Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

As someone who grew up watching the Harry Potter movies I thought it was about time I read the books. Yes, that’s right, I still haven’t read the books. This is certainly not the first book, or even book series, to be made into a movie, and I was interested to delve into the books vs. movies debate to determine for myself if books really are better, as they are often claimed to be. The main point often cited in support of this argument is that the books are longer and contain greater detail, and as a result the movie adaptations are forced to cut bits out. For this reason I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie is pretty accurate to this book, with only minor changes and some rearrangement of scenes to fit better as a movie, as it is a short book and a very long movie.

I could have just read the book, watched the movie and written about my thoughts, but I wanted to approach this in a more systematic way. I split the book into its chapters and noted the percentage each chapter constitutes to the entire book (e.g. 10 pages in a 200 page book is 5% of the book). I then watched the movie and allocated each scene to the chapter of the book they correspond to, and worked out the percentage of the movie’s run time those scenes constitute (excluding credits and title sequence). This may sound unnecessarily complicated, but really all I’m doing is turning “Chapter 1 is 14 pages in the book and 4 minutes in the movie” into something more comparable, like “Chapter 1 is 4% of the book but only 2% of the movie”.

This will give an immediate indication of which contained greater detail in specific parts of the story; the book or the movie. As an example, I would expect the movie to be longer in the final climactic action scenes than in the book, but the book to contain greater detail earlier in the story. I also noted that the movie is considerably longer than the average movie of its time; with a run time of 2:39:20 that makes it approximately an hour longer than the average length of films released in the same year. As the book is only 217 pages long, even before reading I assumed very little from the book would need to be cut out of the movie (spoiler: I was right). I have analysed this book chapter by chapter, but have additionally expressed my conclusions thematically at the end. I am also writing this after having both watched the movie and read the book, not written while reading along so forgive me if some details are incorrect.

Chapter 1 (Book 5.5%, Movie 2.6%)

The movie begins with Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid leaving Harry on the doorstep of the Dursley’s house. This scene is not too dissimilar from the book, however most of first chapter is not replicated in the movie, and there is less conversation between the three in the movie. A great chunk of this introductory chapter in the book consists of Uncle Vernon going to work and our first exposure to the wizarding world, with wizards and witches unapologetically revelling in the supposed demise of “Voldemort”. This sets up the unfathomable fame of Harry Potter, a theme consistently emphasised in the book. The omission of this scene from the movie contributes to one of my main criticisms of the movie, which I will discuss in greater detail later.

Chapter 2 (Book 4.1%, Movie 3.0%)

This is the chapter of Dudley Dursley’s birthday and the famous family trip to the zoo. It’s not a long chapter, and contains little content other than some character development, which is exactly its use in the movie. Some minor differences are that Harry only comes along in the book because Dudley’s friend couldn’t come, but this isn’t the excuse used in the movie. In fact, I don’t recall any mention of school in the movie. I never really thought about it until now, but I guess I subconsciously thought Harry didn’t go to school, and Dudley was a bully who had no friends. At least that was the feeling I got, I never thought too much into it. As anyone who has read the books knows, this is not the case though. In addition to the first chapter we see more signs of Harry’s fame; he notes people staring at him, and even one person shaking his hand. Being reminded of this attention in the book really builds up how special Harry is in the wizarding world, and the fact that these scenes are not shown in the movie takes some of the magic away for me.

Chapter 3 (Book 5.1%, Movie 3.0%)

Another chapter, another mention of school and Dudley’s friends, not something mentioned in the movie. I always got the impression that Dudley didn’t have friends, maybe because of his attitude, maybe because that was the writers’ objective or maybe I’m alone in that opinion? There’s also no mention of Mrs. Figg, the neighbour who babysits Harry in the books. Instead, in the movie we jump straight from the end of Harry’s punishment to the scene where a barrage of letters is delivered to the house from Hogwarts. The chapter helps to develop a picture of neglect, which the movie doesn’t do a great deal of in comparison. In the movie you see Aunt Petunia dying Dudley’s old uniform for Harry in the background of one of the scenes, but it’s almost an easter egg for those who had read the book as it’s never mentioned or addressed.

