with Harry as far as the Potions room before heading back. This is odd, since Hagrid tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Snape is one of the teachers protecting the stone. However, Snape's obstacle appears in 'Disc 2: Special Features' of the DVD. It is also possible that Snape could be a sort of "private investigator" or "security guard" who keeps an eye out for anyone trying to get to the Stone.

17. The Man with Two Faces

 * In the book, Quirrell was aware that Hermione was the one who set Snape's robes on fire since he mentioned she had knocked him over during the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match, but in the film, he doesn't appear to know as she was under the stands and another wizard had knocked Quirrell over.
 * Quirrell does not mention Snape being at Hogwarts with Harry's father as students who loathed each other.
 * In the book, Quirrell turns around so that Voldemort is facing Harry. In the film however, Quirrell does not turn around, and Harry sees Voldemort's reflection in the Mirror of Erised instead.
 * In the book, Quirrell snaps his fingers which causes ropes to appear out of thin air and wrap themselves around Harry. This is omitted from the film, and when Harry tries to escape Quirrell/Voldemort with the Stone in his pocket by running back up the stairs the way he came, Voldemort shouts "Stop him!" and Quirrell snaps his fingers which causes fire to appear all around the room so Harry can not escape.
 * In the film, Harry's parents appear in the Mirror of Erised and Voldemort says he and Harry can bring them back if he gives Voldemort the Stone in return. This did not happen in the book, but instead Voldemort tells Harry that his (Harry's) mother needn't have died because she was trying to protect him and says that Harry should give him the Stone unless he would have wanted Lily to have died in vain.
 * In the book, Voldemort kills Quirrell by leaving his head, causing him to die. In the film, Harry kills Quirrell by grabbing his face, causing him to turn to dust.
 * In the book, when Harry touched Quirrell, Quirrell's skin blistered wherever Harry touched. In the film, when Harry touched his hand, Quirrell's hand turned to stone and crumbled. Also, when Harry grabbed his face, it made his whole body demolish and Voldemort escaped. This is what knocked Harry out.
 * In the book, Harry Potter is unconscious when Quirinus Quirrell dies, while in the film, Harry watches Quirrell die. This creates a continuity error with his ability to a see a Thestral in the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, since Harry could not see Thestrals until he saw Cedric Diggory die. This could also be due to the film being released before the Order of the Phoenix book was published, and so the film crew wouldn't have known about what would happen in later books.
 * Poppy Pomfrey is omitted but there is an unknown nurse who appeared before Albus Dumbledore took a bite of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
 * Once again, Nicolas Flamel's wife Perenelle is not mentioned when Harry asked about Flamel dying.
 * In the book, Harry reunites with Ron and Hermione in the hospital wing when they come to visit him, while in the film, he reunites with them when he finds them standing at the top of a staircase.
 * In the book, Hagrid gives Harry a photo album of his family at the hospital while in the film version, he gives it to him at the end of term when about to board the Hogwarts Express.
 * In the novel an epilogue shows Harry and his friends return to their families who are waiting for them including the Dursleys, In the film it is omitted.

Character physical appearance
Some notable differences exist between key cast members of the film, compared to the way their characters are described in the books:
 * Hermione is described as having bushy hair and prominent front teeth, while actress Emma Watson has normal sized teeth and her hair, though bushy in this film, isn't as bad as described in the book (and later films do away with bushy hairstyles altogether).
 * Harry has green eyes, but actor Daniel Radcliffe, who has blue eyes, was unable to wear contact lenses, due to an allergic reaction (except in one scene - see below).
 * Ron is described as tall and lanky, while Fred and George are shorter. Actor Rupert Grint is not tall and lanky in this initial film, while two tall actors (James and Oliver Phelps) were cast for Fred and George are. Also, Ron is supposed to have blue eyes, but Rupert has green.
 * Petunia Dursley has blonde hair in the book, but the actress in the film has dark brown/black hair.
 * In the scene after the Forbidden Forest, Hermione says Voldemort's name. In the book, she refers to him as "You-Know-Who". This also creates a continuity error where she says Voldemort's name in the fifth film as if she has never said it before.
 * Dudley Dursley is described to have had blonde hair in the books, while the actor has brown hair.

