Roger Ebert called '' Philosopher 's Stone '' " a classic , " giving the film four out of four stars , and particularly praising the Quidditch scenes ' visual effects . Praise was echoed by both '' The Telegraph '' and '' Empire '' reviewers , with Alan Morrison of the latter naming it the film 's " stand-out sequence " . Brian Linder of IGN.com also gave the film a positive review , but concluded that it " is n't perfect , but for me it 's a nice supplement to a book series that I love " . Although criticising the final half-hour , Jeanne Aufmuth of '' Palo Alto Online '' stated that the film would " enchant even the most cynical of moviegoers . " '' USA Today '' reviewer Claudia Puig gave the film three out of four stars , especially praising the set design and Robbie Coltrane 's portrayal of Hagrid , but criticised John Williams ' score and concluded " ultimately many of the book 's readers may wish for a more magical incarnation . " The sets , design , cinematography , effects and principal cast were all given praise from Kirk Honeycutt of '' The Hollywood Reporter '' , although he deemed John Williams ' score " a great clanging , banging music box that simply will not shut up . " Todd McCarthy of '' Variety '' compared the film positively with '' Gone with the Wind '' and put " The script is faithful , the actors are just right , the sets , costumes , makeup and effects match and sometimes exceed anything one could imagine . " Jonathan Foreman of the '' New York Post '' recalled that the film was " remarkably faithful , " to its literary counterpart as well as a " consistently entertaining if overlong adaptation . " Richard Corliss of '' Time '' magazine , considered the film a " by the numbers adaptation , " criticising the pace and the " charisma-free " lead actors . CNN 's Paul Tatara found that Columbus and Kloves " are so careful to avoid offending anyone by excising a passage from the book , the so-called narrative is more like a jamboree inside Rowling 's head . " Nathaniel Rogers of The Film Experience gave the film a negative review and wrote : " '' Harry Potter and the Sorceror 's Stone '' is as bland as movies can get . " Ed Gonzalez of '' Slant Magazine '' wished that the film had been directed by Tim Burton , finding the cinematography " bland and muggy , " and the majority of the film a " solidly dull celebration of dribbling goo . " Elvis Mitchell of '' The New York Times '' was highly negative about the film , saying " the film is like a theme park that 's a few years past its prime ; the rides clatter and groan with metal fatigue every time they take a curve . " He also said it suffered from " a lack of imagination " and wooden characters , adding , " The Sorting Hat has more personality than anything else in the movie . " The film received three Academy Award nominations : Best Art Direction , Best Costume Design , and Best Original Score for John Williams . The film was also nominated for seven BAFTA Awards . These were Best British Film , Best Supporting Actor for Robbie Coltrane , as well as the awards for Best Costume Design , Production Design , Makeup and Hair , Sound and Visual Effects . The film won a Saturn Award for its costumes , and was nominated for eight more awards . It won other awards from the Casting Society of America and the Costume Designers Guild . It was nominated for the AFI Film Award for its special effects , and the Art Directors Guild Award for its production design . It received the Broadcast Film Critics Award for Best Live Action Family Film and was nominated for Best Child Performance ( for Daniel Radcliffe ) and Best Composer ( John Williams ) . In 2005 the American Film Institute nominated the film for AFI 's 100 Years of Film Scores
Broadcast Film Critics Award
7th Critics' Choice Awards
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)