In the book, Harry’s aunt and uncle discuss the letter immediately, with Harry and Dudley listening from outside the room. In the movie, the story progressed quickly to show the escalating nature of the number of letters being received. Uncle Vernon has a conversation with harry which is dismissed and replaced with the letter burning scene in the movie. They even discuss Harry moving out of the cupboard, as a challenge to the sender of these letters to see if and how they knew he was living under the stairs. Harry moving into Dudley’s second bedroom again emphasises the extent of neglect which I didn’t feel from the movie (the rapid pace probably played a role). The small fight in the book also indicates how much power these mystery letters possess, allowing Harry to fight and be punished less than when he (physically) did nothing in the zoo in the previous chapter. He goes from being locked under the stairs to having the confidence to attempt to leave the house and intercept the letter from the postman. Again, this atmosphere is not shown in the movie, there’s also a scene where Harry steps on Uncle Vernon’s “squishy” face which I would’ve enjoyed seeing in the movie.

In the book, we then proceed with boarding up the letterbox, and burning the letters, before the infamous letters down the fireplace scene. The urgency with which they leave the home is also not highlighted in the movie. Even Dudley is on the receiving end of Uncle Vernon’s violence as a result. Again, the power the letters have over them is overwhelming in the book but invisible in the movie. Their attempted escape from the letters is not explained, in the movie we just jump to a scene at the lighthouse, which to this day doesn’t really make sense to me. It was explained in the book as being the last place a letter could be delivered and is the climax of Uncle Vernon’s deliria. This makes sense, but in the movie it seems very random, and we also have no idea of how much time has passed between the letter incident and their escape to the remote lighthouse.

Chapter 4 (Book 4.6%, Movie 5.4%)

This is the first chapter where the movie is longer than the book. Hagrid’s aggression towards the Dursley’s is considerably muted in the movie, and the extended battle between Hagrid in Vernon is missing in the movie.

Instead, we jump pretty quickly to “you’re a wizard” with no real build-up of tension. In the book, Harry comes across as quite witty and sarcastic, and has a sense of humour considering his predicament. In the movie he comes across as a bit naive at best, especially at this early stage. In the movie, when Hagrid says he’s not allowed to do magic, Harry doesn’t question it, but his character is much more inquisitive in the book and continues to ask intelligent supplementary questions regularly.

There is a singular line about Aunt Petunia’s resentment of Lily in the movie, but it’s not expressed as jealously as it is in the book. In fact, there is very little about Harry’s parents for quite a while. Hagrid does reveal his parents' fate and Harry’s fame in the wizarding world, but Harry doesn’t find this out until he goes shopping with Hagrid in the movie (that scene lasts 2 minutes and 13 seconds, which I have added to this section). We actually learn a lot from Hagrid in the book, about him being expelled, about Harry’s parents, why his Uncle and Aunt didn’t tell him about any of this, etc.

Chapter 5 (Book 8.3%, Movie 7.2%)

This is the chapter where Harry visits Gringotts with Hagrid and goes shopping in preparation for his first term at Hogwarts. The chapter begins at what I presume is the next morning and Harry’s journey to London, with preliminary explanations of Gringotts before delving deeper into his famous (and now rich) parents, and their elusive history. In the movie we begin already in London, with Harry asking if he can find everything he needs here. It is at this point in the movie that Harry finally enquires into his fame, something explained in the previous chapter of the book when harry first meets Hagrid. At some points the attention to detail is commendable; in the book, the line following the one about the boys looking at the nimbus 2000 in the shop window mentions telescopes, and the shop behind the kids in the movie has telescopes in the window.

In the book Hagrid says “best not to mention this to anyone” several times, about his use of magic and now about taking the contents of vault 713. I was very slightly suspicious of Hagrid while reading the book, but not so much when watching the movie. There are a lot of questions and answers in this chapter; what is quidditch, whats Hufflepuff and Slytherin, using magic outside school, etc. There is none of this in the movie.

The movie is mostly accurate in respect to this chapter, there are just a few bits rearranged (Hagrid and Harry buy his owl together in the book, but he nips off and surprises Harry with it in the movie), as well as some filler shopping and further questions and answers left out of the movie. There is also a bit of elaboration of Hagrid's past in the book, but once again nothing of the sort in the movie.

