Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Revisited

This is a very hard review to write. Sorcerer's Stone was the movie that brought me into the world of Harry Potter. I'd not had any interest in "those kids books" and only went to see the movie because it had a Star Wars Episode II trailer in front of it (oh boy was I burned there!). However, from the moment Harry and Hagrid arrived in Diagon Alley I was a fan. I was sucked into the world in a pretty intense way. For all its differences to the later movies in the series, this was the one that made me believe in the magic of Harry Potter. While it might not be the best movie from a technical stand point, it has a very high place in my heart.

And so I began to watch Andreas's edit with both excitement and trepidation. The opening lines from Harry's mother sent a shiver down my spine. Good start. The whole flashback beginning really sets the tone of what's to come. Having the discovery of magic be from Harry's point of view makes sense and I was okay with losing the opening scene even if it meant we lost a little of the late, great Richard Harris in action.

What's funny is that for most of the edit I barely noticed the changes. My wife, who has probably seen this movie a hundred times, was a little more attuned. In terms of cuts I would say the only big disappointment was losing the first Potions class as it (in my opinion) sets up the mutual dislike and distrust between Harry and Snape. In the edit it feels like Harry's distrust of Snape comes out of nowhere. I feel their antagonism is a key part of both of their story arcs in the whole saga. That was definitely missed. Another missed part is the final awards ceremony. Now, it's silly and childish and doesn't match the tone of the later movies so I absolutely understand the need for the cut, but it was sad to see Neville's achievement taken away (and losing the mirroring of him "defeating" a snake by giving them the points to beat Slytherin here vs. his more literal defeat of Nagini in Deathly Hallows). But in terms of tone I can see why Andreas chose to let it go.

Now, the biggest accomplishment of this edit comes down to the audio. The re-scoring of the entire movie gave it a whole new feel. It was scarier in the scenes that should have been scarier, more exciting in the scenes that should have been more exciting. Amazing job.

Now the big question. Does this replace the original version whenever I watch the series? I don't know. I feel I'll find myself flipping back and forth between the two versions. Through no fault of Andreas's but rather because of my emotional connection to the original.

To sum up, this edit was fantastic and really does match to goal of giving the first movie of the series a tone that is similar to those that came later. In that Andreas has done an outstanding job.

I was pretty blown away by this edit. Such great work. A lot of the changes are small but they add up to a much better experience. I wasn't pulled out of the movie because of something cheesy or bad. The audio editing is just boss. Great work, brings it much more in line with the rest of the series. The color grading very much improved the look of the film. It was a bit too green after the unicorn blood drinking scene but that is a minor quibble. Put simply, this film looked and felt more like the rest of the series. Mission accomplished. It has replaced the theatrical cut for me.

I LOVED the new opening. I can see how it might be repetitive for some but I enjoyed it each time. It is important to remember the thrust behind the entire narrative. Well done!

First off, my dad and I are HUGE Potter nerds, the books are awesome, the movies are great, and the universe is cool and well developed. Once I finally got this edit, I uploaded it to my Plex library and my whole family sat down and had our minds BLOWN. Andreas has made millions of little changes that make this a better movie than the official release, scenes become more exciting due to awesome re-scoring (snake escaping was awesome rather than cheesy) and flashbacks are also really cool (adds footage from the deathly hallows). So let me get right to the actual technical aspects of the edit.

Audio/Video Quality:
Great, nothing I noticed was out of place and the deleted scene was very nicely incorporated

Visual Editing:
Awesome, color correction is infinitely better, the devil's snare was black and sinister and it looked so cool compared to the theatrical. Gold was removed from most scenes which never really bothered me until I watched this and realized how odd it looked originally. Everything looks very natural.

Audio Editing:
Superb, sound effects, music, voices, etc. were changed and modified perfectly, nothing sounded off or strange. Loved spots where music was added into quiet scenes (library, Olivander's wand shop)

Narrative:
Fun, not much changed other than the first half hour of the movie being not completely in chronological order (which I liked) like having Harry's letter arrive right at the beginning and then show Dudley's party after that and then later show them trying to get rid of the letters.

Enjoyment:
Overall loved it, will burn to a disc and make it my go-to version of the film. This movie is my least favorite of the Harry Potter movies and Andreas has managed to make it way better than it ever was.

I hadn’t seen the original for probably a decade, and besides the flashback sequences, it was hard for me to tell what Andreas had changed. Yes, it looked darker (tonewise) but actually there were still a lot of lighter, little kid elements to it. This was great for me, since I think the films should grow up with the main characters. I was worried it would be TOO dark, but I’d say all the small trims and music changes simply accomplish the goal of making it fit better with the rest of the series.

I actually couldn’t remember any scenes that were missing while watching it, and at over 2 hours, it’s probably the best length now. Upon reflection, I realized we'd missed the candy-eating (which I DID quite like), some stuff with Hagrid (which I was thankful to trim), and the ending points ceremony (which honestly was kind of necessary for me as an American that was completely unfamiliar with this school tradition. However, it actually probably doesn't fit well with the overarching tone of the films.) I read as well that many people lamented the loss of Snape's class, but I think he is set up as enough of an ambiguous, threatening presence here to fit his role in the series. It always seemed too telegraphed to me that he just instantly is a jerk to this child... it's a pretty childish way of portraying him, whatever excuses you make for his backstory. Making this a bit of a more mature film, I think the current portrayal fits just right.

I do have to echo other reviewers in saying that my fondness for the flashback sequence wore thin after the 2nd or 3rd repetition. It is a nice way to start the film, and I'm not opposed to the idea of repeated flashes, but only if they were alternate shots/angles/variations. It's just too much repetition, imho. However, overall, this is a fantastic fanedit, and my preferred way to watch the film now.

Andreas has put a lot of love into this, and his edits are great. The re-coloration is excellent, and he's truly achieved his goal of aligning the tone of the film with later entries in the series. If you want a darker, more mature version of this film, look no further. That said, I must say the original carried a family friendly charm which was in line with the tone of the book, and suited the film as well. So at least for me, I'm not sure this edit can replace the original, but rather stands as a great alternative way to experience the story.

Technically it holds up well. Audio editing in particular is impressive, seamlessly integrating new pieces from later films which add more appropriate tension or emotion to scenes. In a couple cases however the track choices felt a little jarring, due to their intensity. The boat scene for instance, one of Ron's lines was overpowered by the new track.

Andreas has also updated the sequence where Harry's parents are murdered, and uses this well several times throughout the film. The new prologue is cool, and Harry's nightmare is an excellent touch. I felt this sequence was used one or two many times too often however. And its final appearance during the conversation between Harry and Dumbledore felt shoehorned and the transitions sloppy, which made for a unique instance of an edit which I felt just didn't work.

I appreciated the streamlined run-time, but felt cutting the potions class diminished Snape's character, and cutting Norbert led to an abrupt transition between the Forest scene, and the trio rushing to ask to speak with Dumbledore.

Overall though, well worth watching. Looking forward to watching Andreas' other edits in the series.