The Blu-Ray edition of Philosopher's Stone includes commentary from director Chris Columbus that reveals that the final scene of the film -- where Harry, Hermione and Ron depart on the Hogwarts Express -- was the first scene shot. As such, some changes in Harry and Hermione's physical appearance can be seen. Emma Watson was initially fitted with prosthetic teeth to make her look more like the book version of Hermione, but this was abandoned as impractical after the first scene was shot. Columbus says editing made the buck teeth less obvious, but they are still visible during a brief bit of dialogue. Actor Radcliffe, meanwhile, was fitted with green contact lenses which are clearly visible in close-ups, but they weren't used after this first day of shooting because they irritated Radcliffe's eyes.

Character Omissions

 * Peeves
 * Irma Pince
 * Rowboat owner
 * Owner of the Railview Hotel
 * Keeper of the reptile house
 * Ted
 * Jim McGuffin
 * Piers Polkiss
 * Mrs. Polkiss
 * Lavender Brown
 * Justin Finch-Fletchley
 * Hannah Abbott
 * Parvati Patil
 * Mandy Brocklehurst
 * Charlie Weasley's colleagues
 * Ronan
 * Bane
 * Madam Malkin
 * Cuthbert Binns
 * Poppy Pomfrey
 * Mr. Evans
 * Mrs. Evans
 * Mr. Potter
 * Mrs. Potter

Differences between "Philosopher's Stone" and "Sorcerer's Stone" films

 * Five different takes were necessary to replace the words Philosopher's Stone with Sorcerer's Stone in the American version of the film. When the two DVDs were compared side by side it was noticed that in every case but one, only a slight difference in synchronisation was noticed. The most noticeable difference was when Hermione was reading from the book she had taken out of the library for a "bit of light reading". The words on the page were changed from Philosopher's to Sorcerer's and her fingers, while straight in Philosopher's (her fingernails can be seen) they are bent in Sorcerer's (her fingernails cannot be seen).
 * The Ultimate Edition DVD/Blu-Ray uses the Philosopher's Stone version of the film, although behind-the-scenes footage in the accompanying Creating the World of Harry Potter documentary shows the actors performing scenes with the Sorcerer's Stone dialogue.