Chapter 6 (Book 8.3%, Movie 6.4%)

In the book he goes back home after his shopping trip with Hagrid, but in the movie he goes straight to school from shopping. This is for the best, it would have made the already long movie even longer and would add very little substance. His conversation with Uncle Vernon in the book shows a continuation of the progress he’s made with them; no longer being punished for just existing, instead being allowed to roam the house and initiate conversation with little aggression. He even offers Harry a lift to King’s Cross.

There is a lot of background information about the Weasley’s in the book, almost all of which is skipped in the movie. We learn about Hogwarts etc through Harry’s ignorance and Ron’s explanations on the train. Harry meets Malfoy on the train in the book, but in the movie they meet later at Hogwarts before the sorting hat ceremony. Malfoy doesn’t seem all that bad initially in the movie, and his animosity towards Harry is just a bit odd. In the book, he does come across like a bully with his two henchmen, and this is another consistent difference between the movie and the book.

Chapter 7 (Book 6.0%, Movie 3.8%)

At this point in the book it feels like a lot has happened. We are 35.9% into the book and 27.5% into the movie, but in the movie it feels as though nothing of any substance has happened. So far though, the movie is about as true to the book as it is probably possible to be.

As before, some bits are missing:

• There was no sorting hat song in the movie, though probably a good thing, and they didn’t sing the school song either.

• In the book Harry displays some anxiety about not knowing a lot about magic, and potentially not being sorted at all.

• Harry has a weird dream about wearing Quirrell’s turban, where it talked to him convincing him to join Slytherin. This is not in the movie, and instead he’s just sitting awake at night in the window of his dormitory. It’s one of the only, very short, scenes in the movie that isn’t in the books.

Some bits are rearranged and shown later in the movie. This is done so the movie can cut pointless conversation and progress to the next scene. The brain completes the scene, assuming that everyone finished their dinner without us having to see them doing so.

• Snape staring at Harry and the pain in his scar is rearranged from before the sorting ceremony in the book to after it in the movie.

• Contrarily, Dumbledore’s announcements come after dinner in the book, but before sorting takes place in the movie.

And some bits are different:

• Hermione is nervous to be sorted in the movie, but very eager in the book.

• Ron is before Harry in movie, but not in book.

• Harry is also nowhere near last to be sorted in the movie.

The book does well to consistently highlight Harry’s fame in the wizarding world, while the movie hasn’t seemed to touch on this at all since the leaky cauldron in chapter 5. When Harry is sorted, the Weasley’s chant of “we got Potter” exemplifies this, but on its own in the movie this doesn’t mean much and it’s pretty subtle. The movie does a remarkably poor job of showing just how famous he is.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed at how short this chapter was in the movie, with considerable detail in the book about the students, their backgrounds, and some general context about the wizarding world not in the movie. So far, almost everything in the movie is in the book, but not the other way round.

Chapter 8 (Book 4.1%, Movie 2.0%)

The movie skips straight to Harry and Ron being late to class, with again no mention of waking up and his classmates being fascinated by him, getting caught by filch, and so on. The book certainly gives more context about actual magic, about the kind of things that happen in school, what kind of lessons they must take, and an overview of pretty much every lesson.

The movie is also showing a compilation of classes, and the difficult start Harry is having but in an entirely different way for the most part, with the same few lines quoted from the book. This is largely immaterial, however once again the book does a far better job than the movie in highlighting how out of place Harry feels, how difficult a time he is having, and how much he has to learn about Hogwarts and this new world in general.

Just as before there are scenes slightly rearranged, and others removed altogether. Hagrid’s letter to Harry asking to meet to discuss his first week is not in the movie, and they don’t see him either as a result. Hagrid becomes pretty distant for the time being. Harry also loses Gryffindor a house point for sarcastic backchat. This adds to his witty character I mentioned earlier, and also makes us familiar with the house point system for the ending of the movie.

There is also a little rearrangement of scenes, as expected; the owl post delivery is shown after classes in the movie, not before. In the book they find out about the Gringotts break-in in this chapter, however in the movie it is when the post arrives during breakfast in the dining hall. These are immaterial to the actual story but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

Chapter 9 (Book 6.5%, Movie 7.6%)

As we start to see more action, the chapters in the book begin to get shorter as the scenes in the movie get longer. In this chapter we reach the midway point of the book, but not even 40% of the way through the movie, meaning logically the end of the book should contain less detail than the movie?

