Review: ‘Harry Potter’ loses some of its magic at home

Geoff Carter

Friday, May 24, 2002 | 9:20 a.m.

Buying the two-disc DVD set of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (Warner Home Video, $26.99) for your children is more or less a no-brainer, but if you happen to be one of those not-so-rare adults who read and enjoyed J.K. Rowling's books and want some perspective on Chris Columbus' filmed version, you're more or less out of luck.

The "Harry Potter" disc has no commentary tracks, a pitifully short documentary, and its deleted scenes can only be accessed after minutes of mucking about. I still haven't seen them. It's one of the highest-grossing films of all time; you'd think someone would have something important to say about it, and that they'd put those insights somewhere you could find them.

A bit of explanation is in order: Disc one in the set is the film itself, and a beautiful transfer of it; it's so clear, in fact, that some of the film's special effects look cheap and underdone. Disc two boasts a "Myst"-like tour of Potter's beloved Hogwarts School and the set's anemic selection of extras, most of which are accessible after you've played that annoying game. A British narrator says, "What a mess you've made of yourself" whenever you mess up, and it's all you can do not to march to Hollywood to show him where that magic wand goes.

Children will doubtlessly love the game and excel at it. (It requires at least a passing knowledge of the books.) But I want to know how Rowling felt about Steve Kloves' script, to hear why Columbus seemed to have such difficulty with the pacing, or at least to hear one lousy Alan Rickman anecdote. The filmmakers' sole word on "Potter" is in that 16-minute documentary, in which they regurgitate studio blather about "Potter's" universe being "another world," and the film being "a journey."

As for the movie itself, it doesn't fare quite as well at home. Columbus and Kloves' nearly word-for-word adaptation of Rowling's book gets deadly dull in spots, and even with their frightened fealty to the author's intent, they manage to lose important elements: the name of Harry's owl (Hedwig) is never mentioned, and Professor Dumbledore (Richard Harris), a jovial presence in the book, is a mere ghost of his literary self.

However, a few good things manage to survive the trip home. John Williams' score is every bit as stirring on home speakers as it was in theaters. Daniel Radcliffe's Harry is fine, but his supporting players -- particularly Rupert Grint, who plays his best friend Ron -- show even more promise. And I've yet to see a performance by Robbie Coltrane that doesn't make me smile -- his turn as the half-giant Hagrid elevates the film. When he's onscreen, only then do you forget about the book.

DVD is an important archival medium. When one is made correctly, it can present a film and a definitive film reference in one. I've even come to enjoy films I didn't like the first time out, after learning how they were made. What Warner Home Video is saying of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with this underwhelming release is that the film doesn't deserve such a treatment, or that no one should care. Both statements are fairly insulting.