Mistakes

 * When Hagrid gives Potter a parcel with a birthday cake in the book it is chocolate and has green icing but in the film it has strawberry.
 * When Hagrid steps off the motorbike while holding young Harry, the Dursley's house (with a small bush to the right of the front door) is visible directly behind McGonagall. The house is fully attached on both sides to homes with a one car garage. Yet after Vernon asks, "Who'd be writing to you?" in the shot of the owl dropping the letter which flies through the front door mail slot, the house to the left of the Dursleys' (when facing the front) has a two car garage, is not attached to the Dursley's house and is quite a bit away from the Dursleys' house as well. Then in Chamber of Secrets, the house to the right (when facing the back) is attached once again in the same manner as at the start of this film with young Harry.
 * Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid leave baby Harry on the Dursley's doorstep. When the shot opens in the first close-up of the baby, as Dumbledore places the envelope on the blanket, though a good portion of his forehead is visible, the scar is not there. In his next close-up, it is very apparent, due to the position of the scar, that part of it should have been visible on his forehead in the previous close-up.
 * The morning of Dudley's birthday, Petunia wakes Harry and the next shot shows Harry in the cupboard with the shelves behind him. When Dudley runs downstairs and pushes Harry back into the cupboard, things inside are positioned differently. This also occurs in the two shots when Harry plays with the small plastic figures inside the cupboard and then when he peeks out as Vernon attaches the wood to the mail slot.
 * In the opening shot at the hut on the rock, when the camera pans down to Harry lying on the floor the long marks that are taped to the floor near the couch are visible. These are the positions of Vernon and Petunia when confronting Hagrid about Hogwarts.
 * Petunia has her hands on Dudley's eyes as they walk towards all of his birthday gifts. When she removes her hands from Dudley's eyes, in this shot and in the next, the long black microphone wire as well as its tape, which obviously peeled free, are blatantly visible and are sticking out at the neckline of her v-neck top under the pearl necklace. It's gone in the following shots.
 * In the scene when Harry talks to the snake, the camera shows a close up of the snake, and it blinks. Snakes don't blink, however the book also mentions the snake blinking.
 * At the zoo, Harry looks to his right, at the 'bred in captivity' sign of the Python. In this close-up, the green plant that is below, to the side of the exhibit sign, is protruding out past where the glass supposedly is, yet this is BEFORE the glass disappears. As a matter of fact, this plant, nearest the exhibit sign, changes its position considerably throughout these shots.
 * At the snake exhibit, while Harry speaks with the Python the snake's body lies curled over a long wood log and a large rock. In the shot from outside the Python's exhibit, after the glass pane disappears Dudley falls over the rail and the snake is gone, not positioned differently, but altogether gone! In the next overhead shot inside the Python's exhibit, while Dudley falls the snake is back lying on the log and rock, in the same position as in the previous shots.
 * While at the zoo, after Dudley falls into the snake exhibit there is a close-up of the Python's head. At the start of this shot, before Dudley pops out of the water, in the upper left corner of the screen a wood stick comes down to actually prod the trained snake and then quickly moves back up out of shot.
 * Petunia and Dudley enter the house when they return from the zoo, followed by Vernon and Harry. The crew's equipment is plainly visible on the ground beyond the doorway. Also, the pavement at the threshold extends far beyond the doorway and just before Vernon walks into the house, Vernon is visibly coming from the side of the doorway. In the earlier exterior shot when they stand by the car before they leave, as Vernon says, "I'm warning you now boy...," not only is the ground at the doorway completely different, there is a garden surrounded by white bricks beside the door, making it impossible for Vernon to have been standing there.
 * When Harry lifts the mail from the floor at the Dursleys, the Hogwarts envelope flap is sealed shut and it has the red wax seal at the tip. Yet in the kitchen after he hands Vernon the other letters, Harry holds the Hogwarts envelope and though the red seal is on the back, the flap itself is not sealed shut. The wax seals differ in both shots as well.
 * In the shots facing Vernon, he holds the first Hogwarts letter while sitting at the table. Though in the close-up of the letter as he holds it, it is not Richard Griffiths' hand, that is shown with bitten up fingernails, holding the envelope.
 * In the Dursley's kitchen, as Harry walks by, on the table is Vernon's cereal bowl between the coffee pot on his right and orange juice on his left, plus the tea pot is in the centre of the table. In the close-up as Vernon says, "Yours? Who'd be writing to you?" the cereal bowl is missing and the tea pot is near his juice. In the next close-up of the letter, the cereal bowl is back and the juice is now on Vernon's right, near the coffee cup.
 * When Uncle Vernon is ripping up the letters, if you pause just before he tears, you can clearly see the marks for him to tear.
 * In the scene at the beginning of the film where all of the letters from Hogwarts are coming into the Dursley's house, it causes everything to shake. It is quite obvious, however, that it is just the cameras that are moving as no objects in the room are moving at all (e.g. the curtains, or any of the knick-knacks).