A lot of relationships are more prevalent in the books. The Harry and Malfoy feud continues in the book but isn’t made obvious in the movie. Malfoy snatching Neville’s Remembrall and almost starting a fight, and then taking the ball again which does lead to a fight. This fight makes less sense in the movie; why would you start a fight because a kid took another kid's little toy (someone who you really don’t know yet)?

Malfoy returns after Harry finds out he is the house seeker, to offer a duel in the trophy room. In the movie they randomly end up on the out of bounds floor (Harry, Ron, and Hermione), but in the book Harry and Ron go to battle Malfoy. In the book they find Neville and take him with them too, and Hermione is forced to tag along as she is locked out of the Gryffindor dorms. The midnight duel is just a ploy to trick Harry into venturing into the out of bounds areas of the school, and this furthers the hostility between him and Malfoy, but this development in their relationship is not that deep in the movie. Malfoy is just a peripheral character in the movie. This is essentially the first time we see a notable deviation from the movie. I do believe it could have worked to keep up the Harry/Malfoy feud and have this scene play out but it's clear the movie producers didn’t choose to push this narrative too hard.

The book shows them to be like any other stupid kids getting into fights, and Hermione being forced to join in the way she does starts a natural friendship. As it stands in the movie, why is she friends with Ron and Harry?

Chapter 10 (Book 5.5%, Movie 7.5%)

TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! We see Snape act a bit shifty in the movie but the boys don’t notice it. In the books they do see Snape, which adds to Harry’s suspicion of him.

The troll fight scene is faster paced in the movie which makes perfect sense. This chapter is where Harry, Ron, and Hermione really become friends, and from reading the book this makes sense. The idea you get from the movie is that they have essentially been friends from the day they met on the train. Ron’s passing comment about Hermione not having friends in the movie makes less sense as a result, since she is always around in the movie and they are generally friendly. Their friendship is cemented in the book on that night, but this is not made so clear in the movie. They’re just sort of always together, there is no noticeable moment like there is in the book where they become friends.

Part of this chapter is omitted from the movie. This chapter starts with a focus on getting revenge on Malfoy, which is simply not in the movie. Harry gets a nimbus 2000 from McGonagall, and Malfoy takes the broomstick from him. In the movie this happens on the day of the match, after the troll fight, but in the book it happens well before. I suppose it makes sense in a story to happen before, but in the movie it makes sense to happen when it does. It still doesn’t excuse the lack of contact between Malfoy and Harry thus far. These minor incidents in the book slowly develop into a real fierce dislike for each other, which is simply not replicated in the movie. I feel like I am going to make this point in every chapter.

Chapter 11 (Book 4.6%, Movie 7.4%)

They (I will probably refer to Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they for a lot of this, it’s so cumbersome to type out a thousand times) notice Snape limping. As has been the case so far, there is more story in the book. In the book Harry goes to get the book from Snape etc, nothing of the sort happens in the movie. He stumbles upon Snape talking about the three-headed dog, and Snape catches Harry listening in. In the movie they make these links over breakfast instead. It actually makes more sense in the movie, I feel it’s probably too drawn out in the book.

We’re finally at the midpoint of the movie here, but almost 2/3 into the book. Hagrid is mentioned in the book here again, but we’ve hardly seen him in the movie. The commentary in the quidditch match is also the closest I have come to live football in months now. I have no issue with any changes to the match, key points are the same, most lines are kept too. I guess you have to make changes to keep it interesting visually. I also notice the movie is starting to get longer than the chapters (as expected I suppose, this is the interesting stuff).

Chapter 12 (Book 6.9%, Movie 8.0%)

The chapter starts with a fight almost starting between Ron and Malfoy, a scene which concludes with Snape punishing Ron. The book really emphasises their suspicion and dislike of Snape, as well as the ever-growing rivalry between Malfoy and the three of them. This is not prominent in the movie.

