 IT is a brave soul who takes on the daunting task, not to mention the high expectations of over 100 million devoted fans. So hats off to director Chris Columbus for even trying to bring one of the most popular literary heroes in recent living memory to the big screen. Such undertakings are fraught with difficulty. Filmmakers must try to remain true to the source, or face the wrath and poor box office from disappointed fans. They must also avoid becoming mired in the endless idiosyncrasies of the book which would lead to an overstuffed turkey which makes the unabridged version of Hamlet look like a ten minute short. Bearing this in mind, as well as the phenomenal hype machine accompanying Harry Potter, has Columbus managed to pull a rabbit or a turkey out of his hat? Yes, he has bridged the gap between the expectations of millions of clamouring fans and the expectant cinema audience in high style. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a magical mixture of believable fantasy, mystery, action, adventure and thrilling emotion. The story opens at night in a very ordinary English suburban street where some very un-ordinary people are carrying out a very important task. Powerful wizard Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris) is joined by a cat who transfigures into a witch, Professor McGonagall (Dame Maggie Smith). They await the arrival of the gigantic Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and the precious cargo he is carrying, the newly orphaned baby Harry Potter. Harry's parents have been murdered by the evil wizard, Voldemort. But as 'he who must not be named' tried to finish off Harry, his curse somehow backfired leaving Voldemort presumed dead, and baby Harry with both an unusual lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead and instant fame in the wizarding world as 'The boy who lived'. For his own good, Harry is left in the care of his only relatives, the Dursleys. However Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) and Aunt Petunia (Fiona Shaw) are Muggles - non-magical folk who are often a bit dim - not only this, they are horrible, bullying social-climbers who care only for their greedy, odious spoilt brat of a son, Dudley (Harry Melling). Harry's life is not a happy one as he spends the next ten years in ignorance of his heritage. He is treated like a slave and forced to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs. That is, until his eleventh birthday approaches and with it a rash of curious letters addressed to Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), delivered by owls and manically destroyed by Vernon before Harry can read them. But the Dursley's cannot ignore Hagrid, who despite their best efforts, arrives on Harry's birthday and reveals the truth, that Harry is a wizard and is to enrol in the prestigious Hogwarts school for Witchcraft and Wizardry where he is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. | 
