When Harry Potter's name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, he becomes a competitor in a grueling battle for glory among three wizarding schools - the Triwizard Tournament. But since Harry never submitted his name for the Tournament, who did? Now Harry must confront a deadly dragon, fierce water demons and an enchanted maze only to find himself in the cruel grasp of He Who Must Not Be Named. In this fourth film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, everything changes as Harry, Ron and Hermione leave childhood forever and take on challenges greater than anything they could have imagined.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone set the bar high for adaptations of J.K. Rowling's magical novels—this second outing hits it neatly, with terrific treatments of the increasingly fantastic—and dark—elements of the series. The story opens with Harry miserable as usual chez Dursley, convinced his friends have forgotten him over the summer. Enter Fantastic Effect #1: Dobby, a bedraggled house elf who warns Harry of imminent danger at Hogwarts and begs him not to go back to school. Undeterred, Harry is finally rescued by Ron and his brothers with the aid of Fantastic Effect #2: a flying Ford Anglia. The brief scenes at the Weasley house are marvelously imagined—one wishes they didn't have to go shopping so soon, but Diagon Alley is always good for a few thrills, too. The weirdness continues apace as Ron and Harry are mysteriously prevented from boarding the Hogwarts Express and forced to hijack the flying car to get to school on time. Despite some added inches and deeper voices, the boys aren't old enough to drive—let alone fly—yet and upon arrival, they crash into Fantastic Effect #3: The Whomping Willow.

Reunited with Hermione and joined by the youngest Weasley, sister Ginny, Ron and Harry dive into a new school year, which necessitates the introduction of a new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, wizard-celebrity Gilderoy Lockhart, played with pitch-perfect weaselry by Kenneth Branagh, who almost qualifies as Fantastic Effect #4. (Another wicked cameo goes to Jason Isaacs, as Lucius Malfoy, the flaxen-haired father of Harry's chief rival, Draco.) Things go downhill immediately as various denizens of Hogwarts turn up petrified all over the castle. A decades-old mystery involving an old diary and an ominous Chamber of Secrets unfolds, facilitating some truly creepy scenes starring a few more Fantastic Effects of the spider and serpent variety—younger and more sensitive viewers, be wary.

As with the preceding film, the plot is necessarily compacted (and still clocks in at almost three hours), but the novel's key scenes, including an even more thrilling Quidditch match and the requisite showdown with You-Know-Who are given ample screen time. The untimely death of Sir Richard Harris, who played headmaster Dumbledore with a spot-on twinkling gravitas, will make for an added challenge as the third installment goes into production—such excellent casting doesn't happen by accident. Bring on The Prisoner of Azkaban!

Box set contains:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Special Edition

Fans of J. K. Rowling's best-selling novel will find much to enjoy in the film adaptation directed by Chris Columbus -- the casting, for starters, is spot-on. Daniel Radcliffe is delightful as Harry -- downtrodden by his nasty relatives the Dursleys but convinced deep-down that he was meant for better things. A Who's Who of British stage and screen performers stood in for the staff at Hogwarts -- Dame Maggie Smith is particularly prim and perfect as Minerva McGonagall, Alan Rickman is a dead ringer for the oily Severus Snape and Robbie Coltrane was J. K. Rowling's only choice to play the gruff but gentle giant Hagrid. Young actor Rupert Grint is terrific as Harry's best friend Ron Weasley and Emma Watson makes Hermione Granger -- a character who could easily have been annoying if miscast -- smug, smart and eminently likable.

The movie sticks close enough to the events of the book to please the purists and the special effects team makes excellent use of the novel's most fantastic elements -- the Great Hall at Hogwarts is a wonder, with its floating candles and enchanted ceiling, and the Quidditch match, though a bit whiplash-inducing, is tremendously exciting. The film's younger audience will likely get more thrills than scares, though it would have been nice to see a bit more of the dark side of the story. Overall, a satisfying adaptation of the much-loved book, but one can see where future films will run into trouble ... Philosopher's Stone clocked in at 152 minutes to tell most of the details of a fairly slim novel. As Rowling's books get longer, it will be interesting to see how they translate to the screen.