It’s Christmas, and Harry and Ron spend the time at Hogwarts. Harry receives the invisibility cloak, but other presents are missing from the movie; flute from Hagrid, 50p from his family, sweater from Weasley's, and chocolate from Hermione. This shows how his fortunes have changed somewhat, and it would’ve been nice to show in the movie. I also liked the idea of Harry getting a Weasley jumper. Something I did find weird was the way Harry asks “what are you wearing?” to Ron about his jumper, it is quite disparaging in the movie but in the book it is Ron who hates the jumper (Harry doesn’t comment on it).

I’m slightly concerned that Harry chooses to spend his Christmas in the library. In the book Harry doesn’t wake up Ron to see the Mirror of Erised, but in the movie he wakes him up straight away. In the book the Mirror also shows Harry's entire family but the movie only shows his parents.

Chapter 13 (Book 4.1%, Movie 0.8%)

A lot of this chapter is missing from the movie, and what remains is cut severely to save time for the final scene(s) at the end. The book starts with further progression of their enmity towards Malfoy and Snape; Snape will referee his next quidditch game, which only heightens their suspicion of his intentions. Malfoy's spell on Neville and fistfight with Ron is also not in the movie.

Harry flies over the forbidden forest and overhears Snape and Quirrell, and I really can’t stress enough how prominent this aspect of the story is in the book compared to the movie. I notice the book also goes into far more detail about Nicholas Flamel.

Actually, just a minor gripe; in the book Harry remembers who Nicholas Flamel is from the card that comes with the chocolate frogs, but Hermione discovers this in the movie from her “light reading”. I’m not sure why they put the chocolate egg scene on the train in the movie at all then, it seems just like a pointless bit of filler information in the movie but could’ve been a nice link if they replicated the scene from the book.

Chapter 14 (Book 4.6%, Movie 2.7%)

They bump into Hagrid in the library in the book, but go straight to his hut in the movie. This is a bit strange, its the first we see of the hut, and we get some early insight into the dragon from what Hagrid was reading in the book. The progression of these events is more reasonable in the book, and seems somewhat random in the movie.

We see Malfoy peering in from the window in the movie. In the book this seems plausible too as he overheard them chatting in the hall and follows them to the hut, rather than just randomly appearing in the window. In the movie we haven’t seen him in a while so it seems notably random, its almost as though you’re reminded of his existence just as you are about to forget about it.

Ron getting bitten by the dragon in book and having it confiscated seems like a pointless tangent. Malfoy also getting in trouble is just one from a list of plans of his that have backfired in the book, but is essentially the second in the movie (the first being the first quidditch lesson).

The book does explain what Hagrid wants to do with the egg, and he researches what the dragon is just from the egg and how to hatch. The movie makes him look even more simple-minded than it should.

Chapter 15 (Book 6.5%, Movie 5.2%)

There is another pretty big diversion from the book here, which essentially compresses the story between chapter 14 and the beginning of chapter 15 into one short scene. As a result, it seems pretty pointless, the dragon bit anyway, to get them all in the forest together.

The Gryffindor point deduction also counters all Harry’s hard work in the quidditch game and cost him his popularity, which is not at all emphasised in the movie. Considering this relates to the big ending of the movie, the fact it is not a focus in the movie is disappointing and minimises the impact of that final scene.

In the movie, Firenze essentially just tells Harry who was drinking the unicorn blood, but in the book the linking of clues is a bit more subtle (I suppose this isn’t a big deal). In addition, when Firenze says “this is where I leave you” in the books, it’s because he’s carried Harry to the rest of the group and talked for a while, but he’s been with Harry for all of 20 seconds in the movie.

Another divergence between the book and movie is that the invisibility cloak is not lost in the movie but in book it was, and here it is returned to Harry.

Chapter 16 (Book 8.3%, Movie 11.7%)

The last two chapters are longer in movie as expected. There is further progression of their suspicion of Snape and his intentions to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone. The Snape enemy story arc is so briefly suggested in the movie in comparison, that without the consistent reminder the feeling while watching it is simply not the same. Even during the chess game snape is mentioned; you are constantly reminded in the book up to the exact moment you are told otherwise.

Neville telling the three of them not to go out after hours makes considerably more sense in the book; the point deduction was made clear earlier in the book and we hear from Neville several times in a more significant capacity. We don’t see much of him in the movie.