 * At the hut on the rock, after Harry draws the candles in the dirt, he glances behind him at Dudley's watch. In the next close-up of the watch, as it turns 12:00, the watch is actually on Dudley's wrist (notice his fingers) the opposite way from the previous shot.
 * When Hagrid enters the hut on the rock, as well as when he leaves, the bare floor near the front door is clearly visible. However, when he says, "It's not everyday your young man turns eleven, now is it?" in the next shot as Hagrid sits down, on the floor to his left is the crew's mat with marks for the Dursleys (Fiona Shaw and Richard Griffiths), who stand near the door.
 * When Hagrid stomps up to Vernon and says, "Wise up Dursley, you great prune" you can see the chalkmark where he's supposed to bend the gun.
 * As Hagrid aims his umbrella at Dudley while he eats Harry's birthday cake, in the side shot one end of the blue string (that was tied around the cake box) hangs down the side of the table, but when Vernon rushes Petunia and Dudley off, in this shot that end of the string lies on top of the table. Yet, when Hagrid says, "We're a bit behind schedule. Best be off," the string hangs off the side again.
 * When Harry and Hagrid walk into Diagon Alley, in the first shot, as they start down the street, on their right they immediately pass; 1- a man in black standing at the doorway to the Daily Prophet office, writing in a notebook, who then starts to walk away. 2- particular men and women walking past the store. 3- store window with Quidditch uniforms. 4- children looking in store window. A few shots later, they pass on their right a man, with bushy grey sideburns, walking with a woman dressed in black, yet in the next shot that same man and woman are chatting in the doorway to the Owl Emporium on their left. Then a few shots after that, still walking, Harry and Hagrid pass all the numbers, 1 through 4 again in close-up.
 * When Harry and Hagrid walk down Diagon Alley, in the close-up of Quality Quidditch Supplies, a clear reflection of a crew member in a blue shirt is visible, at the top of the screen in the hanging vertical pennant, just as the man with the long red hair walks past the camera.
 * In the scene in Diagon alley when Harry first enters there are some witches on the left hand side of the screen looking at what appears to be large lollipops and Harry walks past them. The camera angle changes and Harry walks past them again.
 * When Harry and Hagrid are in Gringotts, Hagrid takes the letter from Professor Dumbledore out of his pocket to give to the Head Goblin. The string it is tied with has a bow that runs from the top to bottom of the envelope, and the envelope is creased. When the Goblin takes it off Hagrid, it is a different envelope - the bow runs from left to right and the envelope is not creased. When viewed from where Harry and Hagrid are standing, the final shot of the envelope again shows it is creased.
 * When Harry walks into Ollivanders, in the overhead shot of the shop the table is angled directly in front of the ladder. Yet, when Mr. Ollivander hands Harry the second wand the table is beside the ladder in this shot.
 * After shopping in Diagon Alley, when Harry confronts Hagrid about Voldemort, in the first overhead wide shot Hedwig's cage is right next to Hagrid on the bench and is positioned a particular way. Yet in the next shot, the cage is much farther from Hagrid and is positioned the opposite way on the bench.
 * On the Hogwarts Express, as Ron says, "This is Scabbers by the way," the acrylic string/wire which is attached to the bottom of Bertie Botts box, that is over Scabber's head, is perfectly visible.
 * When the first years are first led into the Great Hall, in the shot facing the teacher's table, the twins sit to Wood's left at the end of Gryffindor's table. However, in the next shot facing the first years, the twins sit on Wood's right.
 * During the sorting ceremony, when Hermione is sorted into Gryffindor she leaves to the right (her left) but when Ron is sorted he leaves to the left (his right).
 * At the start of term feast, after Harry is sorted into Gryffindor, he sits down on the right side of the table next to Ron. When the feast appears, Harry is on the other side of the table, next to Hermione.
 * When Harry is in the potions class he is caught writing notes down, we see his neat writing in close up ... but when the camera angle changes we can see that the writing has changed in size to very large letters and quite messy writing.
 * After Seamus' disaster with the rum spell, the mail arrives. Ron catches his mail, then holds the Daily Prophet in his right hand and the letters in his left. Yet in the next close-up he holds the Daily Prophet in his left hand and the letters in his right.
 * When Madame Hooch leaves with Neville to go to the hospital wing, Seamus holds his broomstick with the bristles on the ground as Malfoy ridicules Neville. However, as Malfoy steps on his broomstick and then flies away, the bristles on Seamus' broomstick are now at the top. Then when Harry takes off on his broomstick, the bristles on Seamus' broom are on the ground once again.
 * In the scene where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on the staircase while the stair case changes, right before when they enter the forbidden floor, when the staircase stops and all three run up the stairs, you can see the staircase shaking in its position as they run because it is actually not a real staircase but a fake suspended one.
 * When Harry, Ron and Hermione are running away from Mrs. Norris, Harry yells, "Quick hide through that door!" and if you look close enough you can see that his mouth doesn't move when he says that.
