4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Release Year: 2001
- Director: Chris Columbus
- Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Richard Griffiths, Richard Harris, Ian Hart, John Hurt, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, and Julie Walters
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first Harry Potter movie. This is where the magic started for many Harry Potter fans. While there are some obvious problems with the franchise and J.K. Rowling, there’s no denying how this movie captivated audiences around the world and proved that this story had a strong foundation. Some of the choices made in the film were obviously changed in later films, but it’s a great first swing at tackling these books and bringing them to life.
In the film, Harry Potter learns that his parents didn’t die in a car crash. They were wizards, and he’s a wizard, and he gets to go to a special school (Hogwarts) to learn magic. There, he realizes that he’s very famous and everyone knows his story. He’s the only wizard in history to stand against Voldemort and live to tell the tale.
As Harry and his new friends get acclimated to Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are pulled into a mystery to find out who’s trying to steal the sorcerer’s stone that’s being kept at the school and how to stop them.
It’s hard to not be a little nostalgic for The Sorcerer’s Stone, and maybe that’s why I have it above a few movies on the list even though some of the performances are a little bit lacking.