Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

A closer look at the story

All his life, Harry Potter has slept in a cramped space under the stairs in the home of his aunt and uncle, where affection is in short supply. Strange things seem to happen around him, but the truth only arrives on his birthday: he is a wizard, and a school for young witches and wizards called Hogwarts has already reserved his place. Exploring the school's secret-filled corridors with his new friends Ron and Hermione, Harry begins to discover what he is capable of and to learn what really happened to his parents. Directed by Chris Columbus from Steve Kloves's adaptation of J.K. Rowling's novel, the 152-minute 2001 film casts Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, with Emma Watson as Hermione, Rupert Grint as Ron and Richard Harris as Dumbledore, in a fantasy adventure.