 * Hermione opens the door to Fluffy's room when she says, "Alohomora!" so she, Harry and Ron could hide from Filch and Mrs. Norris. As Ron closes the door the top of the third floor corridor set is visible at the top of the screen.
 * In the scene where Hermione, Ron and Harry are returning to Gryffindor's tower room after being in the third floor room for the first time, you are able to see the feet of one of the crew. It happens just as they are passing through the picture hole, where Harry turns a couple of times to check that the "door" is closing. And it is in fact, because someone is walking behind it and pushing it shut, since the picture hangs several inches off the floor.
 * Harry and Ron enter the girls' dormitories with Hermione after escaping from Fluffy in the film. This creates a continuity error since boys aren't able to enter the girls' dormitories as revealed in the Order of the Phoenix book. This was mostly due to the film being released before the Order of the Phoenix book was published, and so the film crew wouldn't have known about what would happen in later books.
 * After Quirrell announces there's a troll in the dungeon, Dumbledore shouts, "Silence!" and soon continues, "Teachers will follow me to the dungeons." In the following shot of McGonagall, the wires that the candles hang from are plainly visible.
 * When the troll enters the girls' lavatory, in the wide shot as Hermione walks backwards towards the cubicles, the room becomes brighter from the storm. With this extra bright light it is simple to see that the wall between the second and third cubicles actually touches the floor, unlike the other cubicle walls. Yet, in the overhead shot as the troll's club slams into the cubicles, Hermione is lying under that very wall crawling away.
 * As Hermione hides under the sinks the troll smashes the front basin of the second sink on the right, leaving its facets and surrounding sinks intact. Though in a view of the entire lavatory when the troll holds Harry upside down, from behind Hermione, the entire second sink, its faucets and trim are entirely missing and the entire fourth sink, which was never touched, is as well, both are gone. When the troll is knocked out, as Hermione stands up and moves toward Harry and Ron, though the facets of the second sink are back, the front basin of the second sink is visibly broken again just as in the original shot, and the entire fourth sink is still inexplicably gone in this shot.
 * As the troll begins to lift Harry with his huge club in the girls' lavatory, in the overhead shot as Harry hangs on to the edge of the 'real' club, at the bottom left of the screen the crew's blue equipment is perfectly visible.
 * When the troll is about to swing at Harry for the third time with his club, Ron levitates his club in mid-air. When the club falls, it hits the trolls head with a loud thunk, then falls to the ground. But you never hear any sound of the club hitting the ground.
 * As Hermione walks toward the troll, just before she asks, "Is it dead?" the long towel hanging from the rod beside the sinks is visibly straight. When Harry lifts his wand with troll bogey, in the shot of him as he grimaces and groans, the towel on the rod is visible behind him and it's messy. Yet when McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell walk in, the long towel is straight again.
 * During the Quidditch match as the players ride their broomsticks, visible in quite a few shots are the two wires that are attached to the broom handle, between their legs, that extend down with a clamped loop that goes around their feet. In some shots the wires between their legs are edited, but the wire loops around their feet are perfectly visible, like in the following example.
 * When the Slytherin score hits 10 on-screen, in the next shot, as Flint shouts, "Take that side," the wire is completely visible at his right foot under his cloak. Two examples where the entire wires are visible are, when Flint grabs the club and says, "Gimme that!" the wires are blatantly visible and he then proceeds to slam the Bludger into Wood, who falls. Next close-up of one of the twins, the wires are clearly visible before Flint starts to leap over him.
 * Just after Slytherin scores twenty points, Flint and his team-mate surround Angelina. When one grabs the quaffle from Angelina, they fly past the second Gryffindor tower – we see the first Gryffindor tower, two staff towers (grey/black), Slytherin tower and the second Gryffindor tower behind them - then Angelina covers her head with her arm. However, in the next shot she actually crashes into the tower that she already flew
 * When Harry is walking in the library's restricted section, you see the shadow of the library pillars on the bookshelf. If the light was coming from his lantern, there would be no shadow - the light is obviously from a spotlight elsewhere.
 * When Harry is in the restricted section of the library looking for Nicholas Flamel, we never see the reflection of the light from the lantern on the books or the shelves. However, when Harry was standing in another shot holding the edge of Nicholas Flamel book to take it off the shelf, we clearly see the reflection of the lantern light now. That is because in the previous shot when Harry was wearing the cloak and looking for the book, he was never actually standing there but instead it was an empty camera footage and Harry's body and footage was filmed on green/blue screen then edited to fit the camera shot.
 * When Harry enters the room with the Mirror of Erised in it with Ron, they drop the cloak. You can clearly see the green cloth which has obviously been used to film, then edited.