In the book harry takes his flute from Hagrid to put Fluffy to sleep, but in the movie there is no plan. The spell on the harp is luck on their part, and in hindsight it seems like a silly oversight in the movie.

Another minor change is that in the keys scene in the book they all get on broomsticks, but in the movie it is just Harry. Additionally, in the book Harry and Hermione both go on after the chess game, with two more tests. In the movie, Hermione stays back and Harry goes to Quirrell on his own.

Chapter 17 (Book 6.9%, Movie 11.9%)

There are some small differences here between the book and movie I thought were worth noting:

• In the book Quirrell was going to use a lethal curse on Harry, but in movie there was actually little magic here.

• Hagrid visits Harry in the book and is distraught, but isn't in the movie. He his just happy to see him.

• After coming out of the hospital in the movie Harry barely talks to Ron and Hermione, but in the book they are ecstatic to see each other (as expected).

• Exam results are not mentioned in book, and actually there is hardly any mention of actual school work in the movie (I know this is not the point but is still interesting).

• The book ends with Harry going home and being picked up by Uncle Vernon, whose mood has dramatically changed since we first meet him (though still miserable).

I know the entire story, I’ve watched the movie countless times, and indeed this scene is pretty similar to the book, but it still felt like a special twist when reading it. I am also still impressed a lot of the lines are identical to those in the book.

There are more specific details in the book, about how Quirrell met Voldemort, etc. There are a lot of questions from Harry in the book; how the stone ended up in his pocket, more background about his parents, how he managed to kill Quirrell. The movie does answer some but leaves too many out, to be honest. Harry’s curiosity also adds to his character's clever and inquisitive nature in the book. In the book Harry is also asking all the questions, but in the movie Dumbledore is just spitting random facts unprompted. There is also a less comprehensible explanation of Nicholas Flamel throughout the movie, but is far easier to understand in the book.

In the movie the switch to Gryffindor winning the house cup felt a bit random because there was little mention of it leading up to this final scene. In the book we are reminded on several occaisons that Slytherin had won the cup six years in a row, that Harry cost Gryffindor points earlier in the year, and the fact everyone hated him for it. This is much more triumphant as a result in the book.

Final Thoughts

As I suspected, the movie is a pretty accurate depiction of the book. There are a few areas that you must be tired of hearing about but I need to reiterate. The rivalry between Harry and Malfoy is simply a background issue in the movie. Harry is not made to seem particularly special in the movie in comparison to the book, and I suppose this is part of why the Malfoy rivalry is such a minimal point in the movie. Harry seems like the focus of the movie but for no specific reason, and Malfoy is occasionally brought up just as you’re about to forget about him, but he isn’t nearly as evil or relenting as he is depicted in the book.

Snape is continuously the focus of the three main characters suspicion in the book, and of course he is in the movie as well, but it is pumped into your head to such a degree in the book that even I was slightly taken aback when the twist was revealed in the final chapter. It is a point that I believe could have been developed further in the movie.

I suppose there could have been a little more mention of school work in the movie, even if it was just mentioning the end of year exams in some conversations. Other than those few key elements though, I am pretty impressed with the movie; almost every line taken from the book is identical, most scenes are in the same order and, the characters are generally the same as they are in the book.

The book manages to pack a lot more detail into very few pages, and some important scenes are omitted from the already very long movie. Removing scenes like the few fights between the three and Malfoy reduces the impact of their rivalry. When you remove the animosity felt towards Harry when he costs his house the league and house cup, it doesn’t quite make sense when Neville confronts them at the end. If you remove the Dursley’s journey to escape the letters from Hogwarts, it doesn’t make sense when the movie cuts abruptly to their end destination of a random lighthouse in the middle of the sea. If you remove the scenes about house points in general, it's not such a big deal at the end of the movie when Slytherin doesn’t win the house cup for the first time in six years. You may say I'm being harsh, and you may be right; I didn’t notice any of these points watching the movie in the past, but it certainly does take away from it now that I know how it could be improved.

I am interested in doing this for the rest of the books and movies, especially as the books get longer and inevitably more content will be cut out of the movies. Unfortunately, analysis chapter by chapter is a huge task and its not something I can commit to going forward, so any future posts on this will likely be thematic only (and hopefully a shorter read). If this is something you’re interested in reading let me know!