When Harry Potter's name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, he becomes a competitor in a grueling battle for glory among three wizarding schools - the Triwizard Tournament. But since Harry never submitted his name for the Tournament, who did? Now Harry must confront a deadly dragon, fierce water demons and an enchanted maze only to find himself in the cruel grasp of He Who Must Not Be Named. In this fourth film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, everything changes as Harry, Ron and Hermione leave childhood forever and take on challenges greater than anything they could have imagined.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone set the bar high for adaptations of J.K. Rowling's magical novels—this second outing hits it neatly, with terrific treatments of the increasingly fantastic—and dark—elements of the series. The story opens with Harry miserable as usual chez Dursley, convinced his friends have forgotten him over the summer. Enter Fantastic Effect #1: Dobby, a bedraggled house elf who warns Harry of imminent danger at Hogwarts and begs him not to go back to school. Undeterred, Harry is finally rescued by Ron and his brothers with the aid of Fantastic Effect #2: a flying Ford Anglia. The brief scenes at the Weasley house are marvelously imagined—one wishes they didn't have to go shopping so soon, but Diagon Alley is always good for a few thrills, too. The weirdness continues apace as Ron and Harry are mysteriously prevented from boarding the Hogwarts Express and forced to hijack the flying car to get to school on time. Despite some added inches and deeper voices, the boys aren't old enough to drive—let alone fly—yet and upon arrival, they crash into Fantastic Effect #3: The Whomping Willow.

Reunited with Hermione and joined by the youngest Weasley, sister Ginny, Ron and Harry dive into a new school year, which necessitates the introduction of a new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, wizard-celebrity Gilderoy Lockhart, played with pitch-perfect weaselry by Kenneth Branagh, who almost qualifies as Fantastic Effect #4. (Another wicked cameo goes to Jason Isaacs, as Lucius Malfoy, the flaxen-haired father of Harry's chief rival, Draco.) Things go downhill immediately as various denizens of Hogwarts turn up petrified all over the castle. A decades-old mystery involving an old diary and an ominous Chamber of Secrets unfolds, facilitating some truly creepy scenes starring a few more Fantastic Effects of the spider and serpent variety—younger and more sensitive viewers, be wary.

As with the preceding film, the plot is necessarily compacted (and still clocks in at almost three hours), but the novel's key scenes, including an even more thrilling Quidditch match and the requisite showdown with You-Know-Who are given ample screen time. The untimely death of Sir Richard Harris, who played headmaster Dumbledore with a spot-on twinkling gravitas, will make for an added challenge as the third installment goes into production—such excellent casting doesn't happen by accident. Bring on The Prisoner of Azkaban!

Fans of J. K. Rowling's best-selling novel will find much to enjoy in the film adaptation directed by Chris Columbus -- the casting, for starters, is spot-on. Daniel Radcliffe is delightful as Harry -- downtrodden by his nasty relatives the Dursleys but convinced deep-down that he was meant for better things. A Who's Who of British stage and screen performers stood in for the staff at Hogwarts -- Dame Maggie Smith is particularly prim and perfect as Minerva McGonagall, Alan Rickman is a dead ringer for the oily Severus Snape and Robbie Coltrane was J. K. Rowling's only choice to play the gruff but gentle giant Hagrid. Young actor Rupert Grint is terrific as Harry's best friend Ron Weasley and Emma Watson makes Hermione Granger -- a character who could easily have been annoying if miscast -- smug, smart and eminently likable.

The movie sticks close enough to the events of the book to please the purists and the special effects team makes excellent use of the novel's most fantastic elements -- the Great Hall at Hogwarts is a wonder, with its floating candles and enchanted ceiling, and the Quidditch match, though a bit whiplash-inducing, is tremendously exciting. The film's younger audience will likely get more thrills than scares, though it would have been nice to see a bit more of the dark side of the story. Overall, a satisfying adaptation of the much-loved book, but one can see where future films will run into trouble ... Philosopher's Stone clocked in at 152 minutes to tell most of the details of a fairly slim novel. As Rowling's books get longer, it will be interesting to see how they translate to the screen.