 * In the scene where Harry, Ron and Hermione are in the Great Hall and Harry spots Nicholas Flamel's name on the back of Albus Dumbledore's chocolate frog card, where Dumbledore should be is nothing but a clearly visible patch of green screen.
 * Harry, Ron, and Hermione, run to Hagrid's hut to tell him that they know about the Stone and they knock on the door. As Hagrid opens the door in the first shot looking out, Harry stands behind his tape mark and Hermione and Ron visibly stand behind their shared black tape mark on the step.
 * Harry, Ron and Hermione are in Hagrid's hut and the egg inside the cauldron in the fireplace starts rattling. In the shot looking up at Hagrid from behind the cauldron, at the top left of the screen in front of the fireplace, as Hagrid retrieves the egg a piece of equipment comes down then quickly goes back up and at the top in the centre there is a small black film square that is not part of the fireplace.
 * In Hagrid's hut, Harry, Ron and Hermione gather round the table as Hagrid places the dragon egg in the centre. As the egg starts to hatch the shell flies everywhere and between Hermione and Hagrid camera equipment is visible at the lower left corner of the screen.
 * In the scene where Harry figures out that Hagrid got his dragon egg from "Snape"(Quirrell), at the beginning of the scene, Harry's cloak is buttoned and still is when he, Hermione, and Ron are running to Hagrid's hut. When he reaches Hagrid's hut, it is unbuttoned even though he never unbuttoned it himself.
 * When Harry, Hermione and Ron are discussing Voldemort and Snape after the Forbidden Forest scene, Hermione actually says Voldemort's name, instead of You-Know-Who, whereas in the Order of The Phoenix, she seems to have finally been able to say Voldemort without flinching.
 * When the trio opens the trapdoor, Ron bends down to get a hold of it, but in the next shot on the inside of the chasm, Ron's body is standing straight.
 * After falling from the Devil's Snare, Harry tells Ron, "Lucky Hermione pays attention in Herbology." Then as Ron starts to walk toward Harry, there is a crew member's arm and hand gripping the back of Ron's shirt at the bottom.
 * After escaping Devil's Snare, Harry, Ron and Hermione enter the Key room. When Ron says, "You're the youngest seeker in a century." In the next shot of Harry as he grips the broomstick, the wire that it hangs from is clearly visible at its bristles.
 * In the Key room after Hermione asks, "What's this all about?" Ron takes his wand out and starts for the door. In the wide shot facing the door as he and Hermione pass to Harry's left the bar attached to the underside of the broomstick bristles is visible. It is not visible in other shots.
 * Being chased by the flying keys, as Harry zips by on the broomstick he tosses the key, Hermione catches it and runs to the door. In the next shot, a close-up, as she tries to unlock the door, an electrical cable hangs down beside the column, that was not in the previous shots. There is also an electrical cable coming out from under the back of Hermione's jumper that is blatantly visible as well.
 * In the chess scene, at the end of the montage of shots of pieces being smashed, the White Queen turns her attention to a Black Rook. The first stroke of her sword clearly goes through the structure of the castle, which disintegrates. We cut to various different angles and watch pieces of the destroyed castle flying all over the place. Cut back to the original angle, and we see the Queen attacking again, but the Castle is completely intact - only the figure from on top of it is missing. And it cannot have been the second castle, since that's Hermione's position.
 * When the Queen attacks Ron's horse during the chess game, in the shot from behind Ron, as he falls the black straps attached to the horse's left rear leg, used to aid the stunt, is completely visible.
 * After the Queen attacks the Knight's horse during the chess game, Ron goes flying back and falls. In the shot as he hits the ground, the black protective gear that he wears is visible when his grey T-shirt rolls up and the button on his left cuff is open, yet closed in the next close-up.
 * Harry speaks with Quirrell near the Mirror of Erised and the arrangement of the cloth in his turban differs in two shots than in the rest of the shots. First in the shot facing Harry as Quirrell says, "While everyone else was running about the dungeon, he went to the third floor to head me off," and then in the back shot just before Quirrell unwraps the turban, after Voldemort says, "I have strength enough for this."
 * After Voldemort's soul flies through Harry, he crashes down on the stairs and his hand sticks out over one of the steps. In the next shot of Harry lying there, his hand no longer lies over the step. Harry is knocked out and could not have moved.
 * When Harry, Ron and Hermione are heading to Hagrid's hut, near the end of the film, a group of three people behind them walk into another corridor. Then a second or two later the same group walks into the same corridor.
 * At the end-of-the-year feast the Slytherin banner is green and gold, but their house colours are green and sliver, as evident by their robes.
 * At the end of term feast, Dumbledore stands and says, "Another year gone." In the next shot of the Gryffindor table, part of the camera equipment is actually visible at the lower right corner of the screen.
 * The Dursleys' car in this film is a Vauxhall Vectra B, and their neighbors have the same cars but different colors. However, this film is set in 1991 and the Vectra B models did not exist before 1995, so the Vectra B could not have been manufactured until the time between Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix.

Box office performance
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was the highest grossing film of 2001 and at that point ranked seventh all-time in the domestic market (US-Canada) and was second only (it is now fourteenth) to Titanic worldwide. It was the most commercially successful of all Harry Potter films with $317 million North American and $974.7 million worldwide gross until the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which surpassed the record for highest overall commercial gross at $1,328,111,219 and is now the highest grossing film of the series.

Home Video Release Dates

 * 02, March, 2002: United Kingdom (VHS/DVD)
 * 28 May, 2002: United States (VHS/DVD)
 * 8 December, 2009: United States (DVD/Blu-ray Ultimate Edition)
 * 1 June, 2011: United States (Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy Combo Pack)

Videos


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Behind the Scenes

 * The very first actor to be cast in the film was Robbie Coltrane, who plays Rubeus Hagrid.
 * Alan Rickman, who plays the role of Severus Snape, was the only cast member who learned all about his character's secrets from J.K. Rowling. Including everything that happens to him in the last novel.
 * David Thewlis, who plays Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, was considered for the role of Professor Quirrell.
 * Towards the end of the film, when Harry, Ron and Hermione are running towards Hagrid's Hut, Hagrid can be seen playing Hedwig's Theme on his wind instrument.
 * Rik Mayall was cast in the role of Peeves, but his scenes were ultimately cut all together in the final edit.

Miscellaneous crew

 * Judianna Makovsky, Costume Designer

Notes and references
Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen (Film) Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal (película) Harry Potter à l'école des Sorciers (film) Harry Potter i Kamień Filozoficzny (film) Гарри Поттер и философский камень (фильм) ハリー・ポッターと賢者の